Chip

• Elon Musk launched Terafab, a $20 billion-plus semiconductor fab in Austin, Texas, jointly developed by Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI to produce custom chips for EVs, Optimus robots, and AI computing. • The facility targets terawatt-scale power output, addressing global chip shortages constraining Musk's AI and robotics timelines amid TSMC capacity limits. • This vertical integration bolsters U.S. domestic manufacturing self-sufficiency amid geopolitical tensions and accelerates competition in AI hardware where compute is the key bottleneck.

• Tesla officially launched Terafab, a $20 billion AI chip manufacturing facility in Austin, Texas, marking a major expansion in US AI hardware production. • The factory aims to produce advanced AI chips for Tesla's autonomous driving and robotics initiatives, reducing reliance on foreign suppliers. • This development strengthens US domestic semiconductor capabilities amid global chip shortages and boosts Texas as a tech hub.

• US prosecutors in the Southern District of New York charged three individuals affiliated with Super Micro Computer, including co-founder Yih-Shyan Liaw, with smuggling Nvidia AI chips to China. • The scheme involved illegally diverting billions in advanced semiconductors intended for US servers to unauthorized Chinese entities, violating export controls. • This case highlights escalating US efforts to curb AI technology transfers amid national security concerns over China's military advancements.

• Samsung Electronics unveiled an $82 billion investment plan in chip manufacturing and AI technology while its union warned of potential labor action, signaling internal tensions over worker conditions amid expansion plans. • The company expects to distribute approximately 9.8 trillion won (roughly $7.3 billion) in regular dividends for 2026, with additional returns possible if surplus funds remain available. • Samsung's major capital commitment reflects intensifying competition in semiconductor and AI markets, particularly as global demand for chips and AI infrastructure accelerates.

• Elon Musk stated Tesla and SpaceX AI will continue large Nvidia chip purchases even as Tesla advances its AI5 chip, optimized for edge compute in Optimus and Robotaxi. • Tesla's Terafab AI chip manufacturing facility is set to launch within seven days from March 14, potentially by March 21. • Musk praised Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, noting AI5's efficiency in half-reticle format could halve fab needs, with AI6 potentially matching dual AI5.

• NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang announced at GTC in San Jose a forecast of $1 trillion in sales from Blackwell and Rubin chips by late 2027, doubling the prior $500 billion estimate through 2026. • The company unveiled a new inference system generating 700 million tokens per second, 350 times faster than the Hopper generation, to counter custom chips from competitors like Google. • NVIDIA's DRIVE platform for robotaxis, valued at $1.2 trillion by Morgan Stanley, is adopted by Uber and BYD, with Uber's fleet launching in 2028; data center revenue hit $192 billion last year, up 66%.

• Nvidia announced at GTC 2026 that it has locked in $1 trillion in orders for its Blackwell and Vera Rubin chips through 2027, far exceeding annual revenue and signaling massive AI infrastructure investment across the industry. • Major hyperscalers including Amazon, Microsoft, and Google have significantly ramped up investments in AI data centers and infrastructure, competing to build massive language models and prepare for exponential growth in AI workloads. • Blackwell chips have already begun shipping while Vera Rubin is positioned to deliver major boosts to AI training and inference performance, addressing the current AI infrastructure race among tech giants.