Recently, the presence of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) chips, subject to U.S. export controls, in Huawei products has sparked attention and raised concerns. According to two sources who spoke to Reuters, TSMC has reportedly halted shipments to Chinese chip design company Sophgo due to this issue.
The sources revealed to Reuters on October 26th that chips ordered by Sophgo from TSMC matched those found in Huawei’s Ascend 910B processor. The United States has restricted Huawei from purchasing such chips in order to safeguard national security. The origin of these TSMC chips appearing in Huawei products has yet to be conclusively determined.
Sophgo did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment, TSMC declined to provide a statement, and Huawei did not immediately respond to requests for comments. The U.S. Department of Commerce acknowledged the reported phenomenon, stating that it could potentially violate U.S. export controls, although the department refrained from commenting on whether an investigation is underway.
In an earlier report this week, Reuters cited sources saying that technology research firm TechInsights discovered TSMC chips when dismantling Huawei’s Ascend 910B.
Approximately two weeks ago, TSMC reportedly informed the United States upon learning of this discovery. An official from Taiwan stated that around the same time, TSMC also suspended shipments to a customer after realizing that a chip provided to that customer ultimately ended up in Huawei products.
The official mentioned that TSMC has notified authorities in Taiwan and the United States and initiated a detailed investigation. However, the official did not disclose the name of the customer at that time.
Reuters, in its report on the 26th, quoted sources saying that the customer in question was Sophgo. Tech media outlet “The Information” also reported earlier this week on TSMC halting chip supplies to Sophgo.
TSMC stated earlier this week that it has been “actively communicating” with the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding this matter. The company also mentioned that it has ceased supplying Huawei since mid-September 2020.
On Tuesday (October 22), Huawei declared in a statement that since the U.S. imposed new export controls on the company in 2020, it has not procured any chips from TSMC.
Sophgo is affiliated with cryptocurrency mining equipment company Bitmain.
According to a statement from the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office in Taiwan, in 2021, prosecutors raided Bitmain’s operations in Taiwan, accusing two of its subsidiary companies of illegally recruiting Taiwanese semiconductor engineers and engaging in unauthorized research and development.
The statement revealed that four Taiwanese defendants pleaded guilty and were fined.
Huawei acknowledges that the U.S. ban has been disastrous for the company. This is not the first instance where chips subject to export controls have been discovered during teardowns of Huawei equipment.
In January of this year, TechInsights found that the 5-nanometer chips in Huawei’s Qingyun L540 laptop were actually produced by TSMC in 2020.