Shares of key global semiconductor equipment firms jumped on Thursday after a report that the U.S. is considering sanctions on China’s chip industry that stop short of earlier proposals.

ASML was around 3.6% higher in early trade in Europe. Tokyo Electron was more than 6% higher in Japan where it trades.

Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that Washington is considering further measures to restrict sales of semiconductor equipment and AI memory chips to China, but that the new rules could stop short of earlier proposals that were seen as stricter.

The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Bloomberg report.

The U.S. is now considering adding fewer suppliers to Chinese technology giant Huawei to an export blacklist known as the Entity List. According to the report, one key Chinese firm that won’t be added is ChangXin Memory Technologies, a memory company and potential rival to the likes of SK Hynix and Samsung.

Analysts at Jefferies said ASML had previously guided toward a 30% decline in its revenue from China next year. The exclusion of that company could mean that ASML’s sales in China “decline by less than expected next year,” Jefferies said Thursday.

ASML has been caught in the crosshairs of the U.S. and China’s technology battle over semiconductors because of the Dutch firm’s critical position in the chip supply chain.

ASML produces a machine that chipmakers require to manufacture the most advanced semiconductors. Those machines have not yet been exported to China due to various export controls. More recently, the Dutch and U.S. governments have imposed restrictions that make it more difficult for ASML to export some of its less advanced machines to China.

The company sells its machines to “fabs” or plants that actually manufacture chips such as Taiwan’s TSMC as well as SMIC in China. Any rules that hit demand or directly target semiconductor manufacturers will have a negative impact on ASML.

The Bloomberg report suggested that further sanctions under consideration would target Chinese firms making semiconductor manufacturing equipment, rather than the factories that actually make the chips. This is also a positive for ASML and other foreign semiconductor equipment firms that sell to fabs.

Shoppers looking for gadgets and gizmos powered by generative AI technology to gift to their loved ones won’t have many options to choose from this holiday season.

Generative artificial intelligence has taken Silicon Valley by storm since the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot in November 2022. Although startups have raised billions to build new GenAI tools and tech giants have bought millions of Nvidia processors to train AI models, few companies have delivered new hardware built with the new-age tech as its focal point.

There was a lot of optimism over the potential of GenAI gadgets at the CES trade show in January, said Paul Gagnon, vice president for analyst firm Circana. In particular, products from high-profile startups such as Humane and Rabbit, which were marketed as being able to translate, answer questions, take voice memos and set alarms, were drawing buzz, Gagnon said.

But many of these new GenAI devices didn’t work as well as people expected, with reviewers saying that the gadgets were too slow and too prone to failure.

“As we’ve gone through the year, and those kinds of promises — which I’ll be honest, were pretty nebulous to start with — there’s been a bit of a struggle with communicating that to consumers,” Gagnon said.

A key reason GenAI hardware hasn’t had a breakthrough is that current devices are “compute restrained,” meaning they require more powerful silicon chips and related components to perform better, particularly when compared with smartphones, said Ben Bajarin, CEO of Creative Strategies, a market research firm.

Additionally, consumers may find current GenAI devices too expensive, and they may be confused about what the devices can actually do, he said.

GenAI devices, such as the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, also typically require a smartphone connection for an accompanying app as well as strong internet access, because a bad internet connection can lead to performance delays that frustrate people, Bajarin said.

While companies such as Microsoft, Apple, Intel, Dell and Lenovo have also heavily marketed new lineups of personal computers capable of performing GenAI tasks, consumers have yet to perk up to the sales pitch, said Ryan Reith, an IDC program vice president for mobile devices.

“I don’t think that there’s actually a need for consumers to go out and get one of these more expensive PCs,” Reith said, noting that people may be confused about why they need beefier computers when they can already access tools such as ChatGPT through their current PCs. 

The reality is that while GenAI has captivated Silicon Valley, it’s still “inning zero” in regard to widespread adoption, Bajarin said.

“Even though I can rattle off all these productivity stats of how people are using AI today, it’s a very small number of people,” he said. “This is not mainstream.”

It may not be until 2025 that consumers see a “big explosion” in GenAI computers, smartphones and new gadgets, said Steve Koenig, vice president of research at the Consumer Technology Association, which produces CES.

Despite Silicon Valley not having a breakout year for GenAI hardware, here are a few GenAI devices early adopters can buy.

With the help of the device’s mics and camera, for instance, users can ask the Meta AI digital assistant to recommend a recipe when they walk through a grocery aisle and scan the shelves, the company said in a blog post.

Meta, which makes Facebook and Instagram, is selling certain versions of the glasses for 20% off through Dec. 2. This means that a pair of the Ray-Ban Meta Skyler style of glasses will cost $239.20 instead of $299 if bought online. 

Outfitted with a camera and dual mics, the r1 can record audio clips and set timers or perform more advanced tasks, such as helping users recall details from past conversations, search results and voice recordings. After the device began shipping in March, reviewers criticized the r1 for stumbling at various tasks and failing to outshine smartphones that can do many of the same functions. 

The startup “has used that feedback to rapidly make very significant improvements to the user experience” and has released scores of updates to improve, Rabbit CEO Jesse Lyu told CNBC in a statement.

Despite the harsh reviews, Rabbit has “sold more than 100,000 r1 devices when we originally expected to sell only 3,000” and the company is “seeing a return rate of less than 5%, which is very solid for a first-generation product,” Lyu said. 

Rabbit is currently running a deal that gives shoppers free shipping, or $15 off, if they order an r1 by Dec. 4.

Watch: Former Apple designers launch $700 Humane AI Pin as smartphone replacement.