The South Korean government recently announced several industrial growth plans, including support programs for the localization of silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductors. The SiC power semiconductor market relies heavily on the electric vehicle (EV) sector. Although current growth has slowed, medium- to long-term expansion is expected to accelerate. Therefore, whether South Korea can leverage more advanced technologies to compete with Chinese manufacturers on price will be a critical factor.

In the first half of 2025, SK Hynix recorded the highest operating profit and the largest corporate tax payment among South Korean companies. The surge in demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM), fueled by advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) applications, significantly contributed to the semiconductor manufacturer's financial performance, according to The Chosun Ilbo.

Samsung Electronics' foundry business is quietly expanding its client roster after securing a landmark US$16.5 billion contract with Tesla in July 2025 to manufacture AI chips. Analysts believe the deal could mark a turning point for the company starting in 2026.

Driven by strong AI demand, memory contract prices for NAND and DRAM rose sharply by an estimated 15-20% in the fourth quarter of 2025, breaking traditional year-end price decline patterns. Supply shortages led to aggressive procurement from cloud service providers, with high-stack 3D NAND products nearly sold out.

Robots and self-driving cars are driving the emergence of "physical AI," a new era of on-device processing that's shifting focus away from cloud-based large language models. According to South Korean startup Maum AI, this trend is creating new demands for semiconductors.

China is reportedly probing whether US-made analog chips are being dumped into its market, a move widely seen as targeting Texas Instruments (TI), the dominant US supplier of analog semiconductors.

Chinese chip equipment maker Piotech said on September 12 its unit Piotech Jianke (Haining) Semiconductor Equipment has kicked off a new funding round at a CNY2.5 billion (approx. US$350 million) pre-investment valuation, seeking to raise as much as CNY1.04 billion. The deal drew in China's Big Fund Phase III, marking the state-backed vehicle's first publicly disclosed investment since its launch.

Dutch chipmaker NXP Semiconductors plans to complete its CEO transition by October 2025. Current CEO Kurt Sievers, who will remain in the position until then, made what is likely his final visit to Taiwan as chief executive during SEMICON Taiwan 2025. Incoming CEO Rafael Sotomayor also attended the event and met with Taiwanese partners as part of the planned leadership change.

TSMC's successful establishment of a chip manufacturing plant in Arizona has reignited semiconductor development efforts in countries including India, Vietnam, and Qatar. Industry sources note that while the US, Europe, and Japan maintain leadership in semiconductor manufacturing through strong government support, emerging regions are increasingly seeking cooperation with Taiwan's semiconductor ecosystem to advance their own industries.

Taiwan's green energy market is confronting a severe electricity shortage, raising concerns among renewable energy providers and large enterprises, particularly in the semiconductor industry. Despite rising commitments to sustainability through the RE100 initiative, insufficient green power supply threatens to derail companies' environmental targets and potentially cause significant order shifts to overseas competitors.