TSMC reportedly stopped chip shipments to suspected Huawei supplier

TSMC has halted its chip shipments to a suspected Huawei Supplier. After finding one of its advanced SoCs in Huawei’s Ascend 910B, the company took this step. It aims to stop the Chinese OEM from progressing in high-end AI chipmaking.

According to Bloomberg, TSMC has stopped the chip supply for a specific client. The chipmaker suspected the respective customer to be a Huawei firm’s well-wisher, helping it develop proficient semiconductors for its products.

Inputs reveal that the Taiwanese chipmaker played this move after finding some of its major SoC parts in Ascend 910B. TSMC has been under the U.S. investigation for some weeks and its components in Huawei’s processor increased the pressure on it.

Following the new findings, some U.S. lawmakers demanded immediate answers on the TSMC chip in Huawei devices. A representative from the U.S. says:

“Reports that cutting-edge TSMC-manufactured chips have contributed to Huawei’s AI development represent a catastrophic failure of U.S. export control policy. Congress needs immediate answers from both Commerce and TSMC about the scope and volume of this disaster.”

Following these tensions, TSMC halted the chip shipments to a suspected Huawei supplier in mid-October. The firm is investigating this matter more thoroughly.

TSMC reportedly stopped chip shipments to suspected Huawei supplier (Image Credits: TSMC)

However, it’s unconfirmed if the client belongs to the Huawei supplier list or is just a normal customer. Things might be revealed as the investigation proceeds ahead.

On Tuesday, Huawei mentioned that it hasn’t built any chips via TSMC after the U.S. sanctions since 2020. That makes the matter more confusing on how the TSMC chips made their way to Chinese processors.

Earlier teardowns of Huawei products implied that the company had some stocked components for three years. Perhaps it might be using these parts in its chips.

The U.S. will continue to investigate this matter till it gets satisfactory answers to its questions. In the upcoming days, we may hear some more interesting revelations on this topic.

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