Round-up

Highlights

1. Samsung’s 56 % profit plunge underscores how U.S. AI-chip export curbs and a slow HBM ramp can batter even the biggest memory player.¹
2. IBM unveils Power11—its first new Power CPU since 2020—promising <1 min ransomware detection and zero planned downtime for AI inference workloads.²
3. PwC warns 32 % of global chip output could be hit by copper-supply droughts by 2035, quadrupling today’s risk level.³

Other developments

• Global chip sales jumped 27 % YoY in May, the best print since 2022⁴
• GlobalFoundries to acquire CPU pioneer MIPS, betting on edge AI IP⁵
• Asian capitals scramble to cut side-deals with Washington before Trump’s Aug 1 tariff cliff⁶
• Taiwan’s record $154 bn Q2 exports intensify U.S. trade-gap scrutiny⁷
• Tesla reportedly pauses Optimus humanoid robot production amid actuator bottlenecks⁸
• Baidu and Car Inc launch self-driving rentals—another outlet for volume AI SoCs⁹
• Spot DRAM prices slid again on 7 July, DDR5-4800 down another 0.3 %¹⁰
• Hackaday demo: a 160-core RISC-V M.2 co-processor under $50 BOM¹¹

Did you know? A single advanced processor contains billions of copper wires—PwC notes there is still no cost-effective alternative to copper for those interconnects.³

In-depth

1. Government & Corporate Policy

• Asia–U.S. tariff sprint

  • Seoul, Tokyo and Hanoi are drafting side accords before the Aug 1 tariff schedule takes effect.⁶
  • Officials say concessions on non-tariff barriers are being fast-tracked to shield semiconductor exports.

• Taiwan surplus under the microscope

  • Q2 exports hit a record $154 bn; first-half surplus with the U.S. now tops that with China + Hong Kong.⁷
  • Economists warn the surge could trigger currency-manipulation probes during election season.

• U.S. controls bite Samsung

  • Samsung blamed the 56 % earnings drop partly on AI-GPU curbs to China, calling out an “inventory write-down” of unsold HBM.²¹²
  • Analysts say the firm must accelerate 12-high HBM3E to close its gap with SK Hynix.

• Critical-minerals risk flagged

  • PwC projects drought could disrupt 42-58 % of copper supply by 2050—no region is spared.³

2. Economics, Finance & Business Outlook

• Samsung Q2 warning

  • Operating profit guidance: ₩4.6 tn vs ₩10.4 tn last year.¹
  • Share buy-back of ₩3.9 tn softens the blow.¹²

• Market rebound in volumes

  • SIA data show May global sales at $59 bn, +27 % YoY—Americas led at +45 %. GF, Wolfspeed cited upbeat demand.⁴

• GF buys MIPS

  • Deal (undisclosed price) folds 64-bit RISC-V CPU IP into GF’s FD-SOI roadmap for edge inference.⁵
  • MIPS CEO says the fab link cuts time-to-silicon for automotive Tier-1s.¹²

• Spot DRAM softens

  • TrendForce’s July 8 read shows DDR5-4800 spot averaging $6.08, down 0.26 % day-on-day—an early signal that oversupply persists despite AI hype.¹⁰

3. Technology & R&D

• IBM Power11 platform

  • 2× performance-per-watt vs Power10 and built-in inference accelerators; general availability July 25.²¹³
  • Systems auto-patch firmware without downtime and isolate ransomware within 60 s.

• Humanoid reboot-check

  • Tesla’s Optimus pause highlights actuator efficiency and battery density as the gating factors for humanoid robots.⁸

• Edge AI gains a fab

  • GF–MIPS tie-up enables licensees to tape-out RISC-V edge SoCs directly on 22 FDX and 12 LP+, cutting NRE by ~30 %. ¹²

• RISC-V everywhere

  • Hobbyists pushed a 160-core CH32V003 cluster onto a single M.2 card—proof of how cheap parallel compute has become.¹¹

• Autonomy meets Apollo

  • Baidu’s Apollo robo-taxis enter a rental fleet via Car Inc, expanding real-world mileage data for its compute stack.⁹

Footnotes