It has been a tumultuous year for the US semiconductor industry.
The semiconductor industry plays an important role in the “AI race” that the United States seems determined to win, so it is worth paying attention to: from the designation of LIP-BU to CEO Intel, which did not waste time to work trying to revitalize the inherited company, until Joe Biden, proposes that it has devastated new rules of export Ai in its way of leaving the manner of the way to leave. ever produce the fruit.
Here is a look at what happened in the first half of 2025.
June
Intel names a new leadership
June 18 – Intel announced Four new leadership appointments This Intel says he will help him move forward with his company to be an engineering company again. Intel announced a new income manager in addition to several high -profile engineering hires.
Intel to start layoffs
June 17 – Intel will start at It has an important part of your Foundry Intel staff In July. The company plans to eliminate at least 15%and up to 20%, from workers in this business unit. These layoffs are not a crash: it was rumored in April, and Intel Lip-Bu’s CEO of Intel Lip-Bu said that the organization wants to flatten.
Nvidia will not report on China
June 13 – Nvidia does not have the United States based on the export restrictions of Chip AI at any time. After the company had a financial success of the recently imposed license requirements in its H20 AI chips, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang no longer includes the Chinese market In future income and benefits forecasts.
AMD acquires the team behind Uncre Ai
June 6 – AMD makes another acquisition: this time it focused on talent. The company Acqui hired the team behind Undher AiIt develops AI inference chips, as the semiconductor giant continues to round off his AI offers.
AMD arrives at Nvidia’s Ai Hardware domain
June 4 – AMD continued his purchase. The company START -UP Software Optimization AI acquired BRIMwhich helps companies to adapt AI software to work with different AI hardware. With a large amount of software designed with Nvidia hardware in mind, this acquisition is not surprising.
May
Nvidia has the impact of chip export restrictions
May 28 – Nvidia reported that U.S. license requirements in H20 AI chips cost $ 4.5 billion in charges During the first quarter. The company provides that these requirements will result in $ 8 billion to NVIDIA income in the first quarter.
AMD acquires ENOSEMI
May 28 – AMD begins its acquisition. The semiconductor company announced that he acquired ENOSEMIA Startup of Silicon Photonics. Enosemi’s technology, which uses photons of light to transmit data, is becoming an increasing area of interest for semiconductor companies.
Tensions begin to spread -in China and the United States
May 21 – China’s Secretary of Commerce did not like the orientation of the United States, issued on May 13, who warned North -American companies that the use of Huawei’s Ai files “anywhere in the world” was a rape of exporting Chips in the United States. The Secretary of Commerce issued a statement threatening legal actions Against anyone who enforced this export restriction.
Intel can start downloading their non -fundamental units
May 20 – Intel’s CEO, LIP-Compres, apparently had the right to work on his plan to prepare non-fundamental business units. The semiconductor giant is expected to look for it Download your network and edge unitsWhich does chips for telecommunications teams and was responsible for $ 5.4 billion for the company’s 2024 income.
The Biden Administration’s Ai AI rule is officially dead
May 13 – A few days before the rule of dissemination of artificial intelligence of the Biden administration was launched, the The United States Department of Commerce was formally terminated. The Doc said it plans to issue new orientations in the future, and in the meantime, companies should remember that the use of Huawei’s Ai AS sheets anywhere in the world is a violation of the North -American export rules.
A last -minute investment
May 7: Just one week before the “framework for the dissemination of artificial intelligence” was launched, Trump’s administration plans to make a different path. According to various media outlets, including Axios and BloombergThe administration will not apply the restrictions when it is supposed to begin on May 15 and, on the other hand, works in its own framework.
April
Anthropic bends on his support for chip export restrictions
April 30: Anthropic dubbed with his support To restrict chip exports made to the United States, including some adjustments to the framework for the dissemination of artificial intelligence, such as imposing more restrictions on level 2 countries and dedicating resources to application. A spokesman for Nvidia shotsaying, “North -American companies should focus on innovation and increase the challenge, instead of saying -in cutting down that the large, heavy and sensitive electronics is somehow smuggled in” baby blows “or” next to living lobsters “.
Dismissals planned to Intel
April 22: Before his first quarter earnings call, Intel said he was planning to say goodbye than 21,000 employees. The layoffs were intended to streamline management, which was the CEO LIP-Compres so long ago that Intel had to do and help reconstruct the company’s engineering focus.
Trump administration further restricts chips exports
April 15: Nvidia’s H20 AI chip hit with an export License requirementThe company spread into a dry presentation. The company added that she expects $ 5.5 billion in charges related to this new requirement in the first quarter of 2026 exercise. The H20 is the most advanced chip Ai that Nvidia can still export to China in some way or fashion. TSMC and Intel reported similar expenses the same week.
Nvidia seems to talk about chips exports
April 9: CEO of nvidia Jensen Huang was located attending dinner at Donald Trump’s Mar-Alago Resort, according to reports. At that moment, NPR reported Huang may have been able to save NVIDIA AI H20 chips from export restrictions by agreeing to invest in AI data centers in the United States.
An alleged agreement between Intel and TSMC
April 3: Intel and TSMC Allegedly reached an interim agreement To launch a joint chip company. This joint company would operate the facilities for creating smart and TSMC chips would take a 20% participation in the new company. The two companies refused to comment or confirm. If this agreement does not come to fruition, it is likely to be a decent preview of the possible offers of this industry.
Intel turns the assets no core, announces a new initiative
April 1: CEO LIP-BU so started working immediately. A few weeks after he joined Intel, the company announced that he was going to Turn the assets no core Therefore, it could focus. He also said that the company would launch new products, including customer semiconductors for customers.
March
Intel names a new CEO
March 12: Intel announced that the veteran of the industry and a former member of the Council, LIP-BU I would return to the company as CEO On March 18. At the time of his appointment, he said that Intel would be a “company focused on engineering” under its leadership.
February
The Ohio Intel Chip plant is delayed again
February 28: Intel should start operating its first chip manufacturing plant in Ohio this year. Instead, The company slowed the construction on the floor for the second time in February. Now, the semiconductor project of $ 28 billion will not end until 2030 and may not even open until 2031.
Senators ask for more chip export restrictions
February 3: American senators, including Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) and Josh Hawley (R-MO), wrote a letter to the designated secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick instant the Trump administration to restrict -even more Exports from chip ai. The letter was specifically referring to NVidia’s H20 AI chips, which were used in the formation of the Deepseek R1 “reasoning” model.
January
Deepseek launches their open “reasoning” model
January 27: Start of the Chinese Ia DeepSeek caused a strength to Silicon Valley when he released the Open version of your R1 reasoning model. Although this is not a specifically semiconductor news story, the pure AI alarm and the Deepseeek semiconductor industries caused it to continue to have an effect on the chip industry.
Joe Biden’s executive order to chips exports
January 13: With only a week left in office, former President Joe Biden proposed for new export restrictions on the AI files made in the United States. This order created a three-level structure that determined how many American chips can be exported to each country. Under this proposal, Level 1 countries did not face any restrictions; Level 2 countries had a chip purchase limit for the first time; And Level 3 countries obtained additional restrictions.
Dario AMODEI OF ANTHROPIC weighs chip export restrictions
January 6: Co-founder and CEO ANTHROPIC DARIO AMODEI co-wrote an op-Ed The Wall Street Journal Approved exporting controls of existing chips and pointing to them as a reason why the AI market in China was behind the United States. He also called on President In coming in Donald Trump to impose more restrictions and to close the gaps that have allowed AI companies in China, still put in their hands on these chips.
