Cypress, an Infineon Technologies Company, today announced that in less than five years, the company has achieved a landmark milestone by shipping its one billionth USB-C device. As the leading provider of USB-C technology, Cypress' leadership position spans a wide range of markets with its controllers used within mobile, computing, and power applications.

Cypress offers the industry's most complete portfolio of USB solutions, including device controllers, embedded hosts, hubs, application-specific bridges, and transceivers. Cypress' EZ-PD portfolio was the first in the industry to support the latest USB Power Delivery (USB PD) 3.0 specification, which enables more robust end-to-end power delivery and charging solutions for laptop and mobile devices. Cypress also offers AEC-Q100 certified versions of its controllers for automotive-grade performance.

ASUS updated its AMD socket sTRX4 motherboard series with the new ROG Zenith II Extreme Alpha, a slight step-up from the original ROG Zenith II Extreme that debuted with AMD's 3rd gen Ryzen Threadripper family. Although ASUS' entire sTRX4 motherboard lineup will support the upcoming 64-core Threadripper 3990X, the new Extreme Alpha is better designed for overclocking it. The new board looks visually identical to the original ROG Zenith II Extreme, and has an almost-identical feature-set, with the only difference being the CPU VRM solution. The new ROG Zenith II Extreme Alpha implements a 16-phase CPU VRM with Infineon TDA21490 power-stages replacing the TDA21472 power-stages on the original ROG Zenith II Extreme (possibly increase output current or I-out from 70 A to 90 A). This could marginally increase the product price. The rest of the feature-set is identical.

Motherboard vendors are betting big on the success of AMD's "Valhalla" desktop platform that combines a Ryzen 3000-series Zen 2 processor with an AMD X570 chipset motherboard, and have responded with some mighty premium board designs. GIGABYTE deployed its full spectrum of Aorus branding, including Ultra, Elite, ITX Pro, Master, and Xtreme. The X570 I Aorus Pro WiFi mini-ITX motherboard is an impressive feat of engineering despite its designers having to wrestle with the feisty new PCIe gen 4 chipset. It draws power from a combination of 24-pin and 8-pin connectors, and conditions power for the SoC with an impressive 8-phase VRM that uses high-grade PowIRstage components. A rather tall fan-heatsink cools the X570 chipset, with a 30 mm fan.

Connectivity options on the X570 I Aorus Pro WiFi are surprisingly aplenty. The sole expansion slot is a PCI-Express 4.0 x16, but the storage connectivity includes not one, but two M.2-2280 slots (reverse side of the PCB), each with PCI-Express 4.0 x4 and SATA 6 Gbps wiring. Four SATA 6 Gbps ports make for the rest of the storage connectivity. Networking options include 2.4 Gbps 802.11ax WLAN, Bluetooth 5.0 (Intel , and 1 GbE, all pulled by Intel-made controllers. USB connectivity includes six 5 Gbps USB 3.2 gen 1, and two 10 Gbps USB 3.2 gen 2 ports (of which one is type-C), and two 5 Gbps ports by headers. The onboard audio solution has 6-channel analog output, but is backed by a premium Realtek ALC1220VB Enhance CODEC (114 dBA SNR).

The United States tech industry has overnight dealt a potentially fatal blow to Chinese electronics giant Huawei, by boycotting the company. The companies are establishing compliance with a recent Executive Order passed by President Donald Trump designed to "stop the import, sale, and use of equipment and services by foreign companies based in countries that are potential adversaries to U.S. interests," particularly information technology security. Google has announced that it will no longer allow Huawei to license Android, and will stop updates and Google Play access to Huawei smartphones. Huawei can still equip its phones with open-source Android, but it cannot use Google's proprietary software, including Google Play Store, Chrome, and all the other Google apps. Intel decided to no longer supply processors and other hardware to Huawei, for use in its laptops and server products. Sales of AMD processors will stop, too. Qualcomm-Broadcom have decided to stop supply of mobile SoCs and network PHYs, respectively. Microsoft decided to stop licensing Huawei to use Windows and Office products.

The ban is a consequence of the U.S. Government placing Huawei on a list of banned entities, forcing all U.S. companies to abandon all trade with it, without prior approval from the Department of Commerce. Trade cuts both ways, and not only are U.S. firms banned from buying from Huawei, they're also banned from selling to it. Huawei "buys from" over 30 U.S. companies, (for example, Windows licenses from Microsoft). CNN reports that U.S. firms could lose up to $11 billion in revenues.

