US blacklists company that ordered TSMC chip found in Huawei processor

US President Joe Biden’s administration added more than two dozen Chinese entities to its restricted trade list on Wednesday, including a company whose TSMC-made chip was illegally incorporated into a Huawei artificial intelligence processor.

Sophgo and other entities linked to it were among 25 China-based companies and two Singapore-Based companies added to the us Commerce Department’s entity list. Companies on the list cannot receive goods or technology exports without a licence, which is generally denied.

Sophgo drew attention after a chip found on Huawei’s Ascend 910B Multi-Chip AI system matched one it ordered from TSMC. Sophgo is among numerous companies that have been punished for helping Huawei. Late last year, the Commerce Department added other companies viewed as part of Huawei’s shadow network to the restricted trade list.

The US also on Wednesday tightened restrictions on advanced computing semiconductors, including chips used for AI, to stop them from reaching China.

Read: How Sanctions Propel Huawei's Rise as China’s Tech Leader

Reference Sources

1. scmp - US blacklists company that ordered TSMC chip found in Huawei processor

Startups race to build bigger, better drones to fight bigger, hotter wildfires

Several startups are developing autonomous aerial vehicles that more closely resemble airplanes than the small quadcopters that currently dominate the consumer drone industry.

The companies hope that advances in the technology can help them snuff out wildfires — sometimes even before they start. Fire departments that have already embraced small drones to help fight wildfires could soon be getting bigger help. Smaller drones have already taken on a role in firefighting.

In 2017, the Los Angeles Fire Department bought four drones with an assortment of features including cameras and infrared sensors to spot Wildfires.

When a brush fire broke out in New York City in November 2024, officials there used drones to guide firefighters to hot spots.

Most of the 21 units of the California Department of forestry and fire protection now have drones, too.

Read: Taiwan Drones Solve Agricultural Labor Shortage

Reference Sources

1. nbc - Startups race to build bigger, better drones to fight bigger, hotter wildfires

US imposing new export controls on biotech equipment over China concerns

(Source: Reuters)

The US Commerce Department has announced new export controls on biotechnology equipment and related technology due to national security concerns related to artificial intelligence and data science.

The department has raised concerns that China could use US technology to strengthen military capabilities and help design new weapons through ai.

The laboratory equipment could be used for human performance enhancement, brain-machine interfaces, biologically inspired synthetic materials, and possibly biological weapons.

The new export controls, which restrict shipments to China and other countries without a US license, are for high-parameter flow cytometers and certain mass spectrometry equipment, which Commerce said can generate high-quality, high-content biological data, including that which is suitable for use to facilitate the development of ai and biological design tools.

Read: Are U.S.-China Sanctions at Sweet Spot or Tipping Point?

Reference Sources

1. cnbc - U.S. imposing new export controls on biotech equipment over China concerns
2. cna - US imposing new export controls on biotech equipment over China concerns
3. voanews - US imposes export controls on biotech equipment over AI security concerns

The CommonWealth English daily news digest is a service curated by CommonWealth English team with the help of AI tools.

Have you read?

• How Sanctions Propel Huawei's Rise as China’s Tech Leader
• Taiwan Drones Solve Agricultural Labor Shortage
• Are U.S.-China Sanctions at Sweet Spot or Tipping Point?

Uploaded by Ian Huang