TSMC’s 7nm Node Supposedly Running Below Capacity
When GlobalFoundries canceled its 7nm ramp this year, it did so because it claimed it hadn’t found enough customers to justify the investment. The overall impact on AMD, GF’s major customer, was apparently negligible — plans were already in the works to bring Epyc and Ryzen up on 7nm. But GlobalFoundries major justification for canceling 7nm was that there simply weren’t enough customers to go around. At the time, we asked whether we might see companies like AMD being squeezed into smaller ramps than they might like due to these issues. Now, it looks like TSMC may have the opposite problem.
A report from DigiTimes claims that TSMC will only be operating at 80-90 percent of its 7nm capacity in 2019. Supposedly Apple, HiSilicon, and Qualcomm have all cut their orders for the first half of the year. It’s not entirely clear why this would be the case. The total smartphone market grew 1.4 percent in Q3 2018 — not much, to be sure, but hardly a catastrophic downturn. That small growth, Samsung’s market share fell sharply, from 22.3 percent to 18.9 percent, while Huawei grew from 9.5 percent to 13.4 percent. HiSilicon is a Huawei subsidiary and uses TSMC for its manufacturing. Qualcomm is rumored to be using TSMC for 7nm, though it’s not clear if they’re single-sourcing with the Taiwanese foundry or using both Samsung and TSMC.
Given that we don’t know if any of TSMC’s other foundry customers are squeezed for volume, we don’t really know if this report will impact their product timelines. In theory, having limited production volume could delay a launch by forcing a manufacturer to wait longer to build a supply of inventory, so larger allocation could be helpful. The best-case scenario is that the PC-centric companies that are or might be planning 7nm launches could bring those launches forward to take advantage of the capacity increase. That’s a complex thing to plan, however, and so we wouldn’t jump to that conclusion.
Continue reading
Report: Intel Will Outsource Core i3 Production to TSMC’s 5nm Node
This would be the first time the chip giant has built one of its Core CPUs on a different company's process node. It's not an exaggeration to call this a pivotal moment in Intel's history.
AMD May Soon Become TSMC’s Second-Largest Customer by Revenue
AMD is set to become TSMC's second-largest customer by revenue in 2021, thanks to the trifecta of pandemic-related demand, a highly competitive roadmap, and currently manufacturing chips for every gaming device people want that isn't a Switch.
Everybody Wants a Piece of TSMC’s 3nm Process Node
A lot of rumors are swirling around TSMC's 3nm node right now, including claims that Intel may be the foundry's launch partner when the new node debuts next year.
AMD Might Have to Wait Behind Intel and Apple for TSMC’s 3nm Wafers
AMD might find itself waiting in line behind its biggest rival when it comes to TSMC's most advanced node.