Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has notified U.S. authorities about the discovery of one of its chips in a Huawei product, following a teardown analysis conducted by TechInsights, which raised potential concerns about violations of export restrictions against the Chinese company.
The chip in question was identified within Huawei’s Ascend 910B, regarded as the most advanced AI chip produced by a Chinese firm. While the specific TSMC chip involved has not been disclosed, it is confirmed to be part of a multi-chip system. TechInsights alerted TSMC about the findings prior to publishing its report, leading the Taiwanese company to inform the U.S. Commerce Department a few weeks ago.
This incident highlights the challenges regulators face in enforcing export controls, particularly in relation to high-demand technologies, and underscores Huawei’s ongoing demand for cutting-edge semiconductor components.
In a statement released on Monday, TSMC affirmed its proactive communication with the Commerce Department regarding the issue and emphasized that it has not supplied chips to Huawei since mid-September 2020. The company stated, “We are not aware of TSMC being the subject of any investigation at this time.”
Huawei, which has been subject to U.S. trade restrictions since 2019 due to national security concerns, asserted that it has not produced any chips through TSMC since the enforcement of U.S. regulations. The origins of the TSMC chip found in Huawei’s device remain unclear. In 2019, prior to the imposition of export controls, TSMC was responsible for manufacturing the Ascend 910 chip series, as reported by sources earlier this year.
Reports from The Information and the Financial Times indicate that U.S. authorities are currently investigating both TSMC and Huawei regarding these developments. TechInsights has declined to comment on the matter pending the publication of its report.
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