Memory shortages are intensifying as major cloud service providers (CSPs) continue expanding capital expenditures, with AI demand increasingly squeezing supply. Industry sources reveal that Samsung Electronics led the move by halting DDR5 DRAM contract pricing in October, prompting other manufacturers to follow suit. This disruption is expected to delay contract price announcements until mid-November, exacerbating supply constraints. Meanwhile, DRAM spot prices have surged sharply, with DDR5 prices more than doubling since late last month, driving procurement costs to soar.

Industry sources revealed TSMC had introduced a rare multi-year price increase strategy for its advanced semiconductor processes, effective starting in 2026. The company will implement consecutive annual hikes over four years for advanced nodes, including 5nm, 4nm, 3nm, and sub-2nm technologies, marking a significant shift from its traditional pricing approach.

Taiwanese integrated circuit (IC) design firm MediaTek reported third-quarter 2025 revenue at the high end of its guidance, driven by robust sales of its Dimensity 9500 chip. On a New Taiwan dollar (NT$) basis, quarterly revenue exceeded operational targets, marking solid annual growth despite a sequential decline.

RF front-end chipmaker RichWave has reported solid financial results for the third quarter, citing strong Wi-Fi 7 product shipments as a key factor behind an improved product mix and margin recovery. The company posted revenue of NT$986 million (approx. US$32.2 million) in the third quarter, a 1.2% increase from the previous quarter and an 8% rise compared to the same period last year. Gross margin expanded to 38%, up 3pp sequentially and 7pp year-over-year.

Below are the top DIGITIMES Asia stories from October 27 to November 2, 2025.

Taiwan-based passive components manufacturer Yageo Group announced that its third-quarter 2025 operations were primarily driven by strong demand in artificial intelligence (AI) and high-end product applications. AI-related sales accounted for 10-12% of the company's total revenue, with growth largely stemming from North American cloud and enterprise markets. Boosting orders for advanced passive components and sensors was also the electric vehicle and communications sectors. The company projects steady full-year sales growth across all product lines in 2026.

Tong Hsing Electronic, a CMOS image sensor (CIS) packaging and semiconductor assembly company, reported NT$2.85 billion (US$93 million) in consolidated revenue for the third quarter of 2025, down 3.94% sequentially to an eight-quarter low. Tong Hsing president Shao-Ping (Heinz) Lu said fourth-quarter 2025 revenue is expected to remain flat compared to the previous quarter, but three major growth drivers will boost operations in 2026.

Production disruptions at Dutch power device maker Nexperia have drawn speculation about a supply chain shift where Taiwan-based makers may benefit. But Advanced Power Electronics (APEC) president CS Chang said it would be difficult for Taiwanese makers to penetrate Nexperia's automotive customer base.

Tongfu Microelectronics, a leading Chinese semiconductor packaging and testing company, made a significant leap in advanced packaging after acquiring 85% of AMD's Suzhou and Penang facilities in 2015. The deal gave it access to key CPU, GPU, APU, and game-console packaging platforms, including FCBGA, FCPGA, FCLGA, and MCM technologies. It also laid the foundation for a long-term strategic alliance with AMD, placing Tongfu among the frontrunners in advanced chip packaging.

Samsung Electronics' foundry division appears poised for a long-anticipated recovery after winning consecutive chip orders from Tesla. Following reports that Samsung would handle Tesla's AI6 chip, new industry sources now say the automaker's AI5 chip, once thought to be TSMC's exclusive project, will also be fabricated by Samsung using a 2nm process.

TSMC is accelerating development beyond the 2nm process node while expanding mass production of CoWoS-L, SoIC, and next-gen WMCM and CoPoS technologies. The semiconductor industry is entering a "complexity explosion" phase in advanced packaging, boosting high-end AI chip performance and power efficiency.