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Friday 15 August 2025

Fire at Kanto Denka Kogyo in Japan raises concerns over semiconductor supply chain disruption

A fire broke out early on August 7, 2025, at the nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) plant of Japanese industrial gas manufacturer Kanto Denka Kogyo in Shibukawa City, Gunma Prefecture. The incident raised concerns over potential supply chain disruptions in the semiconductor industry.

Friday 15 August 2025

Exclusive: TSMC primes CoPoS supplier network for Chiayi, US fabs ahead of 2028 ramp

TSMC is pushing its advanced packaging roadmap beyond its CoWoS platform and the wafer-level multi-chip module (WMCM) — an enhanced InFO-PoP due in 2026 — with a new integration called Chip-on-Panel-on-Substrate, or CoPoS. The platform merges CoWoS with fan-out panel-level packaging (FOPLP), replacing round wafers with large square panels to sharply boost output capacity.

Friday 15 August 2025

ASC emerges from July slump as semiconductor manufacturers continue global expansion

ASC, a key supplier of fluororesin equipment and materials for the semiconductor industry, currently holds orders worth over NT$4 billion (US$133.6 million), reflecting a recovery of about 10-20%. The company expects second-half performance to surpass that of the first half for revenue recognition.

Friday 15 August 2025

Trump weighs US stake in Intel to back Ohio chip hub

The Trump administration is reportedly exploring a potential US government stake in Intel Corp., aiming to support the semiconductor giant's long-delayed Ohio factory hub. The talks, which remain fluid and could end without an agreement, highlight the White House's growing willingness to directly intervene in strategic industries.

Friday 15 August 2025

Applied Materials warns of $500M China sales drop in Q4 FY 2025

Applied Materials reported strong third-quarter fiscal 2025 results, but warned that revenue and profit will decline sequentially in the fourth quarter as the company navigates a combination of market and policy headwinds. The company cited weaker spending from Chinese customers, a growing backlog of pending export license applications, and non-linear demand from leading-edge customers as key factors weighing on the near-term outlook.

Friday 15 August 2025

Applied Materials posts higher sales, warns of slowdown on China demand drop

Applied Materials reported higher sales and profits in the third quarter of fiscal year 2025, driven by strong semiconductor systems demand, but cautioned that fiscal fourth-quarter revenue may fall due to weaker orders from China and non-linear demand from leading-edge customers.

Friday 15 August 2025

Trump's corporate crackdown: When national security overrides boardroom independence

Since the US first announced reciprocal tariffs in early April 2025, President Donald Trump has frequently delivered "surprises" to the global market over nearly four months. Recently, he took to social media to publicly criticize Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, demanding his immediate resignation. He also called on companies like Nvidia and AMD to hand over to the US government 15% of their revenue from sales of specific AI chips to China, sparking a new round of market turmoil.

Friday 15 August 2025

Intel's Lip-Bu Tan hit by China-ties backlash as board clashes over foundry future

US Republican Senator Tom Cotton and President Donald Trump have demanded the immediate resignation of Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, alleging that his past investments were tied to several Chinese technology firms with links to the People's Liberation Army (PLA). They further accuse him of approving the unlawful sale of chip design tools to China's National University of Defense Technology during his tenure as president of Cadence Design Systems. The allegations are intensifying pressure on Intel's restructuring drive and amplifying the political and national security scrutiny surrounding the company.

Friday 15 August 2025

Asicland, Primemas team up for chiplet SoC efforts

Leading South Korean IC design firm Asicland is partnering with fellow IC design startup Primemas to spearhead an ecosystem for chiplet-based system-on-chip (SoC) platforms.

Friday 15 August 2025

Taiwan gains competitive edge as China faces steep US tariffs

On July 31, 2025, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to adjust reciprocal tariff rates, setting the provisional tariff for Taiwan at 20%, effective from August 7, 2025. According to senior government officials in Taiwan, relief measures have been initiated, and affected businesses are urged to apply within the stipulated timeframe. For traditional industries, China faces tariffs exceeding 50% on related goods, which provides Taiwan with a competitive opportunity to gain market recognition.

Thursday 14 August 2025

Samsung reportedly plans US$170M in Japan packaging hub to challenge TSMC

Samsung Electronics is reportedly investing JPY25 billion (approx. US$170 million) to set up an advanced packaging research institute in Yokohama and acquire a major office tower in the city's Minato Mirai 21 district. Industry analysts say the move directly challenges TSMC's lead in cutting-edge packaging and reflects a strategic push to leverage Japan's strengths in materials, components, and semiconductor equipment.

Thursday 14 August 2025

AblePrint seizes AI packaging edge with early WMCM, CoPoS deployment

AblePrint Technology (APT), a key supplier of advanced degassing equipment to major chipmakers such as TSMC, reported strong second-quarter 2025 revenue growth but saw profit drop sharply on foreign exchange losses from a stronger New Taiwan dollar. The company said it will shift some customer payment currencies to reduce FX exposure.

