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Tuesday 4 August 2026
Taiwan-Japan semiconductor ties go beyond supply chain partnerships
Cooperation between Taiwan and Japan in semiconductors will go beyond supply-chain partnerships towards joint technological innovation and talent development, according to Taiwan's former Minister of Economic Affairs Jyh-huei Kuo.
Tuesday 4 August 2026
Key material shortages prompt suppliers to prioritize three customer groups
Taiwanese research institute Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER) released Taiwan's manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) for July 2026 on August 3. The seasonally adjusted PMI rose 0.8pp to 61.5%, marking the tenth consecutive month of growth and the fastest pace of expansion since September 2021. The six-month outlook index also edged up 0.3pp to 64.5%, remaining above the 60.0% expansion threshold for a seventh consecutive month.
Tuesday 4 August 2026
Onsemi expects AI data-center revenue to more than double in 2026 as cyclical recovery takes hold
Onsemi's second-quarter results pointed to a broadening recovery in semiconductor demand, with AI data-center applications emerging as the company's fastest-growing business, while the automotive and industrial markets are showing signs of stabilization. The outlook suggests that improving utilization and product mix could support further margin expansion, though the absence of a major upside surprise in third-quarter guidance suggests a broader inventory-replenishment cycle has yet to begin.
Tuesday 4 August 2026
China’s in-house auto chip push could reshape costs, supply chains, and regulatory risks
As Chinese automakers accelerate in-house chip development, the strategy is increasingly about more than smart vehicles. It is also tied to supply chain self-reliance, overseas expansion, and the longer-term push into artificial intelligence robots, even as advanced chips still rely on external foundries.
Tuesday 4 August 2026
Interview: Rising material costs and FOUP shortages threaten semiconductor supply chains
AI-driven demand, new fab construction, and conflict-led raw material inflation are combining to squeeze semiconductor suppliers in 2026, according to Topco Scientific Co. senior CEO Dennis Chen. He said higher upstream costs are flowing through the industry, while shortages in wafer front-opening unified pods (FOUPs) are adding another layer of strain as manufacturers expand capacity and compete for inventory.
Tuesday 4 August 2026
CXMT listing fuels concerns over DRAM prices and global memory competition
China's CXMT drew fresh attention after its parent ChangXin Memory Technology (CXMT) went public, with market estimates of the firm's future valuation ranging from US$160 billion to US$1.1 trillion. The gap underscores uncertainty over how much the memory maker could disrupt the global DRAM market, including competition, pricing, and supply-chain dynamics.
Monday 3 August 2026
Asia Optical's 2Q26 operating profit hits record high on strong revenue and gross profit growth

Asia Optical reported record operating profit for the second quarter of 2026, as consolidated revenue, gross profit and operating profit all increased from a year earlier. The company said the result was supported by three growth drivers that it expects to sustain momentum into the third quarter.

Monday 3 August 2026
Inversion Semiconductor targets ASML with particle-accelerator X-ray lithography
Inversion Semiconductor is developing a particle-accelerator lithography platform that it says could deliver shorter wavelengths, higher throughput and denser chips than today's extreme ultraviolet systems, offering a new route beyond ASML's EUV architecture.
Monday 3 August 2026
Intel offers bonuses to speed up Ohio fab construction and reaches EMIB-T yields of 90%
Intel is awarding bonuses for overtime work as it seeks to complete the construction of its Ohio fab complex by 2031. Meanwhile, the company has made progress on the development of its next-generation packaging technology, embedded multi-die interconnect bridge-through-silicon via (EMIB-T), positioning it to compete with TSMC.
Monday 3 August 2026
MA-tek sells Shanghai unit, expands AI market push in Japan and the US

MA-tek announced on July 31, 2026, that it will sell 80% of its Shanghai subsidiary for about CNY1.9 billion (US$281.4 million), as global semiconductor supply chains are reshuffled and demand surges for AI, high-performance computing (HPC), advanced process nodes, advanced packaging, and silicon photonics (SiPh). The deal is expected to close and be recognized in revenue by the end of 2026.

Monday 3 August 2026
AI infrastructure orders extend PCB expansion race
Global demand for AI infrastructure is rising, and as order visibility improves, the PCB supply chain has launched a marathon of factory expansion. Upstream copper-clad laminate (CCL) materials are already in short supply, and land, plant space, and machinery are also becoming scarce resources.
Monday 3 August 2026
Renesas plans to phase out Takasaki factory production and expand R&D focus

Renesas Electronics plans to gradually end production at its Takasaki factory in Japan over the next two to three years while strengthening research and development there. The move reflects wider supply-chain strain in legacy semiconductor manufacturing and could affect customers, workers, and global users of analog and power chips.

