The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) halted deliveries to Sophgo, a China-based chip designer, after a chip manufactured by TSMC was discovered in a Huawei AI processor. This revelation was brought to light by two individuals closely involved in the matter.
The chips ordered by Sophgo from TSMC were identical to those found in Huawei’s Ascend 910B. Huawei is currently prohibited from purchasing such technology to safeguard the national security interests of the United States. The manner in which the chip ended up in the Huawei product remains unclear.
In response to these allegations, Sophgo issued an official statement on its website, asserting that it has adhered to all legal regulations and has never engaged in any professional dealings with Huawei. Sophgo, which is linked to Bitmain, a company that manufactures cryptocurrency mining equipment, claims to have presented TSMC with a comprehensive investigation report proving that it has no connection to Huawei.
TSMC has declined to comment on the issue. Huawei and the U.S. Department of Commerce have not immediately responded to requests for comment. The latter stated they are aware of potential violations of U.S. export controls, but chose not to comment further on any ongoing investigations.
TechInsights, a tech research firm, stumbled upon the TSMC chip in Huawei’s Ascend 910B while disassembling the multi-chip processor. TSMC alerted the U.S. about this discovery around two weeks ago.
Around the same period, TSMC also ceased shipments to a client. The client was not initially identified, but later sources revealed that it was Sophgo. This was also reported by The Information tech news outlet.
TSMC, being the largest contract chipmaker globally, stated earlier in the week that they have not supplied Huawei since mid-September 2020, and that they have actively communicated with the Commerce Department about the situation.
In 2020, the U.S. government expanded its power to halt shipments of foreign-made goods to Huawei if they were a direct product of U.S. technology or software, including TSMC’s chips.
Before these new regulations, TSMC was a supplier of chips for Huawei’s Ascend series. The Ascend 910B, released in 2022, is considered the most technologically advanced AI chip available from a Chinese company.
In 2021, Bitmain’s operations in Taiwan were raided by prosecutors, who accused two Bitmain affiliates of illegally recruiting Taiwanese semiconductor engineers and conducting illegal research and development activities. Four Taiwanese defendants pleaded guilty and were given fines.
Sophgo, co-founded by Micree Zhan who also co-founded Bitmain, is considered a Bitmain affiliate by the DSET in Taiwan. The company operates research and development centers in over 10 cities in China and globally.
