Maker semiconductor Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) used by Apple in the iPhone 14 is raising concerns about supply chain and security vulnerabilities.
According to Nikkei, a group of US senators recently sent a letter to the US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, asking the intelligence community to analyze the potential threat from the plan to use Chinese memory chips in the iPhone 14. Apple’s.
‘Apple’s decision to buy 3D NAND memory chips from Chinese state-owned chip maker YMTC “will lead to significant privacy and security vulnerabilities in the global digital supply chain,” according to a statement. Letter from legislators.
The letter, released on September 22 by Senator Mark Warner, Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Democrat Marco Rubio, called for a comprehensive review of YMTC, citing the company’s “regular relationship with the company.” which is unclear to the Chinese government.”
Media Korean and others also reported that Apple had added YMTC to the list of potential suppliers of NAND flash memory for the latest iPhone 14 series. This is the first time a Chinese company has joined the list. So far, Apple has only purchased NAND flash memory from major suppliers such as South Korea’s Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, Japan’s Kioxia, and Micron Technology of America.
In the letter, the lawmakers warned that the partnership between Apple and YMTC would advance “Beijing’s goal of controlling the global semiconductor market.” ‘s success in YMTC is a top equipment supplier in the world like Apple, has the potential to “threaten 24,000 American jobs in memory chip manufacturing.”
According to Financial Times, Apple is “evaluating the supply from YMTC to use NAND chips for some iPhones sold in China” but is not considering using YMTC chips for other smartphones sold outside China.
In April 2022, Financial Times reported that the White House and the US Department of Commerce were investigating allegations that YMTC violated the US export control rules by supplying chips to Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technology. In July 2022, a bipartisan group of senators also sent a letter to US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, urging the administration of President Joe Biden to place YMTC on the Entity List to restrict its access to the public. American technology and equipment.
YMTC was established in 2016 under the management of state-owned chip maker Tsinghua Unigroup. YMTC’s rapid growth is attributed to large subsidies from Beijing. According to British research firm Omdia, YMTC’s global NAND flash memory market share has grown from 0.6% in 2020 to 2.3% in 2021.