As the global memory market enters a prolonged upcycle, South Korea's two leading memory chipmakers, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, are expected to post record operating profits in 2026. Combined operating profit could exceed KRW300 trillion (approx. US$210 billion), roughly double the level recorded in 2025.
As Micro LED moves into non-display application opportunities, PlayNitride Technologies announced a partnership with Brillink Technologies, a leader in two-dimensional array optical coupling technologies, to jointly develop a next-generation optical interconnect platform capable of meeting the needs of AI and high-performance computing (HPC). The collaboration integrates three core segments: high-efficiency Micro LED emitter arrays, ultra-high-sensitivity GeSi avalanche photodiode (APD) arrays, and two-dimensional array vertical couplers (2D-AVC). Compared with traditional active electrical cables (AEC), the platform is expected to achieve longer transmission distances, lower power consumption, and higher bandwidth density.
Maxscend Microelectronics is heading for its first annual loss since going public, marking a sharp reversal for one of China's leading RF chipmakers as it struggles with a costly business transition, intensifying competition, and mounting legal pressure from Japan's Murata Manufacturing.
ASML, the Dutch semiconductor equipment leader and exclusive supplier of EUV lithography systems, is set to release its fourth-quarter 2025 and full-year financial results on January 28, along with its outlook for 2026. Recently, reports emerged claiming that China has developed a domestic EUV lithography machine, dubbed a "Manhattan Project" in the semiconductor industry, sparking concerns about potential impacts on ASML.
Global memory shortages are expected to continue until late 2027, leading to higher costs for PCs, tablets, and smartphones. In an interview with The Register, IDC research manager Jitesh Ubrani said the industry once anticipated memory prices stabilizing in 2026, but the latest consensus is that no substantial decline will occur before late 2027—only a halt in price increases.
Hanmi Semiconductor has drawn industry attention in recent years for its thermal compression bonding equipment used in high-bandwidth memory production. As low-earth-orbit satellite deployments expand and the industry moves toward 6G, the company's electromagnetic interference shielding equipment is also gaining importance.
Samsung Electronics has reportedly filed a series of new trademarks related to high bandwidth memory as it advances preparations for its sixth-generation HBM4 products.
TSMC is known for strong performance and high yields in advanced chip manufacturing, supplying key customers such as Nvidia and Apple. But producing leading-edge semiconductors requires more than 2,000 tightly coordinated process steps, making yield optimization a persistent challenge, including at TSMC's Arizona fab.
Electronics manufacturing services major Foxconn and India's HCL Group have formally named their semiconductor joint venture India Chip Private Limited, according to a regulatory filing made on January 14, marking a key step in operationalising their collaboration in India's chip ecosystem, according to PTI and the Economic Times.
The global memory industry is confronting a growing capacity crunch, one that is increasingly rippling upstream to a shortage of glass fiber cloth, an obscure but indispensable material in advanced semiconductor packaging.
On January 14, US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation invoking Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to impose an immediate 25% tariff on a narrow category of advanced semiconductors, citing national security risks from heavy US reliance on foreign chip supply chains.
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