Latest news with #TSMC
TechCrunch
33 minutes ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
SoftBank reportedly looking to launch a trillion-dollar AI and robotics industrial complex
SoftBank is going all in on AI. Just months after announcing its involvement in the $500 billion Stargate AI Infrastructure project, of which SoftBank is rumored to be fronting a cool $19 billion, the Japanese investing conglomerate is reportedly looking to launch its largest AI project yet. The company is looking to team up with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to launch a trillion-dollar industrial complex in Arizona to build AI and robotics, according to reporting from Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the project. The initiative, dubbed Project Crystal Land, appears to still be in its very early stages. Despite SoftBank's desire to work with TSMC on the project, it's unclear what TSMC's role would be, according to Bloomberg, or if it would be interested in joining forces with SoftBank at all — TSMC already has its own AI infrastructure projects in Arizona in the works. TechCrunch reached out to SoftBank for more information.
Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
TSM vs. LRCX: Which Chip Supplier Stock Is the Smarter Pick?
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company TSM and Lam Research Corporation LRCX are two of the most important companies in the semiconductor industry. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, also known as TSMC, makes the actual chips that power everything from smartphones to AI servers. Lam Research makes the equipment that chipmakers like TSMC use to produce those chips. Both companies are crucial to the tech supply chain and have seen strong demand in recent years. However, with rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI), 5G and advanced chips, the question is: Which is the smarter pick for investors today? TSMC: Foundry Leader With Big Opportunities and Risks TSM manufactures chips for the world's top tech companies, including NVIDIA, Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing is known for its advanced production capabilities and has already moved into 3nm production, with 2nm coming soon. Its large scale allows it to handle rising AI chip demand better than most competitors. In the first quarter of 2025, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing reported a 35% increase in revenues and a 53% jump in profit. Its 3nm and 5nm chips accounted for nearly 58% of wafer sales. AI-related revenues tripled in 2024 and are expected to double again in 2025. With AI likely to be a long-term driver, TSMC's future growth potential looks strong. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing is also investing heavily to stay ahead. It plans to spend up to $42 billion in 2025, mostly on advanced manufacturing. This is up from $29.8 billion in 2024 and shows its commitment to keeping its lead in cutting-edge chip production. However, challenges do linger. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's heavy presence in Taiwan leaves it exposed to geopolitical tensions between China and the United States. While the company is building new fabs in the United States, Japan and Europe, these projects are costly and take time. Rising energy prices in Taiwan and weakness in the smartphone and PC markets could also pressure profits in the short term. Lam Research: A Strong Player With Steady Gains Lam Research is also capitalizing on the same AI trends but from the equipment side. It builds the tools chipmakers need to manufacture next-generation semiconductors, including high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and chips used in advanced packaging. These technologies are vital for powering AI and cloud data centers. Lam Research's products are not only critical but also innovative. For example, its ALTUS ALD tool uses molybdenum to improve speed and efficiency in chip production. Another product, the Aether platform, helps chipmakers achieve higher performance and density. These are essential capabilities as demand for advanced AI chips increases. In 2024, Lam Research's shipments for gate-all-around nodes and advanced packaging exceeded $1 billion, and management expects this figure to triple to more than $3 billion in 2025. Additionally, the industry's migration to backside power distribution and dry-resist processing presents further growth opportunities for LRCX's cutting-edge fabrication solutions. These trends are aiding Lam Research's financial performance. In the third quarter of fiscal 2025, the company reported revenues of $4.72 billion, up 24.5% year over year, and non-GAAP EPS of $1.04, highlighting a 33.3% increase (adjusting for stock split). TSM vs. LRCX: Earnings Outlook and Valuation The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's 2025 EPS implies year-over-year growth of 31.8%, slightly lower than Lam Research's 33.8% for fiscal 2025. Moreover, the earnings estimate revision trend for the two companies reflects that analysts are turning more bullish toward LRCX. LRCX Earnings Estimate Revision Trend Image Source: Zacks Investment Research TSM Earnings Estimate Revision Trend On the valuation front, Lam Research trades at 23.16 times forward earnings compared to 21.43 times for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. While LRCX looks more expensive, its positive earnings momentum justifies the premium. TSMC's lower valuation reflects its risks, including higher capital spending and geopolitical concerns. