Procurement Pro takes a look at the top news stories from September 2025 – featuring this month is allegations that China was urging its tech companies not to purchase chips from NVIDIA in spite of the US granting it a licence to sell its H20 chip; the impact of tariffs on SME investment plans; and the GaN-on-Si foundry services X-FAB is now providing.
SME investment plans have been hit hard by tariff changes
The short- and medium-term investment plans of UK Small to Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) have been hit hard by the recent changes to international trade tariffs.
More than two-thirds (68%) of UK SME finance decision-makers (FDMs) confirmed there has been a high impact on their short and medium-term investment plans, with more than half (56%) suffering up to a 40% drop in their sales pipeline.
Volkswagen unveils new procurement model
Volkswagen Group announced its new level procurement model with Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technology, covering more than 50 semiconductor categories, at the 4th Semiconductor Summit at IAA Mobility in Munich.
These new categories include core components such as microcontrollers, power transistors, and printed circuit boards that power and connect modern vehicles. The initiative reflects the Group’s proactive approach to expand its supplier base, build resilient partnerships, and strengthen its ambition to become the Global Automotive Tech Driver.
China allegedly urging tech companies not to buy NVIDIA chips
After an unprecedented decision was made last month from the US government to grant NVIDIA and AMD licenses to sell their chips into China – which detailed that both NVIDIA and AMD would have to pay 15% of the revenues they generated to the US – another spanner has potentially been thrown in the works as reporting suggests China is actively discouraging its top tech companies from purchasing NVIDIA’s AI chips.
Last month, NVIDIA and AMD were given licenses to sell their H20 chip and M13087 chip, respectively, to the Chinese market after they agreed to give the US 15% of the revenue they made from these sales.
AMD’s Lisa Su to receive inaugural SEMI Silicon Medal
SEMI announced the introduction of the annual SEMI Silicon Medal, a prestigious award that celebrates semiconductor industry icons driving innovation and excellence. This year’s award will be presented to Dr. Lisa Su, Chair and CEO of AMD, at the SEMI Leaders & Legends Honors as part of SEMICON West 2025.
Since joining AMD in 2012, Su has solidified the company as a semiconductor industry leader in high-performance and adaptive computing. By delivering the next generation of AI and compute solutions, she has been integral in developing technology to help solve many of the world’s most pressing challenges. Su has earned several esteemed awards throughout her career, including receiving TIME’s 2024 CEO of the Year and being recognised as one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People and 100 Most Influential People in AI, as well as IEEE’s highest semiconductor honour – the Robert N. Noyce Medal.
TTI IP&E – Europe breaks ground on new distribution centre
TTI IP&E – Europe has officially begun construction to expand its European Distribution Centre (EDC) and headquarters.
With a ground breaking ceremony, the project is now underway in Maisach-Gernlinden. Completion of the building exterior is scheduled for November 2026. Installation of the intralogistics and warehouse technology will then begin. Full completion of the EDC, including all building components and infrastructure, is planned for March 2028.
The expansion will double TTI’s footprint at the site, adding 51,000m ² of space directly connected to the existing buildings. This includes approximately 30,000m ² of new warehouse and logistics capacity and 6,000m ² of additional office and administrative space. The project is backed by Invesco Real Estate, Munich, as investor and owner, and executed by BREMER Stuttgart GmbH as general contractor.
X-FAB now offers GaN-on-Si foundry services
X-FAB Silicon Foundries SE is building on its expertise in gallium nitride (GaN) processing technology for high-power applications by introducing GaN-on-Si foundry services for dMode devices as part of its XG035 technology platform.
The move further leverages X-FAB’s advantage as a pure-play foundry that now offers a set of processing technologies for GaN and other WBG materials – including SiC – to help fabless semiconductor companies bring their designs to life.
