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Friday 20 March 2026

Intel pushes large-area AI packaging to close foundry gap

Intel is reportedly preparing large-area AI chip packaging to strengthen its foundry business and challenge TSMC and Samsung Electronics.

Thursday 19 March 2026

Nvidia hosts Taiwan night at GTC 2026, Huang vows to defend Taiwan

Nvidia's GTC 2026 is well underway, with the event reaching a record scale as among the major annual events in the AI landscape. Despite a packed schedule, CEO Jensen Huang attended the conference's "Taiwan Night" on March 18 (local time) to engage with Taiwanese partners and express his appreciation for their work.

Thursday 19 March 2026

Gulf crisis drives up petrochemical and semiconductor costs

As fighting in the Middle East continues, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has sent shockwaves through global energy and petrochemical markets. The disruption is already rippling across supply chains, prompting manufacturers such as Shin-Etsu Chemical to scale back production of ethylene-based products and raise domestic polyvinyl chloride (PVC) prices in Japan by roughly 20%.

Thursday 19 March 2026

Fitipower opens Malaysia R&D center to boost global innovation and support

Fitpower officially inaugurated its new office in Puchong Financial Corporate Center (PFCC), Selangor, Malaysia, this week, marking the launch of its Malaysian subsidiary. The move expands Fitipower's global R&D footprint and deepens collaboration within Southeast Asia's semiconductor supply chain.

Thursday 19 March 2026

China curbs, Middle East tensions drive surge in chip material risks from gallium to helium

Global semiconductor supply chains are facing rising pressure as Middle East geopolitical tensions and China's tightening export controls on strategic minerals converge, pushing up prices for key materials and raising uncertainty over critical industrial gas supplies, according to Chosun Biz and Reuters.

Thursday 19 March 2026

SK Hynix posts record pay, R&D, and capex in 2025

Driven by the AI dividend and a robust semiconductor market, SK Hynix's average employee annual salary reached KRW185 million (approx. US$124,494) in 2025, up 58.1% year-over-year to set a new high. At the same time, the company also broke records for R&D investment and capital expenditure (capex).

Thursday 19 March 2026

Elan wins patent infringement ruling against FocalTech, plans damages claim

Taiwanese touch chipmaker Elan announced a significant legal victory as the court ruled in its favor in a 2024 patent infringement lawsuit against FocalTech. The court confirmed the validity of Elan's patent and found FocalTech guilty of infringement.

Thursday 19 March 2026

China's photoresist push moves from lab wins to mass supply

China's semiconductor materials localisation is shifting into commercial scale, with domestic photoresist suppliers moving from pilot validation to mass supply, marking a turning point in one of the chip industry's most tightly controlled segments.

Thursday 19 March 2026

Nexperia's China split sends orders to Taiwan

Nexperia's China unit has begun producing power semiconductors on 12-inch wafers. The move marks a decisive break from its Dutch headquarters and is sending ripple effects across global supply chains.

Thursday 19 March 2026

Amazon's Trainium 3 rumors clash with supplier optimism

Rumors circulating in the semiconductor market suggest that Amazon may scale back shipments of its upcoming Trainium 3 artificial-intelligence chip after internal tests reportedly showed performance falling short of expectations. Yet suppliers involved in the chip's components say they have received no such notice and continue to prepare for a rapid ramp-up in production beginning in the second quarter of 2026.

Thursday 19 March 2026

AI and memory drive semiconductor output to surpass US$1 trillion in 2026

The global surge in AI demand and tightening memory supply have pushed prices higher, propelling the semiconductor industry into a new growth cycle. Global chief marketing officer and president of Taiwan at SEMI, Terry Tsao, said the sector's output is expected to break the US$1 trillion mark ahead of schedule in 2026, with projections reaching US$2 trillion by 2035, outpacing previous forecasts. However, he also highlighted talent recruitment as the biggest bottleneck facing the semiconductor industry over the next three years.

Thursday 19 March 2026

The HBM paradox: why Taipei and Seoul can't afford a diplomatic cold war

A diplomatic dispute over administrative nomenclature has escalated into a high-stakes standoff between Taiwan and South Korea, threatening to cast a shadow over one of the world's most critical semiconductor supply chains.

