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Monday 3 November 2025

Taiwan manufacturing set to gain as traditional and electronics sectors strengthen

The recent meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping has eased tensions between the two countries, de-escalating rare earth export controls and soybean trade barriers. It remains uncertain whether Trump will come up with other threats when dealing with China. But for Taiwan, the speculation about the US sacrificing the island nation in return for better ties with China has not materialized. Neither has the US taken concrete steps to impose semiconductor tariffs under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act. Taiwan's manufacturing sector may gain momentum over the next two months if geopolitical and economic conditions remain stable.

Monday 3 November 2025

Exclusive: Samsung delays DDR5 contract pricing to mid-November as spot prices triple

Memory shortages are intensifying as major cloud service providers (CSPs) continue expanding capital expenditures, with AI demand increasingly squeezing supply. Industry sources reveal that Samsung Electronics led the move by halting DDR5 DRAM contract pricing in October, prompting other manufacturers to follow suit. This disruption is expected to delay contract price announcements until mid-November, exacerbating supply constraints. Meanwhile, DRAM spot prices have surged sharply, with DDR5 prices more than doubling since late last month, driving procurement costs to soar.

Monday 3 November 2025

Weekly news roundup: Samsung launches aggressive price-cut strategy to catch up in HBM; Intel shifts assembly and testing to Vietnam

Below are the top DIGITIMES Asia stories from October 27 to November 2, 2025.

Saturday 1 November 2025

Jensen Huang's Seoul dinner with Samsung, Hyundai chiefs sparks 'AI Korea' speculation

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang met with Samsung chairman Lee Jae-yong and Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Eui-sun for a 70-minute dinner at Kkanbu Chicken in Seoul's Gangnam district on October 30, 2025. After the meal, the trio appeared together at the GeForce Gamer Festival, celebrating the 25th anniversary of GeForce's debut in South Korea and demonstrating their close rapport.

Friday 31 October 2025

Why SK Hynix skipped the fried chicken and beer summit

When Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang arrived in South Korea, global attention turned to a viral "chimaek" (fried chicken and beer) dinner on October 30 featuring Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Hyundai Executive Chair Chung Eui-sun. Yet, the spotlight shifted the following day to SK Group—and particularly its memory arm, SK Hynix, which co-headlined a landmark AI infrastructure deal that analysts have called a strategic win.

Friday 31 October 2025

China's CXMT cracks LPDDR5X speed barrier, posing a new test for Samsung and SK Hynix

Chinese memory maker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) has started mass production of LPDDR5X DRAM, marking a milestone in China's high-performance memory development. The company said its latest LPDDR5X modules reach speeds of 10,667Mbps, matching SK Hynix's premium chips launched in October 2024. This achievement marks China's first successful mass production at this performance tier and signals its growing self-reliance in advanced semiconductor memory manufacturing.

Friday 31 October 2025

SK Hynix dominates DRAM market in 3Q25 for third consecutive quarter

SK Hynix has taken the top spot of the global DRAM market for the third quarter of 2025 with a 35% market share, with Samsung just behind at 34%. This marks SK Hynix's third consecutive quarter as the world's leading DRAM supplier.

Thursday 30 October 2025

Trump concludes Asia tour with rare earth and tech deals

US President Donald Trump has ended his six-day trip to Asia.

Thursday 30 October 2025

MXIC chair vows comeback after ninth straight quarterly loss

Memory chipmaker MXIC reported a net loss of NT$862 million (US$28.1 million) in the third quarter of 2025, marking its ninth consecutive quarterly deficit. Chairman Miin Wu candidly expressed disappointment over the results and apologized to investors, announcing he will return to frontline management starting November 2025 to lead R&D and align products with market demand, aiming for a turnaround within a year.

Thursday 30 October 2025

Samsung 3Q25 marks the reset of the global memory hierarchy

Samsung Electronics staged a strong rebound in the third quarter of 2025 and set the tone for the next phase of the memory cycle, where AI infrastructure, premium product mix, and heavy capital spending converge in a more competitive landscape. The company's strategy reveals how it plans to stay ahead of SK Hynix and Micron Technology.

Thursday 30 October 2025

Hanwha Semitech and Hanmi Semiconductor escalate HBM equipment patent dispute

Korean media have confirmed that Hanwha Semitech, previously sued by Hanmi Semiconductor for patent infringement, has now filed a counter-lawsuit against Hanmi, accusing Hanmi's HBM TC Bonder core technology of infringing its patents.

Thursday 30 October 2025

Samsung 3Q25 profit surges on AI chip demand, beats estimates

Samsung reported consolidated revenue of KRW86.1 trillion (US$59.8 billion) and operating profit of KRW12.2 trillion for the quarter ended September 30, 2025, beating both its own forecast and market estimates. Revenue climbed 15.4% from the second quarter's KRW74.6 trillion and roughly 8.9% year-over-year, while operating profit surged 160% quarter-over-quarter and about 33% from a year earlier.

