Global Semiconductor Industry Updates

1. Trump announced that a 25% import tariff will be imposed on automobiles, pharmaceuticals, and chips.

2. HP acquired AI company Humane for $116 million and established a new division called “HP IQ.”

3. Continental plans to cut 3,000 jobs from its automotive division's research and development staff by the end of 2026.

4. Infineon has made significant progress on its 200mm SiC product roadmap and will deliver the first batch of products based on advanced 200mm SiC technology to customers in the first quarter of 2025.

5. The former president of Samsung Electronics was sentenced to seven years in prison for allegedly leaking semiconductor process and other critical national technology information to Chinese companies.

6. A team from Harvard University in the United States has successfully developed a new complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) chip.

China Semiconductor Industry Updates

1. Xiyuan Electronics has invested 1.2 billion yuan in a high-end semiconductor packaging and testing project. The main structure of the project has been completed, and production is expected to begin in the first half of this year.

2. Due to the impact of the US-China chip ban, Applied Materials has been forced to stop providing equipment repair services to some customers in mainland China, potentially resulting in a $400 million loss in revenue this year.

3. Slkor (www.slkoric.com) has updated its latest materials on the website of its distributor, Metos Electronics. In the future, the “slkor” brand will continue to be updated in the supplier section of the distributor’s site.

4. The 2025 Munich Shanghai Electronics Production Equipment Expo will be held from March 26-28 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre.

5. Google Fellow Dr. Wu Yonghui has joined ByteDance as the head of foundational research for the large-model team at Seed.

6. The first production line of the FC-BGA advanced IC packaging substrate project at AoXing Semiconductor has officially launched, with a total investment of 1 billion yuan.