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Wednesday 24 December 2025

Taiwan's November export orders up nearly 40%, driven by US AI demand

Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) announced on December 23, 2025, that export orders from the US reached US$28.45 billion in November 2025, up 12.5% sequentially and 56.1% year-over-year. Orders for information and communications products, focused on artificial intelligence (AI) servers, rose by US$6.43 billion, marking a sharp year-over-year increase of 117.7%.

Wednesday 24 December 2025

SMIC signals mature-node price turnaround with reported 10% hike

China's leading foundry, SMIC, is reported to have issued price increase notices to selected customers, marking the start of a pricing adjustment. The company has yet to formally confirm the move.

Wednesday 24 December 2025

Malaysia's semiconductor packaging and testing industry gains momentum with Taiwanese investments

Malaysia's semiconductor packaging and testing sector is experiencing rapid growth driven by Taiwanese and other foreign investments, according to PwC Taiwan. The firm highlights Malaysia's strategic advantages, including its diverse talent pool, geographic benefits, mature legal framework, and supportive policies, as key factors positioning the country as an emerging hub for semiconductor and high-tech industries in Southeast Asia.

Wednesday 24 December 2025

Samsung boosts Texas staff and upgrades gear to hit 2026 targets for Tesla and xAI

Samsung Electronics is reportedly advancing preparations for its 2026 wafer foundry scale-up at the Taylor, Texas, fab by increasing local headquarters staff and reorganizing production to satisfy key customer Tesla's requirements. The company aims to fast-track volume manufacturing targets for the second half of 2026.

Wednesday 24 December 2025

US sets June 2027 deadline for China chip tariff spike

The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) has concluded a year-long Section 301 investigation into China's acts, policies, and practices related to its semiconductor industry, determining that they are actionable under US trade law. The findings were published in a notice dated December 23, 2025, and are scheduled to appear in the Federal Register on December 29.

Wednesday 24 December 2025

2D materials: from memory entry to logic's future

Two-dimensional (2D) materials were once regarded as important candidates for extending semiconductor scaling. Because they are only an atom thick, they are theoretically very suitable for fabricating extremely small, ultra-low-power transistors. However, once these ideas move into advanced logic processes, challenges begin to surface. The problem lies in the fact that using 2D materials to fabricate FETs requires process control that is nearly at the single-atom level.

Wednesday 24 December 2025

CHIPX eyes Malaysia for 8-inch GaN-on-SiC wafer fab

Dublin-based semiconductor startup CHIPX plans to build an 8-inch gallium nitride on silicon carbide wafer fabrication plant in Malaysia to meet rising demand from artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and high-voltage power electronics, CEO and founder Chinmoy Baruah told DIGITIMES Asia. The project aims to establish a front-end manufacturing presence in Southeast Asia, with the company expecting to reach key milestones beginning in January 2026.

Wednesday 24 December 2025

Quantum reshapes cybersecurity as AI and industrial sectors deploy PQC

Traditional encryption systems are facing challenges as AI and quantum computing advance. In early 2025, international financial institutions and automotive supply chains began adopting post-quantum cryptography (PQC) to prepare for potential threats posed by quantum computers. Now, AI data centers and industrial applications are also integrating PQC.

Tuesday 23 December 2025

Silicon Optronics eyes BSI and low-power products in face of memory supply concerns

Silicon Optronics (SOI) highlighted at its recent earnings call that ongoing price hikes and shortages in consumer memory remain unresolved, potentially tightening wafer foundry supply for the company's lens module-related chips. The firm warned that since SoCs integrated with lenses require memory support, shortages in consumer memory could limit production volumes of mid- to low-end consumer applications due to high costs or material mismatches. Given that this segment is a core shipment market for SOI, the company said it will closely monitor developments.

Tuesday 23 December 2025

US probes top Southeast Asian Nvidia buyer over chip smuggling

US authorities are investigating Singapore-based cloud provider Megaspeed International Pte. amid concerns that Nvidia chips could have been diverted to China, as a senior Republican lawmaker presses the Commerce Department to tighten enforcement of US export controls.

Tuesday 23 December 2025

Weltrend expects USB PD market share to remain strong as heat-management ICs grow

At a recent investor briefing, Weltrend Semiconductor discussed its two major business pillars: USB Power Delivery (USB PD) chips and fan driver ICs for heat management. While USB PD shipments continue to grow, average selling prices (ASPs) have declined due to increased competition. For fan driver ICs, rising demand from AI servers and market share gains drove year-to-date growth of 37.2% in the first three quarters of 2025, with this product line now contributing more to overall revenue than USB PD. Despite mixed performance in 2025, Weltrend emphasized that both key growth segments have strong potential to continue upward in 2026.

Tuesday 23 December 2025

Rohm, Tata Electronics form partnership to manufacture power semiconductors in India

Rohm and Tata Electronics said they have entered into a strategic partnership to establish semiconductor manufacturing operations in India, targeting both domestic and overseas markets, as the two companies seek to expand their presence amid growing efforts to localize chip supply chains.

