China's lithography equipment sector has returned to the global semiconductor spotlight following reports that a domestically developed immersion deep ultraviolet (DUV) system has entered mass production.
The rapid expansion of AI infrastructure is reshaping one of the semiconductor industry's most overlooked component markets. Soaring demand for high-end multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) is prompting suppliers to reallocate production capacity and driving a new round of price increases that extend beyond AI-specific products.
Growing demand for AI chips is sending a larger share of South Korea's semiconductor exports to Taiwan, where Korean-made high-bandwidth memory (HBM) moves into advanced packaging processes led by TSMC.
China's immersion DUV lithography programme has brought a little-known state-backed company into focus. Shanghai Aishengna Electronic Technology Group, founded in August 2023 with CNY7 billion (approx. US$1.03 billion) in registered capital, is reportedly coordinating limited production of domestically developed lithography systems.
Samsung Electronics' Device Solutions (DS) division posted the most profitable quarter in its history in 2Q26, generating operating profit of KRW89.2 trillion (approx. US$61.6 billion) on sales of KRW127.5 trillion (approx. US$88.1 billion) — a 70% operating margin — as the AI-driven memory supercycle intensified.
While humanoid robots have yet to achieve meaningful economies of scale, service robots have already entered an intensely competitive phase.
