Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company has denied that the U.S. was investigating its dealings with Chinese tech company Huawei following reports that its chips were found in the Shenzhen-based firm’s products.
TakeAway Points:
- TSMC has denied a report that it is under investigation by the U.S. Commerce Department for supposed dealings with Chinese tech company Huawei.
- The statement comes a day after a separate report claimed that a TSMC chip had been found in a Huawei product.
- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) announced on Tuesday that it had alerted the US to a possible effort by Huawei to get around US export restrictions that forbid the chipmaker from making AI chips for the Chinese firm.
TSMC denies probing
“TSMC is a law-abiding company and we are committed to complying with all applicable rules and regulations, including applicable export controls,” a company spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday.
Tech-focused publication The Information had reported last week that the Commerce Department was probing whether TSMC had been making AI or smartphone chips for Huawei, in violation of U.S. export rules.
“We proactively communicate with the U.S. Commerce Department regarding the matter in the report. We are not aware of TSMC being the subject of any investigation at this time,” the TSMC spokesperson added.
Huawei was placed on a U.S. trade blocklist in May 2019 over national security concerns.
TSMC, which is the world’s largest contract chip manufacturer, said that it has not supplied chips to Huawei since mid-September 2020.
Separately, Reuters reported Tuesday that one of TSMC’s chips had recently been found in a Huawei product, indicating possible export violations and prompting the chip maker to notify the Commerce Department.
Citing anonymous sources, the report claimed the discovery was made after tech research firm TechInsights took apart a Huawei product and found a TSMC chip as part of its multi-chip system.
There has been renewed attention on Huawei and its access to advanced semiconductor tech since it released a smartphone containing a 5G chip, a technology that the U.S. had sought to restrict the company from accessing.
TSMC’s shares fell 1.4% on Wednesday.
TSMC says it has alerted US of potential China AI chip curbs violation
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) said on Tuesday it has informed the United States of a potential attempt by Huawei to circumvent U.S. export controls prohibiting the chipmaker from producing AI chips for the Chinese company.
The U.S. government restricted the export of high-end AI chips to China two years ago, citing the need to limit the Chinese military’s capabilities.
“We are not aware of TSMC being the subject of any investigation at this time,” the company said in a statement, adding that it has not supplied to Huawei since mid-September 2020. TSMC’s U.S.-listed shares were down 1.5%.
A crucial element of export controls is a rule prohibiting global chip manufacturers from utilizing U.S. technology or equipment to produce chips intended for Huawei or its products.
In recent years, the United States has escalated its use of export controls, aiming to thwart Chinese companies from obtaining, designing, or manufacturing advanced semiconductors.
Huawei, a primary target of these efforts, epitomizes the growing technology rivalry between Beijing and Washington.
TSMC informed the U.S. Commerce Department after a customer placed orders for a chip similar to Huawei’s Ascend 910B, a processor designed for large language model training, a Financial Times report said earlier in the day, citing people familiar with the matter.