Taiwan prosecutors arrested six people suspected of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturer’s business theft (TSMC), opening an investigation into a possible violation of national security involving a global technology industry pillar.
Nvidia’s chip manufacturer has reported to the authorities several current and old employees on suspicion of illegally obtained central technology. A total of six people were arrested, with two bail and one being released later, said the spokesman for the office of Taiwan promoters, John Nieh. Prosecutors searched the homes of some employees between 25 and 28 July, the agency said in a statement. Now they are trying to find out if data has been leaked to other parts.
TSMC is the most advanced semiconductor manufacturer in the world, producing from AI accelerators to Nvidia to Apple Inc iPhones processors. The case coincides with a racing of companies such as goal platforms Inc. and DeepSek to develop artificial intelligence in the post-chatgpt era, which requires billions of dollars in servers and datacers.
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On Tuesday, Nikkei reported that TSMC dismissed several employees suspected of trying critical information on the development of 2 nanometer chips. This next -generation semiconductor process is going into mass production in the second half of this year.
Local investigators also searched the Taiwanese facilities of the Japanese supplier Tokyo Electron Ltd., the Financial Times said. Company representatives preferred not to comment.
TSMC took disciplinary measures against those involved and started legal proceedings, the company said in a statement, without further details. The company conducted an internal investigation and identified the problem “early,” he added in the statement.
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The case highlights TSMC, one of the companies in the center of the global infrastructure boom.
The investment in chip manufacturing development is at a record level, with TSMC and its main competitor, Samsung Electronics Co., allocating more than $ 30 billion annually in capital expenses, while US and China companies compete to develop more advanced technology.
China’s progress is late in several generations in relation to TSMC, with Huawei Technologies Co. and semiconductor manufacturing international corp. Currently manufacturing silicon in 7nm. In the US, Intel Corp. It is in a more advanced stage.
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