South Korean memory chipmaker SK Hynix has reportedly encountered unexpected resistance from local residents regarding its US$3.87 billion semiconductor factory investment plan in West Lafayette, Indiana. The project has garnered strong support from the US federal and state governments and is seen as a symbol of the US CHIPS Act's success in forging technological alliances.
As the memory industry rides the AI boom, cloud service providers (CSPs) are placing orders that upstream memory foundries were unprepared for. Adata's chairman, Simon Chen, confirmed that this wave of memory supply shortages has spread across the four major product lines: DRAM, NAND Flash, solid‑state drives (SSDs), and traditional hard drives (HDDs). Such a phenomenon is almost unprecedented in the history of the memory industry, and the competition for goods is no longer among peer module makers but against CSPs with orders of magnitude larger. Additionally, there is no overlap in duplicate orders.
Samsung Electronics announced on October 14 that its consolidated revenue for the third quarter of 2025 is expected to reach KRW86 trillion (US$60.25 billion), with operating profit anticipated at KRW12.1 trillion, according to its preliminary results. The figures represent a 15.3% increase in revenue and a 158.6% rise in operating profit from the previous quarter, and an 8.7% and 31.8% increase year-on-year, respectively.
As memory and storage prices enter a rapid growth cycle, Chinese memory supply chains are expanding their influence by targeting domestic smartphone brands. Leveraging upstream manufacturers' resources and localized partnerships, these Chinese firms are gradually capturing market share traditionally dominated by major global memory companies. Suppliers for smartphone giants like Transsion and Xiaomi are seeing significant increases in their footprint.
Originally rooted in heavy industry, South Korea's Doosan Group is expanding into the semiconductor sector and is considering acquiring semiconductor wafer manufacturer SK Siltron. While Doosan is not directly involved in semiconductor fabrication, it is strategically targeting areas such as materials, back-end processes, and design within the semiconductor industry. This strategy allows it to avoid high technical investment risks while still securing industry influence.
Taiwan's memory module maker Adata Technology has announced a strategic partnership between its enterprise storage brand TRUSTA, Giga Computing, and South Korea's flash controller architecture developer FADU to jointly develop high-end enterprise-grade SSD solutions tailored for next-generation server platforms.
AI demand and OpenAI's partnerships with Korean manufacturers are fueling a memory super cycle that could surpass the 2017–2018 period. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have recently accelerated the construction of new plants to meet strong demand expected through 2027.
Leading NAND controller firm Phison Electronics reported NT$6.515 billion (approx. US$213 million) in consolidated revenue for September 2025, marking a nearly 10% month-over-month increase and 47% year-over-year rise to the second-highest monthly figure in company history. The company's self-reported net profit reached NT$843 million (US$27.6 million), soaring by 1,121.7% compared to September 2024 and up 29.7% from August's NT$650 million (approx. US$21.3 million), with profit growth far outpacing revenue gains.
Nvidia has reportedly confirmed it will use Samsung Electronics' fifth-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM3E) in its latest AI accelerator, the GB300. Additionally, Samsung plans to purchase 50,000 Nvidia GPUs, a move the industry interprets as accelerating Samsung's AI transformation and further solidifying its alliance with Nvidia.
The ongoing DRAM shortage is intensifying as memory module manufacturers suspend consumer DRAM price quotes during China's National Day holiday, signaling a sharp rise in spot market prices. Over the past week, DDR4 DRAM prices have surged more than 10%, while DDR5 16GB modules increased by about 8%. Despite weak end-user demand, major Taiwanese memory module suppliers, including Adata, Team Group, and Apacer, have all paused quoting prices, awaiting clearer signals of further hikes after the holiday.
Niche and standard DRAM prices are rising sharply; ADATA, Apacer, Elite Semiconductor Microelectronics Technology (ESMT), and several other companies all posted record highs in revenue for September 2025. ADATA chairman Simon Chen stated that market conditions have rapidly reversed since late August 2025. He emphasized that the fourth quarter of 2025 is just the beginning of a major bull market for memory and the beginning of a serious supply shortage. He is optimistic about a booming industry in 2026.
