A timeline of the US semiconductor market in 2025

Last twelvemonth was a tumultuous 1 for the U.S. semiconductor industry.  

From enactment changes astatine bequest companies to continuously changing dialog astir AI spot export controls, a batch has happened. If the archetypal fewer weeks of 2026, which saw new chip tariffs and international semiconductor deals, are immoderate indicator — this year volition beryllium arsenic unexpected arsenic the last.  

But earlier we get excessively heavy into 2026, present is simply a last look astatine everything that happened successful the U.S. semiconductor manufacture successful 2025:  

December

Nvidia finds golden with Groq 

December 24: Nvidia announced that it struck a non-exclusive licensing woody with spot maker Groq. While this wasn’t an acquisition, Nvidia hired Groq’s founder and president, successful summation to different employees. The institution besides bought $20 billion worth of Groq’s assets.  

Chips to China 

December 8: The U.S. Department of Commerce decided that Nvidia and AMD can send AI chips to China aft all, a stark reversal to past messaging. The U.S. authorities specifically said Nvidia could merchantability its H200 chips, which are overmuch much precocious than its H20 chips, to approved customers.  

November 

Nvidia keeps climbing 

November 19: Nvidia reported record results in its third-quarter earnings report. The company racked up $57 billion in gross successful Q3, a 66% summation implicit the aforesaid 4th successful 2024. A large portion of that gross came from Nvidia’s information halfway business.  

October

Intel makes processor progress 

October 9: Intel announced a caller processor, dubbed Panther Lake, that is portion of the company’s Intel Core Ultra processor family. This will beryllium the archetypal 1 built connected the company’s 18A semiconductor process and volition be exclusively made astatine Intel’s Arizona fab factory.  

September

A sensation of tariffs 

September 26: We got the first inkling of what the Trump administration’s semiconductor tariffs could look like at the extremity of September. Rumors started swirling that the medication would necessitate semiconductor companies to nutrient the aforesaid measurement of chips domestically arsenic they do internationally, or they would different beryllium taxable to tariffs.  

China shuts retired Nvidia 

September 17: China’s run against Nvidia continued erstwhile the country told its home companies not to bargain Nvidia’s chips. The Cyberspace Administration of China banned section companies from buying Nvidia’s chips in an effort to boost home spot sales.  

China calls retired Nvidia

September 15: Despite being fixed a escaped greenish airy to commencement selling chips again successful China, the process was not going to beryllium creaseless sailing for Nvidia. China’s State Administration for Market Regulation ruled that Nvidia violated the country’s antitrust regulations regarding the company’s 2020 acquisition of Mellanox Technologies.  

A enactment shakeup

September 9: Just a fewer abbreviated weeks aft the U.S. authorities took an equity involvement successful Intel, the company made some notable enactment changes. Michelle Johnston Holthaus, the main enforcement serviceman of Intel products, departed after 3 decades. The institution besides created a cardinal engineering group.  

August

Nvidia reports grounds quarter

August 27: The turmoil successful the semiconductor marketplace implicit the twelvemonth had intelligibly not wounded Nvidia. On August 27, the institution reported that it had record income successful the 2nd quarter. The highlights were the maturation of its information halfway business, which saw its gross turn 56% twelvemonth implicit year.

U.S. Government takes equity involvement successful Intel

August 22: The U.S. authorities announced it was converting existing authorities grants into a 10% involvement successful Intel. The woody was structured to penalize Intel if the company’s ownership successful its foundry programme dropped beneath 50%.

SoftBank takes a involvement successful Intel

August 18: Japanese conglomerate SoftBank announced it was taking a $2 cardinal involvement successful Intel. SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son called the woody “strategic.” The transaction was announced arsenic rumors were swirling that the U.S. was going to instrumentality a involvement successful the company.

Chip companies onslaught a woody to merchantability successful China

August 12: Nvidia and AMD announced that they struck a woody with the U.S. authorities to summation the indispensable licence to merchantability their AI chips successful China. Both companies agreed to pay the U.S. authorities 15% of revenue from their spot income successful China.

Trump and Lip-Bu Tan meet

August 11: Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan went to the White House to conscionable with President Trump. The brace talked astir Tan’s past and however Intel tin assistance the U.S. with its extremity of bringing semiconductor manufacturing backmost to the U.S. Both called the speech productive.

Trump comes for Lip-Bu Tan

August 7: President Donald Trump demanded that Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan “resign immediately” owed to “conflicts of interest” successful a Truth Social post. While Trump didn’t clarify what the conflicts of involvement were, this came the time aft Republican Senator Tom Cotton sent a missive to Intel’s committee of directors inquiring astir Tan’s ties to China.

Trump says tariffs are coming for the industry

August 5: President Donald Trump told CNBC’s Squawk Box that helium was readying to announce tariffs connected the semiconductor industry arsenic soon arsenic the pursuing week. At the time, helium didn’t notation specifics connected what these tariffs could look like. As of September 5, nary tariffs person been announced for this industry.

July

Intel spins retired concern unit

July 25: Just 1 time aft its second-quarter net call, Intel confirmed that it was spinning retired its Network and Edge group, which is liable for making chips for the telecom industry. The concern portion produced $5.8 cardinal successful gross for the semiconductor institution successful 2024.

Intel continues to look for efficiency

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

Trump’s AI Action Plan

July 23: The Trump medication unveiled its much-anticipated AI Action Plan alongside aggregate related enforcement orders. While the program included a batch regarding the request for U.S. spot export controls and for the U.S. to coordinate with its allies connected this effort, it didn’t supply factual accusation connected what those restrictions would look like.

