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Monday 24 November 2025

South Korea seeks joint strategy with Taiwan on US chip tariffs

South Korea's trade chief said Seoul sees room to coordinate with Taiwan on upcoming US chip tariffs, signaling potential cooperation between the two Asian semiconductor powerhouses as Washington reshapes tariff rules under President Donald Trump. Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo said Taiwan's ongoing negotiations create space for both sides to seek the most favorable treatment.

Monday 24 November 2025

US to waive chip tariffs as Taiwan exports semiconductor park expertise

Wu Cheng-Wen, Taiwan's Minister without Portfolio and head of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), told the Financial Times that the United States will not levy heavy tariffs on Taiwan's semiconductor sector, and that Taipei will help Washington understand the industrial model behind the island's chip-manufacturing strength.

Monday 24 November 2025

Nexperia dispute continues as Wingtech appeals to Dutch government

The turmoil surrounding Nexperia persists as Wingtech, the Chinese parent company of Nexperia, has formally lodged a complaint with the Dutch government, demanding the withdrawal of its control over Nexperia Netherlands. This follows the Dutch government's recent announcement suspending the takeover execution amid negotiations with China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), while not revoking the original court ruling that authorized the takeover.

Monday 24 November 2025

Japan to become majority stakeholder in Rapidus with JPY100 billion investment

Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry plans to invest JPY100 billion (US$671 million) in Rapidus in fiscal 2025, securing a controlling stake as the government accelerates its push to rebuild domestic advanced chip manufacturing. The funding will be executed through the Information-Technology Promotion Agency, and Rapidus aims to reach break-even around 2030 and pursue an initial public offering in 2031.

Monday 24 November 2025

Toshiba's China SiC turn triggers Japan's power-chip intervention

Toshiba's sudden move from its long-standing partnership with Rohm Semiconductor to a brief collaboration with China's Sicc unsettled Japan's power semiconductor sector. Toshiba reversed course after METI intervened, but uncertainty still surrounds the future of its relationship with Rohm.

Monday 24 November 2025

Lightmatter's silicon photonics solution aims for commercial shipments in 2027

GlobalFoundries (GF) has recently acquired Singapore-based silicon photonics chip company Advanced Micro Foundry. Meanwhile, Lightmatter, a US silicon photonics chip company that works with GF, is expanding the number of systems it is building. Seeing huge growth potential in the silicon photonics market, the company expects that after completing integration and testing with switch and XPU customers, it will move toward commercial shipments in 2027.

Monday 24 November 2025

Tesla accelerates AI chip roadmap: A15 nears tape out as A16 development begins

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has revealed in a post on X that the company is close to taping out its next-generation AI5 chip while simultaneously beginning development of AI6. Tesla plans to introduce a new AI chip design into volume production every twelve months, positioning the company to become the world's largest producer of AI silicon.

Monday 24 November 2025

Weekly News Roundup: US moves to ban Chinese chipmaking equipment; Tesla eyes in-house fab; Intel hires TSMC veteran

These are the most-read DIGITIMES Asia stories in the week of November 17 to November 23, 2025.

Monday 24 November 2025

TSMC's C.C. Wei doubles down on US expansion as AI era enters 'early stage'

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.(TSMC)'s chairman and chief executive, C.C. Wei, used one of the industry's most high-profile stages to restate the company's commitment to expanding in the United States, arguing that scale in America is now indispensable for the next wave of artificial-intelligence demand.

Monday 24 November 2025

TSMC ramps 3/2nm and CoWoS capacity amid 24-hour production push

Despite Nvidia's strong third quarter of fiscal 2026 performance, surpassing forecasts for 12 consecutive quarters, global market concerns over AI remain. According to supply chain sources, orders and outlooks for AI servers upstream and downstream continue to trend upward into 2026.

Monday 24 November 2025

Intel's EMIB becomes potential alternative to TSMC's CoWoS

TSMC's advanced CoWoS packaging capacity has become extremely tight, resulting in only a few leading AI chipmakers having the means to book capacity in large quantities. Other ASIC makers and second-tier AI chip companies have struggled to secure sufficient capacity. There is market speculation that Intel's EMIB advanced packaging process is becoming the main alternative option that chipmakers are considering. Marvell and MediaTek are both rumored to try it, following a new business model that involves front-end water fabrication at TSMC and back-end packaging with Intel.

Monday 24 November 2025

Behind Korea’s record chip exports, a race it may be losing

Although South Korea has seen its semiconductor exports hit record highs, concerns are mounting that over-reliance on specific products could heighten risks for the country's manufacturing sector. Moreover, a recent survey by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) highlights that China is poised to surpass South Korea across all major industries by 2030, signaling a looming challenge for the country's economic dominance.

Monday 24 November 2025

India races to join the chip elite—can it close the gap by 2032?

