China's leading foundry, SMIC, is reported to have issued price increase notices to selected customers, marking the start of a pricing adjustment. The company has yet to formally confirm the move.

Malaysia's semiconductor packaging and testing sector is experiencing rapid growth driven by Taiwanese and other foreign investments, according to PwC Taiwan. The firm highlights Malaysia's strategic advantages, including its diverse talent pool, geographic benefits, mature legal framework, and supportive policies, as key factors positioning the country as an emerging hub for semiconductor and high-tech industries in Southeast Asia.

Samsung Electronics is reportedly advancing preparations for its 2026 wafer foundry scale-up at the Taylor, Texas, fab by increasing local headquarters staff and reorganizing production to satisfy key customer Tesla's requirements. The company aims to fast-track volume manufacturing targets for the second half of 2026.

The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) has concluded a year-long Section 301 investigation into China's acts, policies, and practices related to its semiconductor industry, determining that they are actionable under US trade law. The findings were published in a notice dated December 23, 2025, and are scheduled to appear in the Federal Register on December 29.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials were once regarded as important candidates for extending semiconductor scaling. Because they are only an atom thick, they are theoretically very suitable for fabricating extremely small, ultra-low-power transistors. However, once these ideas move into advanced logic processes, challenges begin to surface. The problem lies in the fact that using 2D materials to fabricate FETs requires process control that is nearly at the single-atom level.

Once a low-cost commodity underpinning global computing, dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) has become a strategic chokepoint as AI-driven demand reshapes supply chains. With prices rising and conventional scaling nearing its limits, Taiwanese researchers—backed by government funding—are racing to develop next-generation memory technologies that promise higher density, lower power consumption, and resilience in extreme environments.

Just 15 days after listing, China-based AI chip maker Moore Threads moved quickly to signal confidence. At a new-generation chip launch, founder and CEO James Zhang said companies training large language models on Nvidia's Hopper GPUs could achieve better results by switching to Moore Threads' S5000 platform.

ENE Technology said persistent shortages of DDR memory could weigh on revenue over the next two quarters, as tight supplies of DRAM and storage chips continue to pressure notebook and smartphone markets heading into 2026.

As cybercriminals gain access to increasingly more computing power capable of breaking existing encryption algorithms in seconds, the standard for cybersecurity has shifted. It is no longer measured by how long it can hold but by ensuring attackers gain absolutely nothing. Post-quantum cryptography (PQC) security chips will therefore adopt a scorched-earth policy to guarantee that critical data cannot be accessed.

Traditional encryption systems are facing challenges as AI and quantum computing advance. In early 2025, international financial institutions and automotive supply chains began adopting post-quantum cryptography (PQC) to prepare for potential threats posed by quantum computers. Now, AI data centers and industrial applications are also integrating PQC.