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Monday 27 April 2026
OpenAI reportedly taps Apple suppliers for hardware push; MediaTek, Qualcomm, Luxshare in focus

OpenAI's expanding push into consumer hardware is drawing attention to potential supply chain shifts, after industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said the company could "redefine" the smartphone with an AI agent-driven device and identified MediaTek, Qualcomm, and Luxshare Precision Industry as potential key suppliers, though the plans have not been independently confirmed.

Monday 27 April 2026
Meta signs deal for AWS's Graviton CPUs as inferential and agentic AI enter the scene
Meta and Amazon announced on April 24 that Meta will use Graviton5 CPUs made by Amazon Web Services (AWS). The deal illustrates the growing importance of CPU chips for increasingly complex compute tasks as AI technology makes the leap from model training to autonomous agents.
Monday 27 April 2026
Broadcom, Marvell set to benefit as 1.6T optical modules near mass production
1.6T optical communication modules are set for broad adoption in AI data centers in 2026, with optical transceiver vendors and key IC design houses preparing for shipments. Broadcom's digital signal processor (DSP) chips and Marvell's fully integrated Light Engine have begun volume production and testing, with revenue contributions expected to grow quarter by quarter this year.
Monday 27 April 2026
MediaTek ASIC revenue may overtake smartphone chips amid Google's TPU ramps
MediaTek's application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) business is drawing market attention as volume production of Google's tensor processing units (TPUs) is expected to ramp from the second half of 2026. Views differ on how fast the segment will grow, though some estimates suggest ASIC revenue could overtake smartphone chips by 2027 to become the company's largest revenue source.
Monday 27 April 2026
India roundup: Micron ramp, Dholera SEZ push India toward full-stack chip manufacturing

India is accelerating its semiconductor ambitions, from Micron Technology's Sanand ramp to new fabrication and advanced packaging projects, while expanding design partnerships. At the same time, regulatory pressure on Apple, weakening smartphone demand, and solar policy tensions highlight challenges alongside growing global supply-chain integration.

Friday 24 April 2026
Chipmakers face higher cost pressure as packaging outpaces foundry price hikes
In recent weeks, chip companies ranging from major players to small and medium-sized firms have issued price increase notices or begun renegotiating product prices with select customers. These moves aim to pass on steadily rising manufacturing costs across the supply chain as outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) costs surge faster than even foundry price increases.
Friday 24 April 2026
Google splits AI chips into training and inference TPUs, signaling shift toward workload-specialized AI infrastructure
At Google Cloud Next 26, Google Cloud announced a strategic shift in its AI hardware approach by introducing two distinct eighth-generation Tensor Processing Units: the TPU v8t for training and the TPU v8i for inference. The move is intended to boost performance and energy efficiency by optimizing each chip for its specific role.
Friday 24 April 2026
STMicroelectronics tops 1Q26 guidance, sees data center revenue surpass US$1 billion by 2027
STMicroelectronics reported first-quarter 2026 revenue of US$3.10 billion, up 23% year over year, with results coming in above the midpoint of its guidance as growth in personal electronics and computing helped offset continued softness in automotive and industrial markets.
Friday 24 April 2026
Texas Instruments eyes further price hikes amid strong data center, industrial chip demand
Texas Instruments (TI) reported robust results for the first quarter of 2026 on April 23, driven by surging AI data center demand and a notable rebound in industrial control applications. TI stressed that while industrial demand has yet to reach its previous peak, the current recovery trend is positive, signaling continued growth prospects ahead.
Friday 24 April 2026
MCU supplier Artery weighs price hikes on AI capacity squeeze, new applications drive growth

Microcontroller supplier Artery Technology (Arterytek or Arterychip) delivered a strong start to 2026, posting first-quarter consolidated revenue of NT$653 million (approx. US$20.1 million), a record high for a single quarter. Full-year revenue is projected to grow by up to 60%, driven by a combination of new product launches and expanded demand from existing customers.

Friday 24 April 2026
Texas Instruments says edge AI opportunities extend beyond robots
In an April 23 interview, Amichai Ron of Texas Instruments (TI) warned that edge AI will reshape devices worldwide, extending far beyond robotics and driving greater semiconductor demand as AI integrates into long-lived products, implying that global markets must prepare for increased connectivity, sensorization, and chip requirements, along with regulatory and logistical adjustments.
Friday 24 April 2026
Exclusive: Google ramps new TPU servers, Taiwan suppliers gain share

Google's unveiling of its eighth-generation tensor processing unit (TPU) at Cloud Next 2026 is expected to drive the next wave of growth in the application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) server supply chain, with Taiwanese manufacturers expanding their role, according to supply chain sources.