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Year to date, LRCX stock has soared 27.7%, while TSM shares have risen 8.1%. This difference shows how investors are weighing the risks and rewards of each company. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Conclusion: LRCX Is the Smarter Pick Right Now Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and Lam Research are both strong companies in an industry that should keep growing. But today, Lam Research seems like the better investment. It is benefiting from the same AI trends as TSMC but with fewer risks from political tensions and spending. Its steady growth, strong demand and solid profits make Lam Research a smarter choice for investors right now. Currently, Lam Research has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), making the stock a must-pick compared to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, which has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor Stock It's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom. With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028. See This Stock Now for Free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Lam Research Corporation (LRCX): Free Stock Analysis Report
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
SoftBank's Masayoshi Son pitches $1 trillion US AI hub to TSMC and Trump team: Report
SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son is envisaging setting up a $1 trillion industrial complex in Arizona that will build robots and artificial intelligence, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. Son is seeking to team up with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co for the project, which is aimed at bringing back high-end tech manufacturing to the US and to create a version of China's vast manufacturing hub of Shenzhen, the report said. SoftBank officials have spoken with US federal and state government officials to discuss possible tax breaks for companies building factories or otherwise investing in the industrial park, including talks with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, the report said. SoftBank is keen to have TSMC involved in the project, codenamed Project Crystal Land, but it is not clear in what capacity, the report said. It is also not clear the Taiwanese company would be interested, it said. TSMC is already building chipmaking factories in the US with a planned investment of $165 billion. Son is also sounding out interest among tech companies including Samsung Electronics, the report said. The plans are preliminary and feasibility depends on support from the Trump administration and state officials, it said. A commitment of $1 trillion would be double that of the $500 billion "Stargate" project which seeks to build out data centre capacity across the US, with funding from SoftBank, OpenAI and Oracle . SoftBank and TSMC declined to comment. The White House and US Department of Commerce did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The proposed scheme follows a series of big investment announcements SoftBank has made this year. In March it announced it would acquire US semiconductor design company Ampere for $6.5 billion and in April said it would underwrite up to $40 billion of new investment in OpenAI, of which up to $10 billion would be syndicated to other investors. This week SoftBank raised $4.8 billion from a sale of shares in T-Mobile.
Business Times
3 hours ago
- Business
- Business Times
Masayoshi Son pitches US$1 trillion US AI hub to TSMC, Trump team
[TOKYO] SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son is seeking to team up with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing to realise what could be his biggest bet yet – a trillion-dollar industrial complex in Arizona to build robots and artificial intelligence. Son envisions a version of the vast manufacturing hub of China's Shenzhen that would bring back high-tech manufacturing to the US, according to people familiar with the billionaire's thinking. The park may comprise production lines for AI-powered industrial robots, they said, asking not to be named as the plan remains private. SoftBank officials are keen to have the Taiwanese maker of Nvidia's advanced AI chips play a prominent role in the project, although it's not clear what part Son sees for TSMC, which already plans to invest US$165 billion in the US and has started mass production at its first Arizona factory. Nor is it clear that TSMC would be interested. A person familiar with the chipmaker's thinking