HTPC case maker HDPLEX unveiled the DC-ATX 800W, a nano-ATX form-factor power-converter. This accessory, roughly as big as a power brick, takes in 6-pin PCIe, 8-pin PCIe, and 8-pin EPS connectors from your main rig, and depending on how many connectors you plug-in, puts out up to 800 Watts of power through a 24-pin ATX, and three downstream PCIe/EPS connectors, with the unit itself handing DC-to-DC switching of 12V to 5V and 3.3V voltage domains. This accessory is ideal if you have a high-Wattage power supply with multiple vacant EPS and PCIe connectors, and want to power a second mini-ITX machine, while saving a lot of space on the side. It uses some pretty high-grade components to ensure 24x7 operation, including Sanyo Japan-made solid-state capacitors, Infineon-made MOSFETs, Würth Elektronik inductors, and controller chips supplied by National Semiconductor and MPS. Available in the coming weeks, the DC-ATX 800W is priced at $190.

Super Flower, a global leader in PC gaming power supplies (and whose designs are used by a multitude of PSU manufacturers ranging anywhere from 80+ Bronze to 80+ Platinum rated power supplies), today announced its upcoming double forward 80+ Bronze product line, with available wattages ranging from 400W to 850W, with the 750W , 800 W and 850 W also being available in semi-modular options. Super Flower's own innovative layout design with optimized & refined topology includes various first grade and high-quality components, on products with power ratings of 400W / 450W / 500W / 550W / 600W / 650W / 700W / 750W / 800W and 850W.

Infineon Technologies and GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc. today announced a joint technology development and production agreement for 40 nanometer (nm) embedded flash (eFlash) process technology. The cooperation will focus on technology development based on Infineon's eFlash cell design and manufacturing of automotive and security microcontrollers (MCUs) with 40nm process structures. Production of the next generation 40nm eFlash MCUs will take place at different GLOBALFOUNDRIES sites, initially in Singapore with subsequent transfer to its site in Dresden, Germany.

"Next generation embedded Flash microcontrollers with 40nm process structures will further enhance our competitive strength in the automotive as well as chip card and security markets," says Arunjai Mittal, Member of the Management Board of Infineon Technologies. "We trust in GLOBALFOUNDRIES with their excellent manufacturing background and sites on different continents to fulfill Infineon's stringent quality, infrastructure security and business continuity requirements."

Intel Corporation reported record EPS and revenue on both a GAAP and non-GAAP basis. On a non-GAAP basis, revenue was $12.9 billion, operating income was $4.3 billion, net income was $3.3 billion, and EPS was 59 cents. On a GAAP basis, the company reported first-quarter revenue of $12.8 billion, operating income of $4.2 billion, net income of $3.2 billion, and EPS of 56 cents.

The company generated approximately $4.0 billion in cash from operations, paid cash dividends of $994 million, and used $4.0 billion to repurchase 189 million shares of common stock. "The first-quarter revenue was an all-time record for Intel fueled by double digit annual revenue growth in every major product segment and across all geographies," said Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO. "These outstanding results, combined with our guidance for the second quarter, position us to achieve greater than 20 percent annual revenue growth."

Infineon Technologies AG and Intel Corporation have entered into a definitive agreement to transfer Infineon's Wireless Solutions (WLS) business to Intel in a cash transaction valued at approximately $1.4 billion.

WLS, a leading provider of cellular platforms to top tier global phone makers, will operate as a standalone business serving its existing customers. WLS will also contribute to Intel's strategy to make connected computing ubiquitous from smartphones to laptops to embedded computing.

"The global demand for wireless solutions continues to grow at an extraordinary rate," said Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO. "The acquisition of Infineon's WLS business strengthens the second pillar of our computing strategy -- Internet connectivity -- and enables us to offer a portfolio of products that covers the full range of wireless options from Wi-Fi and 3G to WiMAX and LTE. As more devices compute and connect to the Internet, we are committed to positioning Intel to take advantage of the growth potential in every computing segment, from laptops to handhelds and beyond."

