I Have a Dream

Semiconductor Weekly - Business | Investing | Technology

July 20, 2024

Deal is back! Semiconductor funding is heating up with new deal announcements across the US and Europe.

Today’s newsletter

  • 💸DreamBig’s dream gets bigger

  •  🦾TSMC continues to beat the consensus

(image credit: DreamBig Semiconductor)

Series B secured! DreamBig Semiconductor has raised a $75 million Series B funding round.

  • The round was co-led by the Samsung Catalyst Fund and the Sutardja Family, with new investors such as Hanwha Next Generation Opportunity Fund and Event Horizon joining in.

  • Existing backers including UMC Capital, BRV, Ignite Innovation Fund, and Grandfull Fund are doubling down.

Who is it? Founded in 2019 by Sehat Sutardja and Weili Dai, DreamBig Semiconductor is at the forefront of developing high-performance accelerator platforms.

  • The company is renowned for its open MARS Chiplet Platform and the industry-leading Chiplet Hub

  • Sutardja co-founded Marvell Technology Group in 1995 with his wife Weili Dai and served as the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors at Marvell until 2016

Chiplets on the Spotlight DreamBig's strategy revolves around revolutionizing the chiplet ecosystem.

  • Chiplets are crucial in the AI era because they enable the creation of more powerful, flexible, and efficient computing systems by combining specialized components

  • DreamBig’s Chiplet Hub™ supports a universal architecture that integrates CPU, AI, Accelerators, IO, Networking, and Memory Chiplets into a unified platform.

Going forward DreamBig’s goal is to develop differentiating chiplet-based technologies and bring complete system-in-package or accelerator card products to market.

  • "This investment underscores the market's recognition of DreamBig as a transformative force in AI and data center infrastructure. Our open MARS Chiplet Platform enables unparalleled scale-up and scale-out solutions." by Sohail Syed, DreamBig’s CEO and President

TSMC continues to capture the lion's share of the AI market, solidifying its status as the foundry behemoth

40.1%! TSMC announced consolidated revenue of $20.8 billion and a net income of $7.7 billion for Q2 2024.

  • Year-over-year, revenue surged by 40.1%, with net income and diluted EPS rising by 36.3%.

  • Compared to Q1 2024, revenue increased by 13.6% and net income by 9.9%.

  • Gross margin stood at 53.2%, operating margin at 42.5%, and net profit margin at 36.8%.

67%! Advanced nodes (7-nanometer and more advanced) race continues as advanced technologies represented 67% of the total wafer revenue.

  • In Q2, shipments of 3-nanometer chips contributed 15% of total wafer revenue, 5-nanometer chips made up 35%, and 7-nanometer chips accounted for 17%.

  • 2nm is on track for volume production in 2025 and N2P (2nm extension) is scheduled for second half of 2026.

$250 billion! TSMC has laid out its crystal-clear strategic focus in the AI era

  • Expanded Market Definition: TSMC has redefined its addressable market under the "Foundry 2.0" model, growing from $115 billion to approximately $250 billion in 2023.

  • Edge AI Focus: By integrating AI into edge devices, TSMC anticipates a 5-10% increase in chip sizes, potentially leading to higher revenue per wafer.

  • Panel-Level Fan-Out Technology: TSMC is investigating panel-level fan-out technology to accommodate larger die sizes, aiming for potential deployment in about three years.

🚀 Funding & Deal

  • Nearfield Instruments, based in Delft, Netherlands, specializing in advanced metrology solutions, secured €135 million in Series C funding led by Walden Catalyst and Temasek. (Link)

  • Halo Industries, a startup based in Palo Alto, CA, specializing in laser manufacturing technology, secured $80 million in a Series B funding round led by Thomas Tull’s US Innovative Technology Fund (USIT). (Link)

  • Armada, based in Seattle, WA, specializing in edge computing, secured $40 million in a funding round led by M12, Microsoft‘s venture fund (Link)

  • Nearby Computing, based in Barcelona, Spain, specializing in edge computing for the industrial sector, secured €6.5 million from investors including Walter Ventures and VC JME Ventures. (Link)

