DDR4 memory is experiencing a sharp rise in both price and volume due to tight supply, driving strong inventory replenishment momentum. This has rapidly heated up orders across the supply chain, boosting operational performance broadly.

On October 2, Meta announced the acquisition of US-based IC design company Rivos, which develops high-performance computing chips and solutions based on the RISC-V architecture. Interestingly, at the beginning of 2025, Meta also set its sights on South Korean chip startup FuriosaAI, a company gaining attention for its unique Tensor Contraction Processor (TCP) chip architecture and dedicated to enhancing AI performance through the efficiency of TCP design.

Semiconductor intelligence firm TechInsights has concluded, following a teardown of Huawei Technologies' Ascend 910C chip, that some of the components still come from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Samsung Electronics, and SK Hynix. The analysis showed that the chip die for the Ascend 910C was produced by TSMC and used high-bandwidth memory 2 enhanced (HBM2E) supplied by Samsung and SK Hynix.

Below are the most-read DIGITIMES Asia stories from the week of September 29–October 5.

The government of Andhra Pradesh is stepping up efforts to attract SK Hynix, one of the world's leading memory chipmakers, to establish a facility in India. According to The Deccan Chronicle, state officials have offered SK Hynix a package of incentives that includes large tracts of industrial land, streamlined approvals, and access to ports and airports, in hopes of positioning the state as a hub for advanced semiconductor manufacturing in eastern India. Senior state ministers B. C. Janardhan Reddy and P. Narayana reportedly presented the proposal to the Korean chipmaker during investment talks.

Kioxia, Japan's leading memory chip maker, is partnering with Nvidia to develop a revolutionary solid-state drive (SSD) nearly 100 times faster than conventional models. The new drive, designed for generative AI servers, is scheduled for a 2027 debut and will connect directly to graphics processors (GPUs).

Hanmi Semiconductor has established a local entity in Singapore to provide on-site support for its core customer, Micron. According to Korean media reports, including Financial News and Herald Economy, as Micron expands production, Hanmi Singapore will deploy senior engineers locally to offer fast and professional service.

After signing a letter of intent (LOI) for investment cooperation under the Stargate project with Samsung Electronics, OpenAI sent a team to visit Samsung's Pyeongtaek facility to assess its production capabilities for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and DRAM. The visit included detailed discussions on collaboration prospects for data center infrastructure.

OpenAI has signed a sweeping cooperation agreement with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, securing high-performance memory supplies for the massive Stargate Project. According to South Korean outlets ZDNet Korea and Money Today, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman personally visited Seoul, meeting Samsung Group chairman Jae-yong Lee and SK Group chairman Tae-won Chey before signing a letter of intent (LOI) to formalize the deal.

Taiwanese memory makers have emerged as major beneficiaries of the recent DDR4 supply shortage, which has driven rapid price increases. Companies like Nanya and Winbond saw significant profit rebounds in August 2025, fueled by higher average selling prices and inventory write-back gains. This momentum positions them for a profitable third quarter of 2025.

Seoul prosecutors have arrested and indicted three former employees of Samsung Electronics for allegedly leaking advanced nanoscale DRAM process technology to China's Changxin Memory Technologies (CXMT). The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office estimates the breach caused Samsung revenue losses of approximately KRW5 trillion (US$3.56 billion) in 2024 alone. The accused now occupy key research and development positions at CXMT.

Western Digital (WD), the world's largest hard disk drive (HDD) manufacturer, announced plans to invest US$1 billion in Japan over the next five years to strengthen next-generation HDD technology and production processes. The move aims to enhance HDD performance while expanding research collaborations and talent recruitment, reflecting Japan's continued strategic importance to WD's operations.

Memory module maker Adata has announced a public tender offer to acquire pneumatic tool manufacturer De Poan at NT$32 (approx. US$1.05) per share, aiming to purchase up to nearly 70% of De Poan's outstanding stock for a total consideration reaching NT$1.152 billion.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman arrived in South Korea on October 1 to advance cooperation agreements with leading conglomerates SK Group and Samsung. His visit included meetings with SK chairman Chey Tae-won and Samsung chairman Lee Jae-yong, underscoring the country's growing role in artificial intelligence development.

The global market for key components has recently seen another wave of price fluctuations. Memory products are experiencing especially significant increases, impacting the industrial PC (IPC) industry. IPC vendors acknowledge that with memory manufacturers successively announcing end-of-life plans and demand from edge computing, AI, and various industrial applications continuing to rise, companies still reliant on DDR4 are feeling the pressure. Prices are unlikely to fall in the short term. To mitigate the impact of these price spikes, IPC manufacturers are being forced to adopt diversified supplier certifications and speed up the integration of new specifications.

Memory chip prices surged across all categories in September after a weak August, with some products jumping more than 40% in a broad-based rally.

Kioxia and its long-time partner SanDisk announced on September 30 that their new chip factory in northern Japan has officially begun operations, a strategic move to meet the surging global demand for memory fueled by artificial intelligence (AI).

US sanctions are taking a toll on one of China's top chipmakers, Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC), as its share of the global NAND flash memory market has slipped below 5%.

Samsung Electronics has reportedly appointed Rajesh Krishnan as the new head of Samsung Semiconductor India Research (SSIR), signaling a strategic push to strengthen local R&D leadership while accelerating its expansion in the Indian semiconductor market, according to The Seoul Economy Daily.

Although semiconductor chip tariffs have yet to be finalized, with exchange rates stabilizing and strong pull-in momentum from major smartphone and AI chip clients, TSMC's third quarter 2025 revenue in USD is expected to surpass its financial forecast. Based on a full-year US$ revenue growth estimate of 30%, fourth quarter 2025 revenue is projected to decline by around 10%.

Samsung Electronics is expected to confirm by late September 2025 that its 12-layer fifth-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM3E) has cleared customer validation, South Korean media reported. The announcement would end Samsung's earlier silence and signal to the market that its technology is keeping pace with competitors.

The memory market is warming up, with DRAM and NAND flash prices rising consecutively. Several Taiwanese memory-related companies have successively announced their preliminary profits for August 2025, effectively revealing the third quarter operational results ahead of schedule.

SK Hynix is reportedly set to begin producing GDDR7 memory on its sixth-generation 1c DRAM node, a 10nm-class technology. Likely customers include long-standing partners Tesla and Nvidia. The company plans to match production to product launch schedules, with a mass ramp-up of 1c GDDR7 targeted for 2026.

China's growing demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) is reshaping its chip sector. Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC), long centered on NAND flash, is planning to expand into DRAM to produce HBM for artificial intelligence chips, according to three sources cited by Reuters. The plan underscores Beijing's urgency to boost domestic chipmaking after the US expanded export controls in December 2024, restricting China's access to HBM.