"It will be ready in another month or so. The current issue is whether Huawei should figure out a way to handle the production phase, or if TL Chip Company should find a wafer foundry for contract manufacturing. Counting them all up, there are only a handful of foundries currently capable of 7-nanometer production. Leaving aside overseas options, it comes down to whether we go to TSMC or SMIC, or perhaps the Xintec foundry in Qingdao. However, both SMIC and Xintec have certain issues. SMIC has already been placed on the Entity List by the U.S., which means they cannot use production lines containing American technology and equipment for foundry work. Therefore, this depends on whether SMIC has completely finished de-Americanizing and can achieve fully independent production!" Qin Xuan reported quickly.
"Secondly, there is Xintec. Xintec hasn't been established for very many years. Although they previously recruited many core elites and have very rich experience in the 14-nanometer process, 14-nanometer is, after all, different from 7-nanometer. Furthermore, information about Xintec has always been kept under tight wraps, so it's hard to say whether they are truly ready for 7-nanometer contract manufacturing!"
"By comparison, TSMC is undoubtedly the most suitable option to help us with design and mass production. It all depends on whether we can successfully negotiate with them. If we can reach an agreement, there won't be any further problems!"
Chapter 774