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The logo for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Sept. 26, 2023.

Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company has denied that the U.S. was investigating its dealings with Chinese tech company Huawei, following reports that its chips were found in the Shenzhen-based firm’s products. 

“TSMC is a law-abiding company and we are committed to complying with all applicable rules and regulations, including applicable export controls,” a company spokesperson told CNBC in a statement on Wednesday.

Tech-focused publication The Information had reported last week that the Commerce Department was probing whether TSMC had been making AI or smartphone chips for Huawei, in violation of U.S. export rules. 

“We proactively communicate with the U.S. Commerce Department regarding the matter in the report. We are not aware of TSMC being the subject of any investigation at this time,” the TSMC spokesperson added.  

Huawei was placed on a U.S. trade blacklist in May 2019 over national security concerns. 

TSMC, which is the world’s largest contract chip manufacturer, said that it has not supplied chips to Huawei since mid-September 2020.

Separately, Reuters reported Tuesday that one of TSMC’s chips had recently been found in a Huawei product, indicating possible export violations and prompting the chip maker to notify the Commerce Department. 

Citing anonymous sources, the report claimed the discovery was made after tech research firm TechInsights took apart a Huawei product and found a TSMC chip as part of its multi-chip system. 

TechInsights has yet to release a public report on its findings and has not yet responded to a request for comment from CNBC.

TSMC declined to comment further on the specific claims made in the Reuters report.

There has been renewed attention on Huawei and its access to advanced semiconductor tech since it released a smartphone containing a 5G chip, a technology that the U.S. had sought to restrict the company from accessing.

The U.S. Commerce Department and Huawei did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

TSMC’s shares fell 1.4% on Wednesday.

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Joby lawsuit accuses air taxi rival Archer of using stolen information to ‘one-up’ deal

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November 20, 2025

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Joby lawsuit accuses air taxi rival Archer of using stolen information to 'one-up' deal

An electric air taxi by Joby Aviation flies near the Downtown Manhattan Heliport in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., November 12, 2023.

Roselle Chen | Reuters

Air taxi maker Joby Aviation in a new lawsuit accused competitor Archer Aviation of using stolen information by a former employee to “one-up” a partnership deal with a real estate developer.

“This is corporate espionage, planned and premeditated,” Joby said in the lawsuit filed Wednesday in a California Superior Court in Santa Cruz, where the company is based.

Archer and Joby did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

The lawsuit alleges that former U.S. state and local policy lead, George Kivork, downloaded dozens of files and sent some content to his personal email two days before he resigned in July to take a job at Archer, which had recruited him.

By August, Joby said a partner that worked with Kivork said it had been approached by Archer with a “more lucrative deal.” Joby alleges that the eVTOL rival’s understanding of “highly confidential” details helped it leverage negotiations.

Joby also said the developer attempted to terminate the agreement, citing a breach of confidentiality.

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Kivork refused to return the files when Joby approached him after conducting an investigation, according to the suit. The company also said Archer denied wrongdoing, and would not disclose how it learned about the terms of the agreement or provide results from an internal investigation it allegedly undertook.

The lawsuit comes during a busy period for electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) technology as companies race to gain Federal Aviation Administration certification to start flying commercially. ‘

The sector has also benefitted from President Donald Trump‘s newly minted eVTOL pilot program.

Joby argued in the complaint that it’s “imperative” to protect Joby’s work “from this type of espionage” to promote the sector’s success and ensure fair competition.

Last week, Joby said it completed its first test flight for a hybrid aircraft it’s working on with defense contractor L3Harris. This month, Amazon-backed Beta Technologies, another electric flight company, also went public on the New York Stock Exchange.

Joby shares have more than doubled over the last year, while Archer is up about 68%.

In August 2023, Archer settled a previous legal dispute with Boeing-owned Wisk Aero over the alleged theft of trade secrets. As part of the deal, Archer agreed to use Wisk as its autonomous tech partner.

A hearing is scheduled for March 20, 2026.

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Jobs data muddies the picture for a December rate cut, while the Nvidia rally fizzles

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3 hours ago

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November 20, 2025

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Jobs data muddies the picture for a December rate cut, while the Nvidia rally fizzles

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Bitcoin falls to lowest level since April

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November 20, 2025

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Bitcoin falls to lowest level since April

Andriy Onufriyenko | Moment | Getty Images

Bitcoin dropped on Thursday to levels not seen in more than six months, as investors appeared to pull back exposure to riskier assets and weighed the prospects of another Federal Reserve rate cut next month.

The flagship digital currency fell to as low as $86,325.81, its lowest level since April 21. It last traded at $86,690.11.

The release of stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data raised questions about whether the central bank would lower its benchmark overnight rate. The U.S. economy added 119,000 in September, well above the 50,000 economists polled by Dow Jones expected.

That report sent the probability of a December rate cut to around 40%, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.

Bitcoin’s pullback formed part of a broader cryptocurrency market decline. XRP was last down 2.3% on the day, and is below $2.00, while ether shed more than 3% to trade well below $3,000. Dogecoin was unchanged.

The world’s oldest crypto also led stocks lower, even after a blockbuster Nvidia earnings report. Traders who are heavily invested in AI-related stocks tend to also hold bitcoin, linking the two trades.

Bitcoin’s price has largely slid since a rash of cascading liquidations of highly leveraged crypto positions in early October.

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