November 27, 2025

Mastiska Raises $10M Seed For Sovereign AI Chip Play in UAE UAE-based startup Mastiṣka raised $10 million from GCC sovereign wealth funds to develop data-center class inference accelerators and build a UAE-based fabless semiconductor company. Its FPGA and future RISC-V ASIC products target sovereign AI markets beyond the U.S. and China. EE Times

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Nvidia says its GPUs are a ‘generation ahead’ of Google’s AI chips Nvidia reaffirmed its lead in AI infrastructure, claiming its Blackwell chips outperform Google’s TPUs in flexibility and power. Despite Meta exploring Google’s chips, Nvidia stressed its platform supports every AI model, driving growing demand and maintaining market dominance. CNBC

Effect of Package Warpage and Composite CTE on Failure Modes in Board-Level Thermal Cycling This paper studies board level reliability for surface mount devices during thermal cycling, while specifying failure modes and locations. Failure modes are characterized using thermal warpage and surface strain data. Technical Paper

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TSMC sues Lo following trade secret probe TSMC filed a lawsuit against former EVP Lo Wei-jen, alleging he stole trade secrets and leaked them to Intel, violating confidentiality, noncompete, and employment agreements. TSMC seeks damages, citing Lo’s access to sensitive R&D despite retiring in July. Taipei Times

TSMC stock falls as it sues former exec alleging he took trade secrets to Intel TSMC sued former SVP Wei-Jen Lo for allegedly leaking trade secrets to Intel after leaving the company in July. Citing his contract and Taiwan’s Trade Secrets Act, TSMC claims Lo likely shared confidential information, prompting an official investigation. CNBC

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Technical Papers Package Assembly Design Kits: The Future of Advanced Package Design Novel Molded FCBGA Package Platform For Highly Reliable Automotive Applications Eliminating Interfacial Delamination in High-Power Automotive Devices RAIG Minimizes Corrosion, Allows Higher Gold on ENEPIG A Universal AI-Powered Segmentation Model for PCBA & Semiconductor Peer viewpoint: semiconductor innovation for telecommunication networks Current Characterization of Various Cu RDL Designs In Wafer Level Packages (WLP) MORE TECHNICAL PAPERS

Sponsor Epoxy Offers Ultra High Heat Transfer Bond EP5TC-80 is a NASA low outgassing rated epoxy that achieves a thermal conductivity of 3.3-3.7 W/(m·K), while also retaining its electrical non-conductivity. Master Bond

IFTLE 647: Micross AIT on Track to Deliver 300mm Bumping Onshore Micross is advancing its RESHAPE 300mm bumping line in North Carolina, leveraging 25 years of 200mm experience. Sponsored by DARPA’s IBAS program, the project combines historic capabilities with new funding and Integra’s world-class testing to enhance secure advanced packaging. 3DInCites

AI Plays Multiple Roles Within EDA AI has quietly transformed EDA over the past decade, now becoming highly visible as LLMs tackle complex multi-physics challenges. By integrating AI inside tools or using agentic approaches externally, engineers optimize design, verification, and 3D integration more efficiently. Semiconductor Engineering

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The Real-World Impact Of Silicon Lifecycle Management On Chip Architectures Silicon lifecycle management (SLM) is revolutionizing chip design by leveraging real-time manufacturing and in-field data to optimize performance, reliability, security, and power efficiency. By embedding monitors and controllers, SLM enables early detection, faster iteration, and tailored architectures for complex, use-case-driven applications. Semiconductor Engineering

What Is 3D-IC Technology? Fundamentals, Architecture, And Design Concepts As traditional chip scaling hits power, routing, and yield limits, 3D-IC technology stacks multiple dies vertically, reducing interconnect distances, boosting bandwidth, lowering latency, and cutting energy per bit—extending system performance despite slowing transistor scaling. Semiconductor Engineering

Sponsor Reflow Solderable TIM1 Thermal Grease AIT's CGR7016 & CGR7019-LB series are proven reliable for thermal interface usage at extreme temperatures. 100% chip to heat-spreader lid seal after multiple reflow soldering. AI Technology, Inc.

ASE Technology to expand assembly, testing capacity to meet AI demand ASE Technology accelerates its expansion in Taoyuan and Kaohsiung, investing in new factories and partnerships to boost advanced IC packaging and testing capacity. Driven by surging AI demand, the company expects strong CoWoS-related orders to continue through 2027. Focus Taiwan

Advanced Packaging: Unlocking the Next Wave of Edge AI Innovation Edge AI is surging as devices rapidly shift computing from the cloud to the edge, pushing chipmakers toward 3D stacking and hybrid bonding to boost bandwidth, cut power use and reduce size, establishing advanced packaging as essential for next-generation AI hardware. EE Times

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SiC Materials See a Price Increase While 6-Inch Substrate Kicks off a Price War SiC enters a pivotal phase as low-end bulk prices rise on cost pressure while 6-inch substrates plunge amid oversupply. Meanwhile, HPC demand accelerates as NVIDIA and TSMC adopt SiC for advanced thermal management, signaling a new growth wave ahead. TrendForce

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