Company Trend( Mar. 14)

The most powerful AI chip launched, with 4 trillion transistors, 900,000 cores, and 125 PetaFLOPS

On March 14, Cerebras Systemschip, a start-up company, launched its new Wafer Scale Engine 3 and doubled the existing world record of the fastest AI chip. It is reported that at the same power consumption and the same price, the performance of WSE-3 is twice that of the previous record holder Cerebras WSE- 2. The 5nm-based, 4 trillion- transistor WSE-3, built for training the industry’s largest AI models, powers the Cerebras CS-3 AI supercomputer, delivering 125 petaflops of peak AI performance through 900,000 AI optimized compute cores. It is worth mentioning that when Cerebras mentions memory, they refer to more about SRAM other than external HBM3E or DDR5. Memory is distributed with the cores to keep data and calculation as close as possible. To show the scale of the new chip, Cerebras also compared it to Nvidias H100. This amazing chip is equivalent to about 62 pieces of H100 GPUs.

Comments:

Undoubtedly, Cerebras Systems Wafer Scale Engine 3 (WSE-3) is an epoch-making breakthrough. First, the scale of its 4 trillion transistors is really staggering, fully showing that the current high levels of IC design and manufacturing. Integrating so many transistors in such a small chip is not only a challenge to process technology but also a test of design optimization and yield control.

Second, the performance of the WSE-3 is very impressive. At the same power consumption and the same price, the performance of WSE-3 is twice as high as its predecessor WSE-2, which clearly shows that the design team has made a major breakthrough in architectural optimization, algorithm improvement, and power consumption management. Such performance improvement is critical to compute-intensive tasks such as AI training, greatly reducing training time and improving the quality of models.

In addition, the memory design of WSE-3 is very unique. Cerebras chose SRAM as the main memory type instead of the common external HBM3E or DDR5. This design allows the data and computing units to be arranged as close as possible, thus reducing the latency and power consumption of data transmission. This is critical to improving the overall performance and energy efficiency.

Finally, Cerebras compared WSE-3 to Nvidias H100, which further highlighted its advantages in performance. In terms of performance, a WSE-3 is equivalent to about 62 H100s, showing the extraordinary technical strength of Cerebras.

However, we should also note that the production cost of WSE-3 may be very high despite its breakthrough in performance. In addition, as IC technology continues to evolve, how to ensure the yield and reliability of the products is another issue of concern.

Overall, Cerebras Systems Wafer Scale Engine 3 is an impressive chip with a very high level of performance, design and manufacturing. The launch of this chip marks a major breakthrough in the field of AI and is expected to generate more significant progress in the application of AI in various fields.

Industry Trend(March 11)

Break news! Injunction made to prohibit former SK Hynix employee from joining Micron

According to the Korean media report on March 11, in order to protect the confidentiality of the Korean semiconductor industry, a Korean court recently approved an SK hynix non-compete injunction to prohibit a former SK hynix employee engaged in DRAM and HBM to join its competitor Micron!

According to an insider, a court in Seoul approved an injunction filed by SK hynix last month to prohibit its former employee from joining Micron to work for it before July 26. The former SK hynix employee had to pay a daily fine of KRW 10mn for each day of violation of non-compete clause. Since 2015, he had signed a non-compete agreement every year, which included clauses prohibiting employment with competitors, and also pledged not to disclose trade secrets before leaving the company.

The court in Soul said the researcher had enough information and technical skills to help Micron potentially bolster its competitiveness in the HBM industry. To protect SK hynixs interests in the HBM industry, this injunction prohibits the employee from joining Micron.

SK hynix is the front runner in the market with the fourth-generation HBM3 chips, followed by Samsung Electronics and Micron. A recent report showed that SK hynix claimed a market share of 53% last year, with Samsung Electronics at 38% and Micron at 9%.

However, as Micron announced the commencement of mass production of fifth-generation HBM3E chips last month faster than its competitors, the competition for the advanced AI chips has been intensifying even more. Samsung Electronics also said it has developed the fifth-generation HBM chips with 12 layers of DRAM chips. SK hynix is set to start mass production of its latest HBM3E products within the H1 this year.

