After US President Donald Trump approved Nvidia's H200 exports to China on 9 December, domestic GPU start-up Moore Threads responded with rapid action.
Samsung Electronics will debut its new 2nm Exynos 2600 processor in the Galaxy S26 series, but deployment may be largely limited to South Korea. Contractual ties with Qualcomm, production yield challenges, and consumer perceptions of Exynos performance could restrict the chip's broader adoption, potentially affecting Samsung's control over its flagship device supply chain.
In the wake of multiple high-profile resignations at Apple, Johny Srouji, the company's senior vice president of hardware technologies responsible for its in-house chip development, has reassured staff that he plans to stay with the firm for the foreseeable future. His statement came after reports suggested he was considering leaving.
The Indo-Pacific region has become the world's most critical theater for both technology manufacturing and geopolitical competition. As military tensions escalate across East Asia, executives are increasingly questioning whether their supply chains can withstand potential disruptions.
Baidu is considering a spin-off and listing of its AI chip unit Kunlunxin, a development that has quickly become a focal point in China's fast-moving GPU and AI semiconductor market. The company said it is evaluating the potential listing but noted any move would require regulatory clearance and is not guaranteed.
Apple chip leader Johny Srouji has reassured staff that he plans to stay with the firm for the foreseeable future, following reports that states he considered leaving for another tech company.
SK Hynix and battery subsidiaries within SK Group received approval for 68 core patents in China in November 2025. Many of these patents relate to highly integrated memory designs and solid-state battery stability technologies, which are expected to accelerate the development of next-generation AI chips and electric vehicle batteries, enhancing competitiveness in the Chinese market.
China's AI boom is redefining global tech rivalry, placing AI chips at the center of computing infrastructure. Domestic GPU makers are now rushing into capital markets, attempting to turn years of R&D into financial scale as competition and localization demands intensify.
The South Korean government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Arm Holdings, the UK-based silicon IP provider, to establish an educational institution tentatively named "Arm School." The initiative aims to develop around 1,400 integrated circuit (IC) design professionals to strengthen South Korea's system semiconductor capabilities, which are currently considered relatively weak.
US President Donald Trump said his administration will allow Nvidia to ship H200 AI accelerators to approved customers in China under conditions tied to national-security reviews and a 25% revenue payment to the US government. The move marks a major shift in Washington's chip-export approach and offers Nvidia a partial win after months of lobbying.
In a global GPU market dominated by US-based Nvidia, Chinese startup Moore Threads is rapidly emerging as a formidable local challenger. The driving force behind this bold counterattack is founder and CEO Jianzhong Zhang, whose 14-year career at Nvidia adds another dimension to the company's strategy.
According to the latest report published by DIGITIMES Asia, global data center AI chip shipments are projected to grow from 30.5 million units in 2024 to 53.4 million units in 2030. This data center AI chip category includes high-end and mid-range GPUs, application-specific AI chips (such as Google's TPUs), AI server CPUs, and networking/interconnect-related chips (e.g., Switch ASICs/rack-scale-up Interconnect Chips/DPUs & NICs).
According to IDC's latest forecast, released on December 5, 2025, China is expected to overtake Taiwan, accounting for the world's second-largest integrated circuit (IC) design revenue starting in 2026. The shift is attributed to China's aggressive pursuit of chip demand autonomy and the rapid emergence of domestic startups focused on edge computing and AIoT markets.
As tech giants race to build data centers targeting artificial general intelligence (AGI), IBM CEO Arvind Krishna cautions that the industry is on a costly path that's difficult to recoup.
South Korea is racing to slash its more than 90% dependence on imported power semiconductors. Industry leaders warn that this reliance threatens the country's competitiveness in electric vehicles (EVs), data centers, and emerging mobility markets. Airport ground support equipment (GSE) has emerged as a strategic platform to validate and scale domestic power semiconductor technologies.
At WIRED's Big Interview event in San Francisco, AMD CEO Lisa Su rejected claims that the technology sector is drifting into an AI bubble. Pressed on whether the industry is in bubble territory, she responded, "Emphatically, from my perspective, no."
Moore Threads, billed as China's first domestic GPU stock, debuted on 5 December with a near fivefold jump from its issue price, becoming the STAR Market's largest IPO in 2025. The company issued 70 million shares at CNY114.28 each, equal to 14.89% of total equity, and expects net proceeds of CNY7.576 billion (approx. US$1.07 billion) to accelerate AI chip development.
After meeting US President Donald Trump on December 3, 2025, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang expressed uncertainty about whether China would accept the H200 AI chip if the US were to loosen its sales restrictions.
Nvidia has made another major move by investing US$2 billion in Synopsys, one of the world's largest chip design and engineering software companies. The investment will expand Nvidia's reach into software, chip design automation, and AI-driven engineering.
Samsung, on December 3, confirmed its next-generation Exynos 2600 mobile processor in an official teaser video, signaling a renewed commitment to in-house silicon for the upcoming Galaxy S26 smartphone lineup despite lingering consumer frustration over performance disparities in international markets.
In an unusual move, Samsung Electronics has released a teaser video for its next-generation mobile application processor, the Exynos 2600, before the chip officially hits the market. The announcement signals Samsung's growing confidence in its chipmaking capabilities, with leaked benchmark data suggesting that the Exynos 2600 could rival the latest processors from Qualcomm and Apple.
Taiwan's Edom Technology, a leading distributor of semiconductor and electronic components and a provider of integrated platform solutions for OEMs and ODMs, hosted a landmark seminar on December 3, highlighting the next generation of physical artificial intelligence (AI). Focused on Nvidia's newly released Jetson Thor platform, the event explored how advanced AI can be embedded directly into autonomous machines to deliver real-time decision-making and operational efficiency.
Nvidia's recent acquisition of a stake in Synopsys has stirred debate about the potential impact on the UALink Consortium, an industry group focused on establishing open standards for AI accelerator interconnects. The investment follows Nvidia's attempt to strengthen its position amid growing competition from ASIC and chip suppliers like AMD and Intel Corporation.
For years, the artificial intelligence chip market has been dominated by a singular narrative: Nvidia's GPUs reigning supreme as the engines powering the AI revolution. But as cloud giants confront mounting costs and seek greater control over their computing destinies, a quieter transformation has been taking shape. This shift could fundamentally alter the balance of power in the semiconductor industry.
As the semiconductor industry navigates an increasingly complex competitive landscape driven by artificial intelligence, the strategies companies employ to gain market advantage are evolving rapidly. While traditional horizontal consolidation remains a factor, a new wave of vertical integration is reshaping power dynamics among the industry's leading players.
