Nvidia's custom memory design is shifting control of how high-bandwidth memory (HBM) is built from memory makers to its largest customer, and steering a key part of that work to TSMC. Samsung Electronics, which has made every part of its HBM stacks in-house, has agreed after an internal review to use TSMC's 3nm process for the base die of NVHBM, Nvidia's next-generation custom HBM, the Seoul Economic Daily reported on October 18, citing industry sources. The newspaper said it would be the first time the two companies have worked together at the HBM manufacturing stage.

SEMI's latest 12-inch fab outlook projects double-digit annual growth in equipment spending from 2026 through 2029, with forecasts revised upward from its previous edition. However, Clark Tseng, senior director of market intelligence at SEMI, said external constraints involving funding, electricity, and politics are emerging as potential downside risks. He added that this could prevent the AI-driven expansion from overheating.

Singapore is targeting high-value semiconductor manufacturing, advanced packaging, and silicon photonics, building on its strengths in engineering, precision manufacturing, and reliability, according to Zeng Yi Wong, assistant managing director for manufacturing at Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG).

Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) on Oct. 16 approved a revised plan from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) to build 3-nanometer logic chips at its second fab in Kumamoto Prefecture, on the southern island of Kyushu. 3nm is one of the most advanced chip processes in commercial production. The plan replaces the 6nm and 12nm production approved in February 2024.

Taiwan Mask Corporation (TMC) is expanding its presence in Japan through the acquisition of semiconductor equipment services provider TCK, extending its business beyond precision photomask manufacturing to equipment assembly and engineering support in Japan's growing Kyushu semiconductor market.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics (Semco) faces potential equipment procurement bottlenecks in its KRW6.78 trillion (approx. US$5.1 billion) expansion of semiconductor substrate production for AI servers, as machinery manufacturers struggle with component shortages and longer delivery times. The South Korean company maintains that its investment is proceeding as planned. No production delay has been confirmed.

The semiconductor industry reached the US$1 trillion revenue milestone several years earlier than originally forecast, and with growth driven by AI and quantum computing, reaching US$2 trillion by 2035 is entirely achievable, SEMI President and CEO Ajit Manocha told DIGITIMES in an exclusive interview at SEMICON West 2026.

Taiwan plans to set up industrial parks in the US to help its supplier ecosystem reach customers like Nvidia and other local hardware manufacturers. It is starting with a complex in Texas, which has become a hotspot of expansion plans among Taiwanese tech companies.

ASE, together with National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), National Sun Yat-sen University (NSYSU), and National Chung Cheng University (CCU), unveiled 18 technology research projects on October 16, focusing on advanced packaging integration and the development of critical processes and materials.

US chip startup Bolt Graphics is seeking approximately US$100 million at a valuation of about US$700 million to develop graphics processors targeting scientific computing and professional rendering, challenging Nvidia and AMD in markets beyond AI acceleration.