The Netherlands government announced additional export controls on advanced chipmaking equipment on Friday. This decision, which specifically targets ASML's DUV immersion lithography tools, has drawn sharp criticism from Beijing. The new regulations, aligning with similar restrictions imposed by the US last year, will require additional licensing for the export of ASML's 1970i and 1980i models. China's Commerce Ministry swiftly responded to the announcement, expressing dissatisfaction with what it perceives as unwarranted restrictions on trade. In a statement released Sunday, the ministry accused the United States of leveraging its global influence to pressure allies into tightening export controls, describing it as an attempt to maintain "global hegemony" in the semiconductor industry.

The Chinese government urged the Netherlands to reconsider its position, calling for a balance between security concerns and the preservation of mutually beneficial economic ties. Beijing emphasized the importance of safeguarding the "common interests" of businesses in both countries and warned against potential damage to Sino-Dutch cooperation in the semiconductor sector. Dutch Trade Minister Reinette Klever defended the decision, stating it was made "for our safety." However, this move could have significant implications for ASML, which has already faced restrictions on exporting its most advanced systems to China. ASML receives as much as 49% of its revenue from China, meaning that additional export regulations could significantly reduce revenues if licenses aren't approved.

According to a recent report from Nikkei, China has claimed the number one spot as the single highest spender on chipmaking tools. As the data from SEMI highlights, China spent a whopping $25 billion on key semiconductor tools in the first half of 2024, more than the US, Taiwan, and South Korea combined. And the train of acceleration for the Chinese semiconductor industry doesn't seem to be slowing down, as the country is expected to spend more than $50 billion for the entire year 2024. However, this equipment is not precisely leading-edge, as Chinese companies are under Western sanctions and are unable to source advanced EUV lithography tools for making sub-7 nm chips.

Most of the spending is allocated to mature node chipmaking facilities. These so-called "second tier" companies are driving the massive expenditures, and they are plentiful. Nikkei reports that there are at least ten firms that operate with mature nodes like 10/12/16 nm nodes. Being the biggest spender, China is also one of the primary revenue sources for many companies. For the US chipmaking tool companies like Applied Materials, Lam Research, and KLA, Chinese purchases accounted for 32%, 39%, and 44% of their latest quarterly revenue, respectively. Tokyo Electron recorded orders to China accounting for 49.9% of its revenues in June, while the Netherlands giant ASML also attributed 49%. Perhaps even more interesting is the expected outlook for 2025, which shows no signs of slowing down. The Chinese semiconductor industry must establish complete self-sufficiency, and massive capital expenditures are expected to continue.

Epic Games, the developer behind the battle royale game Fortnite, has been slapped with a hefty fine of €1.1 million for violating EU consumer laws and pressuring youngsters into making in-game purchases. This decision was made by the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) following an investigation into the company's practices. The ACM found that Epic Games had failed to provide clear information about the nature of its in-game purchases, particularly to children. This lack of transparency led to many young players making unintended purchases, which was a clear violation of EU consumer protection laws. The authority also noted that Epic Games' practices were designed to encourage children to make frequent purchases, which further deepens the issue. Netherlands' ACM claims that these were "dark patterns" which are prohibited in the EU. More specifically, these were "Get it now" or "Buy now" phrases that pushed youngsters into making choices. One fine is for illegal aggressive commercial practice that created fear of missing out (FOMO), which is calculated at €562,500. Another €562,500 is fined on countdown timers, which were used in the Item Shop for items that were still available even after the timer had reached zero. This totals €1.125 million.

In response to the fine, Epic Games has announced its intention to appeal the decision. This fine serves as a significant reminder to game developers of the importance of transparency and consumer protection in the gaming industry. As the popularity of online gaming continues to grow, companies must prioritize the well-being and financial security of their young players. The ACM's decision sends a strong message that such practices will not be tolerated and that companies must take responsibility for their actions. The fine is significant, and it will be interesting to see how Epic Games responds to the decision. In a statement for GameIndustry.biz, Epic Games has noted that "The findings in the ACM's decision contain significant factual errors about how Fortnite and the Item Shop operate. The ACM is mandating changes that would result in a poor experience for players. We will appeal this decision. While our appeal is pending, players in the Netherlands that are under the age of 18 will not be able to see or purchase items that are in the shop for less than 48 hours, beginning May 24, 2024."