Monday 3 August 2026
xLight bets on EUV light source, eyes ASML deal
The semiconductor industry is grappling with a supply-demand imbalance as AI-driven demand for advanced-node chips outpaces global capacity by several times, pushing up fab utilization stress and manufacturing costs. xLight says it aims to ease that pressure by reinventing light transmission and turning it from a single-machine function into a utility-scale service.
Monday 3 August 2026
TSMC Kumamoto fab faces first major quake test with chip-material supplies secured
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Kumamoto Prefecture in Japan's Kyushu region on July 28, drawing attention to the recovery of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co's Kumamoto plant, Sony, and other local semiconductor facilities.
Monday 3 August 2026
MA-tek sells 80% stake in Shanghai subsidiary to accelerate global expansion
Semiconductor testing company Materials Analysis Technology (MA-tek) approved the sale of an 80% stake in its Chinese subsidiary MA-tek Technology Testing (Shanghai), as it moves to accelerate its global footprint in the US, Japan, Europe, and Southeast Asia. The transaction is expected to complete all procedures and close by the end of 2026.
Monday 3 August 2026
Apple says advanced-node capacity tightens amid 2nm race

Apple reported its best-ever third-quarter results for fiscal 2026, but its guidance for the fourth quarter showed much slower growth than in the prior quarter. CEO Tim Cook said the shortage of advanced-node capacity for mobile SoCs is the biggest limit on the company's expansion.

Monday 3 August 2026
Taiwan manufacturing business climate improves in June, headlined by electronics sector
Taiwan's manufacturing climate improved in June 2026, with the electronics sector once again showing the clearest visibility, according to the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER), which released its individual industry business climate indicators for June on July 31.
Monday 3 August 2026
India advances semiconductor ambitions as Visakhapatnam OSAT plant anchors South India packaging push

India is moving deeper into semiconductor manufacturing with construction beginning on an INR23.87 billion (US$250 million) OSAT facility in Visakhapatnam, supporting New Delhi's broader effort to build a domestic semiconductor ecosystem beyond chip design.

Monday 3 August 2026
Intel EMIB yields hit target, MediaTek eyes 2028 ASIC ramp

MediaTek said at its latest earnings call that its second-generation data-center ASIC product remains on schedule for mass production in 2028, and that the Intel embedded multi-die interconnect bridge (EMIB) advanced packaging process it uses has already reached a very good yield level. MediaTek also said its first-generation product remains on track for volume ramp-up in the fourth quarter of 2026 and is expected to generate US$2 billion in revenue.

Monday 3 August 2026
India expands chip talent pipeline amid surging global chip demand
India has stepped up efforts to build a larger semiconductor workforce through training, curriculum reform, and industry partnerships. The plan matters beyond India because chip supply chains are global, and shortages in skilled engineers, fab workers, and packaging specialists can slow production, innovation, and investment worldwide.
Monday 3 August 2026
Pat Gelsinger joins xLight in bid to bring TSMC into US-made lithography project
US semiconductor policy is moving deeper into the most critical layers of advanced chipmaking, with former Intel chief executive Pat Gelsinger again emerging as a central figure. After previously urging Apple, AMD, Nvidia and Qualcomm to support Intel Foundry as part of a broader US manufacturing revival, Gelsinger is now backing xLight, a start-up seeking to challenge one of ASML's most entrenched advantages in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography.
Monday 3 August 2026
Samsung's GaN rumored setbacks threaten foundry launch, leaving it racing to close reliability gap
Samsung Electronics' gallium nitride (GaN) foundry effort has reportedly suffered another setback, with high-temperature reliability failures potentially pushing mass production into 2027. The delay follows earlier problems securing device customers and abandoning a government-backed project, underscoring the technical and strategic challenges of entering a market already served by established rivals.
Monday 3 August 2026
Doosan's SK Siltron acquisition reshapes semiconductor supply chain, accelerates AI-focused portfolio shift
Doosan Group's agreement to acquire a controlling stake in SK Siltron for KRW2.3 trillion (US$1.6 billion) will expand its semiconductor footprint from materials and testing into wafer manufacturing, while giving SK Group additional resources for its AI semiconductor strategy. The deal also highlights how rising AI demand is reshaping wafer valuations, investment priorities, and industry consolidation.
Monday 3 August 2026
Weekly news roundup: Intel revives DDR4, Samsung challenges TSMC at 2nm, Qualcomm raises chip prices
AI-driven chip shortages, rising memory costs and intensifying foundry competition dominated the technology sector, with Intel reviving DDR4 platforms, Qualcomm raising prices, Samsung challenging TSMC at 2nm and Beijing accelerating domestic chip adoption. Below are the most-read DIGITIMES stories from the week of July 27- August 2, 2026.
Monday 3 August 2026
India roundup: R&D hubs, domestic tooling, OSAT investments, and AI hubs are powering India’s chip push

India is expanding its semiconductor ambitions through new R&D centers, indigenous design tools, packaging facilities and AI infrastructure investments, aiming to strengthen domestic capabilities and reshape global technology supply chains.