This weekly newsletter pulls together summaries of the top ten most-read Insights across Tech Hardware and Semiconductor on Smartkarma.
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1. Nvidia (NVDA.US): Jensen Delivers Keynote Speech at COMPUTEX Today; Confirm Offshore HQ Location
- NVIDIA Corp (NVDA US) CEO Jensen Huang visited Taiwan to attend the COMPUTEX Taipei International Computer Exhibition.
- Meanwhile, NVIDIA continues expanding its workforce, recently opening over a thousand job vacancies globally.
- Throughout his speech, Huang repeatedly mentioned Taiwan. He opened with “Hello Taiwan,” noting that both of his parents were present in the audience, highlighting his personal connection to Taiwan.
2. US Middle East AI Splurge. A Bold Move But Also A Curious Affair
- AMD & NVIDIA both pocket deals to equip 500MW data centers in Saudi Arabia over the next 5 years.
- UAE announced plans to build 5GW of data centre capacity with local champion G42 leading the charge. Microsoft and Cerebras were notable by their absence last week.
- The Middle East deals are good news for US AI/Technology champions however the benefits will likely take years to fully accrue.
3. TSMC (2330.TT; TSM.US): TSMC Provides Updates at 2025 Technology Symposium in Hsinchu Today.
- TSMC explained that the growing demand for autonomous driving technologies in smartphones, PCs, IoT devices, and the automotive industry is driving the development of its N4/N3 and N6RF process technologies.
- TSMC announced that the A14 process, which will adopt the new NanoFlex Pro technology, is scheduled to begin production in 2028.
- TSMC plans to launch CoWoS-L with 5.5x reticle size in 2026 and surpass current CoWoS limitations with 9.5x reticle size by 2027.
4. Taiwan Tech Weekly: COMPUTEX 2025 Kicks Off — Nvidia CEO Unveils Taiwan AI Supercomputer Investment
- COMPUTEX 2025 Kicks Off — Nvidia CEO unveils Taiwan AI Supercomputer investment plan with Hon Hai, TSMC as key partners.
- Nvidia Opens Up Ecosystem with new “NVLink Fusion” — A strategic move to cement long-term platform dominance.
- PC Monitor — Asus Results Warn of Coming Slowdown; PCs’ Next Edge AI Shift
5. Taiwan Dual-Listings Monitor: TSMC Spread Rebounds Back to Recent Highs; ChipMOS Premium at Extreme
- TSMC: +19.2% Premium; Rebounded from Previous Lows, Consider Shorting ADR Spread at 20% or Higher
- ASE: +6.0% Premium; Near Level to Go Short the ADR Spread
- ChipMOS: +3.4% Premium; Good Level to Short the ADR Spread
6. TSMC (2330.TT; TSM.US): Xiaomi Launch “Surge O1” With 3nm.
- Xiaomi to launch strategic new products on the 22nd, including the new SoC chip “Surge O1”.
- Xiaomi Surge O1 at a glance: benchmark scores suggest it’s a strong rival to MediaTek and Qualcomm.
- While Xiaomi has not confirmed the chip’s foundry partner, we believe it is very likely manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) – ADR (TSM US).
7. AMD. Adding $6 Billion Buyback & Authorizing 78% Increase In Share Count. But Why?
- Following its AGM on May 13 last, AMD announced a new $6 billion share repurchase program, despite still having $4 billion remaining on the previous buyback program
- The AGM also approved a proposal to authorize a 78% increase in the company’s share count, from 2.25 billion to 4 billion shares
- It’s a bold move on AMD’s part and it reawakens memories of the company’s acquisition of Xilinx back in 2022 in a $35 billion all stock deal. Deja vu ?
8. TSMC (2330.TT; TSM.US): TSMC’s Arizona Subsidiary Sent a Letter in Response to the U.S. Authorities.
- The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (U.S. BIS) recently released a series of public consultations regarding Section 232 related to semiconductors.
- TSMC stated that any import measures should not create uncertainty for existing semiconductor investments.
- Any measures taken by the U.S. government should not undermine the national security policy objectives of the U.S. government, including advanced semiconductor production at TSMC Arizona.
9. PC Monitor: Asus Results Warn of Coming Slowdown; PCs’ Next Edge AI Shift
- ASUS beat 1Q25 expectations, but flagged tariff risks and a potential PC demand slowdown in 2H25 as consumers front-load purchases ahead of pricing uncertainty.
- PC segment growth outperformed the market, led by >30% YoY gains in commercial PCs and strong momentum in AI-capable and gaming systems.
- On-Device AI execution is emerging as the next PC evolution; Asus is preparing for this shift with GX10 edge devices and deeper integration of AI across product lines.