Last month, we covered ASML's plans to leave the Netherlands after a crisis with the Dutch government that prevented skilled immigrants from entering and working inside ASML's facilities. However, it appears that ASML has managed to strike a potential deal with the Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte and his office about the company's plans to stay in the country. In an effort dubbed "Operation Beethoven," the Dutch government aimed to keep the tech giant in the country, with a deal now seemingly in place. AMSL's roadblocks and reasons for potentially leaving the Netherlands were difficulty in obtaining building permits, constraints on the electrical grid, transportation bottlenecks, and a need for supporting infrastructure like hospitals, schools, and housing. The most prominent of them was importing foreign labor in the form of highly skilled engineers and scientists needed to develop next-generation lithography machines.

According to the NLTimes, ASML now plans to potentially expand in the Brainport Industries Campus (BIC) in Eindhoven, with a creation of 20,000 new jobs in a 2.5 billion Euro investment from the Dutch government. "BIC is an interesting option for us, which we are now exploring together with the municipality of Eindhoven," noted ASML CFO Roger Dassen. Given that ASML needs to double its operations in the following decade to meet soaring demand, the company has many uncertainties. Questions of finding skilled immigrants and building infrastructure to support their needs remain the company's priority. In the Summer, the plan to support ASML's expansion will be voted in the Eindhoven City Council, which will decide the fate of ASML's stay in the Netherlands. An interesting comment from January from AMSL CEO Peter Wennik is, "Ultimately, we can only grow this company if there are enough qualified people. We prefer to do that here, but if we cannot get those people here, we will get those people in Eastern Europe or in Asia or in the United States. Then we will have to go there." The final decision still awaits.

ASML celebrated an important milestone last week—the company's social media account shared news about their third generation extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography tool reaching an unnamed customer: "chipmakers have a need for speed! The first Twinscan NXE:3800E is now being installed in a chip fab. 🔧 With its new wafer stages, the system will deliver leading edge productivity for printing advanced chips. We're pushing lithography to new limits." The post included a couple of snaps—ASML workers were gathered in front of a pair of climatized containers, and Peter Wennink (President and CEO) and Christophe Fouquet (EVP and CBO) thanked staff at company HQ.

The Twinscan NXE:3800E is ASML's latest platform from a series of 0.33 numerical aperture (Low-NA) lithography scanners. Information is scarce—the company has not yet published a 3800E product page. The preceding model—Twinscan NXE:3600D—supports EUV volume production at 3 and 5 nm. ASML roadmaps imply that the Twinscan NXE:3800E has been designed to produce chips on 2 and 3 nm-class technologies. The company's cutting-edge High-NA extreme ultraviolet (EUV) chipmaking tools (High-NA Twinscan EXE) are expected to cost around $380 million—reports from last month point to a possible $183 million price point for "existing Low-NA EUV lithography systems." Another Low-NA EUV machine is reported to be lined up for a possible 2026 release window—ASML's next-gen Twinscan NXE:4000F model will co-exist alongside emerging (pricier) High-NA solutions.

Chipmaking manufacturing equipment giant ASML has expressed concerns about staying in the Netherlands and considering expansion into other countries due to its home country's capped possibilities. On Wednesday, ASML executives met with Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte to discuss the company's growth plans. The meeting, however, failed to fully resolve ASML's concerns surrounding the country's stance on skilled foreign labor, leaving uncertainty over the tech giant's expansion in its home market. Being one of the world's largest suppliers to chipmakers, ASML has said it needs to double its operations in the following decade to meet soaring demand. However, the company is hitting roadblocks in the Netherlands, including difficulty obtaining building permits, constraints on the electrical grid, transportation bottlenecks, and a need for supporting infrastructure like hospitals, schools, and housing. A key issue is the Netherlands' ability to attract scarce foreign engineering talent, with over 40% of ASML's Dutch workforce being non-Dutch. Recent parliamentary motions to cap international students and scrap a tax break for skilled migrants have met with criticism from ASML and other tech employers.