Thursday 19 March 2026

Samsung maps out semiconductor strategy with multi-year contracts, Tesla chip on track for 2H27

At its recent annual shareholders meeting, Samsung Electronics addressed questions about the current memory market supercycle and shared insights into its semiconductor strategy amid the AI boom and broader economic cycles. The company underscored long-term supply agreements and strategic partnerships as pillars for navigating uncertainty and sustaining growth.

Thursday 19 March 2026

Chip price surge in 2Q26 shifts cost pressure to end markets

As more European and American chipmakers and IDM giants publicly announce price hikes effective April 1 of this year, mature process foundries in Taiwan and China have also nearly finalized plans to raise prices. The semiconductor industry is clearly entering a broad wave of chip price increases that will likely push costs onto end markets.

Thursday 19 March 2026

Nvidia signals optical future, but materials shortages stand in the way

Riding a surge in demand for optical communications driven by artificial intelligence (AI), Taiwan's compound semiconductor makers—including Visual Photonics Epitaxy, IntelliEPI, WIN Semiconductors, GCS Holdings, and Advanced Wireless Semiconductor Company—are poised for a new phase of growth. However, that expansion is colliding with a critical constraint: a shortage of indium phosphide, or Indium Phosphide, a material essential to high-speed data transmission.

Thursday 19 March 2026

Intel to expand EMIB capabilities in Malaysia amid Section 232 probe uncertainty

Intel's advanced packaging complex in Malaysia is expected to begin operations later this year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said, as the company advances its assembly and testing capabilities and the government emphasises upskilling local talent.

Thursday 19 March 2026

China's mature-node push gathers pace: Nexchip, Silan, Hua Hong step up capacity and integration

China's semiconductor strategy is shifting from leading-edge competition to strengthening mature and specialty nodes. Facing geopolitical pressure and supply chain fragmentation, domestic foundries are accelerating investment in 28nm-class technologies, analog chips, and vertically integrated ecosystems.

Thursday 19 March 2026

Rapidus scales back US 2nm R&D early, raising timeline and funding concerns

With support from the Japanese government, Rapidus has been advancing R&D and pilot production testing to mass-produce 2nm chips by 2027. However, due to funding constraints and schedule pressure, Rapidus has begun scaling back its R&D investment at NY Creates in New York earlier than expected — a move that could negatively impact its mid- to long-term development of advanced process technologies at the 2nm node.

Thursday 19 March 2026

Samsung strike vote nears, DS and DX divisions clash over bonuses

As Samsung Electronics' union members vote on whether to strike, market attention is shifting from the labor negotiations themselves to the disparities in benefits and potential conflicts of interest between the company's two core business groups: Device Solutions (DS) and Device Experience (DX).

Thursday 19 March 2026

Hormuz blockade triggers domino effect across semiconductor supply chain

Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has escalated from a regional shipping disruption into a systemic threat to the global semiconductor industry. Initial market fears centered on crude oil prices — but the real damage is upstream, in the chemical precursors that underpin advanced lithography.

Thursday 19 March 2026

How Hwaseong became South Korea's semiconductor supply-chain capital

The global race to onshore semiconductor production has a new focal point: Hwaseong. Nestled in South Korea's Gyeonggi-do province, the city is quietly emerging as the spine of the country's domestic chip supply chain — and a testbed for AI-driven manufacturing.

Thursday 19 March 2026

Taiwan energy debate intensifies as Middle East tensions raise supply concerns

Rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East are fueling debate in Taiwan over energy security, as industry leaders warn that disruptions to global supply routes could expose vulnerabilities in the island's power system and add pressure to its semiconductor-dependent economy.

Wednesday 18 March 2026

AMD's Lisa Su courts Korea: Samsung HBM4 sealed, Naver next

AMD CEO Lisa Su broadened the company's collaboration with Samsung Electronics on next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) memory and met with regional partners, including Naver, during a visit to South Korea.

Wednesday 18 March 2026

Rohm eyes India as emerging hub for power semiconductor packaging and automotive supply

Japanese semiconductor maker Rohm is expanding its engagement with India's nascent semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem, positioning the country as a potential future export base while initially targeting domestic automotive and industrial demand.

Wednesday 18 March 2026

The signature on the wafer: Samsung, Nvidia, and Groq close loop on AI inference

The most telling moment of Nvidia's GTC 2026 did not unfold on the main stage of the SAP Center, but inside a glass display case at Booth 1207.

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