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Saturday 18 April 2026
TSMC's Q1 2026 earnings call: five signals hidden in plain sight
TSMC's first-quarter 2026 earnings call delivered the expected headline numbers — $35.9 billion in revenue, a 66.2% gross margin, and full-year revenue growth guidance raised to above 30% in US dollar terms. The financial story was strong and largely anticipated.
Saturday 18 April 2026
Samsung launches voluntary retirement amid chip-device earnings gap

Samsung Electronics has initiated a workforce restructuring through a voluntary retirement program as strong semiconductor earnings contrast with weaker profitability in its device business, according to Korean media reports.

Saturday 18 April 2026
Musk lines up chip suppliers, accelerates Terafab AI fab plan

Elon Musk is reportedly accelerating plans to build a vertically integrated AI chip complex, reaching out across the semiconductor supply chain in what could become one of the most ambitious attempts to reshape AI infrastructure.

Saturday 18 April 2026
bEMC advances Micro LED optical transmission with key POC validation
The surge in AI data center demand is rapidly accelerating the need for high-speed data transmission, prompting LED manufacturers to target opportunities in optical communications. best-Epitaxy Manufacturing's (bEMC) CEO Evan Wu said the company has focused on data transmission since its inception and recently began proof-of-concept (POC) testing with a leading cloud service provider (CSP). Their short-distance Micro LED transmission currently reaches speeds of 4Gbps, aiming to achieve 8Gbps per chip in 2026.
Friday 17 April 2026
Samsung accelerates Taylor fab ramp-up amid Tesla AI chip deal
Samsung Electronics is moving ahead with the operational ramp-up of its Taylor, Texas, foundry plant, marking a key step in its push to expand advanced semiconductor manufacturing in the US and secure new artificial intelligence (AI) chip customers, according to reports from Hankyung, FNN News, and EDaily.
Friday 17 April 2026
Interview: AI compute startup TBC details biological computing platform linking living neurons and machine learning
In an era where AI systems are rapidly scaling beyond the limits of traditional silicon, new experimental companies are beginning to question what "compute" itself should look like. One of the most unusual entrants is The Biological Computing Company (TBC), which proposes a hybrid model integrating living neurons with modern machine learning systems to enhance performance, efficiency, and adaptability. The idea sits at the intersection of neuroscience and computing.
Friday 17 April 2026
UMC signals 2026 wafer price adjustment amid tightening demand and capacity pressure
United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) is expected to raise wafer foundry prices in the second half of 2026, as demand for logic and memory-related applications remains resilient and capacity conditions tighten across its portfolio.
Friday 17 April 2026
China outlines AI-led investment push and industrial upgrading under new five-year plan framework
China is preparing a new round of large-scale investment and industrial upgrading centered on AI infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, and strategic emerging industries, according to a briefing by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) at a State Council Information Office press conference on April 17.
Friday 17 April 2026
China wafer maker NSIG lifts revenue on 300mm momentum
National Silicon Industry Group (NSIG) reported full-year 2025 revenue growth driven by higher 300mm wafer shipments, though pricing pressure and high fixed costs weighed on margins.
Friday 17 April 2026
TSMC remains top choice for European AI chip startups amid capacity scramble
European efforts to advance sovereign AI and chip autonomy are gaining momentum, but European AI chip startups say they still primarily rely on TSMC for high-performance computing chips. With the European Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (ESMC) yet to offer advanced process technologies, most high-end chips from Europe are produced within Taiwan's semiconductor ecosystem.
Friday 17 April 2026
TSMC revises advanced process and packaging strategy
TSMC chairman C.C. Wei emphasized persistent capacity shortages during the company's earnings call, noting that 3nm technology accounted for about 25% of first-quarter 2026 revenue. New 3nm production capacities will come online sequentially in Taiwan, the US, and Japan between 2027 and 2028. Wei also revealed plans for CoPoS for the first time.
Friday 17 April 2026
Taiwan's OSAT expansion could tighten global test capacity and raise costs
Taiwan's outsourced semiconductor assembly and test industry is expanding rapidly, driven by AI, high-performance computing, and memory demand. Global supply chains may face tighter advanced-test capacity, higher prices, and accelerated investment as Taiwanese OSATs boost capital spending and capacity, significantly affecting chipmakers and device makers worldwide into 2026 and beyond.
Friday 17 April 2026
Intel expands foundry push with Samsung executive hire
Intel, which is working to scale its outsourced chip manufacturing business, has hired Samsung Electronics executive Shawn Han to strengthen its foundry operations and customer engagement strategy, according to reporting from Bloomberg and Oregon Live.
Friday 17 April 2026
Analysis: ASML lifts 2026 guidance on strong EUV demand
ASML delivered first-quarter 2026 results that exceeded expectations, prompting management to raise its full-year guidance despite a cautious outlook for the second quarter. The company announced plans to expand its extreme ultraviolet (EUV) manufacturing capacity to meet strong demand expected in 2027. The updated outlook suggests stronger momentum in the second half of 2026.
Friday 17 April 2026
ASML extends Low NA EUV to 2031, ramps up High NA production
ASML's confirmation that memory-chip demand underpinned its stronger-than-expected results for the first quarter of 2026 — along with its updated EUV roadmaps — has broad implications for global chip supply and manufacturing capacity.
Friday 17 April 2026
Japan backs Sony image sensor expansion with up to US$380 million subsidy
Japan has announced government support for Sony's image sensor expansion project in Kumamoto, underscoring the strategic importance of semiconductor supply chains for artificial intelligence (AI) and automotive applications.
Friday 17 April 2026
Analysis: Intel, Musk advance TeraFab partnership, echoing Apple's TSMC shift

