Elon Musk has confirmed that Terafab, the chipmaking venture backed by his SpaceX and Tesla, is in discussions with TSMC. The confirmation followed a report that the Taiwanese foundry is looking at running new chip factories in Texas.

While ASML executives explore how to scale extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography output beyond 110 units by 2028, China is pursuing indigenous advanced lithography systems. ASML plans to produce at least 80 EUV tools in 2027 and is investigating a further capacity increase of approximately 30% in 2028 to satisfy massive global capital expenditure in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. However, the prospect of domestic Chinese tools raises long-term uncertainty over the lithography landscape.

Biren Technology is preparing its next-generation GPU for mass production, advancing a domestic AI accelerator roadmap built around broader low-precision support and locally available manufacturing.

MediaTek announced on September 30 that its flagship Dimensity 9500 chip powers Samsung's new Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra and Galaxy Tab S12+ tablets. The deal continues a long-running partnership between the two companies across Samsung's Galaxy Tab line.

ficonTEC, a maker of optoelectronic automation assembly and test equipment, has announced a strategic partnership with Hermes Testing Solutions Inc. (HTSI) to support Taiwan's rapidly expanding co-packaged optics (CPO) ecosystem. The collaboration will initially focus on the INS-2 test platform, advancing ficonTEC's double-sided wafer-level testing architecture — with electrical testing from above and optical testing from below — towards commercialisation and scaled deployment.

Rumors that TSMC is weighing a new semiconductor investment in Singapore have reignited concerns over its overseas expansion, while the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said on October 2, 2026, that the government will help the chipmaker expand investment in Taiwan.

Semiconductor startup Volantis has raised US$88 million in Series A funding to develop an AI inference architecture that uses photonic interconnect technology to address memory bottlenecks in AI chips. The round, announced on October 1, 2026, and reported by Reuters, is aimed at breaking through the memory wall that has limited performance in current systems.

Amazon is considering moving about US$8 billion worth of high-end Nvidia chips off its balance sheet through a sale-leaseback structure, according to the Financial Times and Reuters. The plan would shift thousands of Nvidia Grace Blackwell chips from data centers in Nevada and Virginia into an external special purpose vehicle, while Amazon would continue using the hardware under lease arrangements.

Nvidia is testing glass-free PCB material systems for its next-generation AI server platforms, evaluating polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and hydrocarbon (HC) resin formulations for possible use in the Rubin Ultra NVL576 Switch Tray, which is scheduled for mass production in the second half of 2027.

Chip-performance gains have long been driven by an industry-wide focus on shrinking transistor nodes and tightening integration. While major economies including the US and Taiwan have historically sat at the summit of semiconductor manufacturing excellence, China has spent years building its own capabilities amid increasingly restricted access to some leading-edge technologies.

AI servers and advanced packaging continue to drive demand for semiconductor manufacturing, outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT), and equipment. Machvision said Advanced Semiconductor Engineering's (ASE's) expansion is helping make semiconductors and substrates its fastest-growing product lines.