Friday 24 April 2026
Intel keeps capex steady as it shifts spending toward capacity expansion
Intel is holding its 2026 capex broadly flat year over year, not because of reduced ambition, but because of a strategic reallocation of spending toward equipment that directly boosts chip output. Executives signaled that existing factory space is sufficient for now, allowing the company to prioritize tools and productivity gains to meet rising AI-driven demand. This measured approach reflects confidence in near-term demand—particularly for server CPUs—while maintaining financial discipline amid macroeconomic uncertainty and rising input costs.
Friday 24 April 2026
CPUs regain central role in AI as Intel highlights growing importance alongside rising ASIC demand
Intel executives are placing renewed emphasis on the central role of CPUs in artificial intelligence (AI), arguing that shifting workloads are elevating their importance even as specialized chips gain traction. Management said the transition from model training to real-world deployment is driving stronger demand for server CPUs, reinforcing confidence in Intel's competitive position. At the same time, the company is expanding into custom silicon, or ASICs, as part of a broader strategy to address evolving AI infrastructure needs.
Friday 24 April 2026
Intel bets on CPUs as backbone of AI growth
Intel executives are expressing growing confidence in the company's long-term outlook, arguing that a fundamental shift in artificial intelligence toward real-world deployment aligns with Intel's core strengths. CEO Lip-Bu Tan said the transition from model training to inference, agentic systems, and edge computing is driving renewed demand for CPUs, positioning Intel for sustained growth. Management's confidence rests on what they describe as a structural, not cyclical, change in computing architectures — one that places CPUs back at the center of the AI ecosystem.
Friday 24 April 2026
Intel flags price increases and supply shortages as CPU demand strengthens
Intel signaled that industry-wide supply shortages and selective price increases are helping offset weaker PC demand, even as the company works to expand supply capacity across its product lines. Management said constrained output continues to limit revenue upside in parts of the business, while rising prices and improving server CPU demand are supporting overall resilience. The company also pointed to ongoing efforts to increase supply availability, though demand in several segments continues to outpace output.
Friday 24 April 2026
Intel's AI-driven CPU rebound signals early-stage revival
Intel's first-quarter 2026 results point to a company in the midst of a credible revival, as improving execution and rising demand for AI-related computing begin to reshape its trajectory.
Friday 24 April 2026
Intel says 18A yield improves as 14A advances to early customer engagement stage
Intel reported steady progress on its most advanced manufacturing technologies, saying its 18A process node is seeing meaningful yield improvements, while the next-generation 14A node has reached early design enablement stages with initial customer engagement underway. Management emphasized that 14A is currently at the 0.5 PDK stage, with a 0.9 PDK milestone expected next, marking a key step toward customer design commitments and future volume production. The company framed both nodes as central to its foundry turnaround, while acknowledging that commercial scale and margin benefits will take multiple quarters to materialize fully.
Friday 24 April 2026
PC chipmakers warn CPU shortages cloud 2026 shipment outlook
CPU shortages in the PC sector have emerged as a new concern for shipments this year, in addition to ongoing memory supply issues. Industry players supplying PC peripheral chips observe that while current CPU shortages from x86 vendors like Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) have not yet severely impacted PC shipment forecasts, future trends remain uncertain.
Friday 24 April 2026
Interview: Taiwan-Korea cooperation not limited to memory giants; Hwaseong City aims to expand alliances
When it comes to Taiwan-Korea semiconductor cooperation, the outside world often focuses on orders and R&D between memory giants such as Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and TSMC. However, centered on Hwaseong City in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, emphasizes that the potential of Taiwan-Korea cooperation goes far beyond this; both sides should establish more direct supply chain alliances at the SME level in equipment and components.
Friday 24 April 2026
China chipmaker scales beyond security ICs into AI, automotive

Unigroup Guoxin Microelectronics reported steady growth in 2025, reinforcing its position across specialty ICs and security chips while accelerating expansion into AI, automotive electronics, and other emerging applications.

Thursday 23 April 2026
SpaceX eyes GPU push as Tesla taps Samsung for chip upgrade

SpaceX is exploring in-house production of graphics processing units (GPUs) as it cites potential chip supply constraints, even as Tesla advances its artificial intelligence (AI) chip roadmap with manufacturing support from Samsung Electronics.

Thursday 23 April 2026
Parade offsets weak PC demand with TTED, high-speed, and automotive growth
Parade Technologies' first-quarter 2026 results and revised outlook carry broader supply-chain and demand implications for global PC and electronics markets. Memory shortages and price hikes are depressing PC shipments, while the company pivots into automotive, data-center, and other non-PC segments to offset anticipated declines through the rest of 2026 and beyond.
Thursday 23 April 2026
Qualcomm mulls return to Samsung's 2nm as TSMC targets its LPU market
Global semiconductor leaders are accelerating the restructuring of their supply chains. Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon recently made a quiet, low-profile visit to South Korea, signaling a potential return to Samsung's foundry services. Meanwhile, TSMC laid out its ambitions during its latest earnings call, announcing plans to seize orders for AI Language Processing Units (LPUs) currently produced by Samsung, intensifying the rivalry between the two foundry giants.
Thursday 23 April 2026
Japan's LSTC launches optoelectronic advanced packaging project around Rapidus cluster
Research on optoelectronic integration — referring to the application of optical communication technology to computing — is gaining momentum. Its semiconductor packaging component officially got underway in April 2026 in Chitose City, Hokkaido, Japan, where Rapidus's semiconductor factory is located. The project is led by the Leading-edge Semiconductor Technology Center (LSTC), with participation from Rapidus and other organizations, and has established a development base at the Chitose Institute of Science and Technology. By using light to connect individual chips within chiplets, the technology aims to significantly reduce the power consumption of AI chips.
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