  • Aehr Test Systems, specializing in test solutions for AI accelerators and GPUs, announced its acquisition of Incal Technology for $21 million to expand its market presence in high-power test solutions. (Link)

  • Brev.dev, based in San Francisco, CA, specializing in cloud development environments, was acquired by Nvidia in an undisclosed amount. (Link)

🧿 Industry on the Move

  • Global AI server demand is expected to drive the market value to $187 billion in 2024, representing 65% of the server market, with a 41.5% YoY growth in shipments. (Link)

  • TSMC said that AI chip constraints are predicted to persist through 2025, impacting the semiconductor foundry industry's growth. (Link)

  • Diamond could become the super semiconductor needed for the US power grid, offering significant efficiency improvements. (Link)

  • Heat-related issues are impacting the reliability of advanced IC designs, posing challenges for the industry. (Link)

  • Renesas has introduced a power management and voltage monitoring solution for space-grade AMD Versal AI Edge applications, enhancing reliability in space environments. (Link)

  • UltraRAM is progressing towards commercial viability, promising significant performance enhancements for memory applications. (Link)

  • SAMCO announced the sale of advanced etching systems to III-V Lab in Europe (Link)

✈️ Across the Globe

🌎 America

  • The U.S. Department of State and Inter-American Development Bank launched the Western Hemisphere Semiconductor Initiative, supported by the CHIPS Act, to enhance ATP capabilities in Mexico, Panama, and Costa Rica. (Link)

  • The U.S. Department of Commerce announced preliminary terms with GlobalWafers as part of efforts to strengthen the semiconductor supply chain in the U.S. (Link)

  • The US government awarded $300 million in CHIPS Act funding to three semiconductor R&D facilities. (Link)

  • The University of Texas at Austin’s Texas Institute for Electronics (TIE) received $840 million to establish a Department of Defense microelectronics manufacturing center. (Link)

  • SUNY Polytechnic Institute opens Semiconductor Processing and Training Center. (Link)

  • Intel and the state of Oregon are advocating for the establishment of a National Semiconductor Technology Center. (Link)

🌏 Asia

  • Lip-Bu Tan, Chairman of Walden International, emphasized that India should focus on semiconductor design and create its own brand to strengthen its position in the global market. (Link)

  • Vietnam plans to ramp up its semiconductor workforce to support the growing demand and enhance its role in the global semiconductor supply chain. (Link)

  • Singapore is set to allocate more land for semiconductor wafer fabrication and manufacturing to attract firms leveraging artificial intelligence. (Link)

🌏 Europe & EMEA

  • The Chips Joint Undertaking announced a collaborative effort between the EU and South Korea to advance semiconductor R&D. (Link)

  • U.S. and Israel-based Ramon.Space, which makes space-resilient ML/AI DSP, opened its first European office in Surrey Research Park, UK. (Link)

  • Infineon and Amkor signed an MoU to stimulate decarbonization and sustainability strategies across their supply chains, operating a packaging center at Amkor’s manufacturing site in Portugal. (Link)

🗼 In-Depth & Insights

“The intricate, interdependent nature of this supply chain has proven vulnerable to disruptions, leading to significant efforts from governments and corporations worldwide to mitigate these risks and enhance resilience.”

“For all the forces redefining global supply chains, a wholesale departure of chip production from Asia looks unlikely. Factories under construction in the West mostly serve to diversify production bases and make supply chains more resilient against shocks. But it comes at a price. Increased redundancy and longer supply routes will mean higher costs and smaller margins..”

Chiplets: Piecing Together the Next Generation of Chips (imec)

“Some applications, such as high-performance computing, may demand high performance, smaller form factors, or a higher level of system integration and, therefore, prefer a complete 3D approach. Instead of establishing sideway connections, chiplets can be stacked on top of each other, forming a 3D-SoC.”

📈 Chart of the Week

In the US market alone, data center demand - measured by power consumption to reflect the number of servers a data center can house - is expected to reach 35 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, up from 17 GW in 2022 (McKinsey).