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Monday 8 June 2026

CXMT's cheap DDR5 myth fades as supply, not price, becomes China memory maker's edge

ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) is gaining attention as a potential new force in the global DRAM market, but memory module vendors say the Chinese chipmaker is not offering the low-cost DDR5 supply many in the PC sector had hoped for.

Monday 8 June 2026

Weekly news roundup: Taiwan ecosystem strengthens AI chip supply chain as MediaTek, Nvidia deepen cooperation

Below are the most-read DIGITIMES Asia stories from the week of June 1-7, 2026:

Monday 8 June 2026

Nvidia and SK Hynix announce multiyear memory partnership covering AI servers, PCs, and robotics

Nvidia and SK Hynix formally announced a multiyear technology partnership on June 7 at SK's Seorin Building in Seoul, during Jensen Huang's third public meeting with SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won on this Korea trip. The agreement covers next-generation memory co-development across Nvidia's full product roadmap and extends into semiconductor design, AI factory infrastructure and digital manufacturing.

Sunday 7 June 2026

Zhen Ding posts strongest May revenue as server optical module shipments surge

Zhen Ding Technology Group reported that May consolidated revenue reached a 2026 high as robust demand for high-end AI products drove significant year-over-year growth, the company said. The firm attributed the performance to a sharp uptick in server and optical module shipments, which rose nearly 2.5 times year-over-year, and strong momentum in IC substrate sales, which grew nearly 80% year-over-year.

Sunday 7 June 2026

Transcend says Samsung DDR4 supply secured through 2027 as memory prices rise

Transcend Information said revenue for April and May combined has already surpassed its first-quarter total, as tight memory supply and elevated prices continue to lift sales at the Taiwan-based memory module maker.

Sunday 7 June 2026

ADATA goes global with data centers, eyes 1Q27 payoff

Strong demand for memory procurement from AI servers continues, and ADATA chairman Simon Chen believes the AI expansion cycle is expected to sustain strong growth for at least another four to five years. As a result, ADATA is adding AI data center construction as a new business focus, working with strategic partners to deploy projects in four countries, including Brazil and Malaysia. The company expects this move to significantly increase its AI value content, reduce reliance on memory industry cycles, and enter a harvesting phase for revenue growth starting in the first quarter of 2027. The benefits are expected to emerge over the next two years.

Saturday 6 June 2026

Phison shifts to system AI solutions with 2027 memory crunch looming

Phison Electronics CEO K.S. Pua said the company is moving beyond its roots as an IC component supplier and repositioning itself as a system solutions provider, warning that AI-driven memory shortages could become more severe in 2027 than in the second half of 2026.

Saturday 6 June 2026

AI demand squeezes mainstream DRAM supply as DDR5, DDR4 prices rise

DRAM prices are climbing as Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology prioritize high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, for AI applications, tightening supply of mainstream DDR5 and DDR4 products used in PCs, servers, and other electronics, according to Nikkei.

Saturday 6 June 2026

Jensen Huang shouts 'Everyone loves HBM' at Seoul barbecue as Nvidia announces Korea R&D center and previews four new products

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang dined with the heads of South Korea's largest technology conglomerates in Hongdae on June 5, turning a barbecue dinner into one of the most theatrical corporate appearances of his Korea trip.

Friday 5 June 2026

Samsung's biggest union loses majority status after bonus talks

Samsung Electronics is facing a new shift in labor relations after the Samsung Electronics branch of the Samsung Group Super-Enterprise Union reportedly lost its status as a majority union following a sharp drop in membership after bonus negotiations. The move weakens the union's representation and could further fragment future labor talks and union power at Samsung Electronics.

Friday 5 June 2026

FADU wins new contracts as AI workloads reshape data storage

As artificial intelligence (AI) workloads place unprecedented demands on data storage systems, South Korean SSD controller designer FADU is betting that next-generation storage architecture will become a critical battleground in the AI infrastructure race.

Friday 5 June 2026

GoldKey Technology sees memory crunch lasting into 2028 as AI demand lifts prices

GoldKey Technology expects memory shortages to persist into 2028, with AI demand and structural supply constraints set to keep prices rising through the second half of 2026 and into 2027.

Friday 5 June 2026

Global semiconductor market to hit US$1.5 trillion in 2026 as memory surges 250%, WSTS forecasts

The global semiconductor market is on track to nearly double in 2026, reaching US$1.51 trillion — a 90% year-over-year increase — driven overwhelmingly by an extraordinary surge in memory chip demand, according to the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) Spring 2026 forecast released on June 2.

