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Commentary / Analysis

• Imagination Commits to Keeping U.K. HQ - For Now (Tuesday Apr. 21, 2020)
  The Imagination Technologies saga continues: the question of will they stay in the U.K. or will they be moved to China is resolved for now.
  
  
• 5G and HPC Drive 45% Q1 Revenue Growth at TSMC (Monday Apr. 20, 2020)
  TSMC this week reported 45.2% revenue growth for Q1 2020 compared to the same period last year, driven by 5G and high-performance computing (HPC) products.
  
  
• Gartner Says Worldwide Semiconductor Revenue Declined 12% in 2019 (Wednesday Apr. 15, 2020)
  Intel Reclaimed Top Spot in Global Semiconductor Market; Samsung Moved to No. 2
  
  
• Gradual Rebound or Slight Dip - Two Scenarios for COVID-19 Impact to 2020 Global Silicon Wafer Market Sales (Tuesday Apr. 14, 2020)
  Global silicon wafer market sales could dip if uncertainty surrounding the impact of COVID-19 to the semiconductor industry persists or climb on the strength of rebounding chip sales, SEMI said today in new quarterly report that lays out two wafer market scenarios for the second half of 2020.
  
  
• Does China Have Imagination? (Tuesday Apr. 14, 2020)
  There’s a corporate boardroom drama unfolding at Imagination Technologies (Kings Langley, the U.K.) that features high finance, international intrigue, and an all-star cast.
  
  
• Imagination Drops CEO, What Next? (Tuesday Apr. 14, 2020)
  When a CEO is abruptly removed from his position at the helm of a leading intellectual property (IP) company owned by Chinese investors, it certainly begs the questions, what next?
  
  
• Softbank Vision Fund loses $16.7bn of its value (Tuesday Apr. 14, 2020)
  The value of Softbank’s Vision Fund has fallen by $16.7 billion.
  
  
• 2019 Global Semiconductor Equipment Sales Slip 7 Percent to $59.8 Billion, SEMI Reports (Tuesday Apr. 14, 2020)
  Semiconductor equipment manufacturers worldwide logged sales of $59.8 billion in 2019, a 7 percent drop from the all-time high of $64.5 billion in 2018, SEMI reported today.
  
  
• Global IC Market Forecast Lowered From 3% to -4% (Friday Apr. 10, 2020)
  When 2020 started, global economic conditions pointed to single-digit percentage sales growth in the IC market after it fell by 15% in 2019
  
  
• Two Months in Hubei, Quarantined Away from Home (Thursday Apr. 09, 2020)
  After 64 days in Yichang, Hubei, I finally got the good news: I could return home to Shenzhen!
  
  
• COVID-19: Economic and Microelectronics Industry Impacts - Insights from McKinsey & Company (Thursday Apr. 09, 2020)
  For five days in the latter half of March, the pall of the heavy human and economic toll COVID-19 has exacted in China appeared to be lifting. The epicenter of Wuhan reported no new coronavirus infections through domestic transmission. And in an initial step to loosen its nationwide lockdown, China began reversing restrictions on travel within its borders.
  
  
• Gartner Forecasts Worldwide Semiconductor Revenue to Decline 0.9% in 2020 Due to Coronavirus Impact (Thursday Apr. 09, 2020)
  Due to the impact of the coronavirus on semiconductor supply and demand, worldwide semiconductor revenue is forecast to decline 0.9% in 2020, according to Gartner, Inc. This is down from the previous quarter’s forecast of 12.5% growth.
  
  
• Welcome to the Third Era of 32/64-bit Embedded CPUs (Wednesday Apr. 08, 2020)
  The first two eras of 32/64-bit embedded processors were defined by proprietary architectures. The third won’t be.
  
  
• Imagination Tech's Fate Hangs as Chinese Investors Assert Rights (Tuesday Apr. 07, 2020)
  Speculation is rife about the future of Imagination Technologies, after weekend reports suggesting that the graphics and communications processor intellectual property (IP) company, headquartered in the U.K. but owned by Chinese investors, was on the brink of being moved to China.
  
  
• Global Semiconductor Sales in February Down 2.4 Percent Month-to-Month (Monday Apr. 06, 2020)
  The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) today announced worldwide sales of semiconductors were $34.5 billion for the month of February 2020, a decrease of 2.4 percent from the January 2020 total of $35.4 billion, but a jump of 5.0 percent compared to the February 2019 total of $32.9 billion.
  
