These are the most-read DIGITIMES Asia stories in the week of Dec 29 - Jan 4.
Samsung reportedly seals land deal, paving way for Yongin semiconductor complex
Samsung Electronics has finalized land acquisition for its flagship Yongin National Semiconductor Industrial Complex, clearing a primary obstacle for the massive US$257 billion project. Compensation for landowners began in late December 2025, paving the way for construction to start in the second half of 2026. The 7.77-square-kilometer site is designed to house six advanced production lines and is expected to anchor a broader ecosystem of more than 80 chip companies and research centers.
Intel and Samsung advance 2nm GAA, but yield gaps leave TSMC as the sole external supplier
TSMC has entered volume production of its 2nm N2 process, making it the first foundry to offer gate-all-around nanosheet manufacturing to external customers. With production set to start at its Hsinchu and Kaohsiung fabs in late 2025, the company reports that demand for 2nm is already outpacing supply. While rivals Intel and Samsung continue to struggle with yields on their equivalent processes, TSMC remains the only supplier delivering 2nm capacity at a commercial scale.
Huawei launches global prize to break memory bottlenecks
Huawei has launched a global call for innovation through its sixth OlympusMons Awards, offering a CNY3 million prize pool to address storage and memory bottlenecks that are increasingly constraining AI training and inference. The program, which opened in late December 2025, targets new memory media, compute-in-storage technologies, and data infrastructure for agentic AI as data movement, bandwidth, and energy efficiency emerge as key limits on AI performance. Huawei said traditional compute-heavy architectures are struggling to keep pace, as roughly half of AI training time is now spent moving data rather than computing.
AMD and Nvidia set to raise GPU prices in early 2026 amid rising memory costs
Graphics card prices are expected to rise in early 2026 as AMD and Nvidia pass on the costs of rising memory to consumers. Expiring 2025 supply contracts have left chipmakers exposed to higher spot prices for DRAM and GDDR, which are fueled largely by intense AI demand. Industry sources indicate that AMD will initiate price adjustments in January, followed by similar moves from Nvidia in February.
Asus to pause new smartphone launches in 2026, maintain mobile operations
Asus will pause the launch of new smartphone models in 2026, though the company has clarified it has no plans to exit the mobile market entirely. The shift highlights the ongoing pressure on PC-centric brands as intense competition from Chinese manufacturers continues to squeeze margins and scale. While new hardware is on hold, Asus will continue to provide software updates, warranties, and maintenance services for its current ZenFone and ROG Phone lines.
South Korea expected to reclaim no. 2 in global chip equipment spending by 2026
South Korea is projected to reclaim its position as the world's second-largest market for semiconductor equipment spending by 2026. Driven by aggressive capacity expansion for high-bandwidth memory and advanced DRAM, total investment in the country is expected to reach US$29.7 billion. This 27 percent increase from 2025 levels would see South Korea overtake Taiwan, trailing only China in global equipment outlays.
India's L&T Semiconductor to unveil partnerships in cellular IoT modules and power devices at CES
India-based L&T Semiconductor Technologies will use CES to detail a new partner-led strategy for cellular IoT modules and power devices. By collaborating with a leading US chip supplier, the firm aims to establish India as a viable alternative for manufacturing and sourcing in a market dominated by imports. Initial volumes will target the energy sector, with plans to expand into the automotive market by 2028 as local manufacturing capabilities mature.
Article edited by Jack Wu
