Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) plans to launch its first artificial intelligence (AI) chips used in edge devices, cars and consumer electronics next year amid rising competition from Chinese peers, the maker of memory chips and power management chips said yesterday.
Chinese chipmakers are refocusing on less-advanced technologies due to the US government’s export curbs on advanced equipment, material and technology, Powerchip chairman Frank Huang (黃崇仁) told reporters during the Semicon Taiwan trade fair in Taipei.
“Taiwanese chipmakers have to be innovative if they want to compete with Chinese firms, which are good at price competition,” Huang said. “For Powerchip, we are planning to upgrade most of our capacity to AI and new types of memory chips, or power management chips from 2025.”
Photo: AFP
The company plans to release its new “AI computer” chips next year, made on 28-nanometer technology, Huang said, adding that the chips are different from the pricey products developed by Nvidia Corp for data centers.
“Our AI chips will be affordable and can be used in a wide range of products including edge devices and consumer electronics,” Huang said.
Taiwanese chipmakers should think about how to produce “low-cost AI chips” for average cars, in addition to chips for luxurious vehicles, he said.
Photo: CNA
The company plans to scale back display drive integrated circuit (DDIC) production to avoid direct competition with Chinese chipmakers including Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (中芯), China’s biggest chipmaker, Huang said.
Chinese chipmakers are allocating advanced chip-manufacturing capacity for the production of less advanced chips such as DDICs in the wake of US semiconductor bans, he said.
Chinese firms also have the upper hand in segments that require standardization or mature technologies, given China’s large-scale domestic market, their deep pockets and aggressive pricing strategy, he said.
Huang, who doubles as chairman of the Taiwan Advanced Automotive Technology Development Association, also pointed out the importance of enhancing Taiwan’s competitive edge in automotive electronics.“
“AI is definitely the future of the car industry. We believe Taiwan owns the core technologies to supply components for AI applications,” Huang said.
National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) agreed, saying at the forum that Taiwanese chipmakers play a crucial role in global auto electrification given their strong capabilities, not to mention the massive business opportunity it could provide.
Revenue of automotive semiconductors would expand to US$250 billion next year, replacing wireless communication semiconductors as the biggest semiconductor segment, Kung said, citing KPMG’s projection.
A car would be equipped with more than 2,000 chips in the future, whereas current models have about 200 to 300 chips, he said, referring to a forecast by the Automotive Research and Testing Center.
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