TSMC will not let customers sublease or auction off their wafer capacity allocations, chairman C.C. Wei said during the company's October 15 earnings call. With AI chip demand still far outstripping supply, Wei said TSMC intends to leave no food on the table, making as much as it can, as fast as it can.
Samsung SDI will begin mass-producing cylindrical lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries for AI servers as early as June 2027, marking the first adoption of cylindrical LFP backup batteries by a South Korean battery maker. The move expands the company's product portfolio beyond its traditional focus on ternary batteries as AI data centers drive rapidly growing demand for battery backup units (BBUs).
As artificial intelligence increasingly blurs the boundary between the digital and physical worlds, complications associated with real-world deployment — particularly the extreme variability of physical environments — are emerging as a subtler configuration challenge in the industry spotlight.
Chinese semiconductor technology start-up Langdao Silex (Shanghai) Technology has publicly unveiled an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light source prototype with a claimed 90% localization rate, marking progress in China's efforts to develop domestic lithography technology. However, the system remains three to five years from mass production, with output power and long-term stability posing major engineering challenges.
As Manus, one of China's more distinctive AI startups, became entangled in the high-profile unwinding of its acquisition by Meta, the startup's failed attempt to capture opportunities beyond China left the industry speculating about its next steps after an abrupt regulatory reversal.
China's Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) is developing a next-generation 4F² DRAM design targeting data transfer speeds of 9,600 megatransfers per second (MT/s), expanding beyond NAND flash as the company pursues a CNY33 billion (approx. US$4.93 billion) Shanghai initial public offering.
South Korea's LG Innotek expects its semiconductor substrate business to improve in 2027 as it pursues long-term supply agreements (LTAs) with major technology companies and prepares to enter the high-end AI accelerator market. Under this strategy, the company aims to secure customer commitments before expanding production capacity as it seeks to diversify beyond smartphone camera modules.
US President Donald Trump said at a Republican rally in Alaska on Tuesday that Taiwan had agreed to buy 30% of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from a planned Alaska pipeline project over 20 years, according to Reuters. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who also spoke at the rally, said Taiwan had committed to investing US$4.4 billion.
India's RRP Electronics has inaugurated an Advanced Wafer-Level Packaging (AWLP) facility at its semiconductor unit in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, adding SIM and eSIM module production and specialized testing to its outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) operations. The facility opened on October 12, 2026, according to Dalal Street Investment Journal.
Chinese semiconductor equipment maker AMEC plans to develop 102 new equipment models over the next three to five years, backed by nearly CNY13 billion (≈ US$1.94 billion) in research and development investment. The expansion will extend its portfolio beyond plasma etching into thin-film deposition, advanced packaging, inspection and other semiconductor manufacturing processes.
SK Hynix aims to finalize the technical specifications for high-bandwidth flash (HBF) in January 2027 as it develops new memory technologies to address growing bottlenecks in AI inference systems. The South Korean chipmaker is also exploring ways to stack DRAM directly on AI processors to improve performance and energy efficiency.
In October 2022, the US Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) imposed a package of export restrictions on China, including controls on equipment and components for manufacturing 3D NAND with 128 layers or more, and restrictions on support provided by US persons.
Samsung Ventures and Applied Ventures, the venture capital arm of Applied Materials, have invested in US-based Flexcompute, backing simulation technology designed to predict semiconductor packaging deformation before manufacturing. The investment comes as increasingly complex AI chips create new challenges in managing thermal stress, warpage, and manufacturing yields.
Taiwan Perovskite Solar Corp. (TPSC) showcased its theme, "PEROVSKITE AI," at Energy Taiwan 2026, highlighting a two-way synergy between artificial intelligence and perovskite technology. In this paradigm, AI accelerates perovskite material and process development, while perovskite technology meets the AI era's demand for distributed green power, smart sensing, and site-specific energy solutions.
Rising carbon-fee pressure is accelerating efforts to decarbonize Taiwan's energy-intensive industries, prompting Linde LienHwa Industrial Gases Group to promote oxygen-enriched and pure oxygen combustion technologies that can substantially reduce fuel consumption and emissions. At the 2026 Net-Zero Taiwan and Energy Taiwan exhibitions, held October 14–16 at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, the company is also highlighting hydrogen applications and energy management solutions to support industrial efficiency and energy resilience.
South Korea's LX Semicon is seeking buyers for more than 60 silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductor patents, winding down a business it entered five years ago to reduce its reliance on display driver ICs (DDIs). The retreat comes as Taiwan's Novatek gains ground in the company's core display chip market, increasing pressure on LX Semicon to develop new revenue sources.