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Friday 22 May 2026
Analysis: Samsung deal prevents walkout but deepens internal rifts over compensation
Samsung Electronics and its union signed a provisional agreement late at night, about an hour before a scheduled May 21 strike, averting an industry estimate of more than KRW100 trillion (approx. US$66.8 billion) in supply chain disruption. The deal eases an immediate labor crisis but leaves unresolved structural conflicts and rising personnel costs
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Friday 22 May 2026
AMD's Lisa Su says memory is becoming another pressure point for AI chips

AMD CEO Lisa Su said the company is satisfied with its current CoWoS supply from TSMC, while noting that memory has become another pressure point in the AI chip supply chain

Friday 22 May 2026
AMD deepens China packaging alliance with TF-AMD expansion in Suzhou
AMD CEO Lisa Su appeared in Suzhou on May 20 to attend the launch ceremony for the second-phase expansion of Suzhou TF-AMD Semiconductor Co. (also known as Suzhou Tongfu Advanced Microelectronics), underscoring AMD's growing focus on advanced packaging capacity as AI and high-performance computing demand accelerate globally
Friday 22 May 2026
Tesla ramps up hiring for self-driving team in China
Tesla has begun recruiting for driver-assistance roles in China as it pushes ahead to bring its full self-driving (FSD) system to market. The move comes after repeated delays and amid growing pressure from local competitors — including Xpeng Motors, Xiaomi Auto, and Huawei Technologies — on the US electric vehicle (EV) maker's market share
Friday 22 May 2026
China's Wuhan optics hub bets big on AI with 12.8T module debut
The rapid adoption of generative AI, large language models, and AI agents is accelerating global data center construction and driving a new growth cycle in optical communications. Wuhan East Lake High-Tech Development Zone, also known as Optics Valley of China, has re-emerged as a focal point in China's optoelectronics industry
Friday 22 May 2026
Samsung's GaN setback puts foundry shift in focus

Samsung Electronics is reportedly preparing to shift more of its gallium nitride (GaN) power semiconductor strategy toward foundry services after struggling to secure customers for its own GaN devices and modules, according to The Elec

Friday 22 May 2026
Memory shortage reaches smartphone OLED market as shipments fall 12%

A global memory shortage is spreading into the smartphone OLED market, cutting handset production and adding pressure on display makers and their component suppliers, according to ETNews and UBI Research

Friday 22 May 2026
China telcos launch token billing, AI inference goes mass-market
China's three major telecom operators introduced token-based billing plans in May as they packaged large-model inference resources into standardized products for consumers, developers, and enterprises, signaling a shift toward mass-market AI compute services. China Telecom rolled out a nationwide group-level token package on May 17 with tiered plans for individual and household users, developers, small and medium-sized enterprises, and ecosystem partners; its lowest-priced individual plan costs CNY9.9 (US$1.46) per month for access to 10 million tokens
Friday 22 May 2026
South Korea aims for 50% domestic defense semiconductor supply by 2029
South Korea announced a national plan to raise domestic production of defense semiconductors to 50% by 2029, targeting heavy reliance on US and Taiwan supply chains to bolster national security. The initiative, unveiled at the 2026 Advanced Strategic Semiconductor Innovation Conference, covers research and development, manufacturing, ecosystem building and workforce training and follows the recent passage of the Defense Semiconductor Act by the National Assembly on May 7, 2026
Friday 22 May 2026
AI agents reshape enterprise computing, Lisa Su and Kai-Fu Lee say
At AMD AI DevDay 2026 in Shanghai, AMD CEO Lisa Su and 01.AI founder Kai-Fu Lee outlined what could become the next major shift in artificial intelligence: the transition from generative AI chatbots to autonomous AI agent systems. Their discussion focused on AI agents, multi-agent collaboration, open-source ecosystems and next-generation AI computing infrastructure, signalling a broader industry shift from "question-and-answer" AI towards systems capable of independently executing enterprise goals
Thursday 21 May 2026
xFusion drives CNY58.2 billion revenue as China backs domestic AI supply chain
Chinese server maker xFusion reached a revenue of CNY58.2 billion (approx. US$8.6 billion) for the year 2025. The figure indicates the company's rising profits as it benefits from China's push for a domestic AI supply chain and the benefits for companies breaking into the country's high-end server market
Thursday 21 May 2026
GigaDevice sees niche DRAM and NAND prices rising through 2026
GigaDevice said tight supply and rising prices across DRAM, NOR Flash, and SLC NAND Flash continued to fuel strong first-quarter 2026 earnings growth, supported by recovering demand from AI, server, and industrial applications
Thursday 21 May 2026
SK Hynix reportedly shifts Cheongju mask fab toward HBM yield push
SK Hynix is reportedly moving to reshape part of its Cheongju campus around wafer testing, a shift that underscores how high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, is putting new pressure on the back end of the chipmaking process
Thursday 21 May 2026
China uses iron-fist policies to expel inefficient TOPCon capacity from solar supply chain
China's top-down policies are creating a tech elimination battle in its solar supply chain. Because of severe oversupply in the mainstream N-type tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) technology, combined with intensifying internal competition and price-cutting wars, the overall solar industry is on a downfall. For TOPCon companies suffering long-term losses and struggling to survive, the Chinese government has directly ordered local governments to "prohibit bailouts," therefore accelerating industry reshuffling and the elimination of inefficient production capacity
Thursday 21 May 2026
Exclusive: TOPCon faces funding cuts while HJT and BC receive government support
As China's solar market enters a downfall, market sources indicate that China's central government is reshaping the industry landscape through an aggressive dual-track strategy. On one hand, authorities continue tightening funding for the mainstream tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) technology. On the other hand, they are launching targeted national-level support measures for higher-efficiency next-generation technologies such as heterojunction (HJT) and back-contact (BC)
Thursday 21 May 2026
Commentary: China builds its memory twin engines; IPO push for YMTC, CXMT intensifies

China's memory chip industry is entering a critical capital markets phase, with YMTC formally launching IPO counselling and CXMT resuming its STAR Market listing review after updating its prospectus. The parallel moves mark an accelerated push by China's two leading memory chipmakers to secure long-term funding and expand their role in the global semiconductor industry