Tuesday 23 December 2025

Exclusive: Why photons beat copper in AI factories—Celestial AI Co-founder on Marvell's acquisition

In a year when artificial intelligence spending has begun to resemble a national infrastructure program, Celestial AI has chosen to stop being a standalone startup. Preet Virk, the company's co-founder and chief operating officer, says the decision to sell to Marvell was less about scale for its own sake than about physics, efficiency, and timing.

Tuesday 23 December 2025

China's space launch surge exposes Taiwan's tech gap

As privately owned rocket and satellite manufacturers in the United States continue to surge, China has been accelerating its own commercial space ambitions. Beyond its extensive low-Earth-orbit satellite deployment plans, the privately held Chinese launch company LandSpace Technology achieved a milestone on December 3, 2025, when its Zhuque-3 rocket completed a successful maiden flight.

Tuesday 23 December 2025

Wingtech-Nexperia talks continue as chair warns dispute threatens global chip supply

Talks between China's Wingtech Technology and its Dutch subsidiary Nexperia are ongoing as the companies seek to resolve a governance dispute that has disrupted semiconductor supplies, with Wingtech's chair warning that prolonged uncertainty could further damage global supply chains.

Tuesday 23 December 2025

Korean chip industry faces mounting pressure from escalating power prices

Electricity costs for South Korea's domestic semiconductor manufacturing industry have reportedly surged, raising concerns over mounting cost pressures on chipmakers. Over the past four years, electricity consumption has risen by only about 9%, yet total electricity bills have more than doubled.

Tuesday 23 December 2025

Nexperia's China unit secures local wafer supply under governance dispute

The Chinese subsidiary of Nexperia, the Dutch semiconductor manufacturer, has moved to secure wafer capacity from domestic suppliers to support production of key products in 2026, according to documents reviewed by Reuters. The shift underscores a widening rupture between the China operation and its European parent, as disputes over corporate governance and control continue to reshape the company's global supply chain.

Tuesday 23 December 2025

TRI's 2025 operations hit record highs, with advanced packaging opportunities to further drive growth

Optical and electrical inspection equipment supplier Test Research Inc. (TRI) held an online investor conference on December 16, 2025, stating that, benefiting from continued strong demand for networking servers, semiconductors, and automotive electronics, its 2025 revenue is confirmed to hit a record high. The company expects 2026 order momentum to remain strong, significantly reducing the impact of traditional seasonality, with full-year operations expected to continue setting new highs. Gross margin is projected to remain firmly in the 55–60% range.

Monday 22 December 2025

Central bank raises Taiwan's 2025 growth forecast to 7.31%

Taiwan's Central Bank has sharply revised its economic growth forecast for 2025 to 7.31% from the 4.55% projected in September, citing the absence of US semiconductor tariffs under Section 232 and a stronger-than-expected surge in AI demand driving export momentum.

Monday 22 December 2025

Pan Jit snaps up Vietnam plant to ramp auto chip output

Pan Jit International Inc. signed a definitive agreement on December 18, 2025, to acquire a 95% stake in Torex Vietnam Semiconductor, a move aimed at expanding the Taiwanese firm's manufacturing footprint and scaling its automotive-grade chip production. The transaction follows an initial memorandum of understanding signed in February 2025 and initiates the formal equity transfer process between the companies.

Monday 22 December 2025

King Yuan Electronics ramps up expansion in Singapore amid AI chip testing surge

King Yuan Electronics (KYEC) is accelerating its expansion efforts in Taiwan and Singapore to address rising demand for AI chip testing services. The Taiwanese testing and assembly firm plans to establish its first overseas manufacturing base in Singapore, aiming to commence mass production by 2027, according to KYEC chairman C.K. Lee.

Monday 22 December 2025

TSMC's CoPoS equipment set for mid-2026; overseas suppliers shake up Taiwan firms

Benefiting from surges in AI GPU, and ASIC demand, both TSMC and non-TSMC camps have raised their 2026 CoWoS capacity plans. Notably, due to CoWoS supply shortages and Nvidia's requirements, TSMC's foundry orders are gradually spilling over to OSAT companies like Amkor and ASE, raising market concerns about a potential loss of TSMC's market share.

Monday 22 December 2025

Weekly news roundup: Intel's TSMC talent grab draws scrutiny, Samsung foundry lands Intel order, Moore's Law talent gap looms

These are the most-read DIGITIMES Asia stories in the week of December 15 to December 21, 2025.

Monday 22 December 2025

Japan-based AOI Electronics to support Kaynes' semiconductor back-end expansion in India

AOI Electronics, a Japan-based semiconductor assembly and test provider, has entered into a business alliance with India's Kaynes Semicon Private Limited and Japan's Mitsui to support the establishment of a semiconductor back-end processing business in India.

Monday 22 December 2025

TSMC pushes back on Japan fab delay rumors, keeps options open

According to Nikkei, Yuichi Hotta, president of TSMC's Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing (JASM), confirmed on December 19 that construction of the second wafer fabrication plant in Kikuyo Town, Kumamoto Prefecture, is continuing. This statement counters recent reports by Japanese media suggesting the project had stalled.

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