Samsung Electronics is reportedly accelerating construction at its Pyeongtaek semiconductor complex to expand production of next-generation high-bandwidth memory, aiming to secure supply for global cloud providers and AI chipmakers as demand intensifies. The company has reportedly approved plans to convert additional space in its P4 fab into dedicated 1c DRAM lines and has advanced completion dates for key production zones, according to Korean media reports.
Douglas Yu, former TSMC R&D vice president, highlighted the development of TSMC's 3D Fabric platform, including challenges in early adoption and the impact of founder Morris Chang's leadership.
Broadcom reported record revenue in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025, driven by soaring AI semiconductor demand, and issued an upbeat outlook for the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 with expectations that AI chip revenue will double year over year.
Broadcom is rapidly scaling its custom AI chip business, with CEO Hock Tan detailing a US$73 billion AI backlog, major new ASIC customers, and multi-billion-dollar XPU orders. The company expects to accelerate AI revenue through fiscal year 2026 as hyperscalers expand large-scale model training and inference infrastructure.
As the demand for cloud artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure rapidly grows, multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) have emerged as one of the top cost contributors in AI server bills of materials (BOM), second only to graphics processing units (GPUs) and memory modules. This surge is driven by rising average selling prices and increased per-unit usage of MLCCs in next-generation AI server designs.
MediaTek is recalibrating its business strategy by targeting automotive electronics as a next major growth area, following a slowdown in smartphone-related revenue. The company has already embarked on a push into application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) tied to Google's TPUs, aiming to capture US$1 billion in ASIC revenue by 2026. Now, it forecasts that automotive electronics will emerge as another billion-dollar revenue stream within two to three years.
Taiwan's semiconductor supply chain, which produces over 60% of the world's chips, faces growing pressure to expand overseas amid rising geopolitical tensions. Gudeng Precision Industrial, a key player in Taiwan's semiconductor ecosystem as a precision component manufacturer, offers a critical perspective on these challenges.
Canon has reportedly entered final negotiations to invest in a state-backed chipmaker, while SoftBank prepares to increase its financial support, marking a significant step in Japan's bid to revitalize its semiconductor industry. Kyodo News reported that the funding aims to support mass production of 2nm chips at the Chitose plant in Hokkaido by the second half of fiscal 2027 and establish a foundation for future 1.4nm manufacturing.
Samsung Electronics is reportedly preparing for urgent negotiations with Micron Technology at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, as surging mobile DRAM prices and tightening supply threaten to disrupt production plans for the upcoming Galaxy S26, according to South Korean media reports.
Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek is under scrutiny for allegedly circumventing US export restrictions by illegally acquiring thousands of Nvidia's Blackwell architecture GPUs. Nvidia acknowledged the situation but said it had no concrete evidence and would investigate all available leads.
China's dominance of the global polysilicon market is forcing the industry into two divergent paths: domestic consolidation to manage a swelling glut, and US-backed overseas production to diversify supply chains. The trend highlights a deepening geopolitical divide over a material essential to both solar manufacturing and high-purity semiconductor applications.
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