
TSMC is reportedly planning another wafer foundry price increase, with supply chain sources saying its order visibility now extends to 2030. According to the sources, the company plans to adjust wafer prices from January 2027 across different processes, with hikes of about 3-6% as tight capacity and strong AI demand keep customers in line.
At Singapore's Innovate Together 2026 conference on September 25, executives and researchers from A*STAR's Institute of Microelectronics (IME), KLA, ASM International, the National University of Singapore (NUS), the SHINE Centre, and ASMPT discussed how advanced packaging is evolving beyond conventional chip integration, with optical interconnects, panel-level packaging, and talent development emerging as key challenges.
Samsung Electronics' Device Solutions division is set to announce the calculation and payout rules for its special management performance bonus in late September, after a holiday break. The move comes as SK Hynix continues recruiting experienced talent, underscoring how pay systems and workplace conditions have become key to attracting and retaining workers at South Korea's semiconductor giants.
GlobalFoundries (GF) is preparing a major global capacity expansion as TSMC is set to gradually exit gallium nitride (GaN) foundry services in 2027. GF said it was the first foundry to proactively approach TSMC and secure a GaN technology license, positioning itself to give existing customers a "seamless migration" path to its own platform.
SK Hynix has validated its HBM5 memory with TSMC's CoWoS packaging, the company said in a September 28 post on its corporate newsroom. That means work on the generation after next is already underway with the foundry, while its HBM4 is only now being built into Nvidia's Vera Rubin superchip.
Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS) and NXP Semiconductors' joint venture, VisionPower Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (VSMC), officially opened its 12-inch (300mm) wafer fab on September 28 in Tampines, Singapore. Vanguard and VSMC chairman Leuh Fang said the AI-driven crowding out of capacity has spread across the global semiconductor supply chain, leaving almost no company able to say it has sufficient capacity.