Friday 5 June 2026

Nvidia's Jensen Huang to meet South Korean business leaders beyond HBM sector

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is visiting South Korea on June 5 for meetings with major Korean business leaders, as the company's cooperation with local companies broadens beyond high-bandwidth memory into robotics, automobiles, gaming, and cloud infrastructure.

Friday 5 June 2026

HBM is too expensive, DRAM can't scale — Kioxia tells Computex SSDs are the answer for agentic AI

Koichi Fukuda, technology executive for applied SSD technology at Kioxia, used a Computex 2026 forum session on June 4 to argue that as enterprise AI shifts toward agentic systems, the next major constraint on AI performance will not be compute power but the ability to move data fast enough to feed it.

Friday 5 June 2026

CXMT's South Korean hiring spree puts Samsung, SK Hynix memory lead on alert

More than 200 South Korean engineers are conservatively estimated to be working at CXMT, China's leading DRAM maker, according to industry sources. Chinese semiconductor companies are stepping up talent acquisition, moving from broad outreach to targeted recruitment of core semiconductor R&D personnel in South Korea and the US. Observers say the shift could accelerate the narrowing of the semiconductor technology gap between China and South Korea.

Friday 5 June 2026

Memory crunch pushes low-end smartphones toward 2026 breaking point

The global smartphone market performed better than expected in the first quarter of 2026 after some brands pulled forward orders, but shipments still fell by about 3.1% from a year earlier, ending nine consecutive quarters of growth.

Friday 5 June 2026

Commentary: Memory boom driven by DRAM now, but HBM will decide future

AI demand is fueling a broad semiconductor upswing and pushing the memory industry into what many see as a long-awaited super-cycle. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have both reported strong earnings, prompting the market to reassess the strategic role of memory in AI infrastructure.

Friday 5 June 2026

South Korea's only SRAM-CIM IP firm Articron targets edge AI

South Korean semiconductor IP startup Articron is challenging the traditional AI chip design bottleneck by using a memory-centric architecture, with its self-developed SRAM-CIM compute chip IP "ART" now in testing and aimed at the power- and area-sensitive edge AI device market. The company says it expects to launch a commercial product in about two years.

Friday 5 June 2026

RTX Spark rekindles memory shortages, TeamGroup shifts to industrial control

Although PC market sales have slumped amid rising memory prices, Nvidia's "N1X" RTX Spark superchip is also fueling hopes for AI PC potential. TeamGroup General Manager Gerry Chen said the N1X can be configured with up to 128GB of memory, but there is simply not enough memory available right now, meaning supply shortages will grow even more severe.

Thursday 4 June 2026

Nvidia's Jensen Huang courts Korean giants in robotics expansion

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is visiting South Korea this week as the company seeks to expand its partnerships with major Korean conglomerates beyond semiconductors and into robotics, autonomous driving, and industrial automation, ETNews reported.

Thursday 4 June 2026

HBM4 supply in focus as SK's Chey meets TSMC's Wei

SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won met TSMC chairman C.C. Wei in Taiwan on June 3, as SK Hynix and TSMC map out future cooperation in HBM4 base dies, advanced logic processes, and custom AI memory.

Thursday 4 June 2026

SK and TSMC deepen HBM, advanced packaging tie-up

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won met TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei in Taiwan on June 3, as the two sides exchanged views on the latest trends in next-generation AI technologies and discussed how to shape the future of the AI ecosystem. The meeting underscored closer ties between the two companies, which plan further to strengthen cooperation in next-generation HBM and advanced packaging.

Thursday 4 June 2026

Goldkey targets NT$10B funding to lock in memory supply as prices surge

Memory module maker Goldkey said it plans to raise NT$6 billion (US$191.4 million) to NT$10 billion in working capital in 2026 through multiple channels as tight supply and rising contract prices fuel a memory supercycle. The company also plans to accelerate a shift into higher-value segments such as industrial control, AI, and edge computing after posting a 30% gross margin and 27.4% operating margin in the first quarter of 2026.

Thursday 4 June 2026

Kioxia weighs new NAND fab as AI demand drives long-term expansion plans

Kioxia is evaluating the construction of a new NAND flash manufacturing facility at its Kitakami site in Iwate Prefecture, aiming for production to begin after 2029-2030 as the company prepares for sustained growth in AI-driven storage demand.

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