TSMC Begins Mass Production of 7nm+ Process for Kirin 985, A13 Chips: Report

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) - the world's largest contract chipset maker - has officially announced the beginning of mass production of its second-generation 7nm+ process for Kirin 985 and Apple A13 chipsets. The top-notch Kirin 985 chipset would likely feature in Huawei's flagship Mate 30, while A13 would come with Apple's 2019 iPhones.

"This is the first time the Taiwanese company is implementing EUV lithography, taking a step towards becoming the main competitor of Intel and Samsung," the GSMArena reported on Monday.

The announcement comes days after TSMC said it would continue delivering critical semiconductors to Huawei Technologies even as chip designer ARM has cut ties with the tech giant.

Other firms that will continue shipping products that do not violate US restrictions to Huawei, include Panasonic and Chinese computer maker Lenovo Group.

Meanwhile, in a strong signal to US President Donald Trump who is urging European allies to put pressure on or even block Huawei, the Chinese conglomerate's Founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei has stressed that the US campaign against the company would not be powerful enough to call on everyone to follow them.

On May 15, Trump effectively banned Huawei with a national security order.

Following the trade clampdown, tech majors including Google, Microsoft, Intel, and Qualcomm put restrictions on businesses with Huawei, however US later provided a 90-day reprieve to the company.