Apple quietly launched new MacBook, iPad, and Vision Pro products equipped with its latest M5 chip on the evening of October 15, 2025, in Taiwan, generating considerable public attention over the major M5 chip upgrades.

Micron reportedly plans to stop supplying server chips to data centers in China, according to a Reuters report citing sources familiar with the decision. The move comes two years after Beijing imposed a ban on Micron's products for use in "critical infrastructure," a decision widely interpreted as retaliation for US export restrictions on advanced chips and AI technologies.

Samsung Electronics revealed it is developing its seventh-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM4E), with a target bandwidth of over 3TB per second. The announcement comes as Nvidia continues to pressure suppliers to increase the bandwidth of sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM4), signaling that the HBM speed race will intensify.

Samsung Electronics' preliminary results for the third quarter of 2025 have reignited optimism across the global memory market. The results, together with strong performances anticipated from SK Hynix and Micron, suggest the semiconductor industry is now firmly entering a new memory supercycle—the strongest upturn since the 2017–2018 boom.

As the AI ecosystem continues to expand, South Korean securities analysts predict the semiconductor industry's upward cycle will extend at least until after 2028. Samsung Electronics is expected to sustain its strong third-quarter performance and continue growing, supported by rising prices of general-purpose memory and surging demand for HBM.

Memory manufacturer Nanya successfully ended 11 consecutive quarters of losses in the third quarter of 2025. General manager Pei-Ing Lee stated that average selling prices (ASPs) rose about 40% quarter-over-quarter in the third quarter, with strong confidence in continued price increases and operational growth in the fourth quarter. Although price hikes vary across product lines, maintaining first-quarter 2026 pricing would be ideal. Recently, customers have also requested annual long-term contracts for DDR4, signaling the industry's recovery from its trough to a healthy level.

Industrial memory module maker Innodisk has seen monthly growth in 2025 operations as AI demand explodes, causing severe DDR4 shortages and a persistent supply crunch. Chairman Chuan-Sheng Chien said the overall memory price trend is climbing with no foreseeable end to the surge, an unprecedented phenomenon in the industry.

South Korea's semiconductor industry anticipates that OpenAI's large-scale high-bandwidth memory (HBM) supply requirements will accelerate production expansion at Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, with their future capacities becoming a key factor in dominating the market.

As Samsung Electronics' performance rebounds, previously stagnant sectors such as materials, components, and equipment are expected to regain momentum. Improved performance across the supply chain is bringing optimism to the industry, and market watchers anticipate that companies with Samsung as a key customer will reap the greatest benefits, with the potential to achieve record-high earnings.

Samsung Electronics' Device Solutions (DS) Division, responsible for its semiconductor business, is reportedly crafting a new strategic blueprint tailored to each segment's characteristics. The goal is to restructure and realign its operations to build a stronger growth foundation.

South Korean memory chipmaker SK Hynix has reportedly encountered unexpected resistance from local residents regarding its US$3.87 billion semiconductor factory investment plan in West Lafayette, Indiana. The project has garnered strong support from the US federal and state governments and is seen as a symbol of the US CHIPS Act's success in forging technological alliances.

As the memory industry rides the AI boom, cloud service providers (CSPs) are placing orders that upstream memory foundries were unprepared for. Adata's chairman, Simon Chen, confirmed that this wave of memory supply shortages has spread across the four major product lines: DRAM, NAND Flash, solid‑state drives (SSDs), and traditional hard drives (HDDs). Such a phenomenon is almost unprecedented in the history of the memory industry, and the competition for goods is no longer among peer module makers but against CSPs with orders of magnitude larger. Additionally, there is no overlap in duplicate orders.

Samsung Electronics announced on October 14 that its consolidated revenue for the third quarter of 2025 is expected to reach KRW86 trillion (US$60.25 billion), with operating profit anticipated at KRW12.1 trillion, according to its preliminary results. The figures represent a 15.3% increase in revenue and a 158.6% rise in operating profit from the previous quarter, and an 8.7% and 31.8% increase year-on-year, respectively.