Thursday 14 August 2025

Samsung wins Apple iPhone image sensor deal in Texas, eyes Qualcomm next

Samsung Electronics plans to begin producing its in-house–designed high-performance CMOS image sensors (CIS) at its Austin, Texas, wafer fab in 2027 for Apple's iPhones. Industry analysts in South Korea say the tech giant's one-stop strategy, which covers both design and manufacturing, proved decisive in securing the deal as Apple seeks to expand US-based production.

Thursday 14 August 2025

Taiwan's Fitipower eyes PMIC expansion as DDI market softens

Taiwanese IC design house Fitipower Integrated Technology expressed cautious optimism for the remainder of 2025 during its earnings call on Thursday, pointing to continued strength in its power management IC (PMIC) business despite mounting macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges.

Thursday 14 August 2025

Rubin testing supply chain takes shape: Taiwanese firms invest heavily in AI accelerator opportunities

With Nvidia's Rubin GPUs powering the next generation of AI servers scheduled to enter the market in the second half of 2026, recent developments show an accelerated expansion in Taiwan's IC packaging and testing supply chain capacity. Several Taiwanese companies have announced plans to increase their capital expenditure budgets for 2025 to prepare for a surge in orders driven by volume growth in AI GPUs and AI ASICs.

Thursday 14 August 2025

Taiwan warns of higher US semiconductor tariffs under Section 232

The Trump administration has already imposed tariffs on specific imports under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, citing national security concerns. These tariffs cover steel and aluminum, automobiles and automotive parts, and copper. Trump has previously indicated a 100% tariff on semiconductors, raising three key concerns for Taiwan: whether he will follow through on this threat, whether South Korea and Taiwan will receive differential treatment, and whether the Executive Yuan delegation can successfully negotiate lower rates with the US.

Thursday 14 August 2025

Alchip sees profit dip as 7nm cycle ends, bets on 3nm AI chips for growth

Alchip Technologies, a leading provider of high-performance ASICs, reported a sharp decline in second-quarter net profit on August 13, citing lower-than-expected volume production and delays in revenue recognition from non-recurring engineering (NRE) projects. Net profit for the period came in at NT$1.323 billion (approx. US$44 million), down 9.6% quarter-over-quarter and 16.6% year-over-year.

Thursday 14 August 2025

Commentary: Trump's trillion-dollar shakedown and how tariff threats turned into investment windfalls

Following South Korea's shocking announcement to invest US$350 billion in the US, with 90% of the profits staying in the US, Nvidia and AMD reportedly have agreed to pay 15% of their chip sales revenue from China to the US government. This equally astonishing arrangement secures export licenses from the US government for Nvidia's H20 and AMD's MI308 chips shipping to China.

Thursday 14 August 2025

China's leading SiC epitaxy plants see quarterly order surge, signaling market bottom

China's SiC industry faces oversupply as 6-inch substrate prices plunge, prompting a strategic pivot to 8-inch wafers

Thursday 14 August 2025

US chip-gear maker sued in China over alleged trade secret theft

Top US chip-equipment supplier Applied Materials Inc. was sued by a rival in China over what that company characterized as trade secret theft, a further escalation in the technology war between the world's two largest economies.

Thursday 14 August 2025

Former Intel chief architect launches RISC-V GPU startup

Raja Koduri, former chief architect at Intel, has founded Oxmiq Labs, a GPU startup focused on developing and licensing RISC-V International architecture-based GPU hardware and software intellectual property (IP). The company secured US$20 million in funding from investors, including MediaTek.

Thursday 14 August 2025

TSMC integrates CoWoS packaging with Coupe photonics for AI performance boost

Dr. Shang Y. Hou, Director of TSMC's High Performance Packaging Integration Division, delivered a keynote at the OCP APAC Summit 2025. He showcased how the chipmaker is combining its CoWoS packaging platform with a new silicon photonics engine dubbed "Coupe" to advance high-density computing and AI system performance.

Wednesday 13 August 2025

Taiwan, US eye closer trade ties in ongoing tariff negotiations

Taiwan's lead negotiator and vice premier of the Executive Yuan Li-chiun Cheng held a press conference on August 11, 2025, during which she stated that since the US aims to become the global center for AI, there is significant room for complementary cooperation between Taiwan and the US. She emphasized that the government and industry players are joining forces to foster strategic collaboration, build a favorable foundation, and strive for better negotiation outcomes with the US.

Wednesday 13 August 2025

Samsung, SK Hynix eye HBM boost as Nvidia gets China AI chip approval, 15% tariff threatens margins

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are poised to benefit from Washington's reported decision to allow Nvidia to resume exports of its lower-tier H20 artificial intelligence chips to China, which contain the South Korean companies' high-bandwidth memory (HBM) components.

Wednesday 13 August 2025

TSMC leads with high gross margins, while second- and third-tier foundries operate at full capacity but struggle to profit

The foundry industry faces operational pressures in 2025 due to external factors such as tariffs, exchange rates, and geopolitical tensions. Only TSMC continues to achieve record-breaking annual performance by systematically overcoming these challenges. Meanwhile, second and third-tier foundries experience declining results. SMIC and Hua Hong have expanded order volumes, yet their profits have not seen significant corresponding growth, and PSMC remains mired in losses.

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