The United States ordered Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to suspend shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers that are often used in artificial intelligence applications starting Monday, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The Commerce Department sent a letter to TSMC imposing restrictions on the export of certain sophisticated chips, 7 nanometers or more advanced designs, destined for China that power artificial intelligence accelerators and graphics processing units (GPUs).
The US order, reported for the first time, comes just weeks after TSMC notified the Commerce Department that one of its chips had been found in a Huawei artificial intelligence processor, as reported last month .
Huawei, at the center of the US action, is on a restricted trade list, which requires suppliers to obtain licenses to ship any products or technology to the company. Any license that could help Huawei in its artificial intelligence efforts is likely to be denied.
TSMC suspended shipments to Chinese chip designer Sophgo after its chip matched the one found in the Huawei AI processor. Reuters could not determine how the chip ended up in Huawei’s Ascend 910B, launched in 2022, considered the most advanced artificial intelligence chip available from a Chinese company.
The latest measure affects many more companies and will allow the United States to evaluate whether other companies are diverting chips to Huawei for its artificial intelligence processor. As a result of the letter, TSMC notified affected customers that it would suspend chip shipments starting Monday.
The Commerce Department declined to comment. “TSMC has held regular discussions with the government on export control issues and has made clear that it will comply with domestic and international regulations,” Taiwan’s Ministry of Economy said in a statement, referring questions. specific to TSMC.
With information from Reuters.
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