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Friday 17 April 2026

China outlines AI-led investment push and industrial upgrading under new five-year plan framework

China is preparing a new round of large-scale investment and industrial upgrading centered on AI infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, and strategic emerging industries, according to a briefing by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) at a State Council Information Office press conference on April 17.

Friday 17 April 2026

China wafer maker NSIG lifts revenue on 300mm momentum

National Silicon Industry Group (NSIG) reported full-year 2025 revenue growth driven by higher 300mm wafer shipments, though pricing pressure and high fixed costs weighed on margins.

Friday 17 April 2026

TSMC remains top choice for European AI chip startups amid capacity scramble

European efforts to advance sovereign AI and chip autonomy are gaining momentum, but European AI chip startups say they still primarily rely on TSMC for high-performance computing chips. With the European Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (ESMC) yet to offer advanced process technologies, most high-end chips from Europe are produced within Taiwan's semiconductor ecosystem.

Friday 17 April 2026

TSMC revises advanced process and packaging strategy

TSMC chairman C.C. Wei emphasized persistent capacity shortages during the company's earnings call, noting that 3nm technology accounted for about 25% of first-quarter 2026 revenue. New 3nm production capacities will come online sequentially in Taiwan, the US, and Japan between 2027 and 2028. Wei also revealed plans for CoPoS for the first time.

Friday 17 April 2026

Taiwan's OSAT expansion could tighten global test capacity and raise costs

Taiwan's outsourced semiconductor assembly and test industry is expanding rapidly, driven by AI, high-performance computing, and memory demand. Global supply chains may face tighter advanced-test capacity, higher prices, and accelerated investment as Taiwanese OSATs boost capital spending and capacity, significantly affecting chipmakers and device makers worldwide into 2026 and beyond.

Friday 17 April 2026

Intel expands foundry push with Samsung executive hire

Intel, which is working to scale its outsourced chip manufacturing business, has hired Samsung Electronics executive Shawn Han to strengthen its foundry operations and customer engagement strategy, according to reporting from Bloomberg and Oregon Live.

Friday 17 April 2026

Analysis: ASML lifts 2026 guidance on strong EUV demand

ASML delivered first-quarter 2026 results that exceeded expectations, prompting management to raise its full-year guidance despite a cautious outlook for the second quarter. The company announced plans to expand its extreme ultraviolet (EUV) manufacturing capacity to meet strong demand expected in 2027. The updated outlook suggests stronger momentum in the second half of 2026.

Friday 17 April 2026

ASML extends Low NA EUV to 2031, ramps up High NA production

ASML's confirmation that memory-chip demand underpinned its stronger-than-expected results for the first quarter of 2026 — along with its updated EUV roadmaps — has broad implications for global chip supply and manufacturing capacity.

Friday 17 April 2026

Japan backs Sony image sensor expansion with up to US$380 million subsidy

Japan has announced government support for Sony's image sensor expansion project in Kumamoto, underscoring the strategic importance of semiconductor supply chains for artificial intelligence (AI) and automotive applications.

Friday 17 April 2026

Analysis: Intel, Musk advance TeraFab partnership, echoing Apple's TSMC shift

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has aligned his TeraFab megafab initiative with Intel, in a move that had been signaled in recent months.

Friday 17 April 2026

Tesla AI5 reaches tape-out; SK Hynix memory spotted in early sample

Tesla has reached the tape-out stage for its next-generation AI chip, AI5, marking a milestone in its in-house semiconductor development and offering early signals on memory supplier positioning and demand for low-power DRAM.

Friday 17 April 2026

CPU shortage more acute than memory; industry awaits Intel 18A yield improvement

A global CPU shortage is disrupting PC and industrial-computing supply chains, as processors are out of stock even at premium prices, while memory is limited but purchasable. The scarcity threatens notebook and industrial PC availability worldwide and may persist for some time until Intel's 18A process yields improve, industry sources warn.

Friday 17 April 2026

TSMC chairman C.C. Wei denies customer favoritism regarding tight 1Q26 capacity

TSMC delivered an above-expectations financial performance in the first quarter of 2026 and remains optimistic about continued strong demand for advanced process technologies entering the second quarter. Regarding tight capacity constraints, Chairman C.C. Wei stated that while capacity remains tight, the company is actively expanding new fabs to meet demand. However, he noted that building new facilities takes time, so supply will remain limited in the short term. Still, the company will continue efforts to increase capacity to support customer demand and will not deliberately select or favor any particular customer.

