Latest news with #chiptechnology
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
China unveils metrology plan to boost chip, quantum fields by 2030, beat US in tech
China has announced a five-year action plan aimed at driving disruptive innovation in metrology, the science of precise measurement. Released by the State Administration for Market Regulation, the 2030 plan prioritizes major breakthroughs in chip technology and quantum-scale measurement. A recent report in the ministry's Science and Technology Daily highlights that China's plan aims to address multiple 'pain points' in its metrology capabilities, focusing on areas where measurement technologies are lacking or require improvement. Metrology related to chips and rare earth magnets has become a key battleground in the US-China tech rivalry. While Washington tightens export controls on advanced chips over national security concerns, China is leveraging its dominance in rare earth metals by imposing its own export restrictions, the South China Morning Post writes. Precise and reliable measurements are essential for many industries, so expanding metrology capabilities is a strategic priority for both China and the US. China's recent action plan aims to achieve comprehensive improvements in basic metrology and secure key breakthroughs across more than 50 core metrology technologies by 2030. Designed to support China's 2021-2035 metrology development goals, the plan sets out to establish over 20 world-class metrology benchmarks and create at least 100 innovative devices and standardized materials. The plan aims to enhance various sectors including trade settlement, healthcare, environmental monitoring, climate change, disaster prevention, food safety, criminal justice, and maritime operations. The plan emphasizes advancing metrology research across several cutting-edge fields, including artificial intelligence, miniaturized sensing technologies, robotics, materials and additive manufacturing, measurement methods, comparison techniques, and the quantum-based reform and reproduction of the metric system. A key focus is the development of precision measurement and sensing devices that utilize quantum physics, such as quantum gyroscopes designed for navigation. To push the boundaries of precision measurement, China plans to develop advanced quantum metrology devices, including distributable reference instruments that surpass the limitations of traditional techniques. The initiative also expands research into chip-scale metrology, focusing on technologies such as nanoscale integrated circuits, neural network chip measurements, and on-chip frequency combs used to measure exact light frequencies. Moreover, the plan comes less than a year after CHIPS for America—a U.S. Department of Commerce office established under the 2022 Chips and Science Act to boost American leadership in semiconductor research and production—launched its own initiative to tackle metrology challenges. As semiconductor components continue to shrink and grow more complex, precise and reliable measurement has become increasingly vital to ensuring manufacturing quality and technological competitiveness, SCMP adds. Furthermore, the 2030 plan includes advancing metrology for rare earth magnets—powerful materials made from elements largely mined and processed in China. Beijing recently added seven of these elements to its export control list, following new U.S. tariffs. Rare earths are vital for electric vehicles, electronics, and defense, leaving countries like the U.S. heavily reliant on Chinese supply.
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China targets chip, quantum advances with 2030 metrology action plan in tech race with US
China has released an action plan for 'disruptive technological innovation' in metrology – the scientific study of measurement – within the next five years. Advertisement The 2030 action plan, released by the State Administration for Market Regulation, focuses on breakthroughs in chip technology and quantum-scale measurement, both critical to a wide range of industries. According to a report by ministry newspaper Science and Technology Daily last week, the plan targets tackling several 'pain points' or shortcomings in China's metrological capabilities, including measurement capabilities that are missing or need to be improved. Metrological applications relating to chips and rare earth magnets have been flashpoints in the US-China technological rivalry , as Washington continues to tighten controls on hi-tech chip exports to China citing national security while China leverages its dominance in rare earth metals with its own export restrictions. As metrology is the foundation for all industries dependent on precise and dependable measurements, the expansion of such capabilities is a strategic priority for both countries. Advertisement 'By 2030, basic metrology capabilities will be comprehensively improved, with key breakthroughs in more than 50 key core technologies of metrology,' the Chinese action plan released on May 16 says.
Globe and Mail
19-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Nvidia plans to sell tech to speed AI chip communication
Nvidia plans to sell a technology that will tie chips together to speed up the chip-to-chip communication needed to build and deploy artificial intelligence tools, it said on Monday. Nvidia launched a new version of its NVLink tech called NVLink Fusion on Monday that it will sell to other chip designers to help build powerful custom AI systems with multiple chips linked together. Marvell Technology and MediaTek plan to adopt the NVLink tech called Fusion for their custom chip efforts, the company said. Other partners include Alchip, Fujitsu and Qualcomm. Nvidia's NVLink is used to exchange massive amounts of data between various chips, such as in the company's GB200, which combines two Blackwell graphics processing units with a Grace processor. Nvida CEO Jensen Huang made the announcement about NVLink Fusion at the Taipei Music Center, site of the Computex AI exhibition that runs from May 20 to 23. In addition to the announcement on new tech production, Huang disclosed the company's plan to build a Taiwan headquarters in the northern suburbs of Taipei. His keynote speech discussed Nvidia's history of building AI chips, systems and software to support them. He said his presentations in the past had focused on the company's graphics chips. Now Nvidia has grown beyond its roots as a video game graphics chip maker into the dominant producer of the chips that have powered the AI frenzy since ChatGPT's launch in 2022. Nvidia has been designing central processing units that would run Microsoft's Windows operating system and use technology from Arm Holdings, Reuters has previously reported. At Computex last year, Huang sparked 'Jensanity' in Taiwan, as the public and media breathlessly followed the CEO, who was mobbed by attendees at the trade show. During the company's annual developer conference in March, Huang outlined how Nvidia would position itself to address the shift in computing needs from building large AI models to running applications based on them. He made public several new generations of AI chips, including the Blackwell Ultra, which will be available later this year. The company's Rubin chips will be followed by Feynman processors, which are set to arrive in 2028. Nvidia also launched a desktop version of its AI chips, called DGX Spark, targeting AI researchers. On Monday, Huang said the computer was in full production and would be ready in a 'few weeks.' Computex, expected to have 1,400 exhibitors, will be the first major gathering of computer and chip executives in Asia since U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs to push companies to increase production in the United States.
