Samsung Electronics reportedly plans to dedicate separate development teams for next-generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) products, HBM3E and HBM4, to strengthen its competitiveness in the HBM market. Whether this strategic initiative will allow Samsung to outpace competitor SK Hynix in mass production is drawing industry attention.

Toyota Motor reported hefty profit growth for the past fiscal year ending March 2024, thanks to booming hybrid EV sales and a weaker Japanese Yen. The automaker said it plans to invest JPY2 trillion (US$13.79 billion) in its suppliers, growing the EV lineup and developing Software-Defined Vehicles (SDV).

Chinese mature-node foundries collaborate with the country's domestic IC design firms, including MCU businesses, to provide capacity support and offer competitive pricing, according to industry sources.

SoftBank Group Corp. is in talks to acquire Graphcore Ltd., a struggling British semiconductor startup once valued at $2.8 billion, according to people familiar with the deals.

Chinese iPhone shipments jumped about 12% in March after Apple Inc. and its retailers slashed prices, official data showed, suggesting efforts to arrest an accelerating decline in sales are yielding early results.

Samsung Electronics reportedly intends to use metal oxide resist in the Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) exposure process of new generation DRAM products. Metal oxide resist belongs to the new generation photoresist, with higher resolution than chemically amplified resist and better impedance performance in etching.

Aiming to secure orders for Nvidia's next-generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) and regain its market-leading position, Samsung unprecedentedly mobilizes over 400 "semiconductor aces," including top executives and employees,

The first year of the AI PC era saw major Chinese manufacturers like Lenovo and Huawei aggressively positioning themselves in the AI PC market to capture higher market shares. Looking at the Chinese market, the second half of 2024 is expected to see a replacement wave for PCs, driven not only by the advent of AI PCs but also because domestic PC purchases made 2-3 years ago are approaching their replacement cycle.

To catch up with the global image sensor market leader Sony, Samsung Electronics will strengthen cooperation with Taiwan-based pure-play foundry United Microelectronic Corp. (UMC) to adopt the "fab-lite" strategy to outsource partial capacity to UMC and enhance production efficiency while improving price competitiveness.

Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) foundry Advanced Wireless Semiconductor Company (AWSC) has seen a surge in orders for flagship smartphone chips from manufacturers such as Qualcomm, boosting its sales performance.

SK Hynix reportedly designated its M17 factory site as another new DRAM production base soon after announcing in late April its investment in the M15X DRAM plant in Cheongiu, South Korea, aiming to start production before the completion of the Yongin semiconductor cluster to ensure sufficient capacity for next-generation DRAM, including High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), for AI applications. SK Hynix, however, has denied the report.

Samsung SDI and Stellantis have been building a joint battery plant in the US to produce the South Korean company's sixth-generation prismatic battery, P6.

The semiconductor industry is witnessing significant shifts influenced by geopolitical considerations. One recent case exemplifying this trend is King Yuan Electronics's (KYEC) sale of 90% equity in its China subsidiary Jinglong Technology (Suzhou) for approximately CNY48.85 billion (about US$675 million).

The US Department of Treasury will grant EV makers a two-year extension for restrictions on some hard-to-trace battery materials, including China-dominated graphite. The move was welcomed by automakers while upsetting some US politicians.

Leading South Korea-based battery manufacturers LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI, and SK On reported unsatisfactory financial performance in the first quarter of 2024 due to slow EV market growth, customers adjusting their inventory levels, and falling metal prices.