Germany and Taiwan marked a symbolic convergence of politics, culture, and industrial strategy on the evening of December 2, 2025, as the Deutsche Philharmonie Merck performed at a concert celebrating the 25th anniversary of the German Institute Taipei.

Pat Gelsinger describes himself as a born-again Christian who lives "at the intersection of faith and technology." For the former Intel CEO, reviving American semiconductor manufacturing isn't just business strategy—it's a mission he believes he was called to fulfill. This conviction has driven him to donate nearly half of his income to charity and maintain strict self-discipline, waking at 4 a.m. each morning. But the same unwavering sense of purpose that guides his personal life now shapes his vision for the industry, one that fundamentally challenges how foreign companies like TSMC are investing in the US.

Optical communication filter maker East Tender Optoelectronics Corp. (EOC) completed a board restructuring in March 2025, positioning itself to capture booming opportunities in AI, semiconductors, high-speed computing, satellite communications, and advanced packaging. The company is shifting from its traditional optical filter business toward integrated solutions spanning optics, networking, AI, lasers, and semiconductor materials, aiming to transform from a component supplier into an integrated optoelectronic solution provider.

Onsemi and Innoscience have signed a memorandum of understanding to assess opportunities for expanding the manufacturing of gallium nitride (GaN) power devices, with a focus on accelerating deployment in the 40–200V segment. The companies said the non-binding agreement aims to combine Onsemi's packaging, drivers, and system-integration capabilities with Innoscience's 8-inch GaN-on-silicon wafer technology and high-volume production capacity.

The DIGITIMES Tech Forum commences on December 3, drawing over 1,500 participants from the technology sector. The hybrid event spotlighted the industry's focus on global supply chain restructuring and accelerating artificial intelligence (AI) developments.

Intel is reportedly outsourcing the advanced packaging of its artificial intelligence semiconductors to Amkor Technology Inc.'s facility in Incheon, South Korea, marking the first time the US chip giant has relied on an external partner for this critical process, according to South Korea's ET News.

The Intellectual Property Branch of the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office recently indicted Li-ming Chen, an employee of Tokyo Electron (TEL), and Ping-chun Wu and Yi-ping Ko of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) over a trade secret information leak.

In December 2025, DIGITIMES tracked global EMS/ODM companies and compiled the rankings of the top 20 companies for the third quarter of 2025. Generative AI has driven a paradigm shift in the technology industry and reshaped market power. It remains the most critical factor affecting EMS/ODM companies' growth this quarter and influenced the reshuffling of the rankings.

The AI chip market is at a turning point. Nvidia maintains its absolute technological and market dominance with its Blackwell architecture, but the full commercial rollout of Google TPUs has begun to loosen Nvidia's seemingly incontestable pricing power.

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan met with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on December 1, 2025, where Anwar announced an additional investment of MYR860 million (approx. US$208 million) to strengthen Malaysia's position in the semiconductor packaging and testing market.

The US is moving to reinforce critical mineral and semiconductor supply chains with key allies as the West's push to expand rare earth magnet production runs into a worsening shortage of heavy rare earth elements. Officials from eight allied nations will gather at the White House on December 12, 2025, to negotiate new agreements on energy, advanced manufacturing, semiconductor production, AI infrastructure, and logistics, according to Bloomberg. The initiative seeks to limit dependence on China, which controls more than 90% of global rare earth and permanent magnet refining capacity.

South Korea is facing a sharp rise in industrial technology leakage cases, with incidents increasing nearly 50% year-over-year amid growing risks of Chinese attempts to steal proprietary technologies. Key sectors such as rechargeable batteries and semiconductors—where South Korea holds exclusive expertise—are under heightened pressure from increasingly sophisticated, organized, and international espionage efforts.

