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Wednesday 5 August 2026
Infineon sees AI demand outpacing supply as customers lock in long-term capacity

Infineon said demand for its AI data center power semiconductors continues to exceed available supply, prompting leading customers to sign multi-year capacity reservation agreements that give the chipmaker greater visibility while securing future supply for hyperscale AI deployments.

Wednesday 5 August 2026
Samsung, SK Hynix expansion puts Korea's chip supply chain to the test

Daeduck Electronics plans to invest KRW497 billion(US$349.50 million) in semiconductor production facilities through 2027, its second major expansion announcement this year, Seoul Economic Daily reported, citing a regulatory filing with South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service.

Wednesday 5 August 2026
Samsung, SK Hynix reportedly test AMEC tools to guard against tighter US curbs
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix reportedly began testing etching equipment from China's Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment (AMEC) about two years ago for possible use at their Chinese factories, Reuters reported on August 5, citing three people familiar with the matter.
Wednesday 5 August 2026
Huawei's 18-tier pagoda challenges Nvidia's chip-scaling playbook

Huawei is arguing that the next phase of semiconductor performance will depend less on transistor shrinkage and more on system architecture, faster data movement and tighter coordination between chips, software and AI models.

Wednesday 5 August 2026
Vanguard International Semiconductor sees AI demand lift mature-node prices through 2027
Demand for power management ICs (PMICs) driven by artificial intelligence (AI) servers continues to grow, accelerating the recovery of mature-node processes. Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS) said AI-driven demand is not a short-term trend but an irreversible structural growth, and expects the mature process market to remain in short supply through 2027.
Wednesday 5 August 2026
Vanguard International Semiconductor lifts 2Q26 profit on AI server chip demand
Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS) reported stronger second-quarter 2026 results on higher demand for AI server power management ICs, customer restocking and higher average selling prices, and said conditions should continue improving in the third quarter. The foundry said revenue, profit and margins all advanced as shipments rose and its product mix shifted toward higher-value offerings.
Wednesday 5 August 2026
PSMC open to US, Singapore, Malaysia joint ventures as Intel packaging partnership enters mass production

Market interest in whether Taiwan's Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing (PSMC) would deepen cooperation with Intel or potentially bring the company in as an investor has grown, as the US government and companies like Intel have actively sought partnerships with Taiwanese chipmakers in recent years. Intel and Taiwan's United Microelectronics (UMC) are currently collaborating on a 12-nanometer process platform.

Wednesday 5 August 2026
Manz opens Tainan R&D center for advanced packaging equipment

Manz has applied to establish a branch in the Tainan Science Park and plans to set up an R&D center there for advanced packaging equipment and systems integration solutions, according to the Southern Taiwan Science Park Bureau. The move is aimed at developing next-generation tools for markets including artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, and panel-level packaging.

Wednesday 5 August 2026
Samsung previews zHBM stacked-on-logic concept, 400-layer bonded NAND at FMS 2026
Samsung Electronics used the Future of Memory and Storage (FMS) 2026 conference to lay out an AI memory roadmap built around 3D architecture, previewing two concept models — zHBM and zNAND-O — and disclosing a 400-plus-layer NAND built on wafer bonding for the first time.
Wednesday 5 August 2026
Cloud AI chipmakers race to secure capacity with long-term deals
Cloud AI chip demand remains exceptionally hot, forcing chipmakers to put advanced-node capacity at the top of their agenda. IC design firms say technical strength and cost are no longer enough; the ability to secure stable, sufficient capacity has become a key factor in supplier selection.
Wednesday 5 August 2026
Hanwha Semitech expands packaging tools as TCB turns profitable

South Korean semiconductor equipment maker Hanwha Semitech is expected to begin recognizing revenue from fan-out panel-level packaging (FOPLP) equipment starting in the third quarter of 2026. The move follows a return to profitability in the second quarter, driven by thermocompression bonding (TCB) tools. FOPLP is set to become the next growth engine as the company broadens its advanced packaging portfolio.

Wednesday 5 August 2026
Powerchip says family succession plan remains unchanged
Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation said on August 4, 2026, that the death of chairman Frank Huang has not changed the group's ownership structure, management team, or overall strategy. The company said Huang's personal and family shareholdings will be handled under the law, while the Huang family will continue supporting the existing management team.
Wednesday 5 August 2026
South Korea's KRW500B SiC push stalls as low returns deter major companies

South Korea's planned KRW500 billion(US$349,398) research and development initiative for silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductors is struggling to move beyond the planning stage because the government has not secured a major anchor company to drive demand and support commercialization, according to ETNews.

