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Friday 26 June 2026

SK Hynix fluorine leaks trigger safety inspections at 25 South Korean chip plants

South Korea's Ministry of Employment and Labor has launched chemical safety inspections at 25 semiconductor manufacturers, including SK Hynix, after a series of fluorine gas leaks at chip plants raised fresh concerns over industrial accidents.

Friday 26 June 2026

Samsung eyes Gwangju chip site as SK Hynix weighs regional and overseas options

South Korea's plan to push semiconductor investment beyond the greater Seoul area is taking clearer shape, with Samsung Electronics reportedly moving closer to a new chip hub in Gwangju while SK Hynix continues to weigh a site in South Jeolla Province against overseas investment options.

Friday 26 June 2026

AuthenX targets AI data center interconnects with plug-and-play FAU for CPO

AI-driven hyperscale data center expansion is pushing the global AI race beyond raw GPU computing power into a broader contest over high-speed interconnects and electro-optical integration. As Nvidia's next-generation AI factory moves toward petabyte (PB)-scale data transfers, co-packaged optics (CPO) is heading toward commercialization, lifting the importance of key components such as fiber array units (FAU) and external laser sources (ELS).

Friday 26 June 2026

Samsung's reported US$648 billion plan shifts focus to South Korea's chip belt

Samsung Group is expected to announce a domestic investment plan worth more than KRW1,000 trillion (approx. US$648 billion) on June 29, when South Korean President Lee Jae-myung chairs a public briefing at the presidential office in Seoul on what his administration is calling the country's "three mega-projects for a great leap forward," Maeil Business Newspaper reported.

Friday 26 June 2026

Teradyne expands India focus with new country manager

US-based automated test equipment supplier Teradyne plans to expand its presence in India and has appointed Alpa Sood as India Manager, as the company seeks to deepen engagement in a semiconductor ecosystem moving toward manufacturing scale.

Friday 26 June 2026

Academia Sinica readies Taiwan-made quantum chip for engineering push

Academia Sinica has built a 20-qubit quantum chip from scratch, and the team now says the next phase is less about lab breakthroughs and more about engineering a scalable, reproducible manufacturing system. Chii-Dong Chen, executive director of Academia Sinica's Center for Quantum Computer, says Taiwan's quantum chip effort is moving into that engineering battleground.

Friday 26 June 2026

Honyi International rebrands as Tianyi Water and Energy Solutions to seize water-power integration opportunities

Following its rebranding from Honyi International to Tianyi Water and Energy Solutions, president Ching-chi Li said the company will leverage the resources of its parent group Lealea Group to provide integrated services addressing corporate water and electricity needs. The aim is to help customers meet growing challenges related to water and power resilience. The company currently has orders from multiple customers in traditional industries and the semiconductor sector.

Friday 26 June 2026

Apple reportedly revamps Mac chip roadmap to accelerate AI push

Apple is preparing its biggest shift yet to the release strategy for its in-house Mac processors, opting to skip high-end M6 Pro and M6 Max chips and instead bring more powerful AI-focused M7 Pro and M7 Max processors to market in 2027, according to a Bloomberg report citing people familiar with the matter.

Friday 26 June 2026

Academia Sinica targets quantum chip manufacturing scale with Taiwan's semiconductor tool base

Academia Sinica's Center for Quantum Computer is focusing only on hardware, not algorithms or applications, and executive director Chii-Dong Chen said that approach is similar to the mission Taiwan's government gave ITRI in the early days of the foundry industry. He said Taiwan enjoys a strong advantage in quantum chip manufacturing, but turning the new Quantum Chip Fabrication Space (QC-Fab) into a technology transfer model for private companies will still require regulatory easing.

Friday 26 June 2026

Japan puts JPY101.6 trillion AI chip push at heart of JPY370 trillion growth roadmap

Japan is moving to anchor its long-term growth strategy around AI, semiconductors, and strategic infrastructure, as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi seeks to use state-backed investment as a strategic push to lift private-sector spending and rebuild the country's industrial base.

Friday 26 June 2026

IBM breaks sub-1nm barrier with 3D nanostack transistor platform

On June 25, IBM unveiled what it calls the world's first sub-1nm chip technology: a 0.7nm — or 7 angstrom — transistor architecture built on an entirely new 3D platform called Nanostack. The announcement, timed to the VLSI 2026 symposium, marks the first time logic technology has extended below the 1nm node and, IBM says, opens a roadmap of at least a decade of further semiconductor scaling.

Friday 26 June 2026

Fuji Electric-linked arrests expose rare earth compliance risks for Japanese tech firms in China

The detention of two Japanese nationals in China over suspected rare earth export violations is raising fresh compliance concerns for Japanese technology manufacturers operating in China, as Beijing tightens control over strategic minerals amid worsening Japan-China ties.

