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US Plans to Blacklist Company That Ordered TSMC Chip Found in Huawei Processor

Rtv News

  23 Dec 2024, 18:06
Photo: Reuters

The Biden administration plans to blacklist a Chinese company whose TSMC-made chip was illegally incorporated into a Huawei artificial intelligence processor, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The Chinese company, Sophgo, drew attention after a chip found on Huawei’s Ascend 910B multi-chip system matched one it ordered from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. Sophgo is the latest Chinese company slated to be punished by the US for helping Huawei. This month, the Commerce Department added other companies viewed as part of Huawei’s shadow network to the US Commerce Department’s restricted trade list.

Sophgo, an affiliate of bitcoin mining equipment supplier Bitmain, is in the process of being placed on the list, known as the Entity List, the source said.

The Entity List includes companies whose activities conflict with US national security and foreign-policy interests. Listed parties face export restrictions, requiring a license to receive goods and technology, which is often denied.

Huawei has been subject to these restrictions, with foreign-made chips being barred from being shipped to the company since 2020.

Sophgo has not commented on the latest development, the news publication added. However, the company stated in October that it “has never been engaged in any direct or indirect business relationship with Huawei”.

Sophgo supplies to local governments and state-owned companies such as China Telecom. In addition, Chinese state-run universities and police stations have acquired Sophgo and Bitmain AI chips over the past two years for AI tool development and surveillance upgrades.

Tech research company TechInsights discovered the TSMC chip in the Huawei 910B and informed TSMC, which notified the US Commerce Department. However, Huawei stated in October it has not produced chips via TSMC since the 2020 US export restrictions.

A Taiwan official confirmed that TSMC alerted authorities and initiated a detailed investigation.

Starting 11 November, the US ordered TSMC to stop shipments to China of advanced chips potentially used in AI applications.

In August, Huawei announced plans to release a new AI chip called the Ascend 910C in the Chinese market.

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