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Wednesday 31 December 2025
Samsung reportedly poised to clear KRW20 trillion profit mark in 4Q25

Samsung Electronics is reportedly on track to post sharply higher operating profit in the fourth quarter of 2025 as demand tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure lifts memory chip prices. The reports, compiled by South Korean outlets including Korea Economic Daily and EBN and citing industry sources, said Samsung's preliminary fourth-quarter operating profit is expected to exceed KRW20 trillion, a level that would mark the first time a South Korean company has crossed that threshold in a single quarter.

Wednesday 31 December 2025
China's CXMT eyes US$4.2B Shanghai IPO to fuel memory chip expansion

China's leading domestic DRAM maker, ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), is seeking to raise CNY29.5 billion (approx. US$4.2 billion) through an IPO in Shanghai, as it looks to upgrade production lines and expand development of advanced memory technologies.

Wednesday 31 December 2025
Samsung reportedly plans 50% HBM output surge through 2026

Samsung Electronics plans to boost its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) production capacity by approximately 50% through late 2026, according to South Korean media outlet ET News, as the company secures key technical milestones with major AI customers.

Wednesday 31 December 2025
YMTC goes full speed toward HBF next
Amid rising US-China tech tensions and tight semiconductor supply chains, YMTC disclosed advances in 3D NAND flash memory and plans to develop high bandwidth flash (HBF) technology. Their Xtacking architecture evolution supports integration with AI accelerators, addressing capacity and cost challenges beyond traditional HBM.
Wednesday 31 December 2025
Weblink bets on memory price surge and AI server boom for double-digit growth in 2026
Taiwan-based tech products distributor Weblink International is riding a surge in memory prices and robust demand for AI servers, positioning the company for strong growth in 2026. President Dave Lin said both segments continue to face supply constraints, but remain among Weblink's most promising growth drivers.
Wednesday 31 December 2025
Asustek announces price hike from January 5 amid soaring memory costs
Facing severe memory shortages and rapidly rising prices, global PC brands are implementing strategies to offset cost pressures, including price increases or maintaining prices with downgraded specifications. Channel partners point out that memory accounts for nearly 20% of a PC's total bill of materials (BOM), and recent sharp hikes in memory prices have forced many vendors to quietly adjust their PC pricing.
Wednesday 31 December 2025
US ITC opens patent probe into advanced memory
The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has formally launched a Section 337 investigation into alleged patent infringement involving advanced memory products, naming Samsung Electronics, Google, and Supermicro among the respondents in a case that could have significant implications for the global DRAM and AI server supply chain.
Wednesday 31 December 2025
YMTC pushes for equipment localization despite elusive profitability
As China's leading 3D NAND maker, Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) has recently been regarded as the most aggressive company in promoting the adoption of domestic equipment. Its Phase III fab is even striving to build a purely all-domestic-equipment wafer production line.
Wednesday 31 December 2025
The chip industry in 2025: Boom, rivalry, and a fragile new order
In 2025, generative AI investments are reshaping the global semiconductor industry. Nvidia, TSMC, and their supply chains emerge as the biggest winners. But the boom brings new challenges. Rising competition in AI chips threatens a market bubble. Meanwhile, China accelerates its push for self-reliance as US export restrictions tighten. The DIGITIMES news team highlights the year's defining trends.
Wednesday 31 December 2025
Samsung faces scrutiny over Taiwan probe, denies memory market ties
Samsung Electronics has expanded an internal investigation into alleged employee misconduct at its Taiwan subsidiary, a move the company characterizes as an isolated matter despite its timing amid a global tightening of memory chip supplies. The probe, which stems from a routine internal audit, focuses on suspected kickbacks involving a limited number of staff and predates the current first quarter of the 2025 fiscal year, according to reporting from DIGITIMES and industry sources in South Korea.
Tuesday 30 December 2025
Top tech topics in 2025 (1): a year of strategic realignment for global semiconductors
As 2025 draws to a close, the global semiconductor industry has undergone a fundamental transformation marked by heightened geopolitical tensions, supply chain restructuring, and an unprecedented surge in AI-driven demand. What distinguishes this year from previous cycles is the shift from aspirational roadmaps to hard-edged execution, where manufacturers must deliver not just technological advancement but reliable, scalable production under increasingly complex constraints.
Tuesday 30 December 2025
South Korea charts road to 0.2nm chips by 2040
The global semiconductor industry is poised to enter the "angstrom era" by 2040 as circuit dimensions shrink to one-tenth of current levels, according to a long-term technology roadmap from the Korean Institute of Semiconductor Engineers. The report suggests that transistor dimensions will push far beyond today's nm scale, forcing fundamental shifts in chip design as traditional scaling reaches its physical limits.
Tuesday 30 December 2025
DDR4 spot prices surge 18-fold in a year; December demand cools but impact limited
Memory chip spot prices have witnessed unprecedented increases over the past year, driven by continuing shortages and supply chain adjustments. DDR4 16Gb modules have surged 18 times in price since the end of 2024, marking one of the steepest rises in recent memory market. Despite a modest cooling in buying activity toward the end of 2025, market observers anticipate that the strong upward pricing trend will persist well into 2026.
Tuesday 30 December 2025
Four major companies get priority from memory suppliers as shortage hits PC brands
Memory prices are soaring as much as four to five times year-over-year. PC brand vendors that were originally expected to gradually finalize supply contracts with memory makers by the end of the third quarter of 2025 have, as of year-end, not had a single contract fully signed. Suppliers are tight on supply and unwilling to sign, and prices are also lacking consensus. Memory makers still have capacity, but demand far exceeds supply. Therefore, brand vendors must rely on their own capabilities. In facing this tough situation, the supply chain reports that memory makers are giving priority to Apple, Lenovo, Asus, and Dell.
Monday 29 December 2025
Taiwan quake hits chip fabs, but Nanya says operations largely unaffected
A magnitude-7.0 earthquake struck offshore Yilan late on December 27, 2025, rattling northern Taiwan. The quake prompted precautionary shutdowns across Hsinchu Science Park. Several chipmakers activated emergency protocols. But Nanya Technology Corporation said on December 29, 2025, that the impact on its operations and finances was minimal. The update eased concerns over potential memory supply disruptions.
Monday 29 December 2025
South Korea expected to reclaim no. 2 in global chip equipment spending by 2026

