June 19, 2025

TI's $60B U.S. Fab Plan, Malaysia Probes Nvidia Exports, Apple Eyes AI for Chip Design

Round-up

Highlights

  1. Texas Instruments commits $60 billion to seven new U.S. fabs. The unprecedented spend—spanning Texas and Utah—comes amid Washington’s reshoring push and would create ~60 000 jobs1.
  2. Malaysia opens an export-control probe into reports that a Chinese AI outfit is training models on Nvidia servers in Kuala Lumpur. Authorities are checking whether U.S.-origin chips were diverted in breach of licensing rules2.
  3. Apple says generative-AI tools could soon co-design its next custom silicon. Hardware chief Johny Srouji told IMEC that large-language-model assisted EDA will “be a huge productivity boost,” especially as node complexity skyrockets3.

Other developments

  • Intel hires three senior technologists from Cadence, Google and Rain AI in CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s turnaround drive4
  • TrendForce warns Q1 revenue at the top five enterprise-SSD makers fell ~20 % on inventory overhang, but sees a rebound as Blackwell-based servers ship5
  • Applied Materials and CEA-Leti expand their joint Grenoble lab to tackle specialty-chip materials and advanced packaging for AI data-centres6
  • MIT researchers demo copper-bonded GaN dielets on 16 nm CMOS, cutting cost and heat while boosting RF gain7
  • Silanna launches a 3 V coin-cell laser-driver IC that fires 1 000 W pulses for pocket LiDAR and range-finders8
  • Samsung Electro-Mechanics begins supplying high-density silicon capacitors to Marvell’s U.S. AI accelerators, opening a new competitive flank vs. Nvidia9
  • Sustainability took centre-stage at Silicon Saxony Day: Entegris, DAS and ESMC detailed fab water-recycling loops and LEED-Gold construction targets10

Did you know? A single advanced fab can gulp 20 million litres of water every day—roughly the daily consumption of a midsize U.S. city10.

In-depth

1. Government & Corporate Policy

  • Malaysia/Nvidia inquiry

    • Commerce ministry coordinating with security agencies after a Wall Street Journal exposé on Chinese engineers flying in disk drives for LLM training2.
    • Raises fresh questions on post-Trump relaxations of 2022 AI-chip export bans.

  • TI’s mega-fab plan

    • Seven green- or brown-field sites qualify for CHIPS tax credits; first wafers targeted for 20281.
    • Company emphasises “foundational” analogue and power devices—critical for EVs and defense.

  • Intel leadership shake-up

    • New Customer Engineering Centre to report directly to Lip-Bu Tan4.
    • Analysts see the hires as table-setting for a renewed Foundry Services pitch in Q3.

  • Green-manufacturing policy in Europe

    • At Silicon Saxony Day, Entegris and DAS urged EU regulators to align water-reuse and waste rules with fab realities, framing sustainability as a competitiveness lever10.

2. Economics, Finance & Business Outlook

  • Enterprise-SSD slump

    • ASPs dived nearly 20 % in Q1; Samsung revenue -34.9 %, SK Group -50 %5.
    • TrendForce expects Q2 recovery on AI-server demand in North America and China.

  • Samsung-Marvell capacitor deal

    • First silicon-capacitor shipments landed this quarter; Samsung targets $75 million in new revenue within two years9.
    • Glass-substrate development and all-solid-state batteries part of same “Mi-RAE” roadmap.

  • Apple’s AI-EDA strategy

    • Srouji cites Synopsys and Cadence race to embed Gen-AI into place-and-route3.
    • Move underscores wider trend of tool vendors monetising AI to cut tape-out time.

  • TI cap-ex ripple effects

    • Suppliers from ASML to Lam Research expected to see multi-year order visibility; State of Texas preparing additional infrastructure incentives1.

3. Technology & R&D

  • 3D GaN-on-Si dielets (MIT)

    • 240 µm × 410 µm devices copper-bonded at <400 °C deliver higher RF gain and cooler junctions; path pointed to quantum cryo-electronics7.
    • Demonstrated power-amplifier hits wider bandwidth than Si FinFET peers.

  • Applied Materials-Leti integrated lab

    • New full-flow line will prototype heterogeneous ICAPS devices and advanced packaging, aiming to slash AI-rack energy use by 30 %6.
    • Facility builds on Applied’s EPIC platform for rapid materials iteration.

  • Silanna SL2002 laser driver

    • First to merge resonant-capacitor charging and firing in 3.5 mm² WLCSP; 86 % Vin-to-laser efficiency enables coin-cell LiDAR modules8.
    • Samples and eval kits available; exhibition slated for Laser World of Photonics 2025.

  • Sustainable fab processes

    • Entegris rolls out pad designs for CMP recircularity; DAS shows point-of-use wastewater recycling hitting 95 % reuse10.
    • ESMC’s green-façade fab targets 30 % water reduction versus 2010 TSMC baseline.

Footnotes

  1. https://www.reuters.com/business/texas-instruments-plans-invest-over-60-billion-us-make-foundational-chips-2025-06-18/ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  2. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/malaysia-trade-ministry-probing-reports-chinese-firms-use-nvidia-ai-chips-2025-06-18/ ↩︎ ↩︎

  3. https://www.reuters.com/business/apple-eyes-using-ai-design-its-chips-technology-executive-says-2025-06-18/ ↩︎ ↩︎

  4. https://www.reuters.com/business/intel-appoints-engineering-hires-part-ceo-tans-turnaround-strategy-2025-06-18/ ↩︎ ↩︎

  5. https://www.trendforce.com/presscenter/news/20250619-12624.html ↩︎ ↩︎

  6. https://www.semiconductor-today.com/news_items/2025/jun/appliedmaterials-leti-190625.shtml ↩︎ ↩︎

  7. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-06-tiny-gallium-nitride-transistors-boost.html ↩︎ ↩︎

  8. https://www.electronicsmedia.info/2025/06/19/silanna-unveils-sl2002-laser-driver-ic-for-3v-rangefinders/ ↩︎ ↩︎

  9. https://www.sammyfans.com/2025/06/19/samsung-powers-marvell-ai-chips-in-new-front-against-nvidia-in-the-us/ ↩︎ ↩︎

  10. https://www.eetimes.eu/sustainable-chip-manufacturing-takes-focus-at-silicon-saxony-day-2025/ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