In an effort dubbed "Operation Beethoven," the Dutch government is scrambling to address ASML's concerns and prevent the company from expanding abroad, having already seen multinationals like Shell and Unilever leave their home country in recent years. However, ASML CEO Peter Wennink said that while the company prefers to grow in the Netherlands, it can do so elsewhere if needed. The situation comes amid pressure from the US for allies like the Netherlands to tighten restrictions on China's further access to semiconductor technology. As the sole producer of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines crucial for advanced chipmaking, like High-NA and Low-NA, ASML holds strategic importance beyond just economics. With a new right-wing Dutch government being formed, whether a compromise can be reached to ensure ASML's continued growth in the Netherlands remains to be seen. The tech giant's decision could significantly affect the Dutch economy and its position in the global chip industry.

Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) has today announced that the General Purpose Partition of the MareNostrum 5, a new pre-exascale supercomputer running on Lenovo's HPC infrastructure, has been classified as the top x86 general-purpose cluster on the recently published TOP500 list of the most powerful supercomputers globally.

Officially inaugurated at Barcelona Supercomputing Center on December 21st, MareNostrum 5 has been built for the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU). The pre-exascale supercomputer will bolster the EU's mission to provide Europe with the most advanced supercomputing technology and accelerate the capacity for artificial intelligence (AI) research, enabling new scientific advances that will help solve global challenges. It aims to empower a wide range of complex HPC-specific applications, from climate research and engineering to material science and earth sciences, adeptly handling tasks that extend beyond the capabilities of cloud computing.

Samsung seems to be preparing follow ups to its current selection of Portable T7 SSDs—the series debuted back in early 2020, so a couple of successors are more than due. Last week TechRadar started to pick up on various retail listings popping up in Australia, France and the Netherlands. This information was posted online prematurely and by mistake—the involved organizations have since removed entries from their web stores. Samsung's Dutch division has been slow to respond, and its portal for a "MU-PG2T0B" model is still active (at the time of writing). France's Grosbill and P12.fr had listings for two T9 variants (1 TB and 2 TB configurations) sporting the aforementioned product code. Similar details appeared over in Australia, courtesy of the Microboss site. One of the French e-tailer spec sheets mentioned that Samsung's T9 SSD read and write speeds maxed out at 2 GB/s.

TechRadar believes that Samsung will be blowing out current T7 models during November's Black Friday sales week, in anticipation of clearing the way for all things T9. The publication managed to catch some (likely) placeholder prices from its sources, prior to removal: "There's also every chance it could be cheaper at launch than the T7, with PC12.fr retailing the T9 SSD for €236.52 including VAT (roughly $250) and Gosbill Pro retailing the device for just €199 (roughly $215) - though it's unclear if this is inclusive of taxes." There is also speculation regarding the integration of Thunderbolt 4 connectivity, since the older T7 generation relies on the preceding standard.

Techtesters, a Dutch online publication and YouTube channel, took the time to investigate whether AMD's Radeon RX 7800 XT 16 GB GPU can compete with NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 4070 12 GB GPU in power efficiency stakes. Naturally, Team Red loses with their new mid-ranger running under normal conditions when lined up against its main rival - ranging from 252 W to 286 W versus 200 W (sometimes 196 W during gaming sessions) respectively. Nada Overbeeke (of Techtesters) chose to set a 90% power limit for their main subject matter—Gigabyte's custom design Navi 32-based Gaming OC model—through AMD software adjustments.

Its "aggressive" 200 W undervolted state was compared to stock performance in a number of modern game environments (refer to the charts below). The Gigabyte RX 7800 XT Gaming OC—using stock settings—consumed around 40% more power while managing only a 9% performance increase over its 200 W undervolted guise. VideoCardz notes that AMD's reference model requires 24% more power at stock: "As mentioned, a 9% performance boost should not be underestimated, but the substantial reduction in power consumption also resulted in quieter GPU operation and lower temperatures." It would have been interesting to see Techtesters undervolt their RTX 4070 FE candidate as well, but emphasis seemed to be placed on the newer card.

