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Monday 17 November 2025

Samsung reportedly secures 2nm chip orders from crypto miners MicroBT and Canaan

Samsung Electronics has reportedly secured 2nm chip orders from two major Chinese cryptocurrency mining firms, MicroBT and Canaan. This marks a notable, though unconfirmed, client win for Samsung's foundry business as it attempts to gain ground on the industry's dominant leader, TSMC.

Monday 17 November 2025

Taiwan MCU makers expand into power and cooling to mitigate AI data center power consumption surge

As rack-level power consumption and cooling requirements rise in data centers, Taiwanese microcontroller (MCU) suppliers are innovating in power-supply and cooling-fan controls. Nuvoton Technology recently introduced an integrated baseboard management controller (BMC). Additionally, Holtek is upgrading server-fan solutions and expects major growth in brushless DC motor (BLDC) applications.

Monday 17 November 2025

Korean startup Stratio tackles recycling crisis with new infrared sensor

Stratio, a Korean deep-tech startup founded by three Stanford Ph.D. graduates, is introducing what it claims is the first germanium-based short-wave infrared sensor designed for large-scale commercial use. During a live pitch session in Pangyo, the company said its "infrared AI" can solve problems that traditional vision AI and standard cameras cannot, including identifying mixed plastics inside recycling facilities, detecting narcotics, and enabling new capabilities inside future smartphones.

Monday 17 November 2025

Hiwin Mikrosystem secures strong semiconductor advanced packaging orders

Hiwin Mikrosystem, leveraging years of expertise in nanometer-level high-precision positioning platforms and direct-drive motors, has successfully penetrated the semiconductor and automation markets. On November 13, 2025, during an online investor conference, the company announced that its nanometer-level positioning systems meet the increasingly stringent demands of semiconductor wafer processing.

Monday 17 November 2025

Nvidia tightens grip on Vera Rubin cooling supply chain, squeezing margins

Nvidia is preparing a major shift in how it manages the supply chain for its next-generation Vera Rubin server platform, tightening control over both assembly and key thermal components as power consumption rises and liquid cooling becomes mandatory.

Monday 17 November 2025

Tata Electronics partners with NIELIT Kohima to develop semiconductor skilling programs in Northeast India

Tata Electronics has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Kohima unit of the National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) to collaborate on semiconductor-related skilling initiatives. The agreement focuses on training for assembly, testing, marking, and packaging (ATMP), aiming to expand the talent pipeline for India's semiconductor sector.

Monday 17 November 2025

TSMC accelerates CoPoS mass production to 2029, Taiwan suppliers win first orders

The market is focusing on rising demand for Nvidia AI GPUs and various ASICs, with optimism growing as TSMC plans to expand its CoWoS capacity and sees OSAT partners joining the race. Meanwhile, TSMC is quietly speeding up the mass production schedule of Chip-on-Panel-on-Substrate (CoPoS).

Monday 17 November 2025

Weekly news roundup: Musk advances US chip-fab plans; SpaceX shifts industry economics; memory shortages continue into 2026

These are the most-read DIGITIMES Asia stories in the week of November 10 to November 16, 2025.

Monday 17 November 2025

Samsung commits US$31 billion to AI and semiconductor production in South Korea over five years

Samsung Group has unveiled plans to invest around KRW450 trillion (approx. US$309.10 billion) in manufacturing and R&D across South Korea over the next five years. This investment aims to bolster the country's position in the global semiconductor industry while expanding operations in AI data centers, batteries, and display technologies through its subsidiaries, also supporting balanced regional development.

Friday 14 November 2025

SK Hynix reportedly to order HBM4 equipment, accelerate mass production

SK Hynix is reportedly set to begin ordering equipment for its 12-layer sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM4) as early as November 2025. Considering the construction schedule of its Cheongju M15X plant in South Korea, the equipment is expected to start being installed gradually in early 2026.

Friday 14 November 2025

Applied Materials faces sharp China retreat in 2026, but AI workloads keep the upgrade cycle alive

Applied Materials reported US$6.8 billion in revenue for the quarter ended October 26 in FY25, a 3% year-over-year decline but still ahead of the US$6.68 billion market forecast. The company warned that widening US export controls could curb China's semiconductor equipment spending in 2026, creating the largest risk to its growth outlook.

Friday 14 November 2025

China's Maxone steps into the global probe-card elite with IPO approval, Huawei support

Maxone Semiconductor (Suzhou) has cleared the Shanghai STAR Market IPO review, a notable milestone in China's effort to end foreign control of the wafer-test hardware market. It is the only Chinese supplier in the global top 10 and has risen to sixth place in 2024, underscoring a broader shift in the semiconductor test supply chain.

