Constraints from the “ongoing shortage” in semiconductors remain “the biggest limiting factor” in revenue growth for contract manufacturer Flex, said CEO Revathi Advaithi on an earnings call Wednesday for fiscal Q1 ended July 1. “We currently expect this trend to continue,” she said. Q1 revenue grew 16% year over year to $7.35 billion, “driven by continued strong demand and our ability to deliver in spite of ongoing component constraints,” she said. “Not surprisingly, we are seeing indications of slowing in some consumer-related markets. However, we have been anticipating this change, and it is within our current expectations for the full year.” Flex in recent years has “purposely deemphasized the most volatile and shorter-cycle businesses,” said Advaithi. Its consumer device revenue went from about 17% of its mix in 2018 “to now only 10% in fiscal 2022,” she said. “The macro environment remains highly uncertain, and none of this is to say we're immune to it, but we have effectively navigated the challenges over the last couple of years, and we have continued to adapt and improve.”

President Joe Biden, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and senior administration officials met with industry and labor representatives Monday to push for passage of chips legislation (see 2207200063). Biden, who spoke virtually due to his isolation for COVID-19, said the legislation will help U.S. semiconductor fabs stay on the “leading edge,” according to White House pool reports. DOD Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks, National Economic Council Director Brian Deese and Assistant to the President-National Security Affairs Jake Sullivan joined in person to discuss national security needs. Communications Workers of America President Christopher Shelton, Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet, Cummins CEO Tom Linebarger, Medtronic CEO Geoff Martha and Mack McManus, general president-United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the U.S. and Canada spoke virtually.

MediaTek will source chips from Intel Foundry Services for a range of smart edge devices, said the companies Monday. The arrangement will help MediaTek “build a more balanced, resilient supply chain” by adding Intel’s “significant capacity” in the U.S. and Europe, they said. MediaTek previously sourced 5G data cards from Intel and filled most of its foundry needs through Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.

Samsung developed a second-generation SmartSSD that processes data directly, minimizing data transfers between the central and graphics processing units and RAM, the company announced Wednesday. The technology can avoid bottlenecks that occur when moving data between devices and CPUs for improved system performance and higher energy efficiency, Samsung said. It's said to cut processing time by over 50%, energy consumption by up to 70%, and CPU utilization by up to 97% vs. conventional SSD drives. The SmartSSD is playing a key role in technologies including artificial intelligence, machine learning and 5G/6G that require large amounts of data processing, the company said.

Congress should act quickly to pass chips legislation, TechNet said Monday in response to Tuesday’s expected Senate vote to begin advancing the Chips Act and portions of the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) (see 2207140067). Moving the smaller chips package is a “good step,” but Congress should work to pass other USICA measures like “investing in regional technology hubs across the country, enhancing STEM education programs, and attracting and retaining the world’s best and brightest talent,” said CEO Linda Moore. Democrats and Republicans are “hashing out” final details on a bill so “we can move forward with this week,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the Senate Floor Monday. He urged conference committee members to continue negotiating the “larger jobs and innovation package that both sides have been working on for months” but said in the meantime Congress needs to “get chips done as soon as we can.”

Tower Semiconductor will collaborate with Cadence, an electronic systems design firm, to advance the development of automotive chips, said the companies Thursday. The collaboration will give customers “a faster design cycle,” while maintaining “comprehensive design verification for advanced automotive IC product development,” they said. The “unique design challenges” of automotive ICs require “a carefully crafted combination of technologies and methodologies in order to satisfy the demanding ISO 26262 specification,” they said of the International Standardization Organization’s automotive functional safety standard. By working to combine Cadence and Tower technologies, “mutual customers can meet automotive design goals and achieve a faster path to ISO 26262 certification,” they said.

Samsung began sampling what it called the industry’s first 16-gigabit graphics double data rate 6 (GDDR6) DRAM with 24-gigabit-per-second processing speed. It’s designed for next-generation graphics cards, laptops, game consoles, AI-based applications and high-performance computing systems. The 24 Gbps GDDR6 is said to be 30% faster than the 18 Gbps chip. The GDDR6 lineup will also have low-power options that help extend laptop battery life, Samsung said.

Global sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment are expected to reach a record $117.5 billion in 2022, rising 14.7% from the previous industry high of $102.5 billion in 2021, reported the Semi trade association Tuesday. It forecast a 2.8% increase in 2023 to $120.8 billion. The wafer fab equipment segment is projected to expand 15.4% to a new industry record of $101 billion in 2022, followed by a 3.2% increase to $104.3 billion in 2023, it said. “In line with the semiconductor industry’s determined push to increase and upgrade capacity, the wafer fab equipment segment is poised to reach the $100 billion milestone for the first time in 2022,” said Semi CEO Ajit Manocha. “Secular trends across a diverse range of markets, coupled with strong investments in digital infrastructure, are powering another record year.” Taiwan, China and South Korea are projected to remain the top three semiconductor equipment buyers in 2022, said Semi.

Three vendors had 85% of the $11.5 billion global smartphone memory market in Q1, reported Strategy Analytics Wednesday. Samsung had 46%, followed by SK Hynix at 24% and Micron at 15%. The NAND flash market revenue for smartphones grew 7% driven by Universal Flash Storage NAND flash chips, but the DRAM memory chip segment dropped 7% on weakened OEM demand due to seasonality and supply chain disruption, SA said. 5G momentum drove memory product shipments with higher specifications, leading to an increase in NAND and DRAM content in mid- and high-tier smartphones, said SA analyst Jeffrey Mathews, but Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron had drops in demand and were affected by the “weakness in the smartphone market.” Despite opportunities in the growing 5G segment, “weak end-market demand and [the] challenging macroeconomic climate" will affect growth in the smartphone memory market in 2022, said SA analyst Stephen Entwistle.

A bipartisan group of House Science Committee members announced the introduction of a bill meant to grow and retain a “diverse, flexible, and sustainable chips workforce.” Introduced Wednesday by House Research and Technology Subcommittee Chair Haley Stevens, D-Mich., with Reps. Dan Kildee, D-Mich.; Mike Waltz, R-Fla.; and Anthony Gonzalez, R-Ohio, the Chipping in Act would establish National Science Foundation awards for “institutions of higher education, non-profit organizations and consortia to advance innovative approaches to developing, improving, and expanding evidence-based microelectronics education and workforce development activities.” The bill creates training programs for students who pursue microelectronics in post-graduate programs, prioritizing historically black colleges and universities, tribal colleges and other minority-serving schools.