As many as nine major chip vendors were fined a total of 331 million Euros (US $404.2 million) for participating in illegal price-fixing activities, by the European Union authorities. These include Samsung, Hynix, Nanya, Elpida, Infineon, NEC, Toshiba, Hitachi, and Mitsubishi. A 10th company in this price-fixing cartel was Micron Technology, which escaped the fine for exposing the malpractice to the EU authorities. Of these Samsung was given the single biggest fine of 146 million Euros, followed by Infineon at 57 million Euros. The fines were reduced by 10% because all companies extended cooperation in the investigations.

The price-fixing cartel mostly involved bad trade of DRAM chips, and was active between 1998 and 2002, operating with a network of contacts which secretly exchanged pricing information. They colluded to fix prices of DRAM chips sold to major PC and server manufacturers. Investigations in the scam began in 2002 when Micron blew the whistle on the cartel. "By acknowledging their participation in a cartel the companies have allowed the Commission to bring this long-running investigation to a close and to free up resources to investigate other suspected cartels," said EU's Competition Commissioner, Joaquin Almunia. "As the procedure is applied to new cases it is expected to speed up investigations significantly," he added.

Toppan Photomasks, Inc. (TPI) and GLOBALFOUNDRIES today announced that they have formed a joint venture for operation of the Advanced Mask Technology Center (AMTC) in Dresden, Germany. The joint venture will provide leading-edge photomasks to GLOBALFOUNDRIES and to TPI's European and global networks of customers.

Under terms of the venture, TPI's Dresden manufacturing facility and the AMTC will be combined into a single manufacturing facility. TPI will retain its Dresden sales, customer service and mask front-end functions. The new integrated organization builds on the AMTC's history of providing advanced masks, TPI's and GLOBALFOUNDRIES' manufacturing excellence in Dresden, Toppan's world-class mask technology development, and the extensive collaborative relationships that GLOBALFOUNDRIES and Toppan have established in the industry.

AMD today announced the appointment of Thomas Seifert as senior vice president and chief financial officer. Seifert, 46, will report to Dirk Meyer, AMD president and chief executive officer, and will have responsibility for leading the company's global financial organization. Seifert succeeds Robert Rivet, who was previously promoted to chief operations and administrative officer.

"Thomas is a talented industry veteran with a wealth of knowledge and experience managing the operations and finances of companies in the most difficult and competitive sectors of the semiconductor industry," said Meyer. "This knowledge and experience will enable him to further strengthen AMD's financial foundation and help accelerate our transformation into a product design and marketing leader."

In a move that signals a firm and ongoing commitment to advanced semiconductor technology leadership, IBM, Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd., GLOBALFOUNDRIES, Infineon Technologies, Samsung Electronics, Co., Ltd., and STMicroelectronics have defined and are jointly developing a 28-nanometer, high-k metal gate (HKMG), low-power bulk complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process technology.

The low-power, 28nm technology platform can provide power-performance and time-to-market advantages for producers of a broad range of power-sensitive mobile and consumer electronics applications, including the fast-growing mobile Internet device market segment. The favorable leakage characteristics of the HKMG technology result in optimized battery life for the next generation of mobile products.

Qimonda AG (NYSE: QI) and Qimonda Dresden OHG have filed an application with the local court in Munich today to open insolvency proceedings. Their goal is to reorganize the companies as part of the ongoing restructuring program. The court will now appoint a preliminary insolvency administrator.

The Qimonda Management Board intends to restructure key business units within the context of the insolvency regime. "German insolvency law offers the opportunity to accelerate the restructuring process that has already been started in order to reposition the company back onto a solid base," said Kin Wah Loh, President and Chief Executive Officer of Qimonda AG. Qimonda possesses established products and, with its Buried Wordline technology, is currently bringing a promising future technology to the market.

Infineon Technologies today announced that the company has acquired one hundred percent of Primarion, Inc. to further strengthen its activities in the field of power management applications. Primarion is among the leaders in designing, manufacturing and marketing digital power ICs for computing, graphics and communication applications. Primarion is a fabless company, headquartered in Torrance, California.

Today at the Cartes Trade Show in Paris, Infineon Technologies AG announced a strategic technology collaboration for the development of optimized chip solutions for high-density (HD) SIM cards with Intel Corporation. Under the terms of the agreement, Infineon will architect modular chip solutions with Intel offering memory capacities from 4MB to 64MB (Megabytes). Infineon contributes its vast expertise in security hardware and will develop a 32-bit security microcontroller based on its existing SLE 88 family for use with HD SIM cards. Intel is contributing its leading-edge flash memory technologies, capabilities and manufacturing.