SK Hynix plans to extend the life of its existing 6F-squared DRAM cell architecture through extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography and process improvements, keeping 4F-squared and three-dimensional (3D) DRAM on its technology roadmap as China's ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) prepares to unveil a product based on a smaller cell design.
Solidigm, the US-based subsidiary of SK Hynix, is in talks with the US Department of Commerce over a potential US$45 billion investment in a new NAND flash memory fabrication plant, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the discussions.
SK Hynix is looking beyond its position as a leading supplier of high-bandwidth memory (HBM), using venture investments to gain a greater say in how next-generation AI infrastructure is designed.
SK Hynix is reassessing how to finance the US manufacturing expansion of its NAND flash subsidiary Solidigm after shelving a potential initial public offering (IPO), as the South Korean memory maker prepares for higher capital spending in 2027 while committing approximately KRW100 trillion to shareholder returns this year.
SK Hynix is turning to high-bandwidth flash (HBF) to address growing memory bottlenecks in AI inference, as increasingly complex AI agents generate more data than can be economically stored in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and DRAM alone.
Micron Technology is heading to South Korea to recruit engineers for its Taiwan operations, with interviews scheduled in Seoul in late November, as a bonus dispute at its Taoyuan plant remains unresolved. The company and the Taoyuan union held a second round of negotiations on October 27 without reaching an agreement, and a third round has been tentatively set for November 6. At the same time, Micron is advancing a global compensation overhaul, reflecting how profit sharing and competition for technical talent have become a focus for the industry as AI memory demand expands.
SK Hynix's third quarter suggests that, for now, the memory industry's familiar boom-and-bust pattern is giving way to something closer to a contracted, supply-constrained business. The South Korean chipmaker said on October 28 that quarterly revenue passed KRW100 trillion (US$75.38 billion) for the first time, rising 328% from a year earlier and 32% from the second quarter, with an operating margin of 80%. More telling than the record is how the company now describes its order book. Long-term agreements with 14 major customers already cover more than half of its production capacity for 2027 and 2028.
South Korean memory module substrate maker TLB has begun developing substrates for SOCAMM3, a next-generation low-power memory module for AI servers, with two major memory customers at home and abroad, according to sources. The company expects SOCAMM3 to enter mass production in 2028 as it expands SOCAMM2 production and builds capacity to retain its position in the high-end memory module substrate market.
China-based IC design firm Goke Microelectronics will raise prices for its Known Good Die (KGD) packaged products by US$0.5 to US$1.5 per unit from November 2026, depending on capacity. The move marks the second price adjustment known to customers in 2026, as AI-driven memory demand keeps double data rate (DDR) memory supplies tight and pressure spreads to niche memory and integrated packaging products.
China's CXMT has reportedly declined Apple's inquiry about purchasing DRAM, prioritizing supply to domestic customers instead. As global memory supplies tighten and prices rise, the Chinese memory maker's capacity allocation and companies' efforts to secure supply have drawn attention.
Memory maker Macronix International set a new quarterly record in the third quarter of 2026, with gross margin reaching 70.5% and net profit after tax totaling NT$109.5 billion (approx. US$3.37 billion). Chairman Min-chiu Wu said future growth will come mainly from price increases, as limited existing capacity and investment lead times of more than one year prevent rapid expansion through capacity additions.
Silicon Valley venture capital firm Playground Global has returned to Taiwan alongside a cohort of portfolio companies specializing in memory, power management, optical communications, and advanced packaging to showcase joint technical breakthroughs and commercial strategies. The firm is also hosting an executive dinner with Foxconn Chairman Young Liu, highlighting their deep-seated partnership and ongoing commitment to Taiwan's technology ecosystem.
South Korean memory chip designer Jeju Semiconductor is struggling to secure enough wafer capacity from Taiwan's Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing (PSMC), limiting its sales growth as strong memory demand drives up prices and manufacturing costs.
Expanding investment in AI data centers is putting pressure on memory supply and demand across the automotive industry. As semiconductor companies prioritize high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and server products, automotive memory faces rising prices and tighter supplies, making automakers' direct procurement, long-term partnerships, and in-house chip design increasingly strategic.
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are targeting the second quarter of 2027 to begin volume shipments of eight-layer HBM4 memory to Nvidia, ZDNet Korea reported on October 26, as the AI chipmaker reassesses its memory strategy for next-generation Rubin Ultra accelerators.
South Korean telecommunications provider SK Telecom (SKT) has reportedly established Hy-TF, a task force dedicated to AI collaboration with SK Hynix, to upgrade its digital-twin and data-platform businesses and develop new B2B services.
China’s semiconductor and electronics supply chains are reporting a wave of price increases, from Goke Microelectronics raising quotes for hybrid-packaged memory products to Hygon considering higher CPU and deep computing unit (DCU) prices. The moves reflect rising costs for raw materials, components, and upstream supplies, but whether they can help China escape deflationary pressure remains uncertain.
DRAM price growth has slowed sharply in the fourth quarter of 2026, but severe supply shortages are intensifying as manufacturers continue to restrict shipments. Industry sources expect DRAM supply from leading manufacturers to shrink by 30% to 50% for the next two to three quarters, widening the supply gap in 2027.
This week's coverage highlights shifting technology supply chains and rising demand across foldable smartphones, memory, energy storage, robotics, and AI infrastructure. Apple lifted its iPhone Duo shipment target after strong preorders, while memory makers faced conflicting forecasts over Chinese capacity and sustained AI demand. Taiwan advanced industrial microgrids and saw its first semiconductor strike, as Texas Instruments reported tightening analog supply. Chinese energy storage suppliers reportedly retreated from the US amid reciprocal technology and ownership restrictions.
Following TSMC's third-quarter 2026 earnings call, DIGITIMES analyst Luke Lin provided in a podcast additional analysis of several details that received limited attention in market coverage, including a new 3nm fab at the Southern Taiwan Science Park (STSP), the transfer of Nvidia-related high-bandwidth memory (HBM) base die orders to TSMC, and whether demand for A14 includes Intel server CPUs.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the company did not expect memory supply to exceed demand in the coming years and remained open to working with China's ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT). The comments, made during the GTC Berlin conference and reported by CNBC, came as falling market valuations for memory manufacturers and new Chinese dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) developments intensified concerns about oversupply.
Taiwan's first-ever strike in the semiconductor industry has temporarily drawn to a close. A 24-hour warning strike spearheaded by Micron Technology's Taoyuan union concluded on the morning of October 23, 2026. During the action, an internal ballot saw nearly 70% of all union members sign statements opposing management's proposed compensation structure. Formal labor-management negotiations are set to resume on October 27.
Western Digital argues that demand for hard drives depends less on the current wave of AI spending than investors fear. On its fiscal first-quarter earnings call on October 22, the company said demand for disk storage now comes from four separate sources: cloud services, model training, inference and AI agents, and physical AI. Each, it said, could offset weakness in the others. The company is also trying to move hard drives into faster AI workloads that are currently served by flash memory.
Western Digital's fiscal first quarter showed a hard-drive business turning demand into profit faster than into sales. Revenue for the three months ended October 2, 2026 rose 55% from a year earlier to US$4.38 billion, while GAAP gross margin climbed to 57.8% from 43.5%, according to the results release the company filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on October 22. Its guidance indicates margins will widen further in the December quarter.
