Accused of transferring TSMC chips to Huawei! Who is Alchip? The parent company is actually Bitmain?

Who exactly handed over TSMC's chips to Huawei? There are now preliminary suspects, but the evidence of acting as a "white glove" and a fatal blow is still waiting to surface. According to two sources cited by Reuters, after TSMC discovered its own chips in Huawei's AI processors, it ordered a halt to the supply to Chinese chip developer Sophgo.

It is reported that the chips ordered by Bitmain Technologies from TSMC are consistent with the chips in Huawei's processor "Ascend 910B". In order to protect U.S. national security, Huawei is restricted from purchasing this technological product. However, Reuters emphasizes that "it is unclear how TSMC's chips are installed in Huawei's products."

Regarding the suspicion of being a "Huawei white glove," Alchip Technology released a statement on its official website on October 27, emphasizing that it "has never had any business dealings with Huawei." It has also provided a investigation report to TSMC to prove its unrelatedness to Huawei.

Regarding the reported content, currently neither TSMC, Huawei, nor the US Department of Commerce has responded positively.

Alphanumeric Technology fears that TSMC may be implicated in the 'Huawei ban'.

Reuters recently revealed on October 22 that tech research company TechInsights discovered that Huawei's Ascend 910B processor contains TSMC chips when dismantling it, and immediately notified TSMC of this case. After receiving the news, TSMC reported to the United States about two weeks ago that this case may violate the export ban imposed on Huawei.

"Huawei ban" was proposed by the Trump administration in two stages, in 2019 and 2022. In the first stage, the US put Huawei on the "Entity List" commonly known as the export control blacklist. Simply put, unless US companies have special government permission, they cannot do business with Huawei.

The second phase in 2020 further restricts any company that uses American technology to produce or manufacture products from doing business with Huawei, in order to further block Huawei. Since semiconductor products are more or less applied with American technology and equipment, many members of Huawei's supply chain in Taiwan were affected at that time, including TSMC's chips.

According to the parent company 'Bitmain', it had illegally recruited engineers in Taiwan for mining operations.

According to a report by Reuters, Alun Technology was co-founded by Micree Zhan, co-founder of Bitmain, and the two are closely related.

Bitmain, the parent company of SuanNeng Technology, is a Cryptocurrency Mining equipment company headquartered in Beijing, China. It is currently the world's largest BTC ASIC Mining Rig manufacturer. In 2021, it was accused of concealing its Chinese identity to establish two technology companies, ZhiXi and XinDao, in Taiwan, and illegally employing hundreds of semiconductor engineers for research and development and mining.

As for Alchip Technology, it was founded by Zhang Ketuan in 2019, focusing on AI and RISC-V chip product design, and selling products to local governments in China. TSMC has been delivering 'hundreds of thousands of chips' to Alchip Technology until this month. The Chinese corporate registration database shows that Zhang Ketuan indirectly holds about 22% of Alchip Technology's shares.

According to the website of AlgoTech, the company has research and development centers in more than ten cities in China and other countries. Reuters revealed that in 2023, it used the same email Address as BitMain to communicate with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the name of Xiamen AlgoTech Technology Co., Ltd., indicating a certain degree of relationship between them and BitMain.

The full text of the Suan Neng Technology statement

Recently, there have been media reports that "TSMC cut off the business with the Chinese banned technology giant when supplying chips, so did it cut off the business with Calculus Technology?" Therefore, Calculus Technology has decided to issue the following statement:

The investigation by the US Department of Commerce into TSMC has nothing to do with Bitmain and its products. Bitmain has never had any direct or indirect business relationship with the 'banned company'.

Suaneng Technology has always strictly complied with applicable laws and regulations in carrying out its business, and has never violated any laws and regulations applicable to U.S. national export controls.

SuanNeng Technology has provided TSMC with a detailed investigation report, which proves its unrelatedness to the investigation.

Suan Neng Technology reserves the right to take legal action against any individual or entity that infringes on its commercial reputation, including competitors and media spreading false news.

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This article is authorized for reprint from: "Digital Times"

Original Title: "Accused of being a white glove for Huawei, what's the story behind SenseTime? Who is SenseTime? What's the background of its parent company, Bitmain?"