Trends of chip industry giants: Xu Wenwei retired, and Samsung's 3nm yield increased
Chips are the core of the modern technology industry and the key force to promote the development of the information age. In recent years, the pattern of the global chip industry has undergone significant changes, the status of traditional giants has been challenged, and emerging forces have gradually risen. In this context, two major events have aroused widespread attention in the industry.
Xu Wenwei, the founder of Huawei's chip business, retired
In May 2024, Xu Wenwei, the founder of Huawei's chip business, officially announced his retirement, ending his 33-year career at Huawei. This news has caused a lot of shock in the industry, Xu Wenwei can be described as the pioneer and promoter of Huawei's chip business, and his retirement marks the end of an era.
Xu Wenwei joined Huawei in 1991 as an ordinary engineer and quickly stood out for his extraordinary talent and insight. In the following decades, he presided over the research and development of a number of major Huawei products, and made outstanding contributions to Huawei's chip business.
The most famous is the development of Huawei's C&C08 digital program-controlled switch in 1995. The advent of this switch marks Huawei's official entry into the ranks of communication equipment manufacturers from a trading company. Subsequently, Xu Wenwei presided over the research and development of a number of major products such as Huawei's ASIC chips, GSM systems, and core switches for Taiyun data centers, injecting strong impetus into Huawei's development.
In 2004, with the direct participation of Xu Wenwei, Huawei established a subsidiary of HiSilicon Semiconductor, which specializes in chip design and manufacturing. Wenwei Xu became the first president of HiSilicon, bringing his years of experience in chip research and development to HiSilicon's development. Under his leadership, HiSilicon has rapidly grown into the core strength of Huawei's chip business, providing strong chip support for Huawei's communication equipment.
Xu Wenwei posted on Moments: "I have worked in Huawei for 33 years, and I have witnessed the development and growth of this great enterprise. This sentence fully reflects his deep attachment and reluctance to Huawei. Xu Wenwei's retirement means that Huawei's chip business will enter a new stage of development, but the solid foundation he has laid for it will continue to play a role in helping Huawei maintain its leading position in the chip field.
Samsung's 3nm yield has improved, but it still lags behind TSMC
Another major event that has attracted the attention of the industry is Samsung's progress in the 3nm process. According to reports, Samsung's 3nm process yield was initially only 10%-20%, but recently increased to 30%-60%, which is about three times the original.
Yield is an important indicator to measure the maturity of the chip manufacturing process. The higher the yield, the more mature the process, and the higher the quality and reliability of the chip product. The significant improvement in the yield of Samsung's 3nm process is undoubtedly good news, indicating that Samsung has made phased progress in this field.
Although Samsung's 3nm yield has improved significantly, there is still a certain gap compared with the industry-leading TSMC. It is understood that the yield of TSMC's 3nm process using FinFET process is already quite high, so Samsung is still lagging behind TSMC in terms of yield.
Faced with this situation, Samsung has high hopes for the next generation of 3nm process. It is reported that Samsung's generation 3nm process is expected to catch up with or even surpass TSMC's N3P process in terms of performance, power consumption and area (PPA and other key indicators). If this expectation can be realized, it will help Samsung reverse the passive situation in the future chip manufacturing competition.
The competition in the chip manufacturing process has entered a white-hot stage. With the leading edge of the FinFET process, TSMC is currently leading the field in the process field of 3nm and below. However, Samsung, Intel and other manufacturers are also actively catching up, trying to achieve overtaking in more advanced processes in the future. This pattern of catching up will promote the development of the entire chip industry to a higher level.
The chip industry has broad development prospects
Looking at the development process of the global chip industry, we can find that the breakthrough and innovation of chip technology is the fundamental driving force for the rapid development of information technology. From integrated circuits in the 60s of the 20th century, to microprocessors in the 90s of the last century, to mobile chips and AI chips in the new century, every technological innovation has brought profound changes to human society.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, the rapid development of a new generation of information technology represented by mobile Internet, cloud computing, big data, and artificial intelligence has put forward higher requirements for the performance and function of chips. The chip manufacturing process is also constantly innovating, from 22 nanometers, 14 nanometers, to the current 7 nanometers, 5 nanometers, 3 nanometers, the integration and computing power of chips continue to improve.
In the future, the pace of innovation in chip technology will be further accelerated. With the rise of cutting-edge technologies such as quantum computing, 6G communication, and the metaverse, the demand for chips will show an exponential growth trend. The development prospects of the chip industry are bright and will inject new impetus into the global economic development.
At present, the pattern of the global chip industry is undergoing profound adjustments. Traditional chip giants such as Intel, Samsung, TSMC, etc., are increasing investment in innovation and striving to occupy a dominant position in the future process competition. Emerging forces such as China and Europe are also accelerating the pace of development of the chip industry, striving to narrow the gap with chip powers such as the United States.
This kind of contest and game between new and old forces will promote the development of the global chip industry in a more diversified direction. The chip industry chain will be further improved, forming a number of chip design and manufacturing highlands, which is conducive to the sustainable and healthy development of the entire industry.
Xu Wenwei's retirement and the improvement of Samsung's 3nm yield rate reflect two aspects of the current development of the chip industry. On the one hand, the founders and founders of traditional chip giants are drifting apart, marking the end of an era; On the other hand, emerging forces are accelerating the pace of catching up, and the competitive landscape of the chip industry is undergoing profound changes.
Whether it is the departure of the old generation or the rise of new forces, it indicates that the chip industry is going through a period of profound change. In this process, the innovation of chip technology will continue to advance, the competition in the manufacturing process will become increasingly fierce, and the industrial pattern will also undergo major adjustments.
We have reason to believe that under the joint promotion of global scientific and technological forces, the chip industry will surely enter a broader world of development and contribute more to the scientific and technological progress of human society. Let's wait and see the next glorious era of chip technology.