OpenAI has recently surged in influence by forging strategic partnerships with global AI leaders. Beyond close ties with Nvidia and AMD, OpenAI announced collaborations with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to secure 900,000 DRAM wafer capacities monthly for its Stargate Project, fueling the peak of the AI boom.
LG Electronics is accelerating its deployment in the HBM equipment business after reportedly investing in hybrid bonding development. With Hanmi Semiconductor dominating the market and Hanwha Semitech entering the space, LG's involvement will potentially initiate a three-way competition in South Korea's HBM equipment sector.
Samsung Electronics, the leader in NAND flash, has reportedly entered the high-bandwidth flash (HBF) memory market, signaling a potential shift in the competitive landscape of next-generation memory technologies.
The rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is fueling a new semiconductor supercycle, prompting Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to ramp up recruitment efforts in a bid to secure leadership in next-generation technologies.
Chinese NAND Flash giant Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp. (YMTC) is preparing to enter the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market and is anticipating a technological breakthrough. As more Chinese companies attempt to enter the HBM space, traditionally dominated by SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics, and Micron, global memory dynamics may shift.
DDR4 memory is experiencing a sharp rise in both price and volume due to tight supply, driving strong inventory replenishment momentum. This has rapidly heated up orders across the supply chain, boosting operational performance broadly.
On October 2, Meta announced the acquisition of US-based IC design company Rivos, which develops high-performance computing chips and solutions based on the RISC-V architecture. Interestingly, at the beginning of 2025, Meta also set its sights on South Korean chip startup FuriosaAI, a company gaining attention for its unique Tensor Contraction Processor (TCP) chip architecture and dedicated to enhancing AI performance through the efficiency of TCP design.
Semiconductor intelligence firm TechInsights has concluded, following a teardown of Huawei Technologies' Ascend 910C chip, that some of the components still come from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Samsung Electronics, and SK Hynix. The analysis showed that the chip die for the Ascend 910C was produced by TSMC and used high-bandwidth memory 2 enhanced (HBM2E) supplied by Samsung and SK Hynix.
The government of Andhra Pradesh is stepping up efforts to attract SK Hynix, one of the world's leading memory chipmakers, to establish a facility in India. According to The Deccan Chronicle, state officials have offered SK Hynix a package of incentives that includes large tracts of industrial land, streamlined approvals, and access to ports and airports, in hopes of positioning the state as a hub for advanced semiconductor manufacturing in eastern India. Senior state ministers B. C. Janardhan Reddy and P. Narayana reportedly presented the proposal to the Korean chipmaker during investment talks.
Kioxia, Japan's leading memory chip maker, is partnering with Nvidia to develop a revolutionary solid-state drive (SSD) nearly 100 times faster than conventional models. The new drive, designed for generative AI servers, is scheduled for a 2027 debut and will connect directly to graphics processors (GPUs).
Hanmi Semiconductor has established a local entity in Singapore to provide on-site support for its core customer, Micron. According to Korean media reports, including Financial News and Herald Economy, as Micron expands production, Hanmi Singapore will deploy senior engineers locally to offer fast and professional service.
After signing a letter of intent (LOI) for investment cooperation under the Stargate project with Samsung Electronics, OpenAI sent a team to visit Samsung's Pyeongtaek facility to assess its production capabilities for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and DRAM. The visit included detailed discussions on collaboration prospects for data center infrastructure.
OpenAI has signed a sweeping cooperation agreement with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, securing high-performance memory supplies for the massive Stargate Project. According to South Korean outlets ZDNet Korea and Money Today, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman personally visited Seoul, meeting Samsung Group chairman Jae-yong Lee and SK Group chairman Tae-won Chey before signing a letter of intent (LOI) to formalize the deal.
