The Department of Commerce sent a letter to TSMC imposing export restrictions on certain sophisticated chips – of 7 nanometre or more advanced designs – destined for China that power AI accelerator and graphics processing units (GPU), the person said.
The US order, which has not previously been reported, comes just weeks after TSMC notified the Commerce Department that one of its chips had been found in a Huawei AI processor, as Reuters reported last month. Research firm Tech Insights had taken apart the product, revealing the TSMC chip, an apparent violation of export controls.
Huawei, at the centre of the US action, is on a restricted trade list, which requires suppliers to obtain licenses to ship any goods or technology to the company. Any license that could aid Huawei’s AI efforts would likely be denied.
TSMC suspended shipments to China-based chip designer Sophgo after its chip matched one found on the Huawei AI processor, sources told Reuters last month.
Reuters could not determine how the chip ended up on Huawei’s Ascend 910B, released in 2022, which is viewed as the most advanced AI chip available from a Chinese company.
The latest clampdown covers many more companies and will allow the US to assess whether other firms are diverting chips to Huawei for its AI processor.