China has sharply increased imports of semiconductor manufacturing equipment in recent months, customs data reveals. The country's purchases of chip production tools surged to record highs of nearly $5 billion in June and July, a 70% increase versus the same period last year, which amounted to $2.9 billion. The spike comes right before export restrictions on advanced chipmaking equipment are implemented by the U.S. and its allies. The moves aim to slow China's technological advancement, but Chinese chipmakers are stockpiling to avoid disruptions. Much of the equipment comes from the Netherlands and Japan, which have imposed licensing requirements on certain tool exports. While it's unclear how many are affected, the rush suggests China wants to expand production capacity and buffer against supply chain issues.

Chinese firms like SMIC and YMTC rely heavily on U.S., Dutch, and Japanese suppliers for cutting-edge manufacturing equipment. They are utilizing imported tools to boost the output of mature chips not subject to controls, particularly for electric vehicles, renewable energy, and industrial applications. Significantly, imports from the Netherlands doubled as lithography machines were delivered to Chinese foundries. Purchases from Japan also rose as companies procured etching tools and wafer coaters after 2020 U.S. restrictions. Newly established foundries backed by local governments contributed as Beijing pushed chip production expansions. Despite export control challenges, China aims to keep advancing its semiconductor capabilities. The import spike highlights intensified efforts to build self-sufficiency using older technology not covered by current limits.

The Government of the Netherlands has agreed to incorporate Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) in its cloud service offerings for government agencies as part of a renewal of its existing service contract with Oracle. OCI's commercial public cloud regions will enable the National Government to take advantage of the many benefits cloud computing offers, including scalability, security, flexibility, and reliable performance.

The renewal of the agreement includes a version of the standard cloud terms and conditions as well as a Data Processing Agreement based on the government's Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) of available cloud services. "This renewed agreement with Oracle marks an important milestone in our strategic collaboration," said Richard Wiersema, director operations, DICTU of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate and strategic supplier manager, Oracle for the Dutch government. "With Oracle, we as the national government have an important partner in house that helps us achieve our digital goals and enables us to meet the needs of Dutch society. The cloud plays a crucial role in meeting these objectives."

TrendForce reports that the US Department of Commerce recently released details regarding its CHIPS and Science Act, which stipulates that beneficiaries of the act will be restricted in their investment activities—for more advanced and mature processes—in China, North Korea, Iran, and Russia for the next ten years. The scope of restrictions in this updated legislation will be far more extensive than the previous export ban, further reducing the willingness of multinational semiconductor companies to invest in China for the next decade.

CHIPS Act will mainly impact TSMC; and as the decoupling of the supply chain continues, VIS and PSMC capture orders rerouted from Chinese foundries
In recent years, the US has banned semiconductor exports and passed the CHIPS Act, all to ensure supply chains decoupling from China. Initially, bans on exports were primarily focused on non-planar transistor architecture (16/14 nm and more advanced processes). However, Japan and the Netherlands have also announced that they intend to join the sanctions, which means key DUV immersion systems, used for producing both sub-16 nm and 40/28 nm mature processes, are likely to be included within the scope of the ban as well. These developments, in conjunction with the CHIPS Act, mean that the expansion of both Chinese foundries and multinational foundries in China will be suppressed to varying degrees—regardless of whether they are advanced or mature processes.

Genesis Market, an online-fraud-facilitation website and marketplace, has today been closed by an international joint effort coordinated by various police forces. Law enforcement agencies around the world took part in synchronized raids, including at locations in the UK and USA. 208 searches have been carried out, beginning at dawn on Tuesday 4 April, and a total of 119 suspected individuals have been arrested. This operation was spearheaded by the FBI in the US and the Dutch National Police. Consequently, users of the genesis.market website have been greeted with a boastful message and infographic on the home and login pages: "Operation Cookie Monster. This website has been seized."

Sophos, a leading software and hardware security vendor, has previously identified genesis.market as: "an invitation-only marketplace" from which buyers can acquire stolen credentials, cookies, and digital fingerprints that are gathered from compromised systems." According to the company's research, the illegal marketplace was also identified as an Initial Access Broker (IAB) - a business that compromises systems and services, steals data, and sells it. Genesis Market has special engagement capabilities in the field of illegally acquiring "credentials, cookies, and digital fingerprints". This stolen data was often sold on under individual lots, but the site also offered a longer term supply of data packages via a subscription service. This would offer the customer an up-to-date information trail, be it the tracking of an individual person or a collective.

