As generative AI and humanoid robotics converge, Chinese microcontroller unit (MCU) manufacturers are shifting their strategic focus away from the automotive sector toward humanoid robots, seeking new avenues for growth. Industry players are zeroing in on three key modules—motion control, edge AI, and battery management—to position themselves early in the evolving robotics landscape.

Since returning to the office, President Donald Trump has once again made unpredictability a cornerstone of US trade policy. His shifting stance on tariffs, particularly toward China, has sent tremors through global supply chains. And yet, amid the turbulence, Taiwan has managed not only to hold its ground but also to benefit unexpectedly from the chaos.

In the escalating battle over semiconductor supremacy, the United States has struck at the brain of China's chip industry—its design software.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has introduced an AI-driven chip design system named "Qimeng" ("Enlightenment"), signaling a major move in China's drive to accelerate semiconductor innovation and cut dependence on US-origin electronic design automation (EDA) tools. The unveiling coincides with tighter US export controls targeting China's access to critical chip design software.

PCB wet process equipment and semiconductor materials agent Ampoc recently announced a strategic technical partnership with South Korean semiconductor materials leader DCT Material. The collaboration aims to expand their presence in the Asian market and capture opportunities in the global advanced semiconductor process high-end materials sector, potentially breaking the long-standing monopoly held by certain major players.

Taiwan's National Development Council (NDC) Chairman Chin-Ching Liu accepted the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei's 2025 Taiwan White Paper, as US technology companies including Nvidia, AMD, and Micron continue expanding operations on the island.

Marking the first anniversary of China's "Eight Measures for the STAR Market"—a landmark reform package aimed at boosting tech innovation and industrial upgrading—the country has recorded its biggest-ever merger in the computing power sector.

China is ramping up trade ties with ASEAN and the EU as US-China tensions deepen and global supply chains continue to shift. According to June 2025 data from the General Administration of Customs, China's total trade reached CNY17.94 trillion (US$2.5 trillion) in the first five months of 2025, marking 2.5% year-over-year growth. Exports climbed 7.2%, while imports declined 3.8%.

In the summer of 2024, Debbie Marr, after a three-decades career at Intel, and several longtime colleagues from Intel quietly launched AheadComputing, a new semiconductor company with a singular ambition: to build the world's most powerful CPU — not using Intel's proprietary x86 architecture, or even the energy-efficient Arm standard, but the open-source RISC-V instruction set, once relegated to academia and embedded systems.

As geopolitical tensions between China and the US continue to escalate, the Southeast Asian market has become a new strategic focal point for global semiconductor players—particularly in the microcontroller unit (MCU) segment. Industry players are eyeing Southeast Asia not only for its growth potential but also as a platform to diversify global applications and reduce political risk.

Qualcomm Inc., the top maker of smartphone processors, is making a bigger push into smart glasses with low-power components that can run artificial intelligence software.

Nintendo's highly anticipated Switch 2 has officially launched to an extremely enthusiastic response across Europe, the US, and Japan. Retail channels report being "highly optimistic" about initial promotional efforts, with expectations that large inventory stockpiles accumulated since the beginning of 2025 will be quickly absorbed. While Nvidia's main chip drives much of the demand, Taiwanese IC design houses are positioned to benefit significantly from the resulting replenishment orders.

The Trump administration has escalated its tech crackdown on China with a sweeping ban on Electronic Design Automation (EDA) software exports. On May 29, 2025, Synopsys, Cadence, and Siemens EDA—who together dominate the EDA space—confirmed they had received orders from the US Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) to cease all EDA-related sales and support to China without a license. Unlike the Biden administration's earlier node-specific controls, this latest action, classified under ECCN 3D991 and 3E991, represents a far more expansive push to undercut China's chip design capabilities.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang praised the UK for its top-tier artificial intelligence (AI) talent and described the country as being in a "Goldilocks" position for AI advancement. However, he noted the lack of domestic AI infrastructure and pledged to increase local investments.

After a front-loaded surge in shipments driven by tariff fears and early stockpiling, Taiwan's IC distributors are facing a much more uncertain second half of 2025. A cocktail of trade policy volatility, currency appreciation, and inventory overhang has led many firms to issue cautious outlooks for the remainder of the year.

Taiwan-based San Fu Chemical unveiled a broad seven-point strategic roadmap at its annual shareholder meeting on June 9, 2025, signaling the company's intent to deepen its footprint in the semiconductor sector and expand its global presence, particularly in Vietnam.

Taiwan's IC design firms remain optimistic about the long-term trajectory of artificial intelligence (AI), but their outlook for the second half of 2025 has turned markedly cautious. Despite strong expectations around new AI products, near-term uncertainty, driven by tariffs, geopolitics, and macroeconomic volatility, is clouding what was once seen as a pivotal year for edge AI adoption.

US-China trade talks resumed in London on June 10, extending a new bilateral economic and trade consultation mechanism launched with more than six hours of discussions the day before. While no deal was reached, both sides signaled cautious optimism.

As artificial intelligence accelerates the reshaping of the automotive sector, Arm has once again positioned itself at the forefront. Following the rollout of its Armv9 architecture for automotive applications in 2024, the tech giant has now unveiled its next-generation Arm Zena Compute System (CSS). Focused on in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) and Level 2+ advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), the new platform aims to simplify development processes through an integrated approach, seizing opportunities in the next-generation automotive market defined by AI.

Taiwan's semiconductor equipment industry made a strong impression at this year's SEMICON Southeast Asia, as the Innovative Technology and Product Launch, jointly organized by the Precision Machinery Research & Development Center (PMC) and the Taiwan Electronic Equipment Industry Association (TEEIA), concluded with record-setting results.

Intel is implementing a stricter profit policy as part of efforts to regain financial stability after years of declining margins. At the Bank of America Global Technology Conference, Johnston Holthaus, CEO of Intel Products, announced that Intel will no longer approve new product developments unless they are expected to achieve at least a 50% gross margin.

Following a direct high-level phone call between China and the US on the evening of June 5, 2025, Beijing time, subtle shifts have emerged in semiconductor and electronic design automation (EDA) strategies within China. According to feedback from several local Chinese IC design engineers and companies, Synopsys' technical support platform "SolvNetPlus" and Cadence's "Support Portal," which had been inaccessible due to US export controls, are now accessible again.

These are the most-read DIGITIMES Asia stories from June 2 to June 8, 2025. Top highlights include Arm's strategic rebrand and entry into proprietary chip design, Huawei's aggressive R&D-driven resurgence, and growing momentum across Asia in AI semiconductors and advanced packaging. As global tech giants recalibrate in response to shifting supply chain dynamics, export controls, and rising open-source threats, the week's top stories reflect deepening fault lines—and fresh opportunities—across the semiconductor and system architecture landscape.