TSMC 2nm price hike might push Qualcomm and Mediatek to Samsung
Intel off the table for now
Chipmaking behemoth TSMC has decided that its next shiny thing, the 2-nanometre wafer, will cost about 50 per cent more than the current 3-nanometre kit, and its biggest customers are not amused.
Google’s Tensor G5 leaves Pixel punters hot and bothered
Hot and Throttling
Google’s shiny new Tensor G5 chip has failed to live up to its own hype. Tech enthusiasts say the chip throttles faster than a cheap gaming laptop, and the blame lies with Google’s piecemeal design philosophy.
Beijing aims at Qualcomm in chip wars
China ramps up tech retaliation ahead of Trump–Xi meeting
Beijing is turning the screws on Washington’s chipmakers, launching a fresh antitrust probe into Qualcomm just as rare-earth export restrictions and trade jabs pile up ahead of a planned meeting between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Samsung sends 2nm Snapdragon sample to Qualcomm
Hopes to win back Qualcomm with shiny new silicon
Samsung has shipped a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 sample produced on its 2nm GAA process to Qualcomm for evaluation, marking a potential turning point in its bruised relationship with the US chip designer.
Intel questions open source generosity
Exec says Intel shouldn’t be carrying freeloading rivals
Troubled Chipzilla’s long-standing love affair with open sauce might be heading for rocky times after one of its top brass suggested it’s time to stop being everyone’s free R&D department.
OpenAI cheers for TSMC
OpenAI boss warns
OpenAI, CEO, Sam Altman, has poured cold water on swapping to Intel’s foundry, saying he’d rather the Taiwan giant simply built more.
TSMC price hikes not as brutal as feared, but still grim
Chip clients breathe a sigh of relief
It turns out TSMC’s next big price jump will not be quite the wallet-melter everyone expected.
Qualcomm snaps up Arduino
Buys into open source to cosy up to tinkerers and robot builders
Smartphone processor outfit Qualcomm has decided it wants a piece of the open source action, announcing plans to buy Arduino, the Italian microcontroller darling beloved by hobbyists and hardware hackers.
Qualcomm faces £480 million lawsuit in London
Consumer group says chipmaker’s “private tax” hiked phone prices
Qualcomm is in the legal firing line again, this time facing a £480 million (€560 million) London lawsuit accusing it of abusing its market power to squeeze more money from the Fruity Cargo Cult Apple and Samsung.
TSMC hikes wafer prices and kills cheap transistors
Age of bargain silicon ends
The days of cheap transistors are over as TSMC jacks up prices on its most advanced wafers and signals the end of Moore’s Law’s cosy promise of faster and cheaper chips.