Science and Tech

Huawei is supposedly banned from using TSMC chips: finding suggests it has circumvented US restrictions

Huawei P2

Huawei was one of the first companies affected by the trade war between the United States and China. In August 2020, the Shenzhen-based firm was hit by export controls of the Department of Commerce, a measure has since prevented it from doing certain businesses with companies that use American technology, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).

However, the reality could have been somewhat different. Reuters points out That a not publicly disclosed report from TechInsights suggests that Huawei is still using chips made by TSMC. The aforementioned research team dismantled an Ascend 910B artificial intelligence (AI) accelerator card, a product that attempts to compete with the NVIDIA A100, and discovered at least one component coming from the Taiwanese company.

The Ascend 910B should not have TSMC chips

When we talk about the Ascend 910B we are referring to the most powerful AI accelerator offered by a Chinese company. Huawei, like other industry players, does not have the capacity to manufacture its own chips, so it turns to external partners for what is known as contract manufacturing. TSMC, in fact, was one of Huawei’s partners, but this link ceased to exist with US restrictions.

The Commerce Department has said it is “aware of reports alleging possible violations of U.S. export controls,” but has not said it has launched an investigation. The Information, however, ensures that Yes, there is an ongoing investigation and there are many unanswered questions, for example, how and when Huawei would have obtained the apparently recently used TSMC chips.


Huawei P2

Huawei headquarters in Shenzhen

TSMC has not been slow to offer its perspective on the events. The firm says that it has always respected current legislation. They add that they have not supplied chips to Huawei since September 2020 and that they proactively contacted the Department of Commerce when the report came to light. Taiwan’s government, for its part, has said it has its own measures to ensure its companies comply with export controls.

As we say, there are numerous doubts about the TechInsights finding. Huawei used TSMC chips made on a 5-nanometer process in a previous product called the Ascend 910. The Chinese company stockpiled enough chips before U.S. restrictions took effect. Since then it has strengthened its alliance with local partner Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC).

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But SMIC’s lithographic processes are less advanced than TSMC’s. The Chinese company had managed to manufacture chips 7 nanometers using ASML’s Twinscan NXT:2000i UVP lithography equipment, and earlier this year it was preparing to manufacture 5-nanometer chips. A notable leap that would allow the Asian giant to recover part of the ground lost in recent years in terms of semiconductors.

Images | Huawei | 李季霖 (CC BY-SA 2.0) | Wikimedia Commons

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