Friday 26 June 2026

Qualcomm's Dragonfly push highlights shift from mobile chips toward cloud AI

Qualcomm used its Investor Day to formally launch Dragonfly, a new data center product line aimed at cloud AI, and set out an ambitious revenue path that would shrink its dependence on handset sales. The company said the plan could reshape its business mix by 2029, but it still faces questions over timing, product performance, and execution.

Friday 26 June 2026

Taiwan Semiconductor accelerates transformation as unit listings and SiC, GaN bets take shape

Tai Asia Semiconductor's latest annual meeting highlighted a broader shift that could matter for investors and technology supply chains worldwide. The company said it is absorbing short-term losses to fund new businesses, while its subsidiaries advance in visual sensing, smart technology, silicon carbide, and gallium nitride.

Friday 26 June 2026

Onsemi agrees to acquire Synaptics in US$7 billion all-stock deal

Onsemi has agreed to buy Synaptics in an all-stock transaction valued at about US$7 billion, a deal that could reshape the edge AI landscape across automotive, industrial, and connected devices. If completed, the merger aims to broaden global access to intelligent systems, software, and wireless technology.

Friday 26 June 2026

SK Siltron to bring new 300mm wafer capacity online as AI demand lifts shipments

SK Siltron is preparing to bring a new silicon wafer manufacturing facility online in South Korea next month. The expansion comes as AI data center investment helps lift wafer shipments, while pricing remains under pressure as capacity added during the last expansion cycle continues to weigh on the market.

Friday 26 June 2026

GlobalFoundries expands Singapore role as it targets physical AI hardware wave

GlobalFoundries (GF) is positioning its Singapore operations as a core hub for the emerging era of physical AI, as the chipmaker expands investment in manufacturing capacity and next-generation semiconductor technologies aimed at robotics, autonomous systems, and AI-driven infrastructure.

Friday 26 June 2026

Apple and Google consider adopting Chinese memory chips: three obstacles remain

As AI demand prolongs shortages in memory chip supply, global technology companies are increasingly turning to Chinese-made semiconductors. However, industry analysts believe that even if major tech firms are interested in adopting Chinese chips, translating that interest into actual supply agreements remains difficult due to several significant obstacles.

Friday 26 June 2026

China power semiconductor makers raise prices as AI and vehicle demand grows

China's power semiconductor makers are lifting prices again as demand from artificial intelligence (AI) servers and new energy vehicles strengthens. The moves may signal a broader industry upcycle with global implications, as higher costs and tighter capacity could affect data centers, automotive suppliers, and power equipment buyers worldwide.

Thursday 25 June 2026

Taiwan electronics production jumps 93% in first five months of 2026 on AI boom

Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) released industrial production statistics for May 2026 on June 24, reporting that Taiwan's computer, electronic products, and optical products sector—led by servers, switches, semiconductor testing equipment and components, and solid-state drives—saw production increase 36.62% year over year. This was attributed to the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) applications, continued strong demand for computing power, and aggressive capacity expansion in the semiconductor industry. Cumulatively, from January to May, production increased 93.17% compared with the same period in 2025, ranking first among all industrial sectors.

Thursday 25 June 2026

IntelliEPI targets record 2026 revenue amid InP substrate shortages

Compound semiconductor epitaxial wafer maker IntelliEPI said AI-driven high-speed transmission demand continues to lift the indium phosphide (InP) market, and it expects revenue to keep rising in 2026 and set another record. The company's biggest challenge remains a shortage of InP substrates, prompting it to rely mainly on Japanese suppliers while helping German manufacturers accelerate mass production of InP substrates.

Thursday 25 June 2026

EU clears EUR76M in German aid for Munich quantum chip-testing plant

The European Commission has given the green light to a EUR76 million (approx. US$86.3 million) German subsidy supporting QuantumDiamonds' plan to build a new semiconductor testing equipment facility in Munich, the Commission announced. The approval is the latest step in Brussels' push to reduce Europe's reliance on foreign chip technology and strengthen its industrial autonomy.

Thursday 25 June 2026

China specialty foundry Hua Hong Grace rides 40nm low-power process and Wuxi 12-inch ramp

Hua Hong Grace Semiconductor (HHGrace) is seeing gains from both process technology and capacity expansion, with industry research showing its 40nm ultra-low-power specialty process has entered stable mass production while its Wuxi 12-inch line continues to ramp.

Thursday 25 June 2026

Sigurd expands AI testing capacity as demand keeps facilities full

Sigurd is expanding testing and packaging capacity as AI demand and steady customer orders keep its facilities fully utilized. For global readers, the move underscores how supply chains for silicon photonics (SiPh), AI servers, and advanced chips are tightening, while new capacity is expected to ease bottlenecks and shape revenue growth in 2026 and 2027.

Thursday 25 June 2026

ASE sees AI demand stretching packaging capacity into 2030

ASE Holdings COO Dr Tien Wu said the global semiconductor industry is growing faster than expected on the back of AI investment, with demand so strong that the capacity the company had built over the past few years was absorbed almost immediately.

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