Comments:

South Korea’s leading semiconductor companies including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, have recently faced with technology thefts frequently, especially through poaching talents. In this era, semiconductor technology plays a crucial role in keeping a dominant position, so there are increasing attempts to recruit professionals and steal advanced technology from Korean companies. Recently, SK hynix was hit by a technology leak, and a former engineer responsible for designing DRAM and HBM chips violated a non-compete agreement after retiring and joined Micron, a US chip manufacturer. SK hynix filed a lawsuit against this employee. After the trial, the court ruled that the former employee should not work for Micron within a certain period of time and otherwise he should pay a heavy penalty.

This lawsuit highlights the severity of the technical leakage. In the highly competitive HBM market, poaching professionals from competitors can be an effective way to quickly narrow the technology gap, but it may undermine the interests of former employers and may also have a negative impact on the technological development of the industry as a whole. The Korean government is working with companies to strengthen manpower management, prevent leakage of core technologies, increase penalties and improve the ethical awareness of engineers. At the same time, enterprises should strengthen their security measures, sign stricter non-compete agreements, enhance internal controls, to prevent brain drain and technology leakage.

Industry Trend(March 9)

TSMC’s fabs in USA rumored to receive US$ 5bn government subsidy, much less than Intel

According to sources today, TSMCs fabs in Arizona are expected to receive more than US$ 5bn of federal incentive. The US government is not yet ready to announce this incentive, as it has to be finalized with the worlds largest chip foundry manufacturer, but it seems that the incentive is a huge amount. If the information about TSMCs US$ 5bn incentive is accurate, then it is likely that the reported Intels US$ 10bn incentive is accurate too. Also, it needs to take into account the fact that Intels project in the US is more ambitious and costly than TSMCs.

It is unclear whether TSMC, manufacturing chips for AMD, Apple, Intel, Nvidia and Qualcomm, will receive a grant of US$ 5bn or whether this amount includes grant, loan and/or loan guarantee. In addition, it is not clear whether TSMC would use the loan/loan guarantee or invest its own funds to build and expand its facility near Phoenix, Arizona.

Comments:

TSMCs fab project in Arizona is expected to receive more than US$ 5bn federal incentive, although this amount is smaller than Intels. However, considering the size and complexity of TSMCs project and its leading position in the global semiconductor foundry market, the incentive remains attractive.

TSMCs investment plan reflects its strategic considerations in diversifying its geographical footprints and adapting to the trend of localized semiconductor manufacturing. By building wafer fabs in the US, TSMC can not only expand its capacity and market share, but also provide better services for its customers in North America, thus improving its competitiveness in the global market. However, TSMCs fab project in Arizona also faces some challenges. According to report, the shortage of skilled workers in the state delayed the installation of some equipment in the fabs, which in turn affected the starting time of production. In addition, the installation of equipment for Fab 21 phase II was delayed due to lack of government subsidies and uncertainty about demand, resulting in further delays in production time.

Overall, TSMCs investment plan in the US is an action of strategic significance, which faces some challenges in the short run but will help to enhance its competitiveness and position in the global semiconductor market in the long run. At the same time, the support from the government will also help promote the continued development and innovation of the semiconductor industry as a whole.

Industry Trend(March 12)

Samsung all in glass substrates

With the continuous progress in technology, the semiconductor industry is facing unprecedented development opportunities. In this highly competitive field, Samsung Electronics is assembled an R&D coalition to accelerate the commercialization of glass substrates, a material for semiconductor packaging, racing to win the competition in semiconductor technology.

It is learned that major subsidiaries of the Samsung Group, including Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Samsung Electronics, and Samsung Display, have begun joint R&D of glass substrates. This strategic initiative of Samsung aims to commercialize glass substrates earlier than Intel, a competitor starting developing glass substrates a decade ago. According to insiders’ information on March 12, Samsung Electro-Mechanics has started to work closely with these electronic component subsidiaries to advance the R&D of glass substrates.

In the process of the joint development, Samsung Electronics is expected to contribute its know-how on integrating semiconductors with substrates. Samsung Electronics, a global leading semiconductor company, has extensive experience in accumulating and developing semiconductor technology. By applying these technologies to the R&D of glass substrates, the company is expected to achieve a breakthrough in promoting the application of glass substrates in the field of semiconductor packaging. At the same time, Samsung Display will be responsible for glass processing. Samsung Display, the worlds famous manufacturer of displays, has strong strength in terms of glass processing technology. With its advantages in glass processing, Samsung Display will provide strong support for the development and production of glass substrates.

