Chinese regulators have summoned Nvidia to address mounting concerns that its H20 artificial intelligence chip may contain backdoor vulnerabilities and tracking features, in a move that threatens to derail the company's sales prospects in the world's second-largest AI market.

Samsung's major AI chip contract with Tesla has sparked heated discussions, with Elon Musk pledging to personally step in to help Samsung improve production efficiency while hinting at an even higher contract value.

During the earnings call for second quarter results, Samsung Electronics declined to provide further information regarding its US$16.5 billion foundry deal with Tesla, while noting its competitiveness in advanced process technologies that is expected to significantly boost utilization at its new Taylor, Texas facility, which is set to ramp up operations in 2026.

MediaTek reported solid second quarter 2024 performance during its July 30 earnings call, with CEO Rick Tsai highlighting strong demand for edge AI system-on-chips (SoCs) and high-speed connectivity products. The company also saw an uptick in pull-in orders from customers hedging against potential tariff volatility.

At MediaTek's earnings call, aside from presenting their outlook for the third quarter, the Q&A session demonstrated that the market is most interested in the company's three core strategies, (1) the development of the ASIC business, (2) the performance and growth timing of automotive chips, and (3) the progress of developing 2nm chips.

Arm's AI-focused strategy continues to gain traction, with record royalty growth and increasing demand for its data center and edge computing platforms.

Arm Holdings saw steady royalty revenue growth in the first quarter of fiscal 2026 despite a slow smartphone market recovery. CFO Jason Child reported a 25% year-over-year increase in royalties, at the lower end of forecasts. Although Arm's smartphone segment grew nearly ten times faster than the broader market, overall smartphone demand stayed in the low single digits, capping potential gains.

Qualcomm anticipates renewed growth in its handset business in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, driven by strong Android momentum and new chip launches, even as revenue tied to Apple continues to decline.

Qualcomm is doubling down on its expansion into next-generation computing, with CEO Cristiano Amon during the latest earnings call on July 30 highlighting significant progress in AI PCs, extended reality (XR), and data center markets during the company's fiscal third-quarter 2025 earnings call. Central to Qualcomm's evolving strategy is its upcoming acquisition of Alphawave IP Group PLC, a move aimed at accelerating its push into AI-powered data infrastructure.

MediaTek reported its second-quarter 2025 earnings on July 30, with revenue landing near the top end of guidance and gross margin beating expectations, despite adverse foreign exchange impacts.

As the race for semiconductor architecture dominance reshapes the global tech landscape, former Arm China CEO Allen Wu made a rare appearance at the 5th RISC-V Summit China, declaring RISC-V the future standard for the AI era. Wu's comments signaled a formal pivot to open-source computing and marked a strategic endorsement of RISC-V by a seasoned industry figure.

As artificial intelligence and high-performance computing enter a phase of explosive growth, the limitations of traditional chip manufacturing and the slowing of Moore's Law have pushed the semiconductor industry toward a new frontier: advanced packaging technologies. Increasingly, performance gains are no longer coming from silicon alone, but from how chips are assembled and connected.

At the 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), Chinese AI chipmakers announced major advances in high-end chip design, manufacturing, and deployment. Lisuan Tech introduced its first self-developed GPU, the 7G106, while Shenzhen-based Intellifusion outlined a new AI inference chip roadmap. The developments reflect China's broader push to build a homegrown AI compute ecosystem and reduce reliance on global semiconductor leaders.

The US Department of Commerce (DOC) is set to announce the results of the Section 232 investigations within the next two weeks, a potential cornerstone event for chip tariffs. The entire industry is closely monitoring the possible ripple effects.

Samsung has secured a major deal with Tesla, creating new opportunities for its foundry business and providing leverage in South Korea-US tariff negotiations. The partnership extends beyond commercial interests, aligning with US semiconductor policy, investment attraction strategies, and Washington's push for technological independence from China. Samsung will produce Tesla's next-generation autonomous driving chip AI6, at its Texas Taylor plant starting in 2026, using Samsung's 2nm process technology.

Samsung Electronics has landed a next-generation AI chip order from Tesla, a deal seen as a potential inflection point for its lagging foundry business. The deal involves Tesla's AI6 chip, which will be built using Samsung's advanced 2nm process technology, and could help the South Korean firm claw back ground it has ceded to industry leader TSMC.

Memory packaging and testing company Powertech Technology Inc. (PTI) has heavily invested in fan-out panel-level packaging (FOPLP) in recent years. Chairman DK Tsai stated that the new FOPLP products have gained significant recognition from clients, allowing PTI to move past an awkward period. The company plans to resume substantial capital expenditures, anticipating monthly revenue contributions of US$10 million starting in the second half of 2026. By 2028, this segment could account for up to 20% of total revenue.

Thanks to AI in generating robust revenues, SK Hynix has announced it would issue performance bonuses equivalent to 1.5 months' salary, but many employees are still pushing for more. Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics has remained silent, with numerous employees in its semiconductor division reportedly receiving almost no bonus.

Rising Qualcomm chip prices and improving Exynos yield rates have prompted Samsung to consider using its in-house Exynos 2600 in the 2026 Galaxy S26 base model. South Korean industry sources say the move depends on whether yield stability can be achieved.

The US has eased export restrictions on Nvidia's H20 GPUs to China as part of wider talks tied to rare earth magnet controls, but the move has failed to meet soaring demand from Chinese firms. Jefferies estimates Nvidia holds 600,000 to 900,000 H20 units in inventory, while Chinese demand may reach 1.8 million units.

Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) and 104 Job Bank, on July 28, jointly issued a report on 2025 semiconductor industry talent trends in the era of AI. The report highlights new demands for talent, salary structures, and the ideal employee profile under the post-Moore's Law era and the rise of AI.

Silicon photonics (SiPh) is one of the cutting-edge technologies in a crucial Taiwanese government AI development program that aims to create more than US$500 billion in industry output by 2040. The government is about to launch a major AI development program that includes four new technology items and six infrastructure construction items.

As Taiwan maintains its global leadership in semiconductor manufacturing, the nation's academic institutions are stepping up efforts to address critical industry challenges such as physical scaling limitations and escalating development costs. By advancing research in chiplets and silicon photonics (SiPh), academia is playing a pivotal role in shaping the future of high-speed interconnect technologies.