01

Company Trend（April 30）

Samsung’s profit slumps due to export control!

On April 30, Samsung Electronics released its Q1 financial report, showing a significant decline in its chip business profits. According to the financial report，Samsung Electronics reported gross revenue of 79.14 trillion won (about RMB404.4bn) in Q1 2025, but its device solution (DS) department, which is responsible for the chip business, reported operating profit of only 1.1 trillion won, down 42% YoY, and down 62.1% QoQ.

Samsung Electronics said that such profit drop in chip business was mainly due to the significant impact of US export controls on its high-end chip sales. In particular, the drop in sales of HBM and the wait-and-see attitude of customers toward the upcoming enhanced HBM3E led to delays in orders. In addition, the decrease in the average price of chips has also narrowed profit margins.

Export controls led to a decline in high-end chip sales, which directly affects the short-term profit of Samsungs chip business. Although Samsungs overall revenue hit a new high, the drop in its profit of chip business had a significant negative impact on its overall financial performance. In faced with the trade uncertainties posed by export controls, Samsung may accelerate technological innovation and reduce dependence on external markets. At the same time, Samsung is actively developing and producing the new generation of HBM3E to meet future market demands.

Comments: Export controls have forced Samsung and other companies to reassess their global supply chain landscape. Samsung plans to shift some of its production lines from Vietnam to India to reduce tariff pressures by the US. The US export controls not only affect the business of Samsung and other companies but also increase global trade tensions. Such unilateralism may trigger countermeasures by other countries and further disrupt the global semiconductor industry chain. The availability of some high-end chips is limited in market, which may urge other players to invest more in R&D and compete for market share. At the same time, the rise of Chinese chipmakers in the field of storage chips has also put a competitive pressure on Samsung Electronics. In addition, export controls limit the cross-border flow of technology and hinder cooperation and innovation in the global semiconductor industry. This may not only harm technological progress but also have a negative impact on the recovery of the global economy.

02

Company Trend（May 7）

TSMC requires cutting raw wafer prices by 30%!

According to news on May 7, TSMC has recently required its suppliers to submit cost cutting plans to address the pressure due to the sharp appreciation of the New Taiwan Dollar (TWD). According to industry sources, TSMC originally planned to require its suppliers to reduce the price of raw wafers by at least 30% by 2026, but as the exchange rate of TWD against USD rose by more than 10% in just 30 trading days, TSMC accelerated the process and required several suppliers to submit new quotes in advance in May 2025.

The sharp appreciation of TWD has had a significant impact on TSMCs financial position. According to Market analysis, if TDW appreciates by 1%, TSMCs operating profit ratio may drop by 0.4%. TSMCs consolidated operating revenue over Q2 2025 is expected to reach the range from US$28.4bn to US$29.2bn, with gross margin ranging from 57% to 59% and operating profit margin ranging from 47% to 49% based on the exchange rate of NTD32.5 to the USD. As a result, the continued appreciation of TWD imposed significant pressure on TSMCs operations in Q2.

However, according to the official statement of TSMC, it has not revised performance prospect for Q2 2025, but it will continuously pay attention to the fluctuation of exchange rate prudently.

Comments: TSMC, as the global largest semiconductor foundry company, relies highly on cost control to improve its profitability. TSMC tries to relieve the cost pressure brought by the appreciation of TWD through requiring its suppliers to cut price to maintain its gross profit and operating profit. Against the background of fierce competition in the global semiconductor market, TSMC needs to maintain its price competitiveness by reducing production costs. This will help TSMC maintain its market share when competing with its rivals.

For suppliers of raw wafers, TSMC’s requiring cost cut by 30% is undoubtedly a great challenge. This can significantly reduce its suppliers’ profit margin and even affect their production operations and R&D investments. Wafer suppliers need to address price reduction requirement of TSMC by optimizing production processes, reducing production costs, and increasing productivity. In addition, they may seek to work with other customers to spread the risk.

03

Policy Trend（May 8）

Trump to rescind Biden-era AI chip export curbs

According to Reuters and other media, President Donald Trumps administration plans to rescind and modify The Export Control Framework for Artificial Intelligence Diffusion issued by the Biden administration. The Framework was issued by the administration of President Joe Biden in January 2025 and was scheduled to take effect on May 15. It imposes three levels of export controls on AI technology exported globally. The Biden rule divided the world into three tiers: more than 10 countries and regions could receive unlimited chips. Some 120 other countries in the second tier were subject to caps on the number of chips they could purchase. In the third tier, countries of concern were blocked from high-end AI chips.

The Trump administration thinks that the framework is "too complex and bureaucratic to block US innovation," and plans to replace it with much simpler rules to unlock US innovation potential and ensure US dominance in AI. After the news came out, the stock prices of many tech companies in the US rose sharply, with Nvidia’s closing stock price up 3.1% and Oracle‘s up 1.13%. However, the details of the Trump administrations new rule are not disclosed, and their final orientation remains uncertain.

Comments: The lifting of the AI chip export ban will help ease the market pressure of US semiconductor companies. The rising of the stock prices of Nvidia and other companies shows the positive reaction of the market to this policy adjustment. However, despite the lifting of the ban, the US still needs to keep balance between national security and industrial competitiveness. Excessive export restrictions may undermine US companies’ global market share while the full lifting of the ban could raise security concerns.

This policy adjustment may change the competition landscape of the global semiconductor market. Previously restricted countries like India and Malaysia may face new market opportunities while countries like China may face some pressure in the short term, but this will further stimulate their R&D momentum in the long term. This decision by the Trump administration may raise concerns and countermeasures by other countries, resulting in increased competition in the global semiconductor market. In addition, US intends to include chip export controls in trade negotiations, which could also increase the complexity of international relations.

