Xiaomi develops its own AI mobile chip in challenge to Qualcomm, MediaTek

Xiaomi Corp (小米) has launched a mobile processor for its marquee devices, putting pressure on Qualcomm Inc and MediaTek Inc (聯發科), which for years supplied the key component to the Chinese company.

The Xring O3 system-on-a-chip advances Xiaomi’s in-house semiconductor design efforts with more power-efficient image processing and better artificial intelligence capabilities, the Beijing-based company said in a post on Sina Weibo yesterday.

The company’s new silicon is made using a 3-nanometer fabrication process, Xiaomi founder Lei Jun (雷軍) said in a WeChat post .

That is closer to the node used for Apple Inc’s most recent A19 Pro chips and well ahead of its biggest home rival Huawei Technologies Co’s (華為) in-house designs.

Xiaomi has contracted Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) to manufacture the chips, Reuters reported.

San Diego, California-based Qualcomm and Taiwan’s MediaTek have long provided Xiaomi’s key processors. The Chinese company, which also designs and produces electric vehicles, is building on years of its own research on semiconductors to lower reliance on foreign chips. Having an in-house chip for its flagship products would enhance Xiaomi’s bargaining position with suppliers and boost its consumer appeal in a fiercely competitive market.

Rival Huawei uses self-developed Kirin processors in its premium phones after a series of US restrictions cut it off from key global suppliers including Qualcomm. In contrast, Xiaomi is not subject to sanctions preventing it from contracting with international suppliers.

Once China’s No. 1 smartphone maker, Xiaomi is grappling with lackluster demand for its handset and electric-vehicle businesses as countrywide consumption levels stagnate.

In smartphones, the company suffered the heaviest shipment decline among major hardware makers in the June quarter, Counterpoint Research said. Investors are also concerned that aggressive pricing for its latest sport utility vehicles could further squeeze margins.

The Xring O3 chip is expected to power Xiaomi’s upcoming flagship folding phone, with a shipment target of 200,000 to 300,000 units, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Xiaomi’s expansion into foldable phones, a more expensive segment of the market, could challenge leading domestic player Huawei, which shipped 1.6 million foldable phones in China in the second quarter, giving it a 68 percent market share, research firm Smart Analytics Global said.

Taiwan and other technology democracies have a "golden but narrowing" three-to-five-year window to lay the foundations for an advanced robotics supply chain outside China, particularly for humanoid robots, a Taiwan-based researcher said yesterday. A report released on Monday by the Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET) examines China-West competition in physical artificial intelligence (AI) and Taiwan’s potential role in developing alternatives to Chinese robot supply chains.

Humanoid robots remain unproven, meaning China’s lead in shipments currently has a limited impact on the real economy, Nathanael Cheng (鄭秉信), a policy analyst in the DSET Economic Security Program, said in a

SPECIALTY SUPPLIES: Taiwan is ushering in a major shift in industrial upgrades and a local alliance will reinforce supply chain resilience, SEMI president Terry Tsao said SEMI Taiwan launched a semiconductor materials alliance yesterday to fortify industry resilience, capitalizing on surging domestic demand fueled by advanced nodes and next-generation packaging. Taiwan has been the world’s largest semiconductor materials consumer for 16 years in a row, the industry association said.

Taiwan purchased about US$21.7 billion of semiconductor materials last year, driven by artificial intelligence (AI)-related demand, SEMI data showed. The spending accounted for 30 percent of global semiconductor materials consumption, totaling US$73.2 billion, the data showed. “Demand for specialty gases, chemicals and key raw materials are rising in Taiwan, fueled by the technology advancements to 2-nanometer and advanced packaging technologies,” SEMI

HAND-IN-HAND: Nvidia’s inability to hold the line on prices reflects how much leverage memorychip makers have amid the surge in demand for AI infrastructure Some of Nvidia Corp’s biggest customers have been told that the prices of servers containing its artificial intelligence (AI) chips are going up more than 15 percent in many cases with memory costs soaring. The price hikes would go into effect on systems shipped early next year and impact systems including those with the flagship Vera Rubin and Grace Blackwell chips, people familiar with the process said on condition of anonymity.

The increases would depend on the generation of Nvidia chips and the memory configurations, they said. Companies who build the servers under contract for large data center operators such as Microsoft

YouTube is offering millions of dollars to popular channels if they upload their videos to the site exclusively for a certain period of time, in an effort to halt Netflix Inc’s pursuit of its biggest stars, people familiar with the conversations said. The payment would come in a couple of different forms. YouTube has discussed directly financing some programs, and it has also offered to allot a portion of major brand deals to creators.

Although YouTube has not finalized deals with any creators, it is close an agreement with several partners, said the people, who declined to be identified because