Thursday 30 October 2025

Jensen Huang kills three birds with one stone at GTC DC

Since its debut in 2009, Nvidia's GTC has been held in San Jose, California. Over the years, the conference has expanded to Japan, China, Taiwan, Germany, and other countries as technology and markets have evolved. The main highlight remains CEO Jensen Huang's two-hour keynote speech. This year, however, Nvidia held an additional event in Washington, DC, sparking speculation about Huang's next moves for the industry.

Wednesday 29 October 2025

South Korean tycoons meet Nvidia CEO as part of APEC corporate diplomacy

Leading South Korean conglomerate heads are set to engage in intensive "corporate diplomacy" during the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, meeting with global leaders and entrepreneurs to expand international cooperation and investment opportunities.

Wednesday 29 October 2025

SK Hynix unveils new NAND line featuring HBF for AI

SK Hynix has launched a new NAND flash product family called "AIN Family," targeting the artificial intelligence (AI) market with a focus on overcoming storage bottlenecks in AI inference and large language models (LLMs). The highlight is the "AIN B" product, which adopts high-bandwidth flash (HBF) technology to boost performance.

Wednesday 29 October 2025

Apple and Tesla orders fuel Samsung's recovery

Apple's mobile DRAM orders are expected to increase significantly in 2026, and the South Korean industry predicts that Samsung Electronics will be the largest beneficiary. News 1 referenced KB Securities, stating that mobile DRAM prices exceeded expectations in the fourth quarter of 2025, rising more than 20% quarter-over-quarter. To optimize AI functions, Apple plans to expand the 12GB capacity previously limited to iPhone Pro and Pro Max high-end models to standard models starting with the second half of 2026's iPhone 18 series.

Wednesday 29 October 2025

Powertech secures full FOPLP bookings ahead of US$1B expansion

Powertech Technology Inc. (PTI), a leading memory packaging and testing provider, is fast-tracking its move into fan-out panel-level packaging (FOPLP). Chairman DK Tsai said the company's advanced packaging operations have made solid progress, with plans to invest US$1 billion in FOPLP capacity by 2026 to reach 6,000-7,000 wafers per month.

Wednesday 29 October 2025

Hanmi eyes AI chip packaging amid HBM market challenges

Hanmi is expanding beyond its leading position in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) bonding equipment to enter the system semiconductor equipment sector, driven by growing demand and technological advances in artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors.

Wednesday 29 October 2025

SK Hynix's AI hot streak: record earnings, HBM4 next

SK Hynix achieved its strongest quarterly results on record in the third quarter of 2025, driven by surging demand for AI-related memory and higher DRAM and NAND prices. The company reported revenue of KRW24.45 trillion (US$17 billion), operating profit of KRW11.38 trillion, and net income of KRW12.6 trillion, with operating and net margins at 47% and 52%.

Wednesday 29 October 2025

Samsung reorganizes memory line by accelerating HBM4 production at P4 plant

Samsung Electronics is transforming its Pyeongtaek Campus Line 4 (P4) in South Korea into a manufacturing base focusing on HBM4 production. Analysts indicate that Samsung is increasing the proportion of AI memory production, shifting its equipment strategy focus from general server DRAM to AI memory products.

Wednesday 29 October 2025

Samsung rides AI memory wave to record valuation

Samsung Electronics reached a historic milestone as its market value exceeded KRW600 trillion (US$420 billion) for the first time, driven by a sharp rebound in the global memory market. The Samsung Group's total valuation is now nearing an unprecedented KRW1,000 trillion.

Tuesday 28 October 2025

SK Hynix M15X completion expected by end of 2025

To meet the growing demand for HBM, SK Hynix is accelerating the construction of its DRAM production base, M15X plant in Cheongju, South Korea. According to Yonhap News and TheElec, SK Hynix has opened the first cleanroom at the M15X facility and begun installing equipment, advancing the originally planned installation schedule by approximately two months. The company aims to complete construction by the end of 2025.

Tuesday 28 October 2025

Memory shortage hits 70% order fulfillment; server DRAM prices surge 50%

The memory chip shortage has escalated into a severe crisis as upstream international manufacturers finalize contract prices for the fourth quarter of 2025. Intense competition for supply has driven the order fulfillment rate of major US and Chinese customers down to about 70%. Server DRAM contract prices have surged sharply by 40-50%, with capacity constraints also impacting lower-priority customers, whose fulfillment rates could drop below 40% over the next two quarters.

Tuesday 28 October 2025

Winbond boosts memory production capex over fivefold amid tight supply

Taiwan-based memory manufacturer Winbond Electronics Corp. has approved a capex budget of NT$35.509 billion (US$1.16 billion) to restructure its memory production capacity in response to evolving demand fueled by artificial intelligence applications. The expanded investment plan marks a significant increase from initial projections and aims to enhance the company's manufacturing capabilities starting in late 2025.

Tuesday 28 October 2025

China's CXMT, YMTC power into AI memory super cycle

The global memory market is entering a "super cycle" driven by the booming adoption of AI, data center upgrades, and growing demand for high-performance computing (HPC). With inventories cleared and prices rebounding, both DRAM and NAND sectors are gaining strength, signaling a long-awaited upturn for the industry.

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