04

Company Trend（May 04）

Intel announces 18A process node has entered risk production and mass production within the year

At its Vision 2025 conference on May 4, Intel announced that it has entered risk production of its 18A process node and will start mass production by the end of 2025. This progress marks an important breakthrough in Intels advanced process technology, with its 18A process node supported by PowerVia backside power delivery，transistor density up 20%, and performance up 10% to 15%, compared with its previous generation process node, which mainly face high-end markets of AI chips, HPC, and ADCU.

In addition, Intel also released 18A-P and 18A-PT as updated versions of 18A. The early pilot wafers for 18A-P have been produced and are compatible with the 18A design rules, bringing superior performance to a wider range of foundry customers. 18A-PT has been improved based on this and can be bonded with top chip using Foveros Direct 3D advanced packaging technology.

Intels strategy is not only designed to improve its competitiveness in the advanced process field but also hopes to further expand its foundry service market by cooperating with top customers such as Nvidia, Broadcom, Smartgen and others. Among them, Nividia plans to develop next-gen AI accelerator based on 18A process. In addition, Intel has entered into a large-scale semiconductor foundry contract with Microsoft, and discussions are ongoing with Google.

Comments:The mass production of 18A process node chips will significantly improve Intels competitiveness in the high-end chip market, especially in the fields of AI and high performance computing. Intel is expected to outperform its rivals in terms of performance and energy efficiency using advanced Power Via technology and Foveros Direct 3D packaging technology. Intel is advancing its foundry strategy. By working with multiple top customers, Intel will increase its foundry-service market share and further strengthen its position in the semiconductor industry. Although Intel has invested heavily in advanced process technology (US$90bn since 2021), its foundry business is still facing financial pressure. The success or failure of 18A process node will directly affect Intels financial performance and ROI.

05

Domestic News（May 06）

Cambricon to raise RMB4.98bn via private placement to fund LLM chip platform projects

According to the news of SEMI, Chinese developer of AI chips Cambricon Technologies announced to raise RMB4.98bn through private placement to fund LLM chip project, LLM software platform projects and supplement liquidity.

The LLM chip platform project will be implemented in a period of 3 years, with a total investment of RMB2.9bn, to meet the demand of innovative chips arising from LLM technology evolution; the project plans to make smart processor technical innovation breakthrough for LLM and develop series of chips for different LLM application scenarios, including LLM training chips, LLM reasoning chips, multi-mode reasoning chips and switching chips for LLM; the project is to build an advanced packaging technology platform, which can flexibly and efficiently support the packaging of differentiated products in different scenarios, enhance the adaptability of intelligent computing hardware to the needs of future LLM technology development, fully improve the company’s comprehensive strength in terms of technology and products in complex LLM application scenarios, and improve the company’s competitiveness in the field of smart chip industry in the long run.

The LLM software platform project will be implemented in a period of 3 years, with a total investment of RMB1.6bn. The project is to meet the needs of LLM technology and application development; based on the hardware architecture characteristics, it will make innovative researches including optimization strategies, software algorithms, and software tools to meet the needs in key LLM areas such as high parallelism, high computational efficiency, high storage efficiency, etc. The project will build an LLM software platform, covering three functional modules, namely, flexible compilation system, training platform and the reasoning platform, aimed to improve the usability and adaptability of the companys AI chip and support the full business process from the algorithm development to application deployment of LLM.

06

Domestic News（May 06）

NSIG’s capacity of 300mm silicon wafers ramps to 650,000 units per month

According to the news of SEMI, recently National Silicon Industry Group Co., Ltd. (NSIG) stated on the investor interaction platform that it increased its capacity of silicon wafers to 300,000 units per month at Shanghai Lingang after continued construction. In addition, its Taiyuan pilot line project with capacity 50,000 units per month has entered into the customer certification phase. Therefore, the company’s total capacity of silicon wafers has increased to 650,000 units per month. In 2024, the companys shipment of 300 mm silicon wafers rose by more than 70% YoY.

At the same time, the company has constantly made breakthroughs in product development and product certification and made great progress in developing silicon wafers with ultra-low oxygen, high resistance, low defect and ultra-low resistance. At the client side, the company has developed more than 150 new products, of which more than 60 types of products have been mass produced.

In addition, 300mm high-end silicon-based material has to go through a long process from R&D, pilot production to mass production. Now it has carried out product certification in the high voltage, silicon photovoltaic applications and other fields and obtained the initial recognition of clients. In the future, these products will be mass produced gradually.

07

Domestic News（May 07）

Huaxin Micro-Nano’s 8-inch wafer production line project to be completed at the end of June

According to the report of the official WeChat account of “Huishang Magazine” Anhui Huaxin Micro-Nano Integrated Circuit Co., Ltd. (Huaxin Micro-Nano) has unveiled new progress recently in its 8-inch MEMS wafer production line project with a total investment of RMB5.06bn. The project is currently in the process of process connection and is expected to be completed at the end of June.

According to public information, the 8-inch MEMS wafer production line is invested and built by Anhui Huaxin Micro-Nano Integrated Circuit Co., Ltd. (Huaxin Micro-Nano). With a total investment of the project is RMB5.06bn, the project covers a land area of 154mu (102,666.67 sq meters) and its total construction area is 87,000 sq meters. After being completed, the monthly production capacity of the project will reach 30,000 units and is expected to become domestic largest MEMS wafer production line and the first 8-inch piezo MEMS production line in China.

Huaxin Micro-Nano’s 8-inch wafer production line project mainly focuses on the production and development of chips for industrial, agricultural, and medical automobile electronic devices and sensors for aerospace and other fields. At present, the project has completed the installation and testing of all equipment and it is expected to be officially put into operation at the end of June this year.