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Tuesday 7 July 2026
Exclusive: Geckos bets on AI materials beyond nano copper powders and CPO waveguides
As generative AI drives rapid growth in high-performance computing (HPC) demand, the semiconductor industry is shifting from process-node competition to materials competition. Geckos chairman Raymond Shen said that once chip manufacturing advances to 2nm and beyond, improvements in AI computing power are no longer just a chip-design issue, but are increasingly constrained by materials' heat dissipation and high-frequency signal transmission capabilities.
Tuesday 7 July 2026
Japanese startup completes AI chip validation with Oppstar and UMC support, moves toward mass production

Tokyo Artisan Intelligence said it has finished validating its Sting Ray test chip, a step that could broaden access to lower-power edge AI hardware for industries worldwide. The milestone highlights how startups and foundries are pushing specialized chips that may ease energy pressure from AI, even as they support real-time applications in factories, transport, and infrastructure.

Tuesday 7 July 2026
Solstice Advanced Materials to buy Element Solutions in US$14.5 billion deal

The planned acquisition of Element Solutions by Solstice Advanced Materials would create a larger supplier serving electronics, data center cooling, and other industrial markets closely watched by customers and investors worldwide. The deal may reshape competition in advanced materials, where demand is rising alongside artificial intelligence infrastructure, semiconductor manufacturing, and energy-efficient technologies.

Tuesday 7 July 2026
Analog IC supply squeeze intensifies, ADI extends lead times

Analog Devices (ADI) has reportedly notified customers of extended delivery lead times for certain products, with lead times now reaching six months. The company has advised customers to place orders at least six months in advance to help secure an adequate chip supply.

Tuesday 7 July 2026
Taiwam showcases quantum computing breakthrough at biennial academician gathering, govt urges interdisciplinary collab

Academia Sinica, Taiwan's premier national academic research institution, convened its 36th Convocation of Academicians from July 6 to 9 at the Academia Sinica Humanities and Social Sciences Building in Nangang, Taipei, drawing more than 200 academicians from Taiwan and overseas. Held once every two years, the convocation combines institutional reports, keynote speeches, and a panel discussion, and serves as a cornerstone event on Taiwan's academic calendar. Under Taiwan's system of laws, Academia Sinica's budget is approved by the Office of the President and does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Executive Yuan.

Tuesday 7 July 2026
Samsung, SK Hynix reportedly seek China-free chip tool buffer against US controls
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are reportedly accelerating efforts to reduce China's role in their semiconductor supply chains in preparation for the possibility of tighter US export controls. The two companies are said to be restructuring their sourcing of materials, components, and manufacturing equipment that rely heavily on China, while gradually replacing some Chinese-made semiconductor tools with alternatives from South Korea, the US, and other countries.
Tuesday 7 July 2026
TSMC's AI bottleneck spills demand across the semiconductor supply chain

Nvidia and other artificial intelligence chipmakers are still facing shortages as TSMC's advanced-node and CoWoS packaging capacity remains tight, pushing demand into foundries, back-end assembly, testing, and overseas fabs. The strain is creating spillover opportunities across the broader semiconductor supply chain, while also exposing how dependent the market has become on limited high-end capacity.

Tuesday 7 July 2026
Samsung Electronics second-quarter operating profit surges on AI memory boom
Samsung Electronics reported a sharp jump in second-quarter operating profit, underscoring how global demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure is reshaping the memory-chip market. The result matters far beyond South Korea, as higher DRAM and NAND prices affect data-center spending, device costs, and the pace of the worldwide AI buildout.
Tuesday 7 July 2026
Texas emerges as frontrunner for Taiwan firms racing to pick an overseas science park

Amid ever-shifting geopolitical concerns and a US$50 billion injection from the CHIPS and Science Act to revitalize domestic semiconductor production, a new round of competition has arisen across the US to attract investment. For Taiwan's electronics sector, the question is no longer whether to invest in the US, but which state to choose.

Tuesday 7 July 2026
Ingenic says DRAM foundry capacity strain won't ease until 2H27
China memory makers are diverging in their outlook as AI demand keeps the global memory market tight. After GigaDevice recently issued an unusual risk warning, Beijing-based special memory and embedded processor maker Ingenic said global DRAM foundry capacity remains broadly constrained and is unlikely to improve before the second half of 2027.
Tuesday 7 July 2026
6G base stations to become AI computing nodes, boosting advanced packaging demand
While there are still years to go for the commercialization of 6G adoption, the next-generation mobile network architecture is increasingly poised to take shape.
Monday 6 July 2026
UMC posts record first-half revenue and plans selective price hikes in second half
United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) reported its strongest quarterly run in years as mature-process demand and factory utilization improved. June consolidated revenue reached NT$23.12 billion, up 0.8% from May and 22.85% year-on-year — a 44-month high. Second-quarter revenue climbed to NT$68.73 billion, up 12.61% sequentially and 16.98% year-on-year, the highest level in 15 quarters.
Monday 6 July 2026
Samsung Foundry eyes comeback after Tesla chip win
Samsung Electronics is trying to turn its foundry business into a bigger supplier of custom chips after securing a Tesla order, as the company looks to rebuild a contract chipmaking business that has struggled to narrow the gap with TSMC.
Monday 6 July 2026
Jim Keller startup Fab2 targets small-fab mass production