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has aligned his TeraFab megafab initiative with Intel, in a move that had been signaled in recent months.

Friday 17 April 2026
Tesla AI5 reaches tape-out; SK Hynix memory spotted in early sample

Tesla has reached the tape-out stage for its next-generation AI chip, AI5, marking a milestone in its in-house semiconductor development and offering early signals on memory supplier positioning and demand for low-power DRAM.

Friday 17 April 2026
CPU shortage more acute than memory; industry awaits Intel 18A yield improvement
A global CPU shortage is disrupting PC and industrial-computing supply chains, as processors are out of stock even at premium prices, while memory is limited but purchasable. The scarcity threatens notebook and industrial PC availability worldwide and may persist for some time until Intel's 18A process yields improve, industry sources warn.
Friday 17 April 2026
TSMC chairman C.C. Wei denies customer favoritism regarding tight 1Q26 capacity
TSMC delivered an above-expectations financial performance in the first quarter of 2026 and remains optimistic about continued strong demand for advanced process technologies entering the second quarter. Regarding tight capacity constraints, Chairman C.C. Wei stated that while capacity remains tight, the company is actively expanding new fabs to meet demand. However, he noted that building new facilities takes time, so supply will remain limited in the short term. Still, the company will continue efforts to increase capacity to support customer demand and will not deliberately select or favor any particular customer.
Friday 17 April 2026
Musk's foundry push forces chipmakers to rethink customer relationships
Elon Musk has said that the computing demands of Tesla, xAI, and SpaceX will far exceed current semiconductor supply capacity, arguing that existing production can meet only a fraction of future needs.
Friday 17 April 2026
Taiwan's TPK profit jumps more than 20-fold on investment gains and chip exposure
TPK Holding reported a sharp rebound in profitability for the first quarter of 2026, driven by new semiconductor investments and favorable one-off gains.
Friday 17 April 2026
With chip limits near, focus shifts to packaging and integration

As the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) pushes semiconductor performance toward new limits, the industry is confronting a fundamental constraint: the slowing of Moore's Law. Increasingly, engineers are turning their attention not just to chip design, but to system integration and advanced packaging, areas now seen as critical to sustaining performance gains.

Thursday 16 April 2026
TSMC hints at next-gen LPU bid, stokes speculation that Samsung's Groq order may not last
TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei disclosed at the company's first-quarter 2026 earnings call that the foundry is collaborating with a customer on next-generation LPU development —a remark that stopped short of naming Nvidia— but that supply chain observers widely read as signaling TSMC's intent to compete for the inference chip business currently manufactured by Samsung.
Thursday 16 April 2026
TSMC enters 2nm mass production, scales 3nm capacity
TSMC laid out its capacity expansion plans and advanced node progress at its first quarter 2026 earnings call. Chairman C.C. Wei reaffirmed Taiwan as the primary base for leading-edge production, citing close coordination with its research and development teams.