TSMC has ceased its relationship with Singapore-based PowerAIR after a client review raised concerns about potential violations of U.S. export controls, reports the South China Morning Post, citing people familiar with the matter. As TSMC could not identify the end user of PowerAIR's chips that it ordered, it reportedly presumed that it was dealing with an entity with possible connections to Huawei, which has been under the U.S. technology embargo since 2020.
TSMC's action follows the discovery of a TSMC-made chiplet in a recently assembled Huawei Ascend 910 AI processor. That particular chiplet was ordered by Sophgo, a relatively unknown entity. Singapore-based PowerAIR is just as unknown as Sophgo, it seems. The firm was incorporated as a private company working on engineering design and consultancy back in September 2023. It lacks an official online presence or publicly listed contact information, according to SCMP. The company was flagged after TSMC identified a possible link between its chip designs and Huawei's.
