It’s already been a tumultuous 12 months for the U.S. semiconductor business.
The semiconductor business performs a large function within the “AI race” that the U.S. turns out decided to win, which is why this context is value being attentive to: from Intel’s appointment of Lip-Bu Tan to CEO — who wasted no time attending to paintings looking to revitalize the legacy corporate — to Joe Biden proposing sweeping new AI chip export laws on his manner out of place of work that by no means got here to fruition.
Right here’s a take a look at what’s took place within the first part of 2025.
June
Intel appoints new management
June 18 – Intel introduced four new leadership appointments that Intel says will assist it transfer towards its objective of turning into an engineering-first corporate once more. Intel introduced a brand new leader earnings officer along with a couple of high-profile engineering hires.
Intel to start out layoffs
June 17 – Intel will start to lay off a significant chunk of its Intel Foundry staff in July. The corporate plans to get rid of a minimum of 15%, and as much as 20%, of staff in that trade unit. Those layoffs aren’t a surprise: It used to be rumored again in April, and Intel’s CEO Lip-Bu Tan has stated he desires to flatten the group.
Nvidia received’t file on China
June 13 – Nvidia isn’t counting at the U.S. backing off of its AI chip export restrictions anytime quickly. After the corporate took a monetary hit from the newly imposed licensing necessities on its H20 AI chips, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang stated the corporate will no longer include the Chinese market in long term earnings and benefit forecasts.
AMD acquires the crew at the back of Untether AI
June 6 – AMD makes some other acquisition — this time serious about ability. The corporate acqui-hired the team behind Untether AI, which develops AI inference chips, because the semiconductor large continues to spherical out its AI choices.
AMD is coming for Nvidia’s AI {hardware} dominance
June 4 – AMD persisted its buying groceries spree. The corporate acquired AI software optimization startup Brium, which is helping firms retrofit AI instrument to paintings with other AI {hardware}. With numerous AI instrument being designed with Nvidia {hardware} in thoughts, this acquisition isn’t sudden.
Would possibly
Nvidia lays out the have an effect on of chip export restrictions
Would possibly 28 – Nvidia reported that U.S. licensing necessities on its H20 AI chips cost the company $4.5 billion in charges right through Q1. The corporate expects those necessities to lead to an $8 billion hit to Nvidia’s earnings in Q2.
AMD acquires Enosemi
Would possibly 28 – AMD kicks off its acquisition spree. The semiconductor corporate announced that it acquired Enosemi, a silicon photonics startup. Enosemi’s tech, which makes use of mild photons to transmit knowledge, is changing into an expanding house of hobby for semiconductor firms.
Tensions begin to flare between China and the U.S.
Would possibly 21 – China’s Trade Secretary didn’t just like the U.S.’s steering, issued on Would possibly 13, that warned U.S. firms that the use of Huawei’s AI chips “anyplace on the earth” used to be a U.S. chip export violation. The trade secretary issued a statement that threatened legal action in opposition to someone stuck imposing that export restriction.
Intel could also be beginning to offload its non-core gadgets
Would possibly 20 – Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reputedly were given proper to paintings on his plan to spin out Intel’s non-core trade gadgets. The semiconductor large is reportedly taking a look to offload its networking and edge units, which makes chips for telecom apparatus, and used to be chargeable for $5.4 billion of the corporate’s 2024 earnings.
The Biden management’s AI Diffusion rule is formally useless
Would possibly 13 – Simply days sooner than the Biden management’s Synthetic Intelligence Diffusion Rule used to be set to enter position, the U.S. Department of Commerce formally rescinded it. The DOC stated that it plans to factor new steering sooner or later, and within the interim firms must take into account that the use of Huawei’s Ascend AI chips anyplace on the earth is a contravention of U.S. export laws.
A final-minute reversal
Would possibly 7: Only a week sooner than the “Framework for Synthetic Intelligence Diffusion” used to be set to enter position, the Trump management plans on taking a special trail. In keeping with a couple of media shops, together with Axios and Bloomberg, the management received’t implement the constraints once they have been meant to begin on Would possibly 15 and is as a substitute operating by itself framework.