Merck Group's Kaohsiung semiconductor technology flagship campus officially completed phase one on December 1, marking Merck's first large-scale semiconductor materials technology campus worldwide. It has invested a total of EUR500 million (approx. US$580.5 million) over the past five years to build the campus, which covers key materials technologies required for AI applications, including thin-film technology, specialty gases, and formulated materials.

Apple may resume chip production cooperation with Intel for entry-level M-series chips as early as 2027, contingent on the maturity of Intel's 18A-P process within 18 to 24 months. If Intel fails to meet Apple's standards, it could lead Apple to rely more heavily on TSMC and Samsung, impacting US semiconductor policy.

Former senior vice president of corporate strategy development at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Wei-jen Lo, was recently reported to have taken confidential documents related to sub-2nm technologies with him before moving to Intel, drawing widespread attention. TSMC has since officially filed a lawsuit, while Intel responded by expressing confidence in Lo and welcoming him back to the team.

Trumpf, a key supplier of semiconductor equipment components with close partnerships with industry giants such as ASML Holding and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), officially launched its new regional plasma power technology center in Taoyuan, northern Taiwan, on November 28. The facility aims to strengthen customer connections, reduce service response times, lower carbon footprints, and extend equipment lifecycles through refurbishment services.

Samsung Electronics is undertaking one of its most significant internal restructurings in years as the company pushes to strengthen its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities and regain momentum in the fast-growing HBM memory market. The overhaul includes converting its flagship research arm, the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, into a lab-based system and consolidating memory development teams under a new organization led by senior engineering executives.

Judicial authorities continue investigating former TSMC senior vice president Wei-Jen Lo for suspected violations of the National Security Act and for industrial espionage. The Intellectual Property branch of Taiwan's High Prosecutors Office has instructed the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) to issue a search warrant at Lo's Taipei and Hsinchu residences, granting permission to seize computers, USB drives, and other related evidence.

Despite Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and many industry veterans arguing that former TSMC senior vice president Wei-Jen Lo joining Intel will not materially affect TSMC — given the sheer complexity of modern semiconductor manufacturing and the impossibility of any single "hero" reshaping the field — the market is now weighing a more strategic angle behind Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan's unusually strong public endorsement of Lo.

Tata Electronics is ramping up hiring and redesigning its Gujarat chip fab as it races to match Apple's fast-growing India production. The expansion comes amid soaring iPhone exports and mounting engineering challenges, underscoring the Tata Group's broader push to scale electronics and semiconductor manufacturing.

Micron Technology is reportedly planning to invest JPY1.5 trillion(US$9.6 billion) to establish a new high-bandwidth memory (HBM) manufacturing facility at its Hiroshima campus, according to Nikkei. The initiative aims to increase production of advanced chips designed for artificial intelligence (AI) systems and to lessen the company's dependence on Taiwan amid growing concerns over global supply chain vulnerabilities.

India will invest INR45 billion (approx. US$500 million) to modernise and expand the Semiconductor Laboratory (SCL) in Mohali, India's Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said during a review visit. The minister reaffirmed that SCL would "not be privatized" and would instead undergo a major upgrade aimed at significantly boosting domestic chip production and strengthening India's strategic semiconductor capabilities.

Following the US ban on sales of Nvidia's high-end chips to China, expectations have grown that Baidu could rapidly emerge as a new force in China's AI chip sector and become the country's second major source of domestic compute capacity after Huawei.

Shinkong Synthetic Fibers Corporation (SSFC) told investors on November 28 that it is navigating a challenging operating environment marked by raw material price volatility, Chinese product dumping, and shifting US tariff policies. The company said it is countering these pressures through diversified product development, rising contributions from its optoelectronics segment, and accelerating growth at subsidiary Shinsol Advanced Chemicals.

In a recent interview with the Financial Times, former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger delivered a bold forecast: quantum computing could reach mainstream adoption within just two years, potentially puncturing the current AI hype. He went further, asserting that GPUs, which currently dominate AI processing, may begin to be gradually replaced by 2030.