Today the Dutch government has published more information on upcoming restrictions on export of semiconductor equipment. These new export controls focus on advanced chip manufacturing technology, including the most advanced deposition and immersion lithography tools. Due to these upcoming regulations, ASML will need to apply for export licenses for shipment of the most advanced immersion DUV systems.

It will take time for these controls to be translated into legislation and take effect. Based on today's announcement, our expectation of the Dutch government's licensing policy, and the current market situation, we do not expect these measures to have a material effect on our financial outlook that we have published for 2023 or for our longer-term scenarios as announced during our Investor Day in November last year.

The Netherlands-based ASML has reportedly launched a comprehensive investigation into the company's branch in China following reports that one of its former employees allegedly stole confidential information. According to Bloomberg, the employee in question was part of a product life cycle management (PLM) program for ASML's advanced lithography solutions. Specifically, the employee worked for the Teamcenter software division responsible for lithography tool management. This software was used to create digital twins of scanners and other tools and allowed information to be shared among the company's employees. In ASML's case, the software contained all the confidential information about the scanners and how they work, which makes it a target for IP theft. We do not know if this is a China-sponsored action to boost its domestic lithography tool development; however, ASML has issued a statement below.

ASMLWe have experienced unauthorized misappropriation of data relating to proprietary technology by a (now) former employee in China. We promptly initiated a comprehensive internal review. Based upon our initial findings we do not believe that the misappropriation is material to our business. However, as a result of the security incident, certain export control regulations may have been violated. ASML has therefore reported the incident to relevant authorities. We are implementing additional remedial measures in light of this incident.

According to Bloomberg, Japan and the Netherlands are getting ready to join the US in limiting access to advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment for China. The three nations are currently in talks—that might end as soon as today—over how they can impose joint limits on what kind of equipment and tools can be exported to China. Apparently there will be no official announcement if a deal is struck, instead the restrictions will simply be implemented as required.

Bloomberg states that the Netherlands will expand export restrictions that ASML is already under, which according to the publication means stricter export rules around DEUV machines, which are used in cutting edge semiconductor nodes. Japan is said to implement similar export restrictions for Nikon as well as Tokyo Electron, with the US already having implemented restrictions for Applied Materials. The export restriction deal is in part being done to appease US equipment makers, who have complained that their international competitors haven't been under the same export restrictions when it comes to China, as they have. The question is if the export restrictions will hinder China in the long run, or if the nation will simply push ahead and develop its own, competing semiconductor manufacturing tools.

Update Jan 28th: Japan and the Netherlands reached an agreement with the US on Friday and the two countries are said to be making individual announcements with regards to their individual agreements with the US.

ASML is one of the critical semiconductors companies, as they provide tools for making actual silicon. Located in the Netherlands, they are famous for their DUV and EUV lithography tools, used to etch designs onto silicon wafers. According to the report from Bloomberg, the United States governing body is negotiating with the Dutch government to restrict the export of ASML's products to China. This came to affection following US Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves's visit to the Netherlands to discuss supply chain issues and meeting with ASML Chief Executive Officer Peter Wennink. While these suggested export restrictions could be beneficial to the strategic placement of US against China, it would hurt ASML's revenue as sales in China accounted for a 16% share of the company's revenue in 2021.

It is recorded that the Chinese spending spree on tools has been the greatest among every country, lasting for two years in a row. By banning ASML from exporting its lithography tools to China, the US could theoretically halt Chinese plans for achieving the government's intended semiconductor independence. The talks with the Dutch government and ASML are still a work in progress, so we are yet to see if the deal is finalized. Additionally, it is worth pointing out that the major US semiconductor manufacturing tool makers like Applied Materials and Lam Research are already banned from exporting to China.

