Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) recently gave notice to the US, after one of its chips was discovered within a Huawei product. The discovery was made tech research firm, TechInsights, after it took apart an Ascend 910B, which is arguably the company’s most advanced AI product.
TechInsight says it informed TSMC of the chip prior to it publishing its report, which prompted it to proactively notify the US Commerce Department. The discovery is somewhat alarming, considering that the Taiwanese semiconductor company hasn’t supplied Huawei with its chips since September 2020.
As a quick primer, Huawei was placed on the US trade-restriction list back in 2019, over what the then Trump administration claimed were “national security purposes”. This was months after the US government banned multiple 5G telecommunications devices in May 2019.
It should also be made clear that, prior to the ban, Huawei’s Ascend 910 chip series were indeed being made by TSMC. There is the possibility that the chips inside the latest version of the Shenzhen-based company’s AI chips are using leftover components but that seems like a stretch.
The Taiwanese government has its own set of rules in place, in order to stop advanced chips from being produced in China, and has said repeatedly that it will ensure its companies will follow US rules.
(Source; Reuters)
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