Friday 17 April 2026

Musk's foundry push forces chipmakers to rethink customer relationships

Elon Musk has said that the computing demands of Tesla, xAI, and SpaceX will far exceed current semiconductor supply capacity, arguing that existing production can meet only a fraction of future needs.

Friday 17 April 2026

Taiwan's TPK profit jumps more than 20-fold on investment gains and chip exposure

TPK Holding reported a sharp rebound in profitability for the first quarter of 2026, driven by new semiconductor investments and favorable one-off gains.

Friday 17 April 2026

With chip limits near, focus shifts to packaging and integration

As the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) pushes semiconductor performance toward new limits, the industry is confronting a fundamental constraint: the slowing of Moore's Law. Increasingly, engineers are turning their attention not just to chip design, but to system integration and advanced packaging, areas now seen as critical to sustaining performance gains.

Thursday 16 April 2026

TSMC hints at next-gen LPU bid, stokes speculation that Samsung's Groq order may not last

TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei disclosed at the company's first-quarter 2026 earnings call that the foundry is collaborating with a customer on next-generation LPU development —a remark that stopped short of naming Nvidia— but that supply chain observers widely read as signaling TSMC's intent to compete for the inference chip business currently manufactured by Samsung.

Thursday 16 April 2026

TSMC enters 2nm mass production, scales 3nm capacity

TSMC laid out its capacity expansion plans and advanced node progress at its first quarter 2026 earnings call. Chairman C.C. Wei reaffirmed Taiwan as the primary base for leading-edge production, citing close coordination with its research and development teams.

Thursday 16 April 2026

TSMC guides over 15% 2Q26 revenue growth, N3 margins set to top average

TSMC posted a record profit of NT$572.48 billion (US$18.06 billion) in the first quarter of 2026, marking another high in overall performance. For the second quarter of 2026, TSMC guided revenue between US$39 billion and US$42 billion, up 8.6% to 17% sequentially, or NT$1.236 trillion to NT$1.331 trillion at NT$31.7 per US dollar. Gross margin is forecast at 65.5%–67.5%, with operating margin at 56.5%–58.5%.

Thursday 16 April 2026

Taiwan analog IC firms show varied 1Q26 revenue; motor control and DDR5 PMIC drive growth

Taiwanese analog IC companies have recently released their full revenue figures for the first quarter of 2026, revealing mixed performances. Firms with rapidly growing new businesses or market share generally posted strong quarterly results.

Thursday 16 April 2026

EZconn posts 200% profit surge in March as high-fiber count shipments boost growth

Optical communication manufacturer EZconn announced a net profit after tax of NT$312 million (US$9.9 million) for March 2026, marking a 200% increase year on year and earnings per share (EPS) of NT$4.02. Including the previously reported January and February EPS of NT$2.3, the cumulative EPS for the first quarter of 2026 has reached NT$6.32.

Thursday 16 April 2026

TSMC lifts full-year outlook above 30% as AI demand powers another record quarter

Fresh off a quarter in which it beat its own margin forecasts by a wide margin, TSMC issued second-quarter guidance that signals the AI-driven chip boom is accelerating rather than plateauing. The world's largest contract chipmaker projected a second quarter 2026 revenue of US$39-40.2 billion, which at the midpoint would represent roughly 9% sequential growth from the US$35.90 billion it just reported — and more than 50% above where it stood a year ago.

Thursday 16 April 2026

TSMC 1Q26 earnings: AI demand sends profit up 58%, gross margin to all-time high

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) reported a first-quarter 2026 revenue of US$35.90 billion, a 40.6% jump from a year earlier, as insatiable demand for artificial intelligence (AI) processors pushed the world's largest contract chipmaker to its highest-ever gross margin.

Thursday 16 April 2026

Tesla AI5 tape-out signals dual sourcing with Samsung, TSMC

Tesla has finalized the design of its next-generation AI5 chip, marking a milestone in its in-house semiconductor development. CEO Elon Musk confirmed the tape-out in a post on X, saying the design has been sent to foundry partners for fabrication. Musk also said Tesla is developing follow-on processors, including AI6 and Dojo3.

Thursday 16 April 2026

TSMC says Applied Materials and JSR form top-tier chipmaking team

Japanese materials giant JSR has established an advanced planarization process solution joint research center in Taiwan, with JSR representative director and CEO Hank Hori personally attending the launch. Also present were Derek Witty, general manager of Applied Materials; Erix Yu, President of Applied Materials Taiwan; and Simon Jang, vice president of Advanced Tool and Module Development of Technology Development under the R&D at TSMC.

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