TSMC has ceased supplying chips to Sophgo, a Chinese producer of chips, and its subsidiary Bitmain because of suspicions of their collaboration with Huawei and providing it with technology by evading US sanctions.
Representatives of Sophgo have stated that the company does not cooperate with Huawei. Sophgo officials made the following statement, “The investigation carried out by the US Department of Commerce into possible ties between TSMC and Huawei is unrelated to Sophgo and its products. Sophgo has never had any direct or indirect business relationship with Huawei.” The producer of chips says that the company sticks to US sanctions fully and has never violated export restrictions.
Moreover, Chinese manufacturer of cryptographic hardware Bitmain has also denied involvement in supplying chips to Huawei, stating that the allegations are false and baseless. However, it is important to note that the track record of Bitmain in such cases is far from flawless. In 2021, prosecutors raided the Taiwanese department of Bitmain and accused two of Bitmain’s subsidiaries of trying to hire engineers from Taiwan illegally.
