In recent months, there's been no shortage of chatter in global media about a so-called "TSMC-to-the-rescue" narrative surrounding Intel. Yet when Lip-bu Tan took the stage for his first public address as Intel's new CEO at the Intel Vision 2025 summit, he gave no indication of such a storyline.

According to a press release, Qualcomm has acquired MovianAI, the former generative AI division of VinAI, which is part of the Vingroup. This acquisition will enhance Qualcomm's R&D capabilities, potentially fostering significant innovations.

At the 2025 ZGC Forum, Chinese chipmaker Loongson introduced the 3C6000/D—its first dual-socket 2U server fully designed and manufactured in-house. The launch highlights China's efforts to advance homegrown high-performance computing (HPC) technologies amid tightening US export restrictions and signals progress in building domestic alternatives to foreign server chips.

Chinese distributors of Nvidia's H20 GPU are facing severe supply constraints as demand surges for AI computing power in the market. According to a notice from Chinese tech firm H3C to its customers on March 25, international supply chain uncertainties have nearly depleted current inventory, with the next shipment expected mid-April.

Hiroshi Kawamoto, Division Officer, Finance Division of Tokyo Electron Limited (TEL), one of Japan's leading semiconductor equipment manufacturers, projects that demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) equipment—vital for powering generative AI—will continue to grow. However, he anticipates that sales of front-end semiconductor manufacturing processes in 2025 will likely remain on par with 2024 levels.

AMD has completed its acquisition of ZT Systems, aiming to strengthen its AI infrastructure offerings, the company announced on March 31. The deal will integrate ZT Systems' design teams into AMD's Data Center Solutions unit, enhancing AI system deployment while paving the way for strategic partnerships in US-based data center manufacturing.

Amid the AI boom, much of the spotlight has focused on Chinese chips like Huawei's Ascend. Yet, general-purpose computing power, still dominated by CPUs, remains a critical foundation. Most enterprise servers continue to adopt a "CPU plus AI accelerator" setup. Even Nvidia, known for its GPUs, is developing its own Arm-based Grace CPU to meet this demand.

Nvidia's relationship with Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has evolved dramatically, affecting Nvidia's stock price and driving strong demand for its China-specific H20 GPU in China. Since late January 2025, major Chinese technology companies have been aggressively purchasing servers to deploy DeepSeek AI models, creating unprecedented demand for Nvidia's H20 chips.

On March 31, at his first public appearance as CEO during the Intel Vision conference in Las Vegas, Lip-bu Tan outlined his strategy for Intel, which includes spinning off non-core assets, enhancing AI-related products, and collaborating with the US government to attract 2 to 3 key customers for its foundry business.

To strengthen academic exchange and collaboration between Taiwan and Japan, the renowned Japanese research institute RIKEN has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Taiwan's National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) to drive joint research in advanced scientific fields. Notably, the partnership will expand into next-generation compound semiconductor research starting in 2026.

Global semiconductor leaders are preparing to showcase their latest innovations at Computex 2025 in Taipei this May, with industry attention firmly focused on potential new AI PC developments. Nvidia has secured the Taipei Pop Music Center for its keynote, while Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon and MediaTek CEO Rick Tsai will deliver highly anticipated addresses.

Oracle has contracted AMD to build an AI cluster with 30,000 AMD MI355X computing cards in a multibillion-dollar deal, according to Chairman Larry Ellison during the company's third-quarter fiscal year 2025 earnings call.

While cloud-based artificial intelligence (AI) continues to dominate the market, edge AI is steadily gaining traction. Industry sources highlight the need for seamless integration of connectivity, perception, and inference capabilities to accelerate edge AI adoption and enhance operational efficiency.

Global investment in front-end fab equipment is projected to increase by 2% year over year to US$110 billion in 2025, marking the sixth consecutive year of growth since 2020, according to SEMI. Expenditure is forecast to rise by 18% the following year, totaling US$130 billion.

Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) promoted Chyou-Huey Chiou to director general of the Industrial Development Administration (IDA) on March 26. The ceremony was presided over by MOEA Deputy Minister Cynthia Kiang.

On March 27, the National Development Council (NDC) of Taiwan released its economic outlook for February 2025, revealing a positive momentum in the country's economic activities, fueled by global investments in technology sectors. The report highlighted a substantial increase in capex by global tech giants in artificial intelligence (AI) and data centers, while Taiwan's strategic position in the semiconductor supply chain continues to bolster its export capabilities.

The South Korean government recently announced a collaboration with Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and DB Hitek to enhance the operational quality of the national public foundry platform, MoaFab, through advanced manpower, equipment support, and other resources.

Primarius Technologies, a Chinese electronic design automation (EDA) company that is publicly traded, announced on March 27 that it would acquire equity in Chengdu Analog Circuit Technology (Actt), a fellow Chinese firm, through a combination of cash payment and share issuance.

Silicon Motion Technology has entered the AI humanoid robotics supply chain and anticipates substantial growth from this area over the next five years, according to the flash device controller specialist.

Phison Electronics is accelerating its AI push through key partnerships, most notably with Ever Fortune.AI Co. The two companies have launched a joint venture, Chang Lian Technology, to develop AI-driven healthcare robots powered by Phison's proprietary aiDAPTIV+ platform. The first commercial unit is expected to debut as early as 2026, according to MarketScreener.

Recent reports indicate that China plans to introduce new chip performance standards regulations. Officially, the aim is to control the power consumption of chip products to promote energy savings and carbon reduction. However, many have noticed this will directly impact high-performance AI chips, such as Nvidia's H20. If the Chinese government is determined to enforce these regulations strictly, American chipmakers will have to adjust their product specifications to continue selling in the Chinese market.

Microcontroller (MCU) vendor Sonix Technology has ventured into the drone market by launching a high-resolution digital image transmission system to enhance the real-time control of unmanned vehicles.

Cadence Design Systems is fundamentally transforming, redefining itself as an AI computational software company as AI accelerates changes in semiconductor and system design, according to Brian Sung, country manager at Cadence Taiwan.

Chinese semiconductors may avoid engagement in traditional advanced process competition, potentially fostering a domestic chip manufacturer similar to "DeepSeek," according to Burn-Jeng Lin, former VP of R&D at TSMC.

The chairman of IC design house Inergy, John Lin, stated that the growth momentum in the server and energy storage sectors is promising. The company has successfully entered the supply chain for AI server cooling fan driver ICs, which are expected to gradually ramp up production in the second quarter of 2025, driving overall gross profit growth. He maintains a cautiously optimistic outlook on industry development for 2025.