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2. In the next three years, equipment expenses for 300mm wafer fabs will continue to grow
According to the latest report released by SEMI in June, after a decline in 2023, global expenditure on 300mm wafer fab equipment for front-end facilities is expected to continue to grow next year, reaching a historic high of $119 billion by 2026. The strong demand for High-performance computing, automotive applications and the improvement of memory demand will drive the equipment investment expenditure to double digits in the next three years. SEMI stated that after an expected decrease of 18% to $74 billion this year, global equipment expenditure for 300mm wafer fabs is expected to increase by 12% to $82 billion in 2024, by 24% to $101.9 billion in 2025, and by 17% to $118.8 billion in 2026. SEMI President and CEO Ajit Manocha said, "The expected wave of equipment expenditure growth highlights strong long-term demand for semiconductors, Next is memory, reaching $42.9 billion, an increase of 170% compared to 2023. The simulated expenditure is expected to increase from $5 billion this year to $6.2 billion in 2026. Spending on microprocessors/microcontrollers, discrete devices (mainly power devices), and optoelectronics is expected to decline in 2026, while investment in logic is expected to increase.
3. Qualcomm and MediaTek reduce wafer production and chip prices
According to industry sources, the sluggish sales of domestic mobile phones during the 618 Shopping Festival prompted Qualcomm and MediaTek to reduce the operating rate of wafer foundries and lower chip prices. Sources estimate that MediaTek and Qualcomm will not be able to resume normal wafer production levels until 2024. In terms of pricing, there was news at the end of last year that Qualcomm may lower the prices of mid range and entry-level Snapdragon phone processors, including the 400 and 600 series, in 2023. The short-term purpose of this price reduction is most likely to be to reduce inventory, but industry insiders are concerned that this may be the beginning of a price war between mid range and entry-level SoC phones. In February of this year, supply chain news spread that MediaTek is expected to reduce the price of 5G entry-level chips to below $20 in the second half of this year, approaching the price of 4G chips.
4. ROHM collaborates with Vitesco to target electric vehicle SiC chips
On June 21, 2023, ROHM Semiconductor announced the establishment of a long-term silicon carbide (SiC) supply partnership with Vitesco Technologies from 2024 to 2030, worth over $1 billion. The development partnership between the two companies began in 2020, laying the foundation for the supply partnership. Two customers will adopt advanced inverters with Vitesco integrated ROHM SiC chips for use in electric vehicle power systems. Vitesco will start supplying the first series of projects as early as 2024.
5. Intel Expands on a Large Scale, Building Semiconductor Factories
In June 2023, it was announced that Intel will build a wafer factory in eastern Germany, which is expected to cost 30 billion euros. Like most projects that will receive government funding through the EU chip bill, Intel estimates that its wafer fabs will receive about 40% of the subsidy. The company announced on the 16th that it will invest an additional $4.6 billion to build a semiconductor packaging and testing factory in western Poland; Meanwhile, on the 21st, it was announced that it will invest another $25 billion to build a new factory in Israel, and the Kiryat Gate factory will open in 2027.
6. Micron will establish a chip packaging and testing factory in India
On June 23, 2023, Micron Technology said on the 22nd that it would invest $825 million to build a new chip packaging and testing factory in Gujarat, India, which would be the company's first factory in India. Meguiar Light said that with the support of the central government of India and Gujarat, the total investment of the factory will reach 2.75 billion US dollars. Among them, 50% came from the central government of India and 20% from Gujarat. Micron said that the construction of new facilities in Gujarat is expected to start in 2023, and the first phase will be put into operation by the end of 2024. The second phase is expected to begin after 2025.
7. Foxconn and Stellantis form an automotive semiconductor joint venture
Electronics manufacturer Foxconn and Dutch automaker Stellantis have announced the establishment of an automotive semiconductor joint venture to more effectively meet the growing demand for future cars. According to Foxconn's statement, the group announced the establishment of SiliconAuto, which will serve as a 50% joint venture between Stallantis and Foxconn to design and sell semiconductors for the automotive industry. The headquarters of SiliconAuto will be located in the Netherlands and will begin operations in 2026. This joint venture is a product of the December 2021 development of the automotive semiconductor agreement, which will provide semiconductors to Stellantis, Foxconn, and other customers. The establishment of Silicon Auto follows the similar initiatives of FIH and Stellantis, namely, the establishment of MobileDrive to develop an intelligent cockpit supported by Consumer electronics, human-computer interface and services.
8. MediaTek and Broadcom Compete for the Second Generation WiFi 7 Chip
Broadcom is introducing its second generation chip to early users, while MediaTek will launch its second generation WiFi 7 device next quarter. MediaTek expects the shipment volume of WiFi 7 to rapidly increase from 1% this year to 15% in 2024 and 25% in 2025. The company intends to accelerate the launch of this generation of equipment. With WiFi 7, our management team has a strong direction to stay at the forefront of the market. Stephane Renaud, Director of Technical Marketing for Broadband Products in Europe at MediaTek, said, "We released our first product last year and have already adopted OEM design." In discussions with original equipment manufacturers and operators, we expect to be adopted soon, and 75% of operators have already launched their respective WiFi 7 plans The certification plan for WiFi 7 will be launched by the end of 2023.
9. Cisco releases new AI network chips
Recently, Cisco officially launched a network chip for AI supercomputers, which will compete head-on with products from Broadcom and Marvell. The new chip belongs to the Cisco SiliconOne series, and five of the six major cloud computing providers are already testing chips, but Cisco did not provide a specific name for the enterprise. In the US market, AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud are the rulers of cloud computing.