TSMC risks potentially substantial fines if the probe confirms that the company helped Huawei access US-made chips. Last year, Seagate was fined $300 million for shipping 7 million disc drives to Huawei. The chipmaker could also face "more severe penalties," The Information reported, such as restrictions blocking TSMC from accessing US tech.

The U.S. Commerce Department is probing if Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) has been making AI or smartphone chips for Chinese company Huawei Technologies, and violated U.S. export rules,

The U.S. is reportedly probing whether TSMC is making AI or smartphone chips with Huawei, currently barred from accessing chips made with U.S. technology.