November 14, 2025

China's Tech Giants Race to Replace Nvidia's AI Chips China moves to cut reliance on Nvidia as state pressure, security concerns, and export limits push firms toward domestic AI chips. Huawei leads the transition with its Ascend lineup and massive supercomputing clusters, though industry players remain cautious about full adoption. IEEE Spectrum

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Opportunities And Challenges With Open-Source Hardware In System Development Open-source adoption in system and chip design rises with transparency and lower barriers, but safety, liability, and toolchain complexity still restrict commercial and automotive use. New open-source PDKs and tools may expand its role. Semiconductor Engineering

Peer viewpoint: AI data centers are driving a semiconductor revolution AI adoption is tripling data center demand by 2030. Henkel surveyed 120 semiconductor leaders to uncover how innovation in materials and packaging is powering future-ready, high-performance infrastructure. Technical Paper

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China is doing everything to stand on its own China intensifies its self-reliance push as Xi Jinping elevates technology, drives domestic innovation, and deepens military-civil fusion to counter U.S. pressure. Despite economic strains, Beijing accelerates efforts to cut foreign dependence and reshape global supply chains. Taipei Times

Two Visions for the Future of AR Smart Glasses Smart-glasses makers drive a new wave of AI-powered AR devices offering glanceable info, but consumer demand remains unclear. Despite better hardware and investment from Meta and startups, the industry still lacks compelling daily use cases for users. IEEE Spectrum

Sponsor Targeted Sample Preparation for Deeply Buried ROI in Advanced Packages New fault isolation technique using 3D X-ray microscopy & LaserFIB to pinpoint, isolate & open a 20 µm wirebond without damage to adjacent wires. ZEISS Microscopy

Technical Papers Novel Molded FCBGA Package Platform For Highly Reliable Automotive Applications Eliminating Interfacial Delamination in High-Power Automotive Devices RAIG Minimizes Corrosion, Allows Higher Gold on ENEPIG A Universal AI-Powered Segmentation Model for PCBA & Semiconductor Peer viewpoint: semiconductor innovation for telecommunication networks Current Characterization of Various Cu RDL Designs In Wafer Level Packages (WLP) Peer viewpoint: AI data centers are driving a semiconductor revolution MORE TECHNICAL PAPERS

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Noise: A Chip Killer Noise is becoming a major threat in advanced chip design as tighter nodes, higher power, and complex packaging intensify IR drop, jitter, and crosstalk. Engineers warn that even small voltage swings now endanger signal integrity, reliability, and overall semiconductor performance. Semiconductor Engineering

Taiwan wafer foundry industry, 4Q 2025 Taiwan's semiconductor foundry revenue will surge past US$130 billion in 2025, jumping more than 30% on strong AI-driven demand and supply-chain procurement. Growth is expected to exceed 10% in 2026, though geopolitical risks continue to threaten momentum. Digitimes

Sponsor IR Layer Release Technology for 3D Packaging and Logic Scaling Ultra-thin layer transfer from silicon carriers with nanometer precision using an IR laser and inorganic release layers revolutionizes 3D packaging & logic scaling. EV Group

Synopsys Reportedly to Slash 10% of Workforce After $35 Billion Ansys Acquisition Synopsys launches a major restructuring, cutting about 2,000 jobs after acquiring Ansys and missing revenue targets. The EDA giant is shifting investment to growth areas while facing class-action claims over design IP and the abrupt exit of its CRO. TrendForce

Foxconn confirms OpenAI partnership, doubling down on trillion-dollar compute race Foxconn chairman Young Liu used the company's earnings call to stress that artificial intelligence has shifted from a key growth driver to the central force shaping the company's strategy, signaling Foxconn's intensified focus on AI to define its future direction. Digitimes

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Scaling AI Infrastructure: The Critical Role Of PCIe 7.0 Retimers PCIe 7.0's leap to 128 GT/s intensifies signal-integrity demands, pushing data centers to rely on retimers that actively clean and extend high-speed links, ensuring reliable, scalable GPU, storage, and memory connectivity across sprawling AI clusters. Semiconductor Engineering

Multiple AI Scale-Up Options Emerge AI workloads are accelerating demand for faster, more efficient scale-up and scale-out networks. New open standards like UALink and ESUN challenge proprietary interconnects, cutting latency, boosting reliability, and reshaping accelerator-to-accelerator links. Semiconductor Engineering

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Wall Street cools on Oracle's buildout plans as debt concerns mount: 'AI sentiment is waning' Oracle's stock tumbles as investor enthusiasm fades, with shares losing a third of their value after an AI-fueled surge. Doubts over OpenAI's massive commitments and Oracle's heavy funding needs raise skepticism about its bold cloud revenue targets and financing strategy. CNBC

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