April
Anthropic doubles down on its make stronger of chip export restrictions
April 30: Anthropic doubled down on its support for proscribing U.S.-made chip exports, together with some tweaks to the Framework for Synthetic Intelligence Diffusion, like enforcing additional restrictions on Tier 2 nations and dedicating sources to enforcement. An Nvidia spokesperson shot back, announcing, “American companies must center of attention on innovation and upward push to the problem, slightly than inform tall stories that enormous, heavy, and delicate electronics are someway smuggled in ‘child bumps’ or ‘along reside lobsters.’”
Deliberate layoffs at Intel
April 22: Forward of its Q1 income name, Intel stated it used to be making plans to put off greater than 21,000 employees. The layoffs have been intended to streamline control, one thing CEO Lip-Bu Tan has lengthy stated Intel had to do, and assist rebuild the corporate’s engineering center of attention.
The Trump management additional restricts chip exports
April 15: Nvidia’s H20 AI chip were given hit with an export licensing requirement, the corporate disclosed in an SEC submitting. The corporate added it expects $5.5 billion in fees associated with this new requirement within the first quarter of its 2026 fiscal 12 months. The H20 is probably the most complex AI chip Nvidia can nonetheless export to China in some shape or style. TSMC and Intel reported an identical bills the similar week.
Nvidia seems to speak its manner out of additional chip exports
April 9: Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang was spotted attending dinner at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago lodge, in keeping with stories. On the time, NPR reported Huang can have been ready to spare Nvidia’s H20 AI chips from export restrictions upon agreeing to spend money on AI knowledge facilities within the U.S.
An alleged settlement between Intel and TSMC
April 3: Intel and TSMC allegedly reached a tentative agreement to release a joint chipmaking mission. This three way partnership would function Intel’s chipmaking amenities, and TSMC would have a 20% stake within the new mission. Each firms declined to remark or verify. If this deal doesn’t come to fruition, that is most likely a tight preview of attainable offers on this business to return.
Intel spins off noncore property, declares new initiative
April 1: CEO Lip-Bu Tan started working instantly. Simply weeks after he joined Intel, the corporate introduced that it used to be going to spin off noncore assets so it might center of attention. He additionally stated the corporate would release new merchandise, together with customized semiconductors for patrons.
March
Intel names a brand new CEO
March 12: Intel introduced that business veteran, and previous board member, Lip-Bu Tan would return to the company as CEO on March 18. On the time of his appointment, Tan stated Intel can be an “engineering-focused corporate” underneath his management.
February
Intel’s Ohio chip plant will get behind schedule once more
February 28: Intel used to be meant to begin running its first chip fabrication plant in Ohio this 12 months. As an alternative, the company slowed down construction at the plant for the second one time in February. Now the $28 billion semiconductor mission received’t wrap up building till 2030 and won’t even open till 2031.
Senators name for extra chip export restrictions
February 3: U.S. senators, together with Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo), wrote a letter to Trade Secretary Nominee-Designate Howard Lutnick urging the Trump administration to further restrict AI chip exports. The letter in particular referred to Nvidia’s H20 AI chips, which have been used within the coaching of DeepSeek’s R1 “reasoning” style.
January
DeepSeek releases its open “reasoning” style
January 27: Chinese language AI startup DeepSeek brought about fairly the stir in Silicon Valley when it launched the open version of its R1 “reasoning” model. Whilst this isn’t semiconductor information in particular, the sheer alarm within the AI and semiconductor industries DeepSeek’s unlock brought about continues to have ripple results at the chip business.
Joe Biden’s government order on chip exports
January 13: With only a week left in place of work, former president Joe Biden proposed sweeping new export restrictions on U.S.-made AI chips. This order created a three-tier construction that decided what number of U.S. chips will also be exported to every nation. Beneath this proposal, Tier 1 nations confronted no restrictions; Tier 2 nations had a chip acquire prohibit for the primary time; and Tier 3 nations were given further restrictions.
Anthropic’s Dario Amodei weighs in on chip export restrictions
January 6: Anthropic co-founder and CEO Dario Amodei co-wrote an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal endorsing current AI chip export controls and pointing to them as a explanation why China’s AI marketplace used to be at the back of the U.S.’. He often known as on incoming president Donald Trump to impose additional restrictions and to near loopholes that experience allowed AI firms in China to nonetheless get their fingers on those chips.
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