The Tech week that was.. Jan 31~Feb 4

Welcome to the latest edition of my weekly newsletter bringing you all the key semiconductor and technology news from around the world in one easy read.?

?The top 10 semiconductor buyers increased their chip spending by 25% in 2021 to US$256billion according to the latest report by Gartner.?The top 10 semiconductor buying companies are lead by Apple with 11.7%?market share, followed by Samsung (7.8%) and Lenovo (4.3%).?Overall the top 10 semiconductor buyers accounted for 42% of the overall market.?The report notes that average selling prices (ASPs) of semiconductor chips, such as microcontroller units, general-purpose logic integrated circuits, and a wide variety of application-specific semiconductors, increased by 15% or more in 2021.

Worldwide sales of optoelectronics, sensors and actuators, and discrete semiconductors (O-S-D) each climbed to record-high levels during the 2021 global economic rebound from the Covid-19 virus crisis and lockdowns aimed at slowing the spread of the deadly pandemic according to IC Insights.?Total O-S-D revenues crossed $100 billion for the first time ever in 2021, growing 18% to US$104billion.?Whilst Sensors/Actuators and Discrete segments both surged around 27%, the opto segment grew only 9% due to a muted CMOS image sensor market.?IC Insights predicts that O-S-D revenues will grow a further 11% in 2022.?

Taiwan wafer manufacturer Globalwafers failed in it’s bid to acquire fellow German wafer manufacturer Siltronic after the deadline for its bid passed without the approval of the German Government which was still pending.? Globalwafers originally agreed to acquire Siltronics for US$4.9billion in 2020, but failed to gain the regulatory approval from the German government.?Globalwafers will now have to pay a termination fee of US$50million to Siltronic.

?Toshiba has announced it will build a new 300mm wafer Fab in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan for power semiconductors.?Toshiba will invest more than US$1billion in this new Fab with construction will take place in 2 phases, with phase 1 beginning in 2023 and construction will complete in Spring 2024, with production starting later that year.?When phase 1 comes on line it will more than double Toshiba’s total power semiconductor production capacity.

The global chip shortage is still causing automotive production shutdowns in the short term but there are differing opinions on how long this situation will last. Automakers in predicting that the current chip shortage may ease in the 2nd half 2022 in the latest quarterly reports of General Motors, Ford, and Hyundai, however automotive chipmakers like?NXP and Infineon are not so optimistic and are predicting that the current shortage will last longer and not ease in 2022 especially for mature node chips.

With Intel, TSMC, Samsung, Texas Instruments and Globalfoundries all planning to build new wafer fabs or expand capacity in the US, Alan Priestly, VP Analysis at Gartner gives his inputs on what’s happening in the semiconductor market, including why the U.S. is a hotbed for chip manufacturers and the cause and effects of ongoing semiconductor shortages.

With the global chip shortage and large numbers of companies announcing new Fabs governments around the world are trying to attract companies to build manufacturing facilities in their regions.?Here is a round up of the latest initiatives, a lot of which are still tied up in bureaucracy.

Europe is due to publish its “Chips Act” on February 8th ?which outlines its proposal to attract semiconductors manufacturers to the region.?However there are reports that there are doubts from member states and European lawmakers over how to make existing funds available.?According to one leaked draft of the bill there is no mention of budget apart for €10 billion “to finance technology leadership in design and manufacturing capacities.”?According to a source the drafts might still see some significant changes before publication as discussions on state aid and supply chain control measures are still ongoing in the Commission.

In the US, the CHIPS for America Act is still tied up in Congress.?This week top US national security leaders sent a letter to Congress urging them to pass the act which will provide US$52billion in funding to the industry.?The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) also issued a statement echoing the national security leaders letter urging Congress to swiftly pass the legislation

Meanwhile in India the government has approved a US$10billion incentive plan and formally asked for applications from silicon and display Fabs as well as OSATS and Design companies.?Semiconductor Fabs (65nm and below) and Display Fabs have until Feb 15th to submit applications

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Stay safe and healthy... bye.