India has renewed its push to become a global semiconductor hub, setting an ambitious target to match the manufacturing capabilities of leading producers by 2032. Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the country expects to reach a "level playing field" with major chipmaking nations within the next decade, as New Delhi accelerates investment to build domestic capacity. "By 2031–2032, we will be equivalent to what many of these countries are at today," he told Bloomberg's New Economy Forum in Singapore.

Monday 24 November 2025

India roundup: Fujifilm to build semiconductor materials factory in India, targeting regional exports

Fujifilm will build a semiconductor materials plant in India for regional exports; Ziroh Labs promotes CPU-first AI compute; India approves 17 ECMS projects worth US$810 million to expand component manufacturing.

Sunday 23 November 2025

Intel's China debut highlights AI expansion, Gaudi 2E, and disaggregated supernodes

The 2025 Intel Technology Innovation and Industry Ecosystem Conference was held from November 19 to 21, 2025, in Chongqing, China. At the event, Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan and newly appointed chairman of Intel China Alan Wang both made their first public appearances in China following their appointments. They took office in March and September 2025, respectively. In contrast to former CEO Pat Gelsinger, their remarks focused heavily on AI.

Saturday 22 November 2025

AI workloads propel revolution in photonic chips, as startups jostle for position and tech giants seek to integrate

Rapid advances in AI technology have exposed fundamental network bottlenecks, since traditional connections can no longer keep up with the massive transmission demands of AI. Billions of dollars have thus been funneled into photonic chip startups, amid an ongoing seismic shift in how chips communicate.

Saturday 22 November 2025

ASML opens first US technical training center to support domestic chipmaking revival

ASML has inaugurated a technical training center in Phoenix, Arizona, designed to train more than 1,000 engineers annually for the expanding semiconductor industry in the US. The 56,000-square-foot facility is ASML's ninth global training site and the only one in the US covering all product lines, including extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography machines as well as metrology inspection systems.

Friday 21 November 2025

US moves to bar CHIPS Act recipients from purchasing Chinese chipmaking equipment for 10 years

US lawmakers are advancing bipartisan legislation to prohibit companies receiving federal semiconductor subsidies from purchasing chipmaking equipment manufactured in China for the next decade. The proposal aims to harden supply chain security and ensure that American tax dollars do not indirectly strengthen Beijing's technology sector.

Friday 21 November 2025

Taiwan foundry and tech manufacturing remains irreplaceable as exports surge

The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) announced on November 20 that Taiwan's export orders reached US$69.37 billion in October 2025, down slightly by US$850 million or 1.2% from September but up significantly by US$13.92 billion, or 25.1%, compared to the same month of 2024. In New Taiwan dollars, this represents a 19.4% increase year-over-year. Cumulative export orders from January to October 2025 nearly hit US$600 billion, marking a 22.6% annual growth.

Friday 21 November 2025

TSMC in sight: Samsung seen hitting 21,000 wafers by 2026

Samsung Electronics is reportedly planning to raise the monthly output of its next-generation 2nm foundry process to as many as 21,000 wafers by the end of 2026, according to new industry projections. The increase would represent a 163% jump from 2024 and could significantly narrow the company's long-standing performance and capacity gap with TSMC.

Friday 21 November 2025

Intel dismisses trade-secret claims involving former TSMC executive as Taiwan probe continues

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan has rejected reports that a new company hire brought confidential TSMC information into the US chipmaker, calling the allegations unfounded.

Friday 21 November 2025

Sumitomo Chemical to acquire Taiwanese semiconductor cleaning agent maker

Sumitomo Chemical announced it will acquire all shares of Asia Union Electronic Chemical Corp, a Taiwanese manufacturer of semiconductor cleaning agents, with the deal expected to be completed by the end of 2025. The transaction amount has not been officially disclosed but is estimated at around JPY10 billion (approx. US$63.85 million), according to Nikkei Asia.

Friday 21 November 2025

Nvidia's strong quarter lifts markets, but the AI bubble question still lingers

Nvidia's record third-quarter earnings provided rare relief for markets facing rising geopolitical risks. Jensen Huang remained characteristically optimistic, once again rejecting claims that artificial intelligence (AI) is drifting toward a bubble. He highlighted the overwhelming demand for Blackwell chips and cloud GPUs, which continue to sell out across major customers, as evidence of lasting momentum.

Friday 21 November 2025

Samsung Electronics maintains dual-CEO structure in 2026 executive reshuffle

Samsung Electronics' 2026 executive reshuffle reinforces its dual-CEO structure, maintaining continuity in mobile and memory leadership while appointing top technology experts to accelerate AI, semiconductor, and advanced research, signaling a strategic focus on long-term innovation and competitiveness amid intensifying global industry pressures.

Friday 21 November 2025

WinWay to build IC test factory in Arizona by 2026

Taiwan-based integrated circuit (IC) test solution provider WinWay is planning to establish a production facility in Arizona by 2026, a move that reflects shifting global strategies amid the evolving US manufacturing agenda and growing semiconductor demand. The company's expansion into the US market positions it within an emerging local semiconductor cluster and aims to better serve North American customers.

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