US Commerce Department probing TSMC as suspected chip supplier to Huawei

Following a record-breaking quarterly earnings report, TSMC has found itself under an ongoing probe from the United States Department of Commerce. The investigation will look into the possibility of TSMC supplying Huawei with smartphone and AI chips despite the ongoing ban. The new report from The Information suggests the Commerce Department contacted TSMC to verify whether it is directly or indirectly supplying Huawei with chipsets.

Back in 2020, the U.S. Government banned Huawei from purchasing chips manufactured using American equipment due to national security concerns. In addition, that same ban prevents Huawei from purchasing chipset-manufacturing equipment which further limits its possibility to source chips for its devices.

The new investigation is focusing on the Kirin 9000s found inside the Mate 60 series as well as Huawei’s new Ascend AI processor both of which feature components that should not be accessible to Huawei under the ongoing bans.

Huawei claimed all of its new chips come from China's Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) yet we've seen reports highlighting that another Kirin chip - the Kirin 9006C used in Huawei’s Qingyan L450 laptop was infact manufactured by TSMC.

Kirin 9000s chip

TSMC responded to the ongoing Commerce Department probe with an official statement claiming it is a law-abiding company and will “take prompt action to ensure compliance, including conducting investigations and proactively communicating with relevant parties including customers and regulatory authorities as necessary”.

Source (paywall)