The M1 family of chips was among highlights at Apple's Monday product launch event. And later this year, Siri is expanding support for multi-user voice recognition so “everyone in the home can set music according to their preferences," Apple said. The company bowed a premium plan for Apple Music that gives subscribers voice access to the service’s full catalog for an additional $4.99 monthly. Users can request music be played across Siri-enabled devices, including CarPlay, the company said. The company increased the power in its Mac chips, with the M1 Pro and M1 Max introducing a SoC architecture to pro systems for the first time.
Chipmakers are challenged by “short-term imbalances due to interruptions in the supply chain brought on by COVID-19,” said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. CEO C.C. Wei on a quarterly call Thursday. “We also continue to observe the structural increase in long-term demand” fueled by the “industry megatrends” of 5G and high-performance computing (HPC), plus the “higher silicon content in many end devices,” he said. Quarterly revenue in TSMC’s largest end-market segment, smartphones, increased to account for 44% of the total. See here for Q3 materials.
AT&T hires Lin Whitehouse, ex-office of House Majority Whip; Jeremy Pederson, ex-USTelecom; Marc Gonzales, also ex-USTelecom; and James Robertson, ex-CTIA, all as assistant vice presidents-federal relations ... Goodwin adds Omer Tene, ex-International Association of Privacy Professionals, and Lore Leitner to Data, Privacy & Cybersecurity practice as partners, joined by associates Josephine Jay and Annabel Loose; the associates and Leitner join from Wilson Sonsini ... Covington promotes Jonathan Wakely to partner in practice advising clients on foreign investment and national security; he has worked on semiconductor, telecom, software, IT and other areas.
Intel is optimistic about the results of last week’s inaugural meeting in Pittsburgh of the EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council (see 2110010037) because it has “significant operations on both sides of the Atlantic, including semiconductor plants and R&D centers,” blogged Chief Trade Officer Jeff Rittener Tuesday. “The conversations that took place take us one step closer to alignment on regulatory policies to help reduce trade barriers.” The TTC established a multilateral approach to export controls as a top priority for “supporting a global level-playing field,” he said. “A harmonized export control regime among like-minded transatlantic partners would ensure products are available in an increasingly digital world.” The regime has “significant potential for increased cooperation and harmonization between the U.S. and the EU, especially as narratives such as technological sovereignty and open strategic autonomy shape dialogues,” said Rittener. “Both entities should make sure that any new controls are smart controls that meet the national security objectives of the EU and U.S.”
China was the unmentioned presence lurking among participants in the inaugural meeting Wednesday in Pittsburgh of the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council (see 2109290006), agreed panelists on a Center for Strategic and International Studies webinar Friday to discuss key takeaways. They agreed the meeting was a moderate success for setting in motion 10 working groups to address specific tasks before the TTC meets again in the spring.
The U.S. and EU should maintain “close coordination” and an “exchange of information” on semiconductor policy and strategy to bolster resilience of the semiconductor supply chains in both regions, blogged Jennifer Meng, Semiconductor Industry Association global policy manager, and Meghan Biery, the association’s director-global technology and security policy. “While geographic specialization has served the global semiconductor industry and its consumers well,” they said Tuesday, “it has also created potential vulnerabilities in the global value chain.” Governments in both regions are trying to introduce and implement policies to encourage investment in “high-risk gaps in the supply chains and to establish a more geographically diverse supplier base,” they said. The U.S. and EU should “jointly analyze the combined strengths and weaknesses” of those policies to ensure “each region’s respective incentive programs are open to the most globally innovative companies,” they said. Promoting information sharing and transparency about each region’s incentive programs can help build supply chain resilience, they said. The inaugural meeting of the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council convened in Pittsburgh beginning Wednesday with the goal of expanding and deepening trade and transatlantic investment ties, they said. Chips should top the U.S-EU trade partnership "agenda" in Pittsburgh, blogged Al Thompson, Intel vice president-U.S. government relations, and Fernando Loureiro, Intel senior director-government director, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Expanding "advanced semiconductor capabilities" will offer Europe and the U.S. "their best chance to reduce dependency on imports from Asia and elsewhere and re-establish themselves as major producers of computer chips," they said Tuesday. The EU and the U.S. "used to be global leaders in the semiconductor industry," they said. "With political and industry forces aligning to reinstate that leadership, we look forward to seeing the progress made in Pittsburgh this week and beyond."
