Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Firm (TSMC) mentioned on Tuesday it has knowledgeable america of a possible try by Huawei to bypass U.S. export controls prohibiting the chipmaker from producing AI chips for the Chinese language firm.
The U.S. authorities restricted the export of high-end AI chips to China two years in the past, citing the necessity to restrict the Chinese language army’s capabilities.
“We aren’t conscious of TSMC being the topic of any investigation right now,” the corporate mentioned in a press release, including that it has not provided to Huawei since mid-September 2020. TSMC’s U.S.-listed shares had been down 1.5%.
A vital component of export controls is a rule prohibiting international chip producers from using U.S. expertise or gear to provide chips supposed for Huawei or its merchandise.
Lately, america has escalated its use of export controls, aiming to thwart Chinese language corporations from acquiring, designing, or manufacturing superior semiconductors.
Huawei, a major goal of those efforts, epitomizes the rising expertise rivalry between Beijing and Washington.
TSMC knowledgeable the U.S. Commerce Division after a buyer positioned orders for a chip just like Huawei’s Ascend 910B, a processor designed for giant language mannequin coaching, a Monetary Instances report mentioned earlier within the day, citing folks conversant in the matter.
The Commerce Division and Huawei didn’t instantly reply to Reuters requests for feedback.
