US Commerce Department Investigates TSMC Over Huawei Chip Supply

According to PANews, the U.S. Department of Commerce initiated an investigation earlier this month to determine if Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has been supplying chips to Huawei. Following this, TSMC ceased supplying chips to Sophgo, an AI company associated with Bitmain. Two informed sources confirmed that TSMC has cut off chip supplies to the related companies. Since 2020, Huawei has been prohibited from purchasing chips made with U.S. technology, including those produced by TSMC. TSMC has stated that it uses U.S. technology in its chip manufacturing process and will comply with U.S. laws. Previously, semiconductor research firm TechInsights claimed that after dismantling Huawei's high-end AI accelerator chip, Ascend 910B, it found that the chip might have been manufactured by TSMC. This discovery suggests that TSMC could have violated U.S. export controls.