It was already a hectic year for the US semiconductor industry.
The semiconductor plays an important role in “Ai Race” that the US seems determined to win, so this framework is worth paying attention: from the appointment of Intel by Lip-bu tan to CEO-who did not waste time to take the job trying to rejuvenate the company-Joe bid. Out Out Out Office that never came to the conclusion.
Here’s a look at what happened in the first half of 2025.
June
Intel appoints new leadership
June 18 – Intel announced Four new leadership appointments This Intel says it will help her go towards her goal of becoming a first company-first company. Intel has announced a new chief official, in addition to multiple recruitment of high profile engineers.
Intel will start layoffs
June 17 – Intel will begin to dismiss an important part of her Intel Foundry staff in July. The company plans to eliminate at least 15%and up to 20%of employees in this business unit. These redundancies are not a shock: it was rumored in April and CEO of Intel Lip-Bu Tan said he wanted to level the organization.
Nvidia will not report China
June 13 – Nvidia does not count on the US that supports AI Chip export restrictions at any time soon. After the company was financially hit by the recent imposed licensing requirements on H20 chips, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang said the company would no longer include the Chinese market in future revenue and profit forecasts.
AMD gets the team behind Untether AI
June 6 – AMD is making another redemption – this time focused on talent. The company was acquiring the team behind the UNTETER AI, which develops AI brands, as the semiconductor giant continues to complete AI bids.
AMD comes for Nvidia’s AI Material Material
June 4 – AMD continued its shopping spree. The company has acquired Brim’s AI optimization software, which helps companies to upgrade AI software to work with different AI material. With many AI software designed with Nvidia material, this acquisition is not surprising.
May
NVIDIA determines the effect of chip exhaustion limitations
May 28 – Nvidia said US licensing requirements for H20 AI chips cost the company $ 4.5 billion in charges during Q1. The company expects that these claims will lead to $ 8 billion hit in Nvidia’s revenue in Q2.
AMD gets the enosemi
May 28 – AMD starts the spree acquisition. The semiconductor announced that it has acquired Enosemi, a start of photon silicon. ENOSEMI technology, which uses lightly photons for data transmission, becomes a growing area of interest for semiconductor companies.
Tensions begin to flame between China and the US
May 21 – The Chinese trade secretary did not like the US guidance, issued on May 13, who warned US companies that the use of Huawei’s Ai Chips “anywhere in the world” was a violation of US chip exports. The secretary of the trade issued a statement threatening legal action against anyone who was caught by imposing an export restriction.
Intel may start unloading its non -kernels
May 20 – Intel Ceo Lip-Bu Tan seemed the right to work for his plan to overcome Intel’s non-basic business units. The Semiconductor giant is looking for units of networking and limbs, making chips for telecommunications equipment and was responsible for $ 5.4 billion from 2024 revenue.
Biden’s AI distribution rule is officially dead
May 13 – Just a few days before the rule of distribution of Biden’s artificial intelligence will enter into force, the US Department of Commerce was officially accused. DOC has said it plans to issue new instructions in the future, and in the meantime companies must remember that the use of Huawei’s AI chips anywhere in the world is a violation of US export rules.
A last -minute reversal
May 7: Just a week before the “framework for the diffusion of artificial intelligence” will come into force, Trump’s administration plans to take a different course. According to many media media including Worthy and ParachuteThe administration will not impose restrictions when it had to start on May 15 and instead works in its own framework.
April
The man doubles the support of chip exhaustion restrictions
April 30: The man has doubled in support of the restriction of US chip exports, including some amendments to the dissemination of artificial intelligence, such as the imposition of further restrictions on Class 2 countries and the dedication of resources to enforcement. A Nvidia spokesman shot back, saying: “US businesses should focus on innovation and go on the challenge, instead of telling tall stories that big, heavy and sensitive electronics are somewhat smuggled in” baby blows “or” at the same time “.
Scheduled redundancies in Intel
April 22: Before calling Q1 profits, Intel said it was planning to dismiss more than 21,000 employees. The redundancies were intended to rationalize management, something CEO Lip-Bu Tan has long said that Intel has to do and help rebuild his engineering.
Trump administration further restricts chip exports
April 15: Nvidia’s H20 AI chip was hit by exporting licensing, the company revealed in sec. The company added that it expects $ 5.5 billion in fees associated with this new requirement in the first quarter of 2026. The H20 is the most advanced AI Chip Nvidia can still export to China in some form or fashion. TSMC and Intel reported similar expenses in the same week.
Nvidia seems to speak from further exports of chips
April 9: NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang was found at dinner at Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago resort, according to reports. At that time, NPR reported Huang may have been able to save Nvidia’s H20 AI chips from export restrictions when he agreed to invest in AI data centers in the US
A suspected agreement between Intel and TSMC
April 3: Intel and TSMC reportedly ended up in a test agreement to launch a joint chipmaking business. This consortium would operate Intel’s chipmaking facilities and TSMC will have a 20% share of the new business. Both companies refused to comment or confirm. If this agreement is not reached fruiting, this is likely to be a decent preview of possible agreements in this coming industry.
Intel turns out of assets, announces a new initiative
April 1: The CEO of Lip-Bu Tan got to work immediately. A few weeks after entering Intel, the company announced that it was going to overcome the assets it could not focus. He also said that the company would launch new products, including custom semiconductors for customers.
Course
Intel calls a new CEO
March 12: Intel has announced that the veteran of the industry and the former member of the Board of Directors, the Lip-Bu Tan, would return to the company as CEO on March 18th. At the time of his appointment, Tan said Intel would be a “mechanical catering company” under his leadership.
February
Intel chip factory is delayed again
February 28: Intel had to start operating its first chip manufacturing plant in Ohio this year. Instead, the company slowed the construction at the factory for the second time in February. Now the $ 28 billion semiconductor project will not complete the construction by 2030 and may not open by 2031.
Senators seek more chip export restrictions
February 3: US Senators, including Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo), wrote a letter to the Minister of Commerce for the Minister of Company Howard Lutnick Urging Trump’s administration to further limit Exports AI chip. The letter specifically referred to Nvidia’s H20 AI chips, which were used in the training of Deepseek’s “logic” model.
January
Deepseek releases the open model of “logic”
January 27: The Chinese start -up AI Deepseek has caused a lot of upheaval at Silicon Valley when releasing the open version of the R1 “Reasoning” model. Although this is not specifically the semiconductor in particular, the huge alarm in the liberation of AI and Deepseek semiconductors, the liberation of Deepseek, continues to have a ripple effect on the chip industry.
Joe Biden’s Executive Command
January 13: With just a week left over, former President Joe Biden suggested sweeping new restrictions on US chips manufactured. This order created a three -level structure that determines how many US chips can be exported to each country. According to this proposal, Class 1 countries did not face restrictions. The countries of grade 2 had a chip market limit for the first time. and countries in Class 3 received additional restrictions.
Anthropic’s Dario Amode
January 6: Human Co-Founder and CEO Dario Amodei co-wrote an op-ed in Wall Street Journal magazine Supporting existing AI chip export inspections and showing them as a reason why China’s AI market was behind the US. ” He also called on incoming President Donald Trump to impose further restrictions and close the gaps that allowed AI companies in China to still take their hands on these chips.
