{
  "id": 1197945,
  "title": "What’s stopping Asia’s chipmakers from taking on Nvidia? The answer lies in this bottleneck",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/16/whats-stopping-asias-chipmakers-from-taking-on-nvidia-the-answer-lies",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-08-16T03:25:17.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Business Times - Companies & Markets",
    "slug": "the-business-times-companies-markets",
    "url": "https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/international/global/whats-stopping-asias-chipmakers-taking-nvidia-answer-lies-bottleneck"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Nvidia's dominance in the semiconductor industry has created a wave of AI chip startups across Asia, many founded by former employees of Intel and AMD. However, these startups face a significant bottleneck in accessing advanced fabrication facilities, such as those operated by TSMC and Samsung Foundry. These facilities are few and far between, making it challenging for startups to secure a manufacturing partner.\n\nTSMC, the market leader in advanced nodes, is still a major obstacle for startups looking to enter the AI chip market. Getting a production allocation at TSMC is not an easy feat, as the company evaluates each request carefully. To make matters worse, advanced nodes like 3 nm processes are incredibly difficult and expensive to manufacture, adding to the challenge for startups.\n\nDespite these hurdles, investors continue to pour funds into AI chip startups. For example, Bengaluru-based Agrani Labs, with a team of former Intel and AMD executives, has raised $8 million so far and is reportedly in talks for more than $100 million. However, even with significant funding and strong talent, securing TSMC's production capacity remains a significant challenge.\n\nOne potential solution to this bottleneck is advanced packaging solutions like TSMC's CoWoS and Silicon Box's panel-level packaging. These advanced packaging techniques combine AI processors, high-bandwidth memory (HBM), and other components into a single chip package, making it easier for startups to compete in the market. However, TSMC's limited capacity for CoWoS production also poses a challenge for startups trying to secure this advanced packaging.",
  "summary": "Foundry access is just one constraint that startups are facing",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}