Memory shortages and pricing pressures are reshaping Samsung Electronics' foundry intellectual property (IP) development, as faster AI chip refresh cycles push customers to demand stronger process competitiveness, faster development, and better-prepared infrastructure including IP. Samsung is responding by expanding memory design options, IP, and development tools through its Samsung Advanced Foundry Ecosystem (SAFE) program.
Fast-moving advances in chip production have spurred a semiconductor boom, markedly altering the manufacturing scope of the broader high-tech industry.
Taiwan will launch a pilot emissions trading scheme (ETS) by the end of 2026 to help semiconductor and technology manufacturers align with international systems. Ministry of Environment adviser and former deputy environment minister Wen-Chen Shih said the ETS design must address three key areas.
Samsung Electronics has reportedly begun trial production of Tesla's next-generation AI5 processor at its Taylor foundry in Texas, moving the US fab into 2nm wafer production and yield verification ahead of full-scale operations.
Japanese semiconductor materials leader Tokyo Ohka Kogyo (TOK) held a completion ceremony on September 15, 2026, for a new KRW101 billion (US$73.1 million) production plant in the Poseung District of Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.
Foreign commitments timed around SEMICON India are moving deeper into the supply chain. In the three days before the 2026 edition opened on September 17, Lam Research, Applied Materials, and Fujifilm announced India plans worth a combined INR144 billion (US$1.50 billion), covering silicon components, chip equipment, and process chemicals rather than chip production itself.
Onsemi is seeking to capture more value from AI, electrification, and automation by expanding from individual semiconductors into integrated power systems. Its strategy for the next decade centers on improving power density: delivering more power in less space while managing heat, efficiency, and reliability.
Japan's Fujifilm plans to set up a greenfield semiconductor materials manufacturing facility in India with a total investment of approximately INR8 billion (US$83.33 million), the company said in a statement on September 16, 2026. Construction of the first phase is scheduled to begin in fiscal year 2026, with commercial production targeted for fiscal year 2028.
AI-driven capacity expansion is pushing up demand for semiconductor equipment, and SK Hynix is strengthening supply chain management for equipment and components while shifting to a longer-term strategy.
South Korea's semiconductor boom is spilling over from corporate profits into government tax revenue. Corporate tax revenue for fiscal 2027 is projected to reach KRW216.7 trillion (about US$160 billion), up 113.9% from the 2026 supplementary budget, topping KRW200 trillion for the first time and, after 15 years, overtaking income tax as the country's largest tax source.
Taiwan's back-end semiconductor sector is growing well beyond its largest player. The 24 listed packaging and testing firms tracked by DIGITIMES posted combined January-August 2026 revenue of NT$768.9 billion (approx. US$24.1 billion), up 27.1% from a year earlier. Without ASE Technology Holding, the rest of the group still grew 25.4%.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has again been photographed using Samsung Electronics' latest foldable phone, the Galaxy Z Fold8, after being seen with a Galaxy Z Fold7 earlier in 2026. The latest sighting has drawn fresh attention to the close partnership between Samsung Electronics and Nvidia.
Huawei's internal Heart Voice Community recently published minutes from a discussion between Guo Ping, chairman of Huawei's supervisory board, and newly hired employees, offering a glimpse into the company's ambitions in AI, computing, semiconductors, and future technologies.
As global AI investment continues to expand and US-China geopolitical pressure intensifies, how Taiwan and South Korea can preserve their semiconductor and manufacturing advantages has become a focal point. DIGITIMES and IC975 chairman Colley Hwang said the two sides should look for complementary strengths, work together to help Vietnam, Malaysia, and other countries develop, and first increase corporate exchanges to build a positive environment for cooperation.