Intel today announced the first phase of its plans to invest as much as 80 billion euros in the European Union over the next decade along the entire semiconductor value chain - from research and development (R&D) to manufacturing to state-of-the art packaging technologies. Today's announcement includes plans to invest an initial 17 billion euros into a leading-edge semiconductor fab mega-site in Germany, to create a new R&D and design hub in France, and to invest in R&D, manufacturing and foundry services in Ireland, Italy, Poland and Spain. With this landmark investment, Intel plans to bring its most advanced technology to Europe, creating a next-generation European chip ecosystem and addressing the need for a more balanced and resilient supply chain.

Pat Gelsinger, CEO of Intel, said: "Our planned investments are a major step both for Intel and for Europe. The EU Chips Act will empower private companies and governments to work together to drastically advance Europe's position in the semiconductor sector. This broad initiative will boost Europe's R&D innovation and bring leading-edge manufacturing to the region for the benefit of our customers and partners around the world. We are committed to playing an essential role in shaping Europe's digital future for decades to come."

Sony Interactive Entertainment ("SIE") announced today that SIE has completed the acquisition of Nixxes Software B.V. ("Nixxes"), an industry-leading Dutch studio with more than 20 years of experience in game development and optimization. Based in Utrecht, Netherlands, effective immediately, Nixxes will join PlayStation Studios Technology, Creative & Services Group to provide high quality in-house technical and development capabilities for PlayStation Studios.

"I highly respect Nixxes and am excited for this very experienced team to become part of the world-class development community at SIE," said Hermen Hulst, Head of PlayStation Studios. "They have a passion for improving games and for delivering the best possible experience for gamers. Nixxes will be a strong asset for everyone across PlayStation Studios, helping our teams focus on their most important goal, which is to create unique PlayStation content at the best possible quality."

The availability of NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 3000 series "Ampere" graphics cards has been a problem ever since it launched. High demand paired with insufficient supply has caused quite some disturbance in the supply chain and has caused the MSRP of the GPUs to increase. Firstly, we were promised that the situation would resolve around May when NVIDIA is expecting to match the supply with the demand. However, according to the recent report, that might not be the case. Alternate, a European retailer operating in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany, has spoken to NVIDIA about the supply of the GeForce RTX 3000 series Ampere graphics cards.

According to the retailer, the situation with the card is such that the availability is scarce. When it comes to the GeForce RTX 3090, there are very few deliveries, but only a few open orders. The RTX 3080 sees very few cards coming with many open orders. The RTX 3070 has few cards incoming, but few open orders. And last but not least, the RTX 3060 Ti has very few cards coming, and a moderately high amount of open orders. If you are aiming to buy a card, your best chances would be with RTX 3090 and RTX 3070, as they do not have such high demand. On the other hand, RTX 3080 and RTX 3060 Ti cards are almost impossible to source as they all have a big waiting list. Alternate says that they work on a "first in first out" principle of delivering cards to consumers, so if you are not on the list you are likely going to wait for even longer.

The Netherlands. Introducing the PowerCube 1418 chassis, built for Micro ATX boards as well as the smaller Mini ITX boards. This new structure provisions for a powerful home, office or multimedia system. The elegant and neat enclosure make it fit in any setting from home, business to public sector. The chassis is made from strong 0.60mm SPCC steel with a cool ventilated top and bottom panel for fresh air intake and optimized component cooling.

With the accommodation for standard ATX power supplies you are able to power your desired computer performance. Connectivity made easy through the top placed frontal  USB 2.0/3.0 and HD/AC97 Audio ports. Instant upgrading with 1x 2.5, 2x 3.5 and 1x 5.25 inch drive bays and 4 extension slots. The PowerCube 1418 chassis unit is 39.3x26.5x29.5cm (L*W*H) in size and weighs 5.0 kg.

Following Valve's decision to disable trading in the Netherlands due to that country's legal statutes regarding gambling, the company is now taking other steps to comply with the country's Dutch Gaming Authority. Players in the Netherlands and Belgium "will be restricted from opening containers" following this week's patch, according to the patch notes. This will prevent players in those countries from even opening the lootboxes. As the "Miscellaneous" section of the patch notes reads:

• Updated Steam and CS:GO account restrictions for users in Netherlands and Belgium:
• Steam Trading and Steam Market features are now re-enabled for Steam accounts in Netherlands.
• Customers in Netherlands and Belgium will be restricted from opening containers.