Groundbreaking UAE AI woody reportedly connected hold

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

Nvidia is simply a bargaining chip

July 16: A time aft semiconductor firms similar Nvidia and AMD got the greenish airy to resume selling definite AI chips to China, we recovered retired why. U.S. Commerce Security Howard Lutnick said the plans to let U.S. companies to commencement selling AI chips successful China are tied to ongoing commercialized discussions betwixt the 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 selling a caller chip, the RTX Pro, which was designed specifically for the 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 idiosyncratic oregon concern would request to springiness the Malaysian authorities 30 days’ announcement earlier exporting immoderate U.S. AI chips.

June

Intel appoints caller leadership

June 18: Intel announced four caller enactment appointments that Intel said volition assistance it determination 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 began layoffs

June 17: Intel began laying disconnected a important chunk of its Intel Foundry staff successful July, according to assorted media reports. The institution aboriginal confirmed it was restructuring. Reports said it planned to destruct 15% to 20%, of workers successful that concern unit. These layoffs weren’t a shock: Layoffs were rumored backmost successful April, and Intel’s CEO Lip-Bu Tan had said helium wants to flatten the organization.

Nvidia won’t study connected China

June 13: Nvidia wasn’t counting connected the U.S. backing disconnected from its AI spot export restrictions. After the institution took a fiscal deed from the recently imposed licensing requirements connected its H20 AI chips, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the institution volition no longer see the Chinese market successful aboriginal gross and nett forecasts.

AMD acquired the squad down Untether AI

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

AMD is coming for Nvidia’s AI hardware dominance

June 4: AMD continued its buying spree. The institution acquired AI bundle optimization startup Brium, which helps companies retrofit AI bundle to enactment with antithetic AI hardware. With a batch of AI bundle being designed with Nvidia hardware successful mind, this acquisition isn’t surprising.

May

Nvidia laid retired the interaction of spot export restrictions

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

AMD acquired Enosemi

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

Tensions started to flare betwixt China and the U.S.

May 21: China’s Commerce Secretary didn’t similar the U.S. guidance, issued connected May 13, that warned U.S. companies that utilizing Huawei’s AI chips “anywhere successful the 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 began the process to offload units

May 20: Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan seemingly got close to enactment connected his program to rotation retired Intel’s non-core concern units. Back successful May, the semiconductor elephantine was reportedly looking to offload its Networking and Edge units, which marque chips for telecom equipment, and was liable for $5.4 cardinal of the company’s 2024 revenue.

The Biden administration’s AI Diffusion regularisation was officially dead

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

A last-minute reversal

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

April

Anthropic doubles down connected its enactment of spot export restrictions

April 30: Anthropic doubled down connected its support for restricting U.S.-made spot exports, including immoderate tweaks to the Framework for Artificial Intelligence Diffusion, similar imposing further restrictions connected Tier 2 countries and dedicating resources to enforcement. An Nvidia spokesperson changeable back, saying, “American firms should absorption connected innovation and emergence to the challenge, alternatively than archer gangly tales that large, heavy, and delicate electronics are someway smuggled successful ‘baby bumps’ oregon ‘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 assistance rebuild the company’s engineering focus. 

The Trump medication further restricts spot exports

April 15: Nvidia’s H20 AI spot got deed with an export licensing requirement, the institution disclosed successful an SEC filing. The institution added that it expected $5.5 cardinal successful charges related to this caller request successful the archetypal 4th of its 2026 fiscal year. The H20 was the astir precocious AI spot Nvidia tin inactive export to China successful immoderate fashion. TSMC and Intel reported akin expenses the aforesaid week. 

Nvidia appears to speech its mode 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 the 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 the 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% involvement successful the caller venture. Both companies declined to remark oregon confirm. If this woody doesn’t travel to fruition, this is apt a decent preview of imaginable deals successful the manufacture to come. 

Intel warned it volition rotation disconnected non-core assets

April 1: CEO Lip-Bu Tan got to enactment close away. Just weeks aft helium joined Intel, the institution announced that it was going to spin disconnected non-core assets truthful it could focus. He besides said the institution would motorboat caller products, including customized semiconductors for customers. 

March

Intel names a caller CEO 

March 12:  Intel announced that manufacture seasoned and erstwhile committee subordinate Lip-Bu Tan would instrumentality to the institution arsenic CEO connected March 18. At the 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 archetypal spot fabrication works successful Ohio this year. Instead, the institution slowed down construction connected the works for the 2nd clip successful February. Now the $28 cardinal semiconductor task won’t wrapper up operation until 2030 and whitethorn not adjacent 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 the Trump medication to further restrict AI spot exports. The missive specifically referred to Nvidia’s H20 AI chips, which were utilized successful the grooming of DeepSeek’s R1 “reasoning” model. 

January 

DeepSeek releases its unfastened “reasoning” model

January 27: Chinese AI startup DeepSeek caused rather the disturbance successful Silicon Valley erstwhile it released the open mentation of its R1 “reasoning” model. While this isn’t semiconductor quality specifically, the sheer alarm successful the AI and semiconductor industries DeepSeek caused continues to person ripple effects connected the spot industry. 

Joe Biden’s enforcement 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 operation that determined however 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 bounds for the archetypal time; and Tier 3 countries got 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 crushed wherefore China’s AI marketplace was down the 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 inactive get their hands connected these chips.

This communicative was originally published connected May 9, 2025, and is regularly updated with caller information.