Loopholes in US sanctions? TSMC suspends shipments to China firm
Chinese company Sophgo had ordered chips from TSMC that reportedly matched the one found on Huawei’s multi-chiplet AI processor, Ascend 910B.
Taiwan chipmaking giant TSMC suspended shipments to Sophgo, a China-based chip designer, after a chip made by it was discovered on a Huawei AI processor, Reuters reported.
Sophgo had ordered chips from TSMC that reportedly matched the one found on Huawei’s multi-chiplet AI processor, Ascend 910B.
Huawei is restricted from buying the tech to safeguard US national security.
The TSMC chip on Huawei’s Ascend 910B was discovered by TechInsights when the Canadian tech research firm took apart the processor, Reuters had earlier reported.
TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, subsequently informed the US and Taiwan.
Ascend 910B was reportedly found to contain dies made by TSMC, throwing light on possible loopholes in US sanctions and Beijing’s relentless bid to access advanced foundry tech. Some experts believe the controversy proves that American sanctions on China’s chipmaking sector are not watertight.
The US Department of Commerce acknowledged it was aware of reports of potential violations of US export controls.
Republican lawmaker John Moolenaar said TSMC-manufactured chips in Huawei’s AI accelerators was a “catastrophic failure of export control policy.”
“AI accelerators, like the one that these chips fueled, are at the forefront of our technology race with the CCP, and I fear the damage done here will have significant consequences for our national security,” John Moolenaar, the chair of the House Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), said in a press release.
Sophgo, which is affiliated with cryptocurrency mining equipment firm Bitmain, claimed it was in compliance with all laws and had not engaged in any business relationship with Huawei.
Sophgo said in a statement published on its website that it had given a detailed investigation report to TSMC to prove it was not related to Huawei.
The US placed Huawei on a trade blacklist in 2019 over national security concerns. TSMC says it has not supplied chips to Huawei after September 2020.
