China has achieved mass production of ultra-pure silicon, according to the state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) — an essential material for building silicon-based quantum computers. The breakthrough builds on a government push to sharpen its quantum research edge and reduce its reliance on foreign technology supply chains more broadly.
China has recently eased controls on some indium phosphide (InP) substrates, relieving a bottleneck in optical communications capacity for the second half of the year. But supply chain players say the long-term priority is still to expand substrate capacity from non-China sources, with supply security for the AI industry outweighing price.
A South Korean media report claiming TSMC is preparing to launch panel-level packaging at mass-production scale as early as 2027 has drawn skepticism from Taiwan industry sources, who say the timeline is likely premature and that the company remains focused on evaluating multiple advanced-packaging options.
The semiconductor supply chain is facing another raw material shock — this time from tungsten hexafluoride, or WF6, a specialty gas used in chip manufacturing. Planned production adjustments or exits by some Japanese suppliers in the second half of 2026 have intensified concerns over tighter global supply, sending prices sharply higher and raising the risk of disruption into 2027.
Japan's Rapidus has signed a memorandum of understanding with the UK Semiconductor Centre, a government-backed body established in 2025 to support Britain's semiconductor ecosystem, marking a step toward cooperation on future semiconductor manufacturing and potential customer development in the UK, according to Rapidus and reports from Nikkei, Bloomberg, and Reuters.
Samsung Electronics' foundry division chief told employees on June 12 that a return to profitability in the contract chipmaking business looks difficult next year, with 2028 emerging as a more likely timeline, Yonhap, ZDNet Korea, and Chosun reported.
Equipment maker Manz recently announced the successful delivery of the world's first 310mm x 310mm panel-level packaging (PLP) electrochemical deposition (ECD) mass-production tool, further expanding its footprint in advanced packaging process equipment and demonstrating integrated capabilities spanning in-house R&D, process and system integration, and mass-production deployment.
Galatek Technologies has opened a manufacturing, assembly, and delivery center in Penang, marking the AI-enabled automation and semiconductor equipment supplier's first manufacturing site in Malaysia.
As global semiconductor supply chains are rebuilt, Southeast Asia is evolving from a back-end test-and-pack region into a resilient, multi-center advanced packaging and equipment ecosystem, according to industry participants. Migration drivers include pushes for local production and service, faster ramps for AI chip capacity, and customer demands for supply chain resilience amid de-Americanization and de-Chinaization pressures.
Taiwan-based UBright Optronics is accelerating its transformation from an LCD optical film specialist into a diversified technology supplier, expanding into semiconductor materials, passive components and smart acoustics. The new businesses are expected to begin generating revenue in 2026 as product certifications advance, but the company has not yet offered guidance on their revenue impact.
China has allowed the release of a fresh supply of indium phosphide (InP) substrates, which are under export controls. A first 2026 batch shipped at the end of May following an earlier release in 2025, easing a capacity bottleneck in the optical communications market. Taiwanese compound semiconductor suppliers including Visual Photonics Epitaxy (VPEC) and Global Communication Semiconductors (GCS) are expected to benefit in the second half of 2026.
India sees rising global tech investment as Meta, Reliance and Anthropic deepen AI ties, while EV firms expand, Starlink faces delays, and semiconductor and tablet markets show steady structural growth.
Optical industry leaders Largan and Genius Electronic Optical (GSEO) have recently discussed progress in co-packaged optics (CPO), a key non-smartphone growth driver, and their strategies differ sharply. As customer demand and orders become clearer and more firmly secured, both companies have also turned markedly more confident, having taken a more cautious stance in prior quarters.
