Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world's largest independent semiconductor foundry, has suspended its chip supply to Chinese company SOPHGO, also known as Algorithmic Artificial Intelligence Technology Co., Ltd. (AAIT), due to its chip being found in Huawei's Ascending Mate 910B processor. The move has sparked concerns over potential violations of US export controls.
SOPHGO is a sister company of Bitmain, a Chinese company known for its cryptocurrency mining equipment. The chip in question is a neural processing unit (NPU) used in Huawei's Mate 30 series smartphones. TechInsights, a US-based company that specializes in semiconductor analysis, discovered the chip and reported it to TSMC, which in turn notified the US Commerce Department and launched an investigation.
This incident has raised concerns about potential US export control violations, as TSMC has not supplied chips to Huawei since the US enhanced export restrictions on the Chinese company in 2020. SOPHGO's CEO, JK Liu, established the company, and it is currently under review from regulatory authorities.
In a statement, SOPHGO denied any business relationship with Huawei, stating that its products and operations are in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. The company also claimed to have provided detailed surveys to TSMC to clarify the allegations.