Apple chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) is counter-suing smaller chipmaking rival GlobalFoundries in the U.S., Germany, and Singapore. TSMC says that GlobalFoundries infringed on 25 of its patents.
TSMC is the world’s largest contact chipmaker. It creates the A-series chips used in Apple devices, such as the iPhone 11’s A13 processor. It is looking for “substantial monetary damages” from GlobalFoundries.
As the word “counter-suing” suggests, TSMC isn’t firing the first shot here. GlobalFoundries recently sued sued TSMC for infringing on 16 of its patents. It is asking for any devices that use these patents to be barred from import into Germany and the U.S. The company is also seeking out “significant” damages.
It claims that TSMC has used the stolen IP to rake in “tens of billions of dollars of sales.” TSMC has called the complaint “baseless.”
TSMC vs. GlobalFoundries: The chipmaker wars
According to a recent report, TSMC is already gearing up to produce Apple’s next-gen A14 chips. These will ship with the iPhone 11s (or whatever name the company chooses). They will be made with TSMC’s 5-nanometer process.
The chipmaking giant is also beginning development for chips made with its 3-nanometer process. However, I expect that those chips will not be ready to ship until 2022.
GlobalFoundries, by comparison, has not managed to advance its technology quite as quickly as TSMC. The Santa Clara-based company produces chips using the 14-nm and 12-nm processors. It bills itself as the “world’s leading specialty foundry based in the United States.”
Source: Reuters
