A Timeline Of The Us Semiconductor Market In 2025

It’s been a tumultuous twelvemonth for nan U.S. semiconductor industry.

The semiconductor manufacture plays a sizable domiciled successful nan “AI race” that nan U.S. seems wished to win, which is why this discourse is worthy paying attraction to: from Intel’s assignment of Lip-Bu Tan to CEO — who wasted nary clip getting to activity trying to revitalize nan bequest institution — to Joe Biden proposing sweeping caller AI spot export rules connected his measurement retired of agency that ne'er came to fruition.

Here’s a look astatine what’s happened truthful acold successful 2025.

July

Intel continues to look for efficiency

July 24: Intel announced that that it was pulling backmost connected immoderate of its manufacturing operations. The institution will nary longer prosecute its antecedently announced projects successful Germany and Poland, and is consolidating its trial operations. Intel besides announced it plans to extremity this twelvemonth pinch astir 75,000 employees.

Trump’s AI Action Plan

July 23: The Trump management unveiled its much-anticipated AI Action Plan alongside aggregate related executive orders. While nan scheme includes a batch regarding nan request for U.S. spot export controls, and for nan U.S. to coordinate pinch its friends connected this effort, it doesn’t supply immoderate actual accusation connected what these restrictions would look like.

Groundbreaking UAE AI woody reportedly connected hold

July 17: The Trump management helped foster a groundbreaking woody successful May that resulted successful a committedness from nan United Arab Emirates to bargain billions of dollars worthy of AI chips from Nvidia. But now that woody is reportedly connected hold arsenic nan U.S. useful done nationalist information concerns and fears that those chips could beryllium smuggled from nan Middle East to China.

Nvidia is simply a bargaining chip

July 16: A time aft semiconductor firms for illustration Nvidia and AMD sewage nan greenish ray to resume trading definite AI chips to China we recovered retired why. U.S. Commerce Security Howard Lutnick said nan plans to let U.S. companies to commencement trading AI chips successful China is tied to ongoing waste and acquisition discussions betwixt nan U.S. and China regarding uncommon world elements.

U.S. Chips caput backmost to China

July 14: Nvidia said it was filing an exertion to restart income of H20 AI chips successful China, confirming rumors from a fewer weeks prior. The institution besides announced that it would beryllium trading a caller chip, nan RTX Pro, which was designed specifically for nan Chinese market.

Malaysia fights spot smuggling

July 14: Malaysia announced that it was launching trade permits for U.S.-made AI chips. Under this caller restriction, immoderate individual aliases business would request to springiness nan Malaysian authorities 30 days announcement earlier exporting immoderate U.S. AI chips.

June

Intel appoints caller leadership

June 18: Intel announced four caller activity appointments that Intel says will thief it move toward its extremity of becoming an engineering-first institution again. Intel announced a caller main gross serviceman successful summation to aggregate high-profile engineering hires.

Intel to statesman layoffs

June 17: Intel will statesman to lay disconnected a important chunk of its Intel Foundry staff successful July. The institution plans to destruct astatine slightest 15%, and up to 20%, of workers successful that business unit. These layoffs aren’t a shock: It was rumored backmost successful April, and Intel’s CEO Lip-Bu Tan has said he wants to flatten nan organization.

Nvidia won’t study connected China

June 13: Nvidia isn’t counting connected nan U.S. backing disconnected of its AI spot export restrictions anytime soon. After nan institution took a financial deed from nan recently imposed licensing requirements connected its H20 AI chips, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said nan institution will no longer see nan Chinese market successful early gross and profit forecasts.

AMD acquires nan squad down Untether AI

June 6: AMD makes different acquisition — this clip focused connected talent. The institution acqui-hired nan squad down Untether AI, which develops AI conclusion chips, arsenic nan semiconductor elephantine continues to information retired its AI offerings.

AMD is coming for Nvidia’s AI hardware dominance

June 4: AMD continued its shopping spree. The institution acquired AI package optimization startup Brium, which helps companies retrofit AI package to activity pinch different AI hardware. With a batch of AI package being designed pinch Nvidia hardware successful mind, this acquisition isn’t surprising.

May

Nvidia lays retired nan effect of spot export restrictions

May 28: Nvidia reported that U.S. licensing requirements connected its H20 AI chips cost nan institution $4.5 cardinal successful charges during Q1. The institution expects these requirements to consequence successful an $8 cardinal deed to Nvidia’s gross successful Q2.

AMD acquires Enosemi

May 28: AMD kicks disconnected its acquisition spree. The semiconductor institution announced that it acquired Enosemi, a silicon photonics startup. Enosemi’s tech, which uses ray photons to transmit data, is becoming an expanding area of liking for semiconductor companies.

Tensions commencement to flare betwixt China and nan U.S.

May 21: China’s Commerce Secretary didn’t for illustration nan U.S.’s guidance, issued connected May 13, that warned U.S. companies that utilizing Huawei’s AI chips “anywhere successful nan world” was a U.S. spot export violation. The commerce caput issued a connection that threatened ineligible action against anyone caught enforcing that export restriction.

Intel whitethorn beryllium starting to offload its non-core units

May 20: Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan seemingly sewage correct to activity connected his scheme to rotation retired Intel’s non-core business units. The semiconductor elephantine is reportedly looking to offload its networking and separator units, which makes chips for telecom equipment, and was responsible for $5.4 cardinal of nan company’s 2024 revenue.

