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AKM Fire Update 3: Yet Another Step Towards Recovery, Co. Launches New Flagship Chip

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New AKM AK4499EX flagship DAC

Asahi Kasei Microdevices (AKM), part of the Asahi Kasei Corporation, and one of the world’s most significant providers of integrated circuits, particularly digital-to-analog converters (DACs) and analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), launched a new flagship stereo DAC at the IPS/High End 2022 Show last week in Munich, Germany. It is yet another notable milestone in the company’s long journey to recovery after the horrific impact of the signal event of the pandemic supply chain disaster in 2020 – a massive factory fire that destroyed a key production fab, first reported in our industry by Strata-gee.

But…can the company recover quickly enough to make a difference?

See more on this impressive new AKM DAC

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Osaka District Court Approves Onkyo Bankruptcy Petition for Two Subsidiaries

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Onkyo Home Entertainment Co. Ltd. (Onkyo) has announced that its two consolidated subsidiaries – Onkyo Sound Co. Ltd. (ONS) and Onkyo Marketing Co. Ltd (OMC) – have filed for bankruptcy. The company said that it had petitioned the court to begin bankruptcy proceedings for these divisions and has received judicial approval to begin the bankruptcy process from the Osaka District Court in Osaka, Japan.

See more on the bankruptcy of these Onkyo subsidiaries

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What’s Delaying New Chip Fabs to Reinforce the Supply Chain? Yep…The Supply Chain

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chip shortages bedevil the supply chain
[Photo: AFP/Jiji]

Ever since supply chain shortages hit many industries, particularly in relation to the availability of integrated circuits or chips, there has been a massive scramble to increase capacity and to build new chip fabricating facilities (fabs) or factories. There has been a series of announcements from huge companies like Intel, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), Samsung, and others launching massive multi-billion projects to add more chip production facilities.

There’s just one problem…the equipment they need to build these facilities are themselves delayed.

See more on the supply chain shortages delaying new factories to help the supply chain

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Tech’s Newest Power Couple: Sony and Honda

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Sony and Honda CEOs announce joint venture

So Sony has just pulled a major donut – finally coming full circle. Sony Group’s CEO stood alongside Honda Motor’s CEO as the two companies announced that they were forming a joint venture with automotive manufacturing powerhouse Honda agreeing to partner with the sensor and mobile entertainment electronics king Sony to actually manufacture electric vehicles (EVs) – or what we’ve known up to this point as the Sony Vision-S vehicles. At last, our trip down the long and winding (and confusing) road has arrived at a final destination.

And with this announcement, we now have tech’s newest power couple…

See more on the Sony & Honda joint venture

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Sputtering Supply Chain Takes Another Hit as China Forces Factories to Close

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Shutdowns in Shenzhen China threaten the supply chain
Shuttered buildings in Shenzhen, China on Monday [Photo: Chinatopix, via Associated Press]

Here we go again! Yet another major blow has been dealt to the supply chain, this time from another round of COVID-19 hitting China, forcing lockdowns in many critical areas of the country – including Shenzhen. You may or may not know that much of the electronics goods manufactured in China come out of the Shenzhen region – so we all have a direct connection to the impact of this development. Add to this, new reports of container costs rising again and transportation disruptions from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. What’s next?

See more on the latest supply chain disruption

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Onkyo Announces Two Subsidiaries Will Cease Operations & File for Bankruptcy

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One of the products to be sold in Onkyo’s new direct-to-consumer business

Onkyo Home Entertainment Company Ltd. (formerly Onkyo Corp.) has announced that two of its consolidated subsidiaries will cease operations and file for bankruptcy. It is yet another dramatic development in the company’s effort to stop the bleeding and stabilize the company. But substantial concerns exist about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.

Learn more on these shuttered Onkyo subsidiaries

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AKM Responds to Strata-gee Request for Comment on Damaged Factory

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Last week, I updated the story of the Asahi Kasei Microdevices (AKM) factory fire that destroyed one of the world’s largest fabs producing semiconductors, particularly LSIs (large-scale integrated circuits) for digital-to-analog converters (DACs) and analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) widely used in audio for consumer, pro, and commercial applications. [See post: AKM Fire Update: Co. Makes Progress, Interim Solution Shows Promise] At the time I was working on that report, I reached out to AKM for comment on what I was learning from my sources, but did not receive a reply by the time the story was posted.

This morning, AKM responded to my request…

See what AKM said in a statement to Strata-gee…

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AKM Fire Update: Co. Makes Progress, Interim Solution Shows Promise

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burned out AKM factory
[Click to enlarge] [Photo: nikogorio (Twitter)]

Commits to Deliver New DACs & ADCs in 2022!

In one of the most-read stories ever posted on Strata-gee.com, I reported on a fire in October 2020 at an AKM factory in Japan. AKM is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of large-scale integrated circuits (LSI) used in a variety of products, including digital-to-analog converters (DACs) and analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) for the audio industry. In that post, I warned you that this fire threatens to “disrupt the global supply of critical digital ICs.” It was the bright red flag of what was to become a massive supply chain headache that the world continues to struggle with to this day.

UPDATE: What’s happening now after the AKM fire

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Sony Forecasts a Record Profit; Says NOT Entering the Car Building Biz

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New Financial Info Shows Sony Continues to Transform Biz

On the eve of closing out their current fiscal year (fiscal 2021) on March 30, 2022, Sony Group announced their latest financial results for the first nine months of the fiscal year…and included a surprising new upgrade of their forecast, now saying they’ll have a record operating profit for the year. This was a high note for the company, a company that has benefitted from consumers spending more time at home playing video games on their PlayStation, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the company also answered the question that many – including me – had about Sony entering the automobile business via their new Sony Mobile division – and in so doing, reiterated their plan to move away from a hardware-centric business.

See more on where tech leader Sony is headed

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Sputtering Supply Chain Hit Again – Surge of COVID in Vietnam Closes Factories

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COVID surge in Vietnam is causing global supply chain issues

Brands Like Apple, Samsung, Nike & Adidas Have Been Forced to Close

In a new hit to the supply chain, top brands report that they have been forced to close down factories in Vietnam as the country struggles with a COVID resurgence of surprising resiliency. Notable brand names like Samsung, Nike, Adidas, Apple, Coca-Cola have all at one time or another over the last 90-days been forced to close some or all of their factories as employees came down with the illness.

See more on this new supply chain disruption…

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