As memory and storage prices enter a rapid growth cycle, Chinese memory supply chains are expanding their influence by targeting domestic smartphone brands. Leveraging upstream manufacturers' resources and localized partnerships, these Chinese firms are gradually capturing market share traditionally dominated by major global memory companies. Suppliers for smartphone giants like Transsion and Xiaomi are seeing significant increases in their footprint.

Originally rooted in heavy industry, South Korea's Doosan Group is expanding into the semiconductor sector and is considering acquiring semiconductor wafer manufacturer SK Siltron. While Doosan is not directly involved in semiconductor fabrication, it is strategically targeting areas such as materials, back-end processes, and design within the semiconductor industry. This strategy allows it to avoid high technical investment risks while still securing industry influence.

Taiwan's memory module maker Adata Technology has announced a strategic partnership between its enterprise storage brand TRUSTA, Giga Computing, and South Korea's flash controller architecture developer FADU to jointly develop high-end enterprise-grade SSD solutions tailored for next-generation server platforms.

AI demand and OpenAI's partnerships with Korean manufacturers are fueling a memory super cycle that could surpass the 2017–2018 period. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have recently accelerated the construction of new plants to meet strong demand expected through 2027.

Leading NAND controller firm Phison Electronics reported NT$6.515 billion (approx. US$213 million) in consolidated revenue for September 2025, marking a nearly 10% month-over-month increase and 47% year-over-year rise to the second-highest monthly figure in company history. The company's self-reported net profit reached NT$843 million (US$27.6 million), soaring by 1,121.7% compared to September 2024 and up 29.7% from August's NT$650 million (approx. US$21.3 million), with profit growth far outpacing revenue gains.

Nvidia has reportedly confirmed it will use Samsung Electronics' fifth-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM3E) in its latest AI accelerator, the GB300. Additionally, Samsung plans to purchase 50,000 Nvidia GPUs, a move the industry interprets as accelerating Samsung's AI transformation and further solidifying its alliance with Nvidia.

The ongoing DRAM shortage is intensifying as memory module manufacturers suspend consumer DRAM price quotes during China's National Day holiday, signaling a sharp rise in spot market prices. Over the past week, DDR4 DRAM prices have surged more than 10%, while DDR5 16GB modules increased by about 8%. Despite weak end-user demand, major Taiwanese memory module suppliers, including Adata, Team Group, and Apacer, have all paused quoting prices, awaiting clearer signals of further hikes after the holiday.

Niche and standard DRAM prices are rising sharply; ADATA, Apacer, Elite Semiconductor Microelectronics Technology (ESMT), and several other companies all posted record highs in revenue for September 2025. ADATA chairman Simon Chen stated that market conditions have rapidly reversed since late August 2025. He emphasized that the fourth quarter of 2025 is just the beginning of a major bull market for memory and the beginning of a serious supply shortage. He is optimistic about a booming industry in 2026.

OpenAI has recently surged in influence by forging strategic partnerships with global AI leaders. Beyond close ties with Nvidia and AMD, OpenAI announced collaborations with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to secure 900,000 DRAM wafer capacities monthly for its Stargate Project, fueling the peak of the AI boom.

LG Electronics is accelerating its deployment in the HBM equipment business after reportedly investing in hybrid bonding development. With Hanmi Semiconductor dominating the market and Hanwha Semitech entering the space, LG's involvement will potentially initiate a three-way competition in South Korea's HBM equipment sector.

Samsung Electronics, the leader in NAND flash, has reportedly entered the high-bandwidth flash (HBF) memory market, signaling a potential shift in the competitive landscape of next-generation memory technologies.

The rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is fueling a new semiconductor supercycle, prompting Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to ramp up recruitment efforts in a bid to secure leadership in next-generation technologies.