Chinese power is a shell. Delays reach 8 years
Big promises and ambitious plans, but in reality old technologies and low production capacity. The reality for the Chinese turned out to be brutal.
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It is the undisputed leader in the market of equipment for working with artificial intelligence NVIDIA. The AI craze has made the American company currently the most valued in the world. Of course for these billions of dollars Other entities are also hungry for profit. And among them was the Chinese giant, Huawei.
China is committed to 7 nm until 2026
Unfortunately the Chinese ambitions have encountered serious obstacles. The mentioned chip manufacturer is struggling with obtaining appropriate ones EUV machines from Dutch ASMLwhich are necessary for production of efficient artificial intelligence accelerators. This is the result of sanctions imposed by the US.
As a result, arrangements Huawei Ascend stuck on 7nm lithography from SMIC and no changes are expected. This translates into both performance and power consumption. Suffice it to say that TSMC has had this production process since 2018, currently offering lithography 3nmand additionally, preparations are underway for 2nm.
SMIC is China’s largest and most modern semiconductor manufacturer, heavily subsidized by the government. Despite this, it has already been announced that By 2026, 7nm lithography will be the leading process. This only means an increase in the gap with Taiwan, South Korea and the United States.
All because of the need to rely on local, less advanced equipment and the use of complex production methodswhich extend the process, reduce the yield and ultimately make it more expensive. As if that were not enough, SMIC has too little production capacity and is unable to meet demand.
Of course, this affects not only AI accelerators, but also Huawei Kirin SoC, i.e. smartphones. The Chinese are trying to save themselves by buying experienced employees from Taiwan. They are offered almost three times higher salaries just to gain their know-how (i.e. knowledge and experience).
China’s recent successes, including: Huawei Ascend 910B chip, were based on fraud. Intermediary companies were used to circumvent American sanctions and use production at TSMC. However, the process has been curtailed, and without access to advanced EUV technology, China’s semiconductor industry is in a bind.
