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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.

Wednesday 18 March 2026

Nvidia GTC 2026: Memory, power, and deployment challenges reshape AI infrastructure

Amid tightening memory supply and surging demand for AI-ready infrastructure, hardware vendors are racing to redesign systems for the next phase of enterprise AI adoption — a shift thrown into sharp relief at Nvidia's GTC 2026.

Wednesday 18 March 2026

Tata Semiconductor head reportedly steps down amid fab build-out

Industry veteran KC Ang has stepped down as president and head of Tata Semiconductor Manufacturing, marking a leadership transition as the company advances its chipmaking projects in India, according to reports by The Economic Times, Electronics For You, and Manufacturing Today.

Wednesday 18 March 2026

Nvidia secures approvals and orders for H200 in China, restarts supply chain production

During the GTC 2026 conference, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told global media that the company has made new progress in the China market.

Wednesday 18 March 2026

India's Agnit Semiconductors raises US$2.6 million to commercialise GaN chips for telecom and power

Agnit Semiconductors has raised US$2.6 million in a seed extension round led by Shastra VC, with existing investors 3one4 Capital and Zephyr Peacock participating. The Economic Times, Analytics India, The Hindu Business Line, and BIS Infotech report. The company said the funds will be used to scale gallium nitride component production and move pilot products toward commercialisation.

Wednesday 18 March 2026

Exclusive: AI server supply chain hits hidden stalemate as CSPs and manufacturers favor price hikes over expansion

Geopolitical tariff conflicts combined with the outbreak of Middle East hostilities have pushed even the booming AI server and data center industry—and its supply chain—into a subtle deadlock. Supply chain insiders reveal that despite ample funding, major cloud service providers (CSPs) are hesitating to back suppliers' capacity expansions amid shortages.

Wednesday 18 March 2026

Dreame rollout plan for five chips: chips for robots today, AI data centers in orbit tomorrow

At an industry forum in Shanghai this month, a young Chinese semiconductor startup laid out a sweeping vision: designing chips not only for smartphones and self-driving cars, but also for robots, personal AI supercomputers — and eventually, computing centers in orbit.

Wednesday 18 March 2026

AI boom lifts Changs Ascending as data centers seek reliable power

As AI and advanced semiconductor manufacturing drive unprecedented demand for computing power, the reliability of the electricity supply has become a critical concern for both data centers and chip fabrication plants.

Wednesday 18 March 2026

Chipbond sets sights on SiPh and LPO for next phase of growth

Display driver IC (DDIC) packaging leader Chipbond outlined three key growth drivers at its recent earnings call that are expected to support its core driver IC business despite industry headwinds through 2026. While consumer electronics demand may face pressure from memory price declines, these new initiatives aim to offset sector downturns.

Wednesday 18 March 2026

Surging US AI demand drives contract manufacturing fees higher for Taiwan electronics makers

Aggressive AI investments by major US cloud service providers (CSPs) are driving a surge in demand for Taiwan's semiconductor and ICT hardware, pushing exports, prices, and private investments toward record levels despite supply constraints.

Wednesday 18 March 2026

Taiwan on track to outpace China's growth again in 2026

Driven by US President Donald Trump's push for American reindustrialization and efforts to shift industries away from China through high tariffs, Taiwan's economy is set to outpace China's growth for the second consecutive year in 2026.

Tuesday 17 March 2026

Hon Precision raises AI chip test capacity plan by 40% amid surging demand

Driven by rapid growth in AI and high-performance computing (HPC) markets, semiconductor IC test equipment leader Hon Precision has upgraded its production expansion plan for 2026 from an annual increase of 30% to over 40%. The company also revealed that AI chip-related orders have far exceeded current capacity, signaling a new wave of global demand for AI chip testing.

Tuesday 17 March 2026

MPI posts record 2025 revenue and profit, expands probe card production in Taiwan

Semiconductor test and measurement solutions provider MPI reported that strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing (HPC), and application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) has driven rapid demand growth for semiconductor test equipment and test interface products. Under this trend, the company achieved record-high revenue and profit for the full year 2025.

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