For the joint R&D, Samsung Electronics is expected to speed up the commercialization of glass substrates and bring revolutionary changes to the semiconductor industry. In the future, as glass substrate technology continues to mature and its application scope expands, we have reasons to believe that Samsung Group will achieve more brilliant achievements in the semiconductor field and make more contributions to global scientific and technological progress.

Comments:

Samsung has assembled an R&D coalition of glass substrates, implying that a profound revolution will emerge in the semiconductor industry. The R&D and application of glass substrates, as a potential game changer, have a significant impact on changing the landscape of the AI semiconductor industry. Glass substrate not only provides a larger area to integrate multiple high-performance chips but also is expected to push the semiconductor market competition from the process field to the material field, injecting new momentum into the industry.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics plans to accelerate the R&D of glass substrates by leveraging R&D synergies with the coalition members. According to the plan, it will mass produce glass substrates in 2026, four years ahead of Intels target. This shows that Samsung has a positive attitude and a leading position in terms of semiconductor technology innovation and will bring a profound impact on the future development of the whole industry. With the continuous maturation and application of glass substrate technology, we have reasons to expect a vast development potential of the semiconductor market.

Domestic Trend

Mask aligner moved into Zensemi’s RMB 37bn project (March.11)

On March 11, the 12-inch advanced intelligent sensor and special process wafer production line of Guangzhou Zen Semiconductor Corporation (Zensemi) ushered in its core equipment - mask aligner, marking that its project has entered into a key node, i.e., the commissioning and production preparation stage.

It is learned that Zensemi plans to invest RMB 37bn in the project (phase I). It is expected that after the completion of the first phase (stage I) of the project, it will be capable of producing 240,000 units of 12-inch wafers per year. The products of the project will be mainly used in new energy smart cars, ultra-high definition video display, high-end equipment, 5G, AI, industrial Internet, etc.

According to the general manager of Zensemi, the capacity of the currently introduced mask aligner can reach 260 units/hour, and its capital investment accounts for about 25% of the total investment in the whole plant.

Another advanced packaging project started in Suzhou!(March.10)

The second phase of the project of Suzhou Keyang Semiconductor Technology Co., Ltd. (KYS) began in the Suxiang Cooperation Area. The project will build 36,000-square-meter high standard semiconductor plant, further expand the production capacity of the company, and improve the level of high-end IC packaging.

KYS is a high-tech enterprise specializing in wafer-level packaging and testing services and started to mass production in 2014. At present, it has total assets worth RMB 1.2bn, more than 600 employees and an annual capacity of 3 billion units of wafers. KSY is a core supplier of leading semiconductor companies in China, the main manufacturer of sensors and filters in China, one of the top three solution providers in the field of global advanced packaging of TSV, and also one of the top 20 IC companies in Suzhou. The company is specialized in the R&D of advanced packaging and testing technology with a variety of packaging capabilities. The sensors and 5G filter chips produced by the company can be widely used in automotive electronics, industry, 5G communication and other fields. The company attaches great importance to independent innovation and R&D. To date, it has applied for 195 patents, obtained 34 invention patents and 75 utility model patents, and registered 28 trademarks. Its core products have been included in the list of key new technologies and products promoted by Zhejiang province and the list of core technologies & products of Suzhou.

At present, the company has entered the rapid development stage, and the main production line of its phase I 17,000-square-meter plant is running in full capacity. In order to further meet its development needs, the new project (phase II) built in Suxiang Cooperation Area will be equipped with advanced highly automated semiconductor production and testing equipment to ensure the high efficiency and sustainable development of its production process. The chairman of the company said that the construction of the phase II project will provide a carrier for its development and layout in the coming 5 to 10 years, laying a solid foundation fits sustained growth.

The IC material base of Shanghai Anji Microelectronics starts construction(March.9)

Recently, the opening ceremony of the IC material base of Anji Microelectronics Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. was held in Shanghai Chemical Industry Zone.

The director of the Administrative Committee of Shanghai Chemical Industry Zone said that with the completion of the project, Anji will realize the independent control along the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain, increase the high-end microelectronic material supply capacity of China and its global popularity, and inject vitality and energy into the high-quality development and construction of Shanghai electronic & chemical zone.  

In the context of the current integration of global supply chain, Anji, through active adjustment and improvement of its strategic layout, has realized the development of three major product platforms covering chemical mechanical polishing liquid, functional wet electronic chemicals, electroplating solutions and additives, and focuses on promoting the development of "materials behind materials", to meet the needs from the upstream supply chain.