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Saturday 24 January 2026

China advances T1000 carbon fiber supply chain for semiconductor materials

As the global semiconductor industry pushes forward with advanced processes, heterogeneous integration, and cutting-edge packaging, competition now extends beyond process nodes to include material stability and equipment performance. Recently, China's development in high-performance carbon fiber has drawn attention from semiconductor equipment makers and advanced manufacturing supply chains.

Saturday 24 January 2026

US-Taiwan tariff deal masks deeper semiconductor geopolitics

While the recent announcement that the US will lower tariffs on Taiwanese exports from 20% to 15% was welcomed by officials in Taipei as a diplomatic milestone, the reaction within the semiconductor supply chain has been more measured.

Saturday 24 January 2026

Energy limits AI growth; geopolitical stakes in rare earths, new packaging innovations reshape global supply chains

The Global Electronics Association's