Xiaomi Inc, a Beijing-based smartphone maker, is said to have “taped out” its first 3 nanometer system-on-chip ( SoC ) processor, which is to be mass produced in the first half of 2025.
Tapeout is a term used in the semiconductor industry to describe the long-awaited point in the development operation when the final design files are kept in storage and sent for processing. It was used in the days of reel-to-reel electrical tape.
Tang Jianguo, the chief economist of Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology, made the disclosure of the data on Xiaomi’s 3nm chip on Beijing Satellite TV on October 20.  ,
Xiaomi’s success in chip design would be a historic milestone for China, according to Chinese media, as it would be the first 3nm device to be created by a Chinese company if the reports were accurate.
There has been no information regarding the 3nm chipset’s central processing unit ( CPU) cluster, graphic processing unit ( GPU) or architecture.  ,
In an article published on Monday, a technology columnist using the pseudonym” Uncle Biao” claims that it is likely that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co ( TSMC) will manufacture the new 3nm chip in conjunction with Xiaomi and Taiwan’s MediaTek.  ,
Wccftech.com, a United States-based IT tool site, says it is possible that Xiaomi may become sanctioned by the United States due to its discovery in designing 3nm cards.  ,
According to the article, if Xiaomi has successfully achieved the tapeout reputation for its 3nm soc, it means that another Chinese companies, including Huawei Technologies, who has been sanctioned, can also use this processor in their products.  ,
Wccftech.com reported in August that Xiaomi may release a system-on-chip computer in the first quarter of 2025, the device to be mass produced via TSMC’s N4P method, which can enhance a chip’s performance, power efficiency and transistor density.  ,
US trade handles
Chinese companies have been prohibited from using the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security ( BIS ) since August 15, 2022, because it has blocked access to the country’s electronic computer-aided design (ECAD ) software, which is used by the military and aerospace defense industries for designing complex integrated circuits in a variety of applications.
Chinese analysts said at that time that the new US trade handles of electronic design automation (EDA) software would not have an immediate impact on China, which did not design 3nm chips.
In a report released in October 2022, Gregory Allen, director of the Wadhwani AI Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies ( CSIS), stated that one of the four choke points being used to stifle the Chinese chip design industry is America’s dominance of the EDA software market.  ,
Other obstacles included the United States ‘ export ban on high-end AI chips, chip-making tools, and related parts to China.  ,
The three leading players in the semiconductor EDA industry are Mentor Graphics, Cadence Design Systems, and Synopsys. Despite the fact that Mentor is a division of Siemens in Europe, all three have their headquarters in the US and employ the majority of their employees there.  ,
A 10-year excursion
How Xiaomi gained admittance to American EDA program is a mystery. But most critics believe that the company’s chip-design systems primarily came from MediaTek.  ,
In November 2014, Pinecore, a fabless chipmaker in which Xiaomi is reported to have a 51 % stake and Leadcore Technology a 49 % stake, said it decided to acquire a chip-making package called SDR1860 from Leadcore for 103 million yuan ( US$ 14.5 million ). Leadcore is a cooperative venture between MediaTek and China’s Datang Telecom Technology.  ,
In 2017, Xiaomi launched its first laptop device called S1, which is an octa-core SoC. It was fabricated on TSMC’s 28nm high-performance compact plus ( 28HPC ) technology, which features high performance and low power advantages. Nevertheless, the S1 device was later found to have a major burning problem.
Xiaomi attempted to introduce a new S2 chipset in 2020, but the tape-out approach was unsuccessful and the device was unable to be used.
Xiaomi’s founder and CEO Lei Jun once said that chip design is a high-risk activity that you end up costing nothing after a lot of money.  ,  ,
A journalist from Yunnan, China, claims in an article published in August this year that it is important for Xiaomi to create its own chips because Qualcomm’s Chipset processors are becoming more expensive. He says the start of a fresh SoC next month is only one of Xiaomi’s techniques to try to reach self-sufficiency.  ,
With a global market share of 39 %, MediaTek maintained its position as the top laptop computer manufacturer in the first quarter of this year. It shipped 1.14 billion bits, up 17 % year-on-year, during the time, according to Canalys, a global technology industry analyst.  ,
Xiaomi, Samsung, and OPPO were the top three contributors, representing 23 %, 20 %, and 17 % of MediaTek’s smartphone processor shipments, respectively.
For comparison, Qualcomm’s smartphone processor shipments grew by 11 % to reach 75 million units in the first quarter, with 46 % of the shipments coming from Samsung and Xiaomi.  ,
Read more: US examines whether TSMC actually cut relations with Huawei.
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