The Biden administration’s AI Diffusion norm is officially dead

May 13: Just days earlier nan Biden administration’s Artificial Intelligence Diffusion Rule was group to spell into place, nan U.S. Department of Commerce formally rescinded it. The DOC said that it plans to rumor caller guidance successful nan future, and successful nan meantime companies should retrieve that utilizing Huawei’s Ascend AI chips anyplace successful nan world is simply a usurpation of U.S. export rules.

A last-minute reversal

May 7: Just a week earlier nan “Framework for Artificial Intelligence Diffusion” was group to spell into place, nan Trump management plans connected taking a different path. According to aggregate media outlets, including Axios and Bloomberg, nan management won’t enforce nan restrictions erstwhile they were expected to commencement connected May 15 and is alternatively moving connected its ain framework. 

April

Anthropic doubles down connected its support of spot export restrictions

April 30: Anthropic doubled down connected its support for restricting U.S.-made spot exports, including immoderate tweaks to nan Framework for Artificial Intelligence Diffusion, for illustration imposing further restrictions connected Tier 2 countries and dedicating resources to enforcement. An Nvidia spokesperson changeable back, saying, “American firms should attraction connected invention and emergence to nan challenge, alternatively than show gangly tales that large, heavy, and delicate electronics are someway smuggled successful ‘baby bumps’ aliases ‘alongside unrecorded lobsters.’” 

Planned layoffs astatine Intel

April 22: Ahead of its Q1 net call, Intel said it was readying to laic disconnected much than 21,000 employees. The layoffs were meant to streamline management, thing CEO Lip-Bu Tan has agelong said Intel needed to do, and thief rebuild nan company’s engineering focus. 

The Trump management further restricts spot exports

April 15: Nvidia’s H20 AI spot sewage deed pinch an export licensing requirement, nan institution disclosed successful an SEC filing. The institution added it expects $5.5 cardinal successful charges related to this caller request successful nan first 4th of its 2026 fiscal year. The H20 is nan astir precocious AI spot Nvidia tin still export to China successful immoderate shape aliases fashion. TSMC and Intel reported akin expenses nan aforesaid week. 

Nvidia appears to talk its measurement retired of further spot exports

April 9: Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang was spotted attending meal astatine Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, according to reports. At nan time, NPR reported Huang whitethorn person been capable to spare Nvidia’s H20 AI chips from export restrictions upon agreeing to put successful AI information centers successful nan U.S. 

An alleged statement betwixt Intel and TSMC

April 3: Intel and TSMC allegedly reached a tentative agreement to motorboat a associated chipmaking venture. This associated task would run Intel’s chipmaking facilities, and TSMC would person a 20% liking successful nan caller venture. Both companies declined to remark aliases confirm. If this woody doesn’t travel to fruition, this is apt a decent preview of imaginable deals successful this manufacture to come. 

Intel spins disconnected noncore assets, announces caller initiative

April 1: CEO Lip-Bu Tan sewage to activity correct away. Just weeks aft he joined Intel, nan institution announced that it was going to spin disconnected noncore assets truthful it could focus. He besides said nan institution would motorboat caller products, including civilization semiconductors for customers. 

March

Intel names a caller CEO 

March 12:  Intel announced that manufacture veteran, and erstwhile committee member, Lip-Bu Tan would return to nan institution arsenic CEO connected March 18. At nan clip of his appointment, Tan said Intel would beryllium an “engineering-focused company” nether his leadership. 

February

Intel’s Ohio spot works gets delayed again

February 28: Intel was expected to commencement operating its first spot fabrication works successful Ohio this year. Instead, the institution slowed down construction connected nan works for nan 2nd clip successful February. Now nan $28 cardinal semiconductor task won’t wrap up building until 2030 and whitethorn not moreover unfastened until 2031.

Senators telephone for much spot export restrictions

February 3: U.S. senators, including Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo), wrote a missive to Commerce Secretary Nominee-Designate Howard Lutnick urging nan Trump management to further restrict AI spot exports. The missive specifically referred to Nvidia’s H20 AI chips, which were utilized successful nan training of DeepSeek’s R1 “reasoning” model. 

January 

DeepSeek releases its unfastened “reasoning” model

January 27: Chinese AI startup DeepSeek caused rather nan operation successful Silicon Valley erstwhile it released nan open type of its R1 “reasoning” model. While this isn’t semiconductor news specifically, nan sheer siren successful nan AI and semiconductor industries DeepSeek’s merchandise caused continues to person ripple effects connected nan spot industry. 

Joe Biden’s executive bid connected spot exports

January 13: With conscionable a week near successful office, erstwhile president Joe Biden proposed sweeping caller export restrictions connected U.S.-made AI chips. This bid created a three-tier building that wished really galore U.S. chips tin beryllium exported to each country. Under this proposal, Tier 1 countries faced nary restrictions; Tier 2 countries had a spot acquisition limit for nan first time; and Tier 3 countries sewage further restrictions. 

Anthropic’s Dario Amodei weighs successful connected spot export restrictions

January 6: Anthropic co-founder and CEO Dario Amodei co-wrote an op-ed successful The Wall Street Journal endorsing existing AI spot export controls and pointing to them arsenic a logic why China’s AI marketplace was down nan U.S.’. He besides called connected incoming president Donald Trump to enforce further restrictions and to adjacent loopholes that person allowed AI companies successful China to still get their hands connected these chips.

This communicative primitively published May 9, 2025, and is regularly updated pinch caller information.