Not surprisingly, several news this week are somewhat related to fabs and foundries – in terms of customer contracts, new fabs, acquisitions, equipment – as companies around the world are repositioning to take advantage of the semiconductor boom. Another interesting update concerns Simon Segars speaking about the Nvidia deal. More news is coming from the International Supercomputing Conference and from the latest MLPerf results.
Apple and Intel reportedly first to adopt TSMC’s 3 nm process
According to Nikkei Asia, Apple and Intel have emerged as the first adopters of TSMC’s 3-nanometer process ahead of its deployment as early as next year. Commercial output of such chips is expected to start in the second half of next year. Apple’s iPad will likely be the first devices powered by processors made using 3-nanometer technology. Intel is reportedly working with TSMC on at least two 3-nanometer projects concerning CPUs for notebooks and data center servers. Mass production of these chips is expected to begin by the end of 2022 at the earliest. Reportedly, the chip volume planned for Intel is more than that for Apple’s iPad.