  
• Intel shines amidst the carnage of the 2019 semiconductor market (Wednesday Apr. 01, 2020)
  It was a year when global semiconductor revenue fell by the greatest percentage in at least two decades, when eight of the top-10 chip suppliers suffered revenue declines and when sales fell for every application market and for every global region.
  
  
• Global Semiconductor Materials Market Revenues Slip 1.1 Percent in 2019, SEMI Reports (Tuesday Mar. 31, 2020)
  While worldwide total wafer fabrication materials logged a slight decrease of 0.4 percent, from $33.0 billion to $32.8 billion, wafer fab materials, process chemicals, sputtering targets, and CMP registered declines of more than 2 percent year-over-year (YoY). Packaging materials slipped 2.3 percent, from $19.7 billion to $19.2 billion, in 2019.
  
  
• TrendForce Presents Latest Analysis (Updated March 2020) of COVID-19 Pandemic's Impact on Global High-Tech Industries (Monday Mar. 30, 2020)
  As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to accelerate and cause damage to the global economy and consumers’ purchasing power, TrendForce has compiled its latest report on the statuses of key electronics component and downstream industries, with data last updated on March 26, 2020.
  
  
• 5G Rollout Will Slow as Standards Work is Suspended (Monday Mar. 30, 2020)
  The 5G rollout will grind to a slower pace with a decision by the 3GPP to suspend work on some crucial parts of the specification due to the impact of the novel coronavirus.
  
  
• 100 IC Wafer Fabs Closed or Repurposed Since 2009 (Friday Mar. 27, 2020)
  Over the past decade, the IC industry has been paring down its older capacity as manufacturers have consolidated or transitioned to the fab-lite or fabless business models.
  
  
• ESD Alliance Reports EDA Industry Revenue Increase for Q4 2019 (Wednesday Mar. 25, 2020)
  The Electronic System Design (ESD) Alliance Market Statistics Service (MSS) today announced that the Electronic Design Automation (EDA) industry revenue increased 2.2 percent for Q4 2019 to $2626.3 million, compared to $2570.1 million in Q4 2018.
  
  
• Synopsys above ARM in IP licensing revenue in 2019 (Wednesday Mar. 25, 2020)
  In terms of revenues for up-front technology licensing for semiconductor intellectual property (IP) Synopsys outperformed ARM in 2019, according to figures from market analysis firm IPnest.
  
  
• Stop, Cut or Maintain European Chip Production Amid Covid-19 (Wednesday Mar. 25, 2020)
  
  
  
• India Doesn't Need Its Own Fab (Monday Mar. 23, 2020)
  As a technologist who transitioned from telecom-system R&D to IC design in the mid-1990s, I have witnessed nearly the entire evolution of the IC design industry in India from its beginning to its present form. So what are my main observations?
  
  
• Foundry Revenue Estimated to Grow by 30% YoY in 1Q20, while COVID-19 Pandemic May Hinder Future Market Demand, Says TrendForce (Monday Mar. 23, 2020)
  The latest investigations by TrendForce show that the foundry industry benefitted from the previous quarter’s order fulfillment and client stock-up demands, with overall projected revenue undergoing a slight 2% dip QoQ but about 30% growth YoY in 1Q20 due to the comparatively lower 1Q19 base period.
  
  
• Global Top 10 IC Designers' 2019 Revenues Drop by 4.1% YoY, as Industry Growth to Face Challenges from COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020, Says TrendForce (Monday Mar. 23, 2020)
  Under the combined influence of the U.S. Entity List and the COVID-19 pandemic, the IC design industry is unlikely to return to growth in 2020.
  
  
• Intel Scales Neuromorphic Computer to 100 Million Neurons (Monday Mar. 23, 2020)
  Intel has scaled up its neuromorphic computing system by integrating 768 of its Loihi chips into a 5 rack-unit system called Pohoiki Springs.
  
  
• COVID-19 To Have Significant Effect on Worldwide Semiconductor Market in 2020, According to IDC (Thursday Mar. 19, 2020)
  IDC report analyzes range of critical factors that will affect the semiconductor market this year and presents most likely scenario to help clients navigate this emergency
  
  
• Data Demands Drive Co-Packaged Silicon and Optics for Switch Fabrics (Thursday Mar. 19, 2020)
  
  
  
• SMIC Graduating from 14nm to Something Sort of Akin to 7nm (Tuesday Mar. 17, 2020)
  Published reports that SMIC is preparing a 7-nanometer production process are incorrect. The error is understandable, however, as it is based on favorable comparisons SMIC has been making between its newest process technology (called N+1) and rivals’ 7nm processes.