said that SoftBank's project has no bearing on TSMC's plans in Phoenix. Codenamed 'Project Crystal Land,' the Arizona complex represents the 67-year-old SoftBank chief's most ambitious attempt in a career that's spanned numerous bet-the-house bids, thousands-fold-returns and billions of dollars in losses. Son, who's often expressed disappointment in his own legacy, has repeatedly said he means to do everything he can to hurry AI development. SoftBank officials have spoken with federal and state government officials to discuss possible tax breaks for companies building factories or otherwise investing in the industrial park, including talks with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, the people said. The Japanese billionaire is also personally sounding out interest among an array of tech companies, they said. The project has been floated to executives at South Korea's Samsung Electronics, they said. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Shares of SoftBank rose 2.7 per cent on Friday. TSMC's stock price rose 1.9 per cent, while Samsung's gained 0.5 per cent. Representatives of SoftBank, TSMC and Samsung declined to comment. A Commerce Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. SoftBank's attempts to get businesses investing in a US industrial park follow signs that its campaign alongside ChatGPT maker OpenAI to raise hundreds of billions of dollars for US data centres is moving slower than initially expected. Crystal Land would need to address crucial details, such as whether there's demand and funding on par with its grandiose scale, to become reality. Son has pulled together a list of SoftBank Vision Fund portfolio companies that might take part in the Arizona manufacturing hub, the people said. SoftBank-backed startups working on robotics and automation technologies – such as Agile Robots – may set up production facilities at the industrial complex, they said. The plans are preliminary and feasibility hinges on support from the Trump administration and state officials. While the cost of the project as envisioned by Son may require as much as US$1 trillion to execute – a sum previously reported by the Nikkei – the actual scale depends on interest from big technology companies. If successful, Son has floated building multiple cutting-edge industrial parks across the US. SoftBank is exploring the Arizona project as it also moves forward on plans to invest as much as US$30 billion into OpenAI and plans a US$6.5 billion acquisition of Ampere Computing. It's also seeding money into the Stargate venture with OpenAI, Oracle and Abu Dhabi's MGX, although it aims to get the bulk of the money for building data centres around the world from outside investors. Those outlays come as SoftBank's cash stood at 3.4 trillion yen(S$30 billion) at the end of March. The Tokyo-based company has since tapped its T-Mobile US stake, selling roughly a quarter of what it held in March to raise US$4.8 billion this month. SoftBank also has net assets valued at 25.7 trillion yen, of which chip designer Arm Holdings makes the single largest portion, allowing it to borrow billions more as needed. SoftBank's exploring project financing for Stargate data centres, a model that could be adapted to a big endeavour like Crystal Land. Common for large-scale infrastructure like oil or gas pipelines, the project finance template would allow the tech investor to raise funding on a project-by-project basis and require less money upfront. Son's restless search for growth has resulted in projects that proceed in fits and starts, making it difficult to gauge how committed he is to any one venture. The billionaire is often goaded by the desire to boost SoftBank's stock price and repay retail investors who've held onto the company's shares from before the dot-com boom and bust, people close to the SoftBank chief have said. Many investors have waited for decades for the stock to regain dot-com bubble levels – something it's flirted with only a few times since 2020. If Son's primary motivation is to clear the way for AI, it may be more cost-efficient to encourage partnerships that link manufacturing expertise with that of AI engineers and specialists in fields from medicine to robotics, and incubating smaller companies, according to Melissa Otto, head of research at Visible Alpha. But pouring cash into data centres may help lower the cost of developing AI applications and spur broader adoption, she said. 'He's a long-term thinker, and he takes risks,' Otto said. 'It's just too early to tell.' BLOOMBERG
Japan Times
3 hours ago
- Business
- Japan Times
Masayoshi Son pitches $1 trillion U.S. AI hub to TSMC and Trump team
SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son is seeking to team up with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to realize what could be his biggest bet yet — a trillion-dollar industrial complex in Arizona to build robots and artificial intelligence. Son envisions a version of the vast manufacturing hub of China's Shenzhen that would bring back high-tech manufacturing to the U.S., according to people familiar with the billionaire's thinking. The park may comprise production lines for AI-powered industrial robots, they said, asking not to be named as the plan remains private. SoftBank officials are keen to have the Taiwanese maker of Nvidia's advanced AI chips play a prominent role in the project, although it's not clear what part Son sees for TSMC, which already plans to invest $165 billion in the U.S. and has started mass production at its first Arizona factory. Nor is it clear that TSMC would be interested. A person familiar with the chipmaker's thinking said that SoftBank's project has no bearing on TSMC's plans in Phoenix. Codenamed "Project Crystal Land,' the Arizona complex represents the 67-year-old SoftBank chief's most ambitious attempt in a career that's spanned numerous bet-the-house bids, thousands-fold-returns and billions of dollars in losses. Son, who's often expressed disappointment in his own legacy, has repeatedly said he means to do everything he can to hurry AI development. SoftBank officials have spoken with U.S. federal and state government officials to discuss possible tax breaks for companies building factories or otherwise investing in the industrial park, including talks with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, the people said. The Japanese billionaire is also personally sounding out interest among an array of tech companies, they said. The project has been floated to executives at South Korea's Samsung Electronics, they said. Shares of SoftBank rose 2.7% Friday. TSMC's stock price rose 1.9%, while Samsung's gained 0.5%. Representatives of SoftBank, TSMC and Samsung declined to comment. A Commerce Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. SoftBank's attempts to get businesses investing in a U.S. industrial park follow signs that its campaign alongside ChatGPT-maker OpenAI to raise hundreds of billions of dollars for U.S. data centers is moving slower than initially expected. Crystal Land would need to address crucial details, such as whether there's demand and funding on par with its grandiose scale, to become reality. Son has pulled together a list of SoftBank Vision Fund portfolio companies that might take part in the Arizona manufacturing hub, the people said. SoftBank-backed startups working on robotics and automation technologies — such as Agile Robots — may set up production facilities at the industrial complex, they said. The plans are preliminary and feasibility hinges on support from the White House and state officials. While the cost of the project as envisioned by Son may require as much as $1 trillion to execute — a sum previously reported by the Nikkei — the actual scale depends on interest from big technology companies. If successful, Son has floated building multiple cutting-edge industrial parks across the U.S. SoftBank is exploring the Arizona project as it also moves forward on plans to invest as much as $30 billion into OpenAI and plans a $6.5 billion acquisition of Ampere Computing. It's also seeding money into the Stargate venture with OpenAI, Oracle and Abu Dhabi's MGX, although it aims to get the bulk of the money for building data centers around the world from outside investors. Those outlays come as SoftBank's cash stood at ¥3.4 trillion ($23 billion) at the end of March. The Tokyo-based company has since tapped its T-Mobile U.S. stake, selling roughly a quarter of what it held in March to raise $4.8 billion this month. SoftBank also has net assets valued at ¥25.7 trillion, of which chip designer Arm Holdings makes the single largest portion, allowing it to borrow billions more as needed. SoftBank is exploring project financing for Stargate data centers, a model that could be adapted to a big endeavor like Crystal Land. Common for large-scale infrastructure like oil or gas pipelines, the project finance template would allow the tech investor to raise funding on a project-by-project basis and require less money upfront. Son's restless search for growth has resulted in projects that proceed in fits and starts, making it difficult to gauge how committed he is to any one venture. The billionaire is often goaded by the desire to boost SoftBank's stock price and repay retail investors who've held onto the company's shares from before the dot-com boom and bust, people close to the SoftBank chief have said. Many investors have waited for decades for the stock to regain dot-com bubble levels — something it's flirted with only a few times since 2020. If Son's primary motivation is to clear the way for AI, it may be more cost-efficient to encourage partnerships that link manufacturing expertise with that of AI engineers and specialists in fields from medicine to robotics, and incubating smaller companies, according to Melissa Otto, head of research at Visible Alpha. But pouring cash into data centers may help lower the cost of developing AI applications and spur broader adoption, she said. "He's a long-term thinker, and he takes risks,' Otto said. "It's just too early to tell.'