Friday 14 November 2025

SMIC's AI-fueled 3Q rebound sets up a US$9B year despite margin pressure

SMIC posted stronger-than-expected third-quarter results as China's surging AI investment and state-backed chip localisation fuelled earnings. Beijing's push for semiconductor self-sufficiency, set against sharpening US-China competition in AI, continued to support demand across both advanced and mature manufacturing nodes.

Friday 14 November 2025

AI chip test interface demand surges; Taiwan orders visible through 2026

As AI ASIC makers accelerate the release of next-gen chips to catch up with AI GPU leaders, industry observers expect a major shift in the AI chip landscape by 2026. This transformation is driving significant expansion in the backend chip testing market. With increasingly complex AI chip architectures, advanced testing durations and complexities have risen sharply compared to before.

Friday 14 November 2025

H2 peak season fuels Tricorntech 4Q25 performance

By accelerating customer orders, advanced semiconductor process Airborne Molecular Contamination (AMC) nano-monitoring equipment supplier Tricorntech reported third-quarter 2025 revenue of NT$120 million (US$3.9 million), up 38.61% from the previous quarter, turning profitable and reversing its losses from the first half of the year.

Friday 14 November 2025

SK Key Foundry to launch SiC power chips production in 1H26, targeting EV and energy markets

SK Hynix's 8-inch wafer subsidiary, SK Key Foundry, announced plans to launch its silicon carbide (SiC) compound power semiconductor business in the first half of 2026.

Friday 14 November 2025

Taiwan raises foreign worker hiring standards to protect local labor conditions

As the global AI surge continues to benefit TSMC and other semiconductor supply chain players, Taiwan's government is tightening the criteria for employing foreign migrant workers to safeguard employment conditions for both domestic and overseas labor. This move aims to prevent downstream electronics assemblers and traditional industries from using migrant labor solely to cut costs, which could indirectly suppress wages for Taiwanese workers.

Friday 14 November 2025

Nvidia AI servers drive strong electronics demand, breaking seasonal downturn in 2026

With demand for AI servers accelerating, Taiwan's electronics supply chain is preparing for an unusually strong fourth quarter in 2025 and a 2026 first half that shows little sign of the traditional slowdown.

Friday 14 November 2025

Elon Musk looks to space for Tesla's next AI chip

Tesla is extending its in-house chip roadmap beyond vehicles and humanoid robots, with CEO Elon Musk signaling that the company's forthcoming AI8 processor could power orbiting data centers for SpaceX, even as its promised Full Self-Driving (FSD) capabilities remain incomplete.

Thursday 13 November 2025

Samsung aims to make foundry unit profitable by 2027, banking on Tesla orders and US fab ramp-up

Samsung Electronics is targeting 2027 to turn its foundry business profitable, driven by expected orders from major clients such as Tesla and the full-scale operation of its new Texas fab, according to South Korean media outlet ET News. The company has reportedly shared this goal with partners while outlining future investment plans.

Thursday 13 November 2025

Hiwin eyes 2026 growth driven by semiconductor and robotics

Transmission component maker Hiwin reportedly expects overall industry conditions to clarify only after March 2026, despite stable current market demand with customers focusing on short-term needs. The company is optimistic about revenue growth next year, fueled mainly by strong demand in semiconductor equipment and robotics, which it sees as key drivers for its business.

Thursday 13 November 2025

Beijing steps in? SMIC capacity reallocated to Huawei as China's chip shortage worsens

US export controls on advanced chips are starting to show real impact. People familiar with the matter say China is running short of high-end semiconductors, pushing Beijing to step in and influence SMIC's production allocation. The government is prioritising Huawei and other state-backed companies viewed as strategically critical.

Thursday 13 November 2025

GlobalFoundries raises 4Q25 outlook on strong auto, data center demand

GlobalFoundries forecasts stronger results for the fourth quarter of 2025, saying robust demand from automotive and data center customers is expected to offset continued weakness in the smartphone market.

Thursday 13 November 2025

Rebellions expands US presence with Silicon Valley hires, launches North America entity

South Korean AI chip startup Rebellions is accelerating its global expansion, establishing a US entity and appointing two senior Silicon Valley executives to strengthen its position in the North American market.

Thursday 13 November 2025

Infineon doubles down on AI power growth, targets EUR1.5 billion revenue in fiscal 2026 amid surging data center demand

Infineon Technologies is ramping up its focus on AI infrastructure, projecting EUR1.5 billion (approx. US$1.74 billion) in AI server-related revenue for fiscal 2026, double the previous year's level. Executives said the company's leadership across power management technologies and strong partnerships with GPU and server makers position it to capture accelerating AI-driven growth.

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