South Korean foundry operator DB HiTek is facing a slower ramp in silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN), testing its push into next-generation power semiconductors as technology barriers and a market slowdown complicate its growth plans.

Rising manufacturing costs at upstream foundries and back-end packaging and testing are pushing power management IC (PMIC) makers toward price increases, with global implications for device makers and automotive and data-center operators as firms weigh whether to accept higher PMIC prices or shift strategies amid ongoing worldwide capacity constraints and node migration pressures.

As of May 18, 2026, TSMC's market value stood at NT$58 trillion (US$1.8 billion), MediaTek's at NT$5.45 trillion, and Delta Electronics' at NT$5.2 trillion — the three largest companies in Taiwan's capital market. The rapid expansion of electronics valuations has drawn regulatory scrutiny and triggered risk warnings for some companies, while lawmakers argue that rules on managed securities and related standards need updating to reflect a fundamentally changed market structure.

India inaugurated Rajasthan's first semiconductor plant on May 15, marking a significant step in the country's push to expand domestic electronics and chip manufacturing under its broader industrial policy agenda.

Flexible copper clad laminate (FCCL) manufacturer Asia Electric Material (AEM) said that its long-term investment in new product development has begun to yield results, with the company's operational focus shifting toward product promotion and customer sample certification in 2026. Its two major new products will target the semiconductor and artificial intelligence (AI) application markets.

TSMC's Arizona fab has turned profitable, surprising the market and supply chain after years of warnings from founder Morris Chang and others that overseas fabs could lose money. Supply-chain sources say the US plant has now benefited from six years of process tweaks and ramp-up, while three factors drove the turnaround.

Analog Devices Inc. is in advanced talks to acquire Empower Semiconductor for about US$1.5 billion in cash, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. A formal announcement could come as soon as Tuesday. The deal has not been finalized and could still fall through.

Samsung Electronics and its South Korean labor union resumed talks on May 19 in a last-ditch effort to avert an 18-day strike set to begin May 21, with the two sides reportedly closing in on some differences.

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan recently told CNBC's Mad Money that the company's external manufacturing business, known as Intel Foundry, is emerging as a cornerstone of the chipmaker's revitalization strategy. Tan described the foundry initiative as a "national treasure," emphasizing its role in rebuilding advanced semiconductor production capacity within the US after decades of manufacturing dominance in Asia.

Baidu said its core AI businesses became the majority of the company's revenue in the first quarter of 2026, driven by rapid growth in AI cloud infrastructure, expanded foundation-model support on its model-as-a-service platform Qianfan, and stronger commercial adoption of its Kunlunxin AI chips.

Prices for semiconductor-grade hydrogen fluoride supplied to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are expected to rise sharply between late June and July, as higher costs for a key China-sourced raw material ripple through South Korea's chip supply chain, according to industry sources cited by The Elec.

As China cements its position as the world's largest producer of display panels, the country is now pushing deeper into one of the industry's most strategically sensitive areas: substrate glass.

China's foundry sector is charting a different course as the global semiconductor market remains focused on AI GPUs, the 2nm process node, and advanced packaging. Led by Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC) and Hua Hong Semiconductor, domestic Chinese foundries have not stalled under US sanctions; instead, they are accelerating efforts to build a China-specific foundry ecosystem amid the AI boom, recovering demand for mature nodes, and a push for supply-chain self-reliance.

Kemflo, a Taiwanese water purification exporter, said it has shifted from selling filtration equipment to operating as a full-scale water resources company, driven by rising global water demand and stricter drinking-quality standards. The firm now combines in-house filter-media research and development, an international-grade laboratory, and vertical integration to supply home and commercial purification systems, filter cartridges, industrial water treatment, and activated carbon regeneration services.

The United States and China have reached a trade and investment agreement that could reshape critical technology supply chains, with Beijing committing to ease restrictions on rare earth minerals and open new government-to-government channels to manage economic ties, according to a White House fact sheet.

Apple has added a new high blood pressure notification feature to Apple Watch, sharpening the device's health-management appeal. Market watchers expect a major redesign of high-end Apple Watch models in the second half of 2026, which could boost end-market shipments by 20% to 30% from 2025 as incoming CEO John Ternus takes over on September 1.

Taiwan precision motion-control leader Hiwin Technologies is accelerating growth on the back of semiconductor automation and robotics demand, with robot-related products emerging as a rapidly expanding revenue driver as the company deepens its push into wafer-handling systems, logistics robots, and humanoid robot components.

Pan Jit's growing confidence in AI and automotive demand is set to shape the global supply of power semiconductors, as data-center power management needs intensify and automotive orders shift away from Nexperia, signaling tighter capacity, potential price adjustments, and new cooling technologies that could carry strategic implications for manufacturers and buyers worldwide in the years ahead.

China's semiconductor equipment localization campaign is entering a more demanding phase, shifting from proving that domestic alternatives can work to showing they can meet the reliability, throughput, and yield requirements of production-scale manufacturing.

Apple has increasingly relied on "binned" chips — processors with disabled or defective cores — to expand into lower-priced devices, according to a recent report by The Wall Street Journal. The strategy allows the company to reuse chips that would otherwise be discarded, lowering costs while broadening its product lineup.

A South Korean court granted Samsung Electronics an injunction on May 18, 2026, limiting union dispute actions and ordering that safety protection systems and wafer anti-deterioration operations remain fully staffed and operational during any strike, according to Seoul Economic Daily. The Suwon District Court issued the decision three days before a planned general strike on May 21, 2026, and the ruling is expected to constrain the scale and methods of any walkout.

The global map of semiconductor manufacturing is beginning to shift. For years, the market for advanced chip production was dominated almost entirely by TSMC. But the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), intensifying geopolitical tensions, and mounting pressure from Washington to secure critical supply chains are beginning to loosen that grip.

Samsung Electronics and its labor union in South Korea began a new round of negotiations on May 18, days before a planned strike that could bring its chip plants to a halt. The talks are being mediated by the government, which has signaled concern about the labor action's impact on the South Korean economy, in which Samsung contributes more than 20% of its exports.