Wednesday 5 August 2026
From chip to grid: OCP CEO George Tchaparian on redefining data center architecture for the AI era
Ahead of the OCP APAC Summit in Taipei, George Tchaparian says co-packaged optics (CPO) gives Taiwan an opportunity to turn its manufacturing and packaging expertise into global standards leadership. He also warns that proprietary management interfaces are delaying AI infrastructure deployment and leaving a meaningful share of large GPU fleets in a degraded state.
Tuesday 4 August 2026
PSMC sees stronger 2H, says strategy unchanged after chair's death

Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (PSMC) will maintain its existing strategy following the sudden death of Chairman Frank Huang and expects business to improve quarter by quarter in the second half of 2026, Acting Chairman Brian Shieh said on August 4th.

Tuesday 4 August 2026
Nvidia RTX 50 graphics card prices climb as TSMC and memory costs rise
Nvidia GeForce RTX 50 series graphics card prices in South Korea were set to rise by as much as 30% starting in August 2026 as higher wafer costs at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and continued increases in GDDR7 memory prices pushed up supply-chain expenses. The increase was reported by Tom’s Hardware, citing South Korean media outlet ZDNet Korea and industry sources.
Tuesday 4 August 2026
Samsung Foundry nears full utilization, but 2nm yields remain a hurdle
Samsung Electronics' contract chipmaking business could approach full utilization in the second half of 2026, marking a potential turning point after prolonged underuse weighed on earnings.
Tuesday 4 August 2026
China's chip output jumps nearly 350% in a decade as semiconductor supply chain expands
China's industrial enterprises above the designated size produced 484.28 billion integrated circuits in 2025, up nearly 350% from 108.72 billion in 2015, as the country expanded manufacturing capacity across mature-node chips, memory, packaging, and semiconductor production equipment.
Tuesday 4 August 2026
China claims 8 in 10 robots worldwide are made at home

China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said humanoid robots have become a key symbol of the country's emerging manufacturing sector, claiming that 8 of every 10 humanoid and quadruped robots sold globally are produced by Chinese companies. The remarks came at a July 31 press briefing and also highlighted progress in IC design, semiconductor equipment, wafer fabrication, and packaging and testing.

Tuesday 4 August 2026
China tightens chip layout design protection to strengthen domestic semiconductor innovation

China has revised its regulations on the protection of integrated circuit (IC) layout designs, introducing stricter registration requirements, stronger enforcement measures and clearer commercialization rules as Beijing steps up efforts to strengthen its domestic semiconductor industry amid ongoing US technology restrictions.

Tuesday 4 August 2026
Kumamoto semiconductor production recovers, TSMC's Japan subsidiary returns to normal operations

TSMC has announced that Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing (JASM), its subsidiary in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, has resumed normal operations following production disruptions caused by the recent Kumamoto earthquake.

Tuesday 4 August 2026
Taiwan specialty chemical firm expands Taiwan, China capacity on AI materials boom, eyes 20% revenue gain in 2026
Taiwan-based specialty chemicals supplier Johnson Fine Chemical expects robust growth in electronic materials demand driven by AI, high-performance computing (HPC) and advanced communications applications. The company is expanding production capacity in both Taiwan and China and plans to raise prices for selected products by 10-20% in the third quarter of 2026 to offset higher raw material costs. Management forecasts revenue growth of about 20% in 2026 from a year earlier, with profits also expected to increase, while 2027 is projected to deliver even stronger results.
Tuesday 4 August 2026
Taiwan-Japan semiconductor ties go beyond supply chain partnerships
Cooperation between Taiwan and Japan in semiconductors will go beyond supply-chain partnerships towards joint technological innovation and talent development, according to Taiwan's former Minister of Economic Affairs Jyh-huei Kuo.
Tuesday 4 August 2026
Key material shortages prompt suppliers to prioritize three customer groups
Taiwanese research institute Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER) released Taiwan's manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) for July 2026 on August 3. The seasonally adjusted PMI rose 0.8pp to 61.5%, marking the tenth consecutive month of growth and the fastest pace of expansion since September 2021. The six-month outlook index also edged up 0.3pp to 64.5%, remaining above the 60.0% expansion threshold for a seventh consecutive month.
Tuesday 4 August 2026
Onsemi expects AI data-center revenue to more than double in 2026 as cyclical recovery takes hold
Onsemi's second-quarter results pointed to a broadening recovery in semiconductor demand, with AI data-center applications emerging as the company's fastest-growing business, while the automotive and industrial markets are showing signs of stabilization. The outlook suggests that improving utilization and product mix could support further margin expansion, though the absence of a major upside surprise in third-quarter guidance suggests a broader inventory-replenishment cycle has yet to begin.