Atomic Semi, the semiconductor equipment startup founded by chip architect Jim Keller, has rebranded as Fab2 and moved its headquarters to Austin, Texas, with a vision of mass-producing small fabs. According to Tom's Hardware, Fab2's core idea is a "fab fab": it designs and builds all of its own equipment, from pumps, valves, and gas lines to lithography tools and vacuum chambers, then assembles the components into machines and the machines into a complete fab.

Monday 6 July 2026
LG Chem begins first mass supply of semiconductor strippers to Amkor

LG Chem has begun supplying semiconductor strippers to Amkor Technology, a major US-based packaging and testing provider, in its first commercial move into the market. The deal highlights rising demand for advanced chip-making chemicals as artificial intelligence, high-bandwidth memory, and smaller device designs reshape global semiconductor manufacturing.

Monday 6 July 2026
South Korea's chip hub push, led by Samsung, SK, draws KRW896 trillion — and a market selloff

SK Group, Samsung Electronics, and Amkor will invest a combined KRW896 trillion (US$585.2 billion) to build South Korea's second major semiconductor production base in the country's southwest, the industry ministry said.

Monday 6 July 2026
South Korea weighs longer hours for chip R&D in new tech zones

South Korea is considering exempting research and development personnel from the country's 52-hour workweek limit inside proposed Mega Special Zones. These would include a planned second semiconductor cluster in the southwestern Honam region.

Monday 6 July 2026
China advanced packaging maker SJ Semiconductor starts US$1.5bn 3DIC project for AI chips

SJ Semiconductor has started construction of a CNY10 billion (approx. US$1.47 billion) 3DIC manufacturing project in Shanghai's Lingang New Area, expanding advanced packaging capacity for high-performance computing, AI and data center chips.

Monday 6 July 2026
Greatek Electronics advances Taiwan+1 plan with acquisition of Onsemi Philippines packaging plant
Greatek Electronics, a subsidiary of memory packaging and testing provider Powertech Technology (PTI), has approved the acquisition of On Semiconductor SSMP Philippines, a packaging and testing services company under the On Semiconductor (Onsemi) group, using internal funds. The acquisition aims to strengthen the group's overseas operational footprint and improve its global customer service capabilities and supply chain resilience.
Monday 6 July 2026
China's chip equipment makers ramp up expansion as AI and memory boom fuel domestic demand

China's leading semiconductor equipment manufacturers are accelerating expansion through acquisitions and fundraising, as surging AI investment, memory chip capacity growth, and import substitution combine to create one of the industry's strongest growth cycles in years.

Monday 6 July 2026
Exclusive Interview: Dutch startup Nearfield bets on process control to rival EUV in AI chip manufacturing

As Moore's Law approaches its physical limits, simply shrinking semiconductor process nodes is no longer the sole path to improving chip performance.

Monday 6 July 2026
India's chip mission enters harder phase: deciding where to compete
India's plan to sharply expand public funding for semiconductors marks a new phase in its chip ambitions. The harder question is whether New Delhi can now decide where it wants to win first.
Monday 6 July 2026
Europe's defense boom has a semiconductor problem
Europe's defense industry is running into a structural bottleneck: the semiconductors needed for modern missiles, drones, radar, communications, and electronic warfare cannot be produced domestically at scale. Even as defense budgets rise across the EU, the industrial base needed to turn spending into capability remains constrained by dependence on foreign microelectronics.
Monday 6 July 2026
NXP chief says robots need autonomous computing to move beyond remote control

As physical AI and robotics spread globally, NXP CEO Rafael Sotomayor said robots will only reach commercial scale if they can think and act independently. For international industries, that shift could determine whether factory automation, humanoids, and smart machines become practical tools or remain costly demonstrations.

Monday 6 July 2026
Exclusive Interview: Dutch startup Nearfield targets AI chip process control expansion after US$380 million funding round
Dutch semiconductor equipment startup Nearfield Instruments has completed a US$380 million Series D funding round, the largest-ever fundraising for a Dutch deep-tech company. The company is now targeting an initial public offering (IPO) in 2028.