Analog Devices (ADI) initiates layoffs
Mercury News, December 14th – According to an official notice submitted to the California Department of Employment and Development, technology companies have disclosed that their latest round of layoffs plans will lay off an additional 350 jobs. Among them, Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) is laying off 111 employees at its Rio Robles office building in northern San Jose, with an expected effect from January 12, 2024.
According to the fourth quarter report released by ADI in November, adjusted quarterly revenue was $2.716 billion, a 16% decrease from the same period last year. Among them, the weakness of the communication, consumption, and industrial markets is a major negative factor. Industrial market revenue decreased by 20% year-on-year; The revenue of the communication market decreased by 32% year-on-year; The consumer market decreased by 28% year-on-year; The revenue of the automotive market increased by 14% year-on-year.
In addition, it is expected that the company’s revenue and profit in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024 will be lower than market expectations as efforts are being made to address the ongoing oversupply problem in the semiconductor industry. They pointed out that customers hit by inflation are no longer placing new chip orders.
Toshiba R&D Semiconductor Design AI: Can compress one year of development process into one day
On December 13th, the Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily reported that Toshiba has announced that it has completed AI research and development that can support semiconductor design. This will shorten the design process, which originally took one week to one year, to less than one day, and significantly improve efficiency. It will be officially adopted by the end of March 2024 for next-generation power semiconductor research and development.
Renesas: The semiconductor industry is expected to steadily rebound in 2024
On December 14th, Nikkei News reported that Renesas President Hideki Shibata stated in an interview that progress has been made in destocking, and the semiconductor industry is expected to see a steady rebound in 2024. Renesas is one of the major global suppliers of semiconductor chips, with products including MCUs, analog power devices, and SoCs.
Peking University Wuxi EDA Research Institute unveiled
On December 13th, Wuxi Daily reported that the EDA Research Institute of Peking University in Wuxi was unveiled in the Wuxi High tech Zone. In the future, the research institute will play a demonstration and driving role in project introduction, talent cultivation, carrier construction, public services, and achievement transformation, empowering the integrated circuit industry in Wuxi. Vice Mayor Qin Yongxiu attended the unveiling ceremony.
It was reported that the EDA Research Institute of Wuxi Peking University was jointly built by Wuxi High tech Zone and Peking University, with a total investment of 300 million yuan. Led by Huang Ru, an academician of the CAS Member and a professor of Peking University, it carried out disruptive, cutting-edge and leading innovative research around EDA related core scientific and technological issues and innovation application bottlenecks, and created a public service platform, built an EDA ecosystem, and promoted the transfer and transformation of scientific and technological achievements, Cultivate and incubate technology enterprises, and promote the innovative development of integrated circuits in Wuxi.
The Global Crystal 12 inch wafer factory will conduct sample delivery in the fourth quarter of 2024 and begin mass production in 2025
On December 13th, Taiwan Business Times reported that Global Crystal had a net profit of NT $22.49 per share after tax in the first half of the year, and was issued a cash dividend of NT $8 per share, with a total amount of NT $3.489 billion. According to the analysis of legal entities, based on the current situation of the silicon wafer industry, customer inventory reduction has come to an end, but the purchasing power has not fully recovered, and it is expected to see a significant recovery by the first half of 2024.
The annual comparison of semiconductor silicon wafer shipment area in 2024 is expected to return to positive growth, and global crystal operations will also keep pace with the semiconductor industry market situation. The Global Crystal 12 inch wafer factory will send samples in the fourth quarter of 2024 and is expected to start mass production in 2025 to meet the peak market demand.
Analyst: Intel Gaudi AI chip orders have reached $2 billion
On December 14th, Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily reported that although personal computer sales have declined, Intel may face difficulties in the short term. However, investors should focus on the company’s long-term opportunities, such as artificial intelligence.
Analyst Srini Pajjuri reiterated Intel’s “better than the market” rating on December 12th and raised the target stock price from $42 to $48. Analysts point out that Intel Gaudi AI Accelerator orders have reached $2 billion, which is a product specifically developed by Intel for AI. It is expected that Intel will have the ability to sell these chips to businesses for use in smaller industry specific AI models.
Institution: It is expected that DRAM and NAND flash memory prices will increase by 18% to 23% month on month in the first quarter of 2024
On December 14th, Sina Technology reported that Morgan Stanley pointed out that the inventory levels of PC and smartphone ODM and OEM factories are still low, and manufacturers are actively building inventory. According to TrendForce data, smartphone company Mobile DRAM inventory is 4-6 weeks, and NAND (eMMC, UFS) inventory is 6-7 weeks. TrendForce expects DRAM and NAND flash prices to increase by 18% to 23% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the fourth quarter of 2023.
The gradual downward transmission of storage chip price increases stimulates downstream manufacturers to actively stock up
On December 14th, Securities Daily reported that after experiencing a previous downward cycle, the market prices of storage chips have started to rise. As of now, the prices of some models of storage chips have risen by 10% to 50% compared to the bottom of the year. The recovery of industry prosperity has brought intensive institutional research to listed companies in the storage chip industry. Recently, several listed companies such as Jiangbolong and Baiwei Storage stated in a survey that the global chip market is improving, and the price increase of storage chips is spreading downstream, with customers actively stocking up.
Wenjie M9 will be officially released on December 26th
On December 14th, Yu Chengdong, CEO of Huawei Terminal BG and Chairman of Intelligent Automotive Solutions BU, announced through his personal Weibo account that the Wenjie M9 will be officially launched on December 26th, equipped with six equally weighted first-class seats and a triple screen. Yu Chengdong said, “Full size, full intelligence, and full scenario, the Wenjie M9 will redefine intelligent cars.”
GAC leads the establishment of a billion dollar investment fund to build a safe, autonomous, and controllable new energy vehicle industry chain system
On December 14th, GAC Group announced that on December 13th, GAC Group held a strategic cooperation signing ceremony with Bank of China and Guangzhou Industrial Investment in Beijing. The three parties, as limited partners (LPs), plan to subscribe to the capital at a ratio of 33.4%, 33.3%, and 33.3%, and initiate the establishment of Guangzhou Xinqi Zhilian Equity Investment Fund.
The total scale of the fund is 30 billion yuan, with an initial scale of 10 billion yuan. Guangzhou Yingpeng, a subsidiary of GAC Capital, serves as the fund manager and mainly invests in important projects upstream and downstream of the intelligent connected new energy vehicle industry chain, such as new energy batteries, energy ecology, vehicle networking, intelligent driving, automotive chips, and smart cities. The fund focuses on improving the modernization level of Guangzhou’s intelligent connected new energy vehicle industry chain, building a safe, autonomous, and controllable supply chain system, and seizing the commanding heights of a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation in the automotive industry.
