SK Hynix reported record second-quarter revenue, underscoring the firm's strong demand for AI-related memory despite supply constraints and shifting customer buying patterns. The South Korean chipmaker said it is expanding long-term agreements with major customers to lock in demand and support investment planning. The company also expects HBM and DRAM to remain key growth drivers into the second half of 2026.
Growing demand for AI chips is sending a larger share of South Korea's semiconductor exports to Taiwan, where Korean-made high-bandwidth memory (HBM) moves into advanced packaging processes led by TSMC.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella laid out how the company is scaling its AI infrastructure and platform to keep pace with demand. He outlined these plans during an earnings call on July 29, when he also announced record revenue above US$331 billion for fiscal year 2026 (ending on June 30), with Microsoft Cloud earnings surpassing US$214 billion and Azure earnings surpassing US$100 billion.
China's immersion DUV lithography programme has brought a little-known state-backed company into focus. Shanghai Aishengna Electronic Technology Group, founded in August 2023 with CNY7 billion (approx. US$1.03 billion) in registered capital, is reportedly coordinating limited production of domestically developed lithography systems.
GlobalFoundries has signed a letter of intent with the US Department of Commerce for a potential US$300 million award to accelerate US development of silicon photonics technologies used in AI and high-performance computing data centres.
Memory prices are expected to remain elevated through 2026 as AI and data-center demand strains supply, with meaningful supply relief unlikely until well into 2027. A South Korean securities analyst argues that the squeeze could also make it harder for China to expand AI use, although Washington has not identified high memory prices as a policy tool.
Samsung Electronics' foundry business expects its 2nm project wins to more than double year-on-year in 2026, and the company is in talks with Broadcom and other major customers on multiple projects, foundry business EVP Sukchae Kang said on Samsung's earnings call for the second quarter of 2026. This is the clearest sign yet that its advanced-node business is gaining commercial traction after years of trailing TSMC.
Ennoconn Technologies held its 2026 Semiconductor x AI Applications Forum at Google's Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore on July 29 and signed a memorandum of understanding with the Singapore Manufacturers' Federation (SMF) on the same occasion. The event marked a further step in the Taiwanese technology group's expansion into Southeast Asia's semiconductor and artificial intelligence markets.
