China's power semiconductor makers are entering a broader price-hike cycle, as AI server demand, raw material inflation, and tight mature-node capacity force suppliers to defend margins after years of low-end price wars.

China's display makers, led by BOE Technology (BOE), are pushing deeper into semiconductors, with BOE advancing glass substrates, and a 12-inch wafer fab reportedly slated to begin mass production in the second half of 2026. Industry analysts say China is extending display technologies built up with strong government backing into semiconductors as the US tightens restrictions, adding pressure on South Korea's chip and panel industries.

Despite rising concerns over memory price hikes, Apple's PCB supply chain has seen little change to the company's 2026 order pull-in schedule as of the second quarter, according to people familiar with the PCB industry.

Europe's intensifying heatwave is reshaping the region's air conditioner market, driving a surge in China's air conditioner exports and lifting demand for upstream power semiconductors, power management ICs and mature-node capacity.

Touch module maker General Interface Solution Holding (GIS) said the second half of 2026 will be more challenging as global memory shortages weaken end-market demand, compounded by the planned year-end closure of Sharp subsidiary Sakai Display Products' (SDP) large-size display panel plant.

As the AI wave drives rapid growth across the global semiconductor industry, the upstream electronic materials supply chain has become a key bottleneck for AI-related shipments. To keep pace with AI investment, Qnity was spun off from US chemical giant DuPont and listed independently in November 2025.

SK Hynix's latest senior hiring drive has reignited debate in South Korea's semiconductor industry, with the move seen as more than routine R&D reinforcement and as a sign that competition in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market has entered a new stage. As AI chips demand more from memory, logic design, advanced process nodes, and packaging integration, talent with system semiconductor and foundry experience has become a strategic asset.

Ability Opto-Electronics Technology, an optics maker, said on June 29 that its V-groove and mechanical transfer (MT) products for co-packaged optics (CPO) are likely to become its second-largest product line after notebook camera modules, as the company pushes to expand into new growth drivers. Chairman Weiya Gao said the expected 10% to 20% cut in 2026 shipments by notebook brands would have a relatively limited impact, since the company mainly supplies high-end business notebook cameras.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics is in final-stage talks to supply multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) to a major US cloud provider for AI servers, while also expanding substrate production capacity and securing a separate silicon capacitor contract, according to Korean media reports and company statements.

As Taiwan becomes the core of the global AI hardware supply chain, Qnity — the century-old company spun off from US chemicals giant DuPont and separately listed — is likewise expanding its production capacity investment in Taiwan. Asia-Pacific president Dennis Chen said in an interview with DIGITIMES that future investment will center closely on three main battlegrounds: advanced processes, advanced packaging, and thermal management.

Kyocera is committing JPY650 billion (approx. US$4 billion) to its components businesses through fiscal 2031, as AI data center investment and semiconductor equipment spending lift demand for ceramic parts, optical communication packages, and advanced semiconductor packaging materials.

LG Chem is discussing whether to expand production of copper-clad laminate, or CCL, a core material used in semiconductor packaging, as demand tied to artificial intelligence chips accelerates, Herald Business reported.

Preface

Corning is studying South Korea as a possible manufacturing base for semiconductor glass substrates, a sign that the US specialty glass and optical materials maker is looking to extend its AI exposure beyond data-center connectivity into advanced chip packaging.