CNA
19-05-2025
- Automotive
- CNA
Nvidia plans to sell tech to speed AI chip communication
TAIPEI :Nvidia said on Monday it plans to sell a technology to others that will tie chips together in order to speed up the chip-to-chip communication needed to build and deploy artificial intelligence tools. Nvidia launched a new version of its NVLink tech called NVLink Fusion on Monday that it will sell to other chip designers to help build powerful custom AI systems with multiple chips linked together. Marvell Technology and MediaTek plan to adopt the NVLink tech called Fusion for their custom chip efforts. Nvidia developed NVLink years ago, and it's used to exchange massive amounts of data between various chips, such as in the company's GB200, which combines two Blackwell graphics processing units with a Grace processor. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang made the announcement at the Taipei Music Center, site of the Computex AI exhibition, which runs from May 20 to 23. His keynote speech discussed Nvidia's history of building AI chips and systems and the software the company has built to support it. Huang remarked that at one point his presentations used to spend 90 per cent of their time on the company's graphics chips, but that has changed. Now, Nvidia has grown beyond its roots as a video game graphics chip maker into the dominant producer of chips that have powered the AI frenzy that has gripped the tech industry since ChatGPT's launch in 2022. Nvidia has been designing CPUs that would run Microsoft's Windows operating system and use technology from Arm Holdings, Reuters has previously reported. At Computex last year, Huang sparked "Jensanity" in Taiwan, as the public and media breathlessly followed the CEO, who was mobbed by attendees at the trade show. During the company's annual developer conference in March, Huang outlined how Nvidia would position itself to address the shift in computing needs from building large AI models to running applications based on them. He unveiled several new generations of AI chips, including the Blackwell Ultra, which will be available later this year. The company's Rubin chips will be followed by Feynman processors, which are set to arrive in 2028. Nvidia also launched a desktop version of its AI chips, called DGX Spark, targeting AI researchers. On Monday, Huang said the computer was in full production and would be ready in a "few weeks".
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Former SK hynix employee transferred advanced chip packaging technologies to Huawei
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A former SK Hynix employee has been formally accused of illegally transferring technologies related to advanced chip packaging used for 3D NAND, HBM, and multi-chiplet assemblies as well as CMOS image sensors to Huawei's HiSilicon division, reports DigiTimes citing the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's office. There is an interesting wrinkle in this story: Huawei's HiSilicon did not directly ask for specific technologies. While working at Huawei, the suspect allegedly took IP related to CMOS image sensors (CIS) and hybrid bonding chip packaging technology that is used for 3D NAND, HBM3/HBM3E/HBM4 memory, as well as advanced stacked multi-chiplet packages (e.g., TSMC's SoIC and Intel's Foveros 3D). It is unclear whether the suspect's targets were hybrid bonding and image sensors, or 'just' hybrid bonding as modern CMOS sensors also use hybrid bonding. SK Hynix reportedly clarified that the leaked bonding-related information concerned general wafer-to-wafer processes and not the specific hybrid bonding technique currently being developed or used for commercial products. For Chinese companies like Huawei (which does not have access to advanced process technologies and packaging methods used by TSMC and SK hynix) as well as SMIC (which does not have access to the latest lithography equipment made by ASML), getting wafer bonding know-how from SK hynix, which had licensed such technologies from Xperi, may be considered as a major breakthrough as wafer bonding is becoming increasingly important for multiple semiconductor applications. The individual in question, a South Korean citizen named only in the complaint by his surname, Kim, previously worked for the Chinese unit of SK hynix. Authorities allege that in 2022 he secured a position with HiSilicon and, during the hiring process, improperly accessed and misused internal data belonging to SK hynix. Kim reportedly printed out and captured photographs of internal files against policy. Investigators discovered that over 11,000 photographs of confidential content were taken, and steps were allegedly made to mask the origin by removing company identifiers such as brand logos and secrecy labels from the images. Evidence indicates that Kim submitted these materials as part of job applications to two separate companies in China, using them to enhance his qualifications. Authorities now claim this was a calculated effort to secure employment using unlawfully obtained information from his former employer. The report confirms that many technologies developed in China in general and by Huawei specifically originate from multi-national corporations. But there is an interesting twist: Huawei did not explicitly ask the suspect to bring it SK hynix's trade secrets (even though the company is known for poaching highly-skilled employees from world-class companies by offering them huge salaries), but accepted them as part of the hiring process. The case has drawn attention in South Korea due to rising concerns about the outflow of specialized semiconductor knowledge, specifically as China is trying hard to achieve semiconductor self-sufficiency. It highlights the increasing risks around workforce migration and the global effort to enforce tighter control over the transmission of high-value industrial IP. This is not the first time when an SK hynix employee left for Huawei and takes the company's IP with them. Last year the Suwon District Court sentenced one of SK hynix's employees who departed to Huawei with 4,000 secret documents to 18 months behind bars and a fine. Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
