China’s tech industry is on edge, after the world’s biggest contract chip manufacturer suddenly stopped making advanced AI chips for some mainland companies. It all started with a Huawei Technologies artificial intelligence (AI) processor, known as the Ascend 910B. Touted as a home-grown alternative to Nvidia chips, the 910B, along with its successor 910C, has been hailed by US-sanctioned Huawei as a breakthrough. But a recent study by Canadian researchers suggests that the 910B wasn’t built on the Chinese mainland – but rather in Taiwan. After tearing apart a 910B, TechInsights analysts said they discovered chips made by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world’s most-advanced chip foundry. The chipmaker has been barred by US trade curbs from doing business with Huawei, so one leading theory is that the mainland Chinese giant has been using proxy firms to order from TSMC. In what looks like the easiest way to avoid further compliance risks, TSMC on Monday halted mainland Chinese orders for graphics processors and AI accelerators requiring the processing of advanced nodes at 7-nanometre or smaller. The move, reportedly ordered by the US government, sparked fears in the Chinese tech industry that TSMC could eventually expand its ban to cover other products ranging from high-end smartphone chips to autonomous-driving car chips. https://www.scmp.com/tech.. #🇨🇳 ChinA.I. 🤖🧠🦾🤖