(JW Insights) Jul 11 -- China-based AI chip design houses are expanding their chip orders for TSMC’s 7nm process since the first quarter of 2023 despite intensified tension between the US and China that may lead to more restrictions on AI GPUs against China, reported DIGITIMES Asia on July 10.

Due to its huge market and opportunities, China's semiconductor industry has not come to a standstill as a result of US restrictions. China's chip players are still seeking avenues of growth, including import substitution and expanding their investments in AI chips, said DIGITIMES Asia.

Sources told DIGITIMES that China's indigenous AI high-performance computing(HPC) chip suppliers are not on the list of export bans, and at least dozens of companies are continuing their investments, with T-Head and Sanechips expanding their orders for TSMC's 7nm chips since the first quarter of the year.

Senior executives at T-Head, developing chips based on Arm and RISC-V architectures, visited TSMC in Taiwan several times and placed more orders with it. It may double that in the second half of the year, said DIGITIMES.

On the other hand, Sanechips doubled their orders in TSMC in the first and second quarters of the year, becoming one of TSMC's top three customers in the China mainland and an important customer in the HPC segment.

The US government imposed export restrictions on AI GPUs against China in October 2022, and there have been rumors that the US may impose tighter restrictive measures, including an export ban on high-end AI chips, such as AMD's and Nvidia's AI GPUs designed specifically for China. Due to the US sanctions and export bans, SMIC, previously progressing toward the 7nm process, was forced to change tack and is expanding its investments in legacy nodes rather than advanced nodes, leading to slower development in AI and HPC in China, according to the DIGITIMES report.

(Gao J)