South Korea is on track to significantly increase semiconductor equipment investment in 2026 as rising demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and advanced DRAM drives a new wave of capacity expansion, positioning the country to overtake Taiwan and regain second place globally behind China.

Monday 29 December 2025
AMD and Nvidia set to raise GPU prices in early 2026 amid rising memory costs
GPU prices are expected to rise in early 2026 as memory costs surge. AMD may implement hikes starting in January 2026, with Nvidia following in February 2026, according to industry sources. Pricing adjustments will likely continue for several months.
Monday 29 December 2025
Nvidia reportedly sets 4Q26 target for 16-high HBM supply
Nvidia has reportedly asked memory suppliers to prepare for the delivery of 16-high high-bandwidth memory by the second half of 2026, according to industry sources cited by South Korean media, including ET News and eNews Today. The request sets an aggressive timeline for a product that has yet to be commercialized.
Monday 29 December 2025
Weekly news roundup: AMD lands Alibaba chip deal as US probes Nvidia buyers, ASML keeps lithography lead
These are the most-read DIGITIMES Asia stories in the week of December 22 to December 29, 2025.
Friday 26 December 2025
Winbond prepares 16nm 8Gb DDR4 mass production for 2026 shipment upgrade
Memory maker Winbond Electronics has recently continued to expand capital expenditures by increasing capacity for 16nm and DDR4 DRAM. As inventories of legacy DDR3 products decrease, DDR4 will officially become Winbond's main product in the first half of 2026. The company's new 8Gb DDR4 products manufactured on its in-house 16nm process have recently passed customer qualification smoothly and are expected to enter mass production and shipment in the first to second quarters of 2026.
Friday 26 December 2025
Samsung, SK Hynix reportedly accelerate HBM4 production to early 2026
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are pushing forward their production schedules for sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory to February 2026. Industry sources and South Korean media reports confirm the accelerated timeline. The two companies aim to begin volume manufacturing of HBM4 months earlier than previously anticipated. The goal is to meet surging demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure. By accelerating their timelines, the South Korean chipmakers seek to solidify their dominance in the AI memory market before global competitors can scale similar technologies.
Friday 26 December 2025
SK Hynix targets February HBM4 ramp-up with TSMC, ships final samples to Nvidia
SK Hynix is scheduled to deliver final samples of its next-generation high-bandwidth memory to Nvidia in early January 2025. This comes as the South Korean chipmaker nears a February target for mass production of HBM4. The delivery follows a revised wafer run intended to resolve technical issues identified during earlier integration testing, according to DealSite. It marks a critical step in supporting Nvidia's next wave of artificial intelligence accelerators.
Friday 26 December 2025
Google reportedly fires procurement execs amid HBM supply crunch
Google and Microsoft are stepping up efforts to secure high-bandwidth memory. Production capacity at South Korean chipmakers is approaching its limits. The supply crunch has coincided with executive dismissals and stalled negotiations. According to industry sources cited by the Seoul Economic Daily and G-enews, major cloud and artificial intelligence companies are intensifying procurement efforts. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are nearing full utilization of their advanced memory lines.
Friday 26 December 2025
SoftBank spearheads Japan's next-gen AI memory push
SoftBank and Japanese partners are advancing a government-backed project to develop next-generation memory technology aimed at enhancing AI and supercomputer performance. The initiative, involving RIKEN, Intel, the University of Tokyo, and Taiwan's Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS), targets prototype completion by fiscal 2027 and mass production by fiscal 2029, Nikkei Asia reports.
Friday 26 December 2025
YF Capital backs InnoStar Semiconductor, extending Jack Ma's China memory chip push
YF Capital, the private equity firm founded by Jack Ma, has taken a stake in China's memory chip sector, renewing market focus on semiconductor investment trends. As the US tightens technology restrictions, domestically developed Chinese chips are increasingly seen as strategically critical, driving a rise in related investment activity.