Qualcomm scored a victory Wednesday against allegations it has a modem chip monopoly (see 2104020058 and docket 19-15159 in Pacer).The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit vacated a district court’s order “certifying a nationwide indirect purchaser class in an antitrust multidistrict litigation seeking injunctive and monetary relief under” the Sherman Act and California law. The three-judge panel cited “differences in relevant state laws,” which “swamped predominance.” Judges Eugene Siler, Jay Bybee and Ryan Nelson also cited the result in FTC v. Qualcomm , in which the 9th Circuit said the company’s modem chip licensing practices didn’t violate the Sherman Act, and “there was nothing to be enjoined because its exclusive dealing agreements with Apple did not substantially foreclose competition and were terminated years ago.” California’s “choice of law rules precluded the district court’s certification of the nationwide Rule 23(b)(3) class because other states’ laws, beyond California’s Cartwright Act, should apply,” the court said in Stromberg v. Qualcomm. The company and an attorney for Stromberg didn’t comment.
Stakeholders unveiled their wish lists for the EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council, before the TTC's first meeting Wednesday in Pittsburgh. The council had planned to approve an agreement on the way forward at the meeting, the European Commission told us. The joint EU-U.S. TTC statement sets out five areas of joint work -- investment screening, export controls, AI, semiconductors and global trade challenges -- and establishes 10 working groups. The export control panel will hold a joint virtual event for stakeholders Oct. 27. The American Chamber of Commerce for the EU set out priorities Tuesday for working groups it expects to be established. It seeks a "transparent and open stakeholder engagement mechanism" to ensure outcomes are supported by business. The European Consumer Organisation said consumer groups "support the voluntary exchange of best practices and information between regulators" as long as it doesn't weaken EU ambitions to better safeguard consumers. It said the EU recently tried to improve the transparency of its cooperation with third countries: "This is a positive process that should continue." The Information Technology Industry Council made requests, saying the TTC's work "can be best supported by a successor agreement to the Privacy Shield." Chips "should top the EU-US partnership agenda," Intel blogged.
The U.S. semiconductor industry maintained global leadership, with 47% revenue share, and “kept steady” its high R&D investment at $44 billion spent through 2020, reported the Semiconductor Industry Association Monday. But the industry “and its position as a global innovation leader face myriad challenges,” it said. “The industry continues to grapple with a widespread global semiconductor shortage brought on by unpredictable and increased demand resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said SIA. It suffers from “decreasing share of global front-end fab capacity fueled by incentives and subsidies provided by foreign governments that far outstrip similar incentives in the U.S.,” it said. “America’s economy, national security, tech leadership, and response to COVID-19 are built on semiconductors,” said SIA CEO John Neuffer. “To remain competitive on the global economic stage” and promote more R&D and production “on U.S. shores,” Congress and the White House should “act swiftly” to fund the semiconductor provisions in the Chips Act, he said. The Senate has passed legislation that provides $52 billion in funding, and the House needs to “follow suit,” said SIA.
U.S. District Court in Waco, Texas, rightly denied Intel and Samsung motions to transfer the patent infringement cases in which they are defendants to the Northern District of California, ruled the U.S. Appeals Court for the Federal Circuit Monday. R&D company Demaray sued Intel and Samsung in Waco for infringing two patents on use of semiconductor fab reactors. In denying the transfer motions July 1, the Waco court ruled that neither company “had established that the Northern District of California was a clearly more convenient forum than the Western District of Texas, the plaintiff’s chosen forum,” said the appeals court. “Intel and Samsung have not shown a clear and indisputable right to transfer,” it said. “Mindful of the standard of review, we are not prepared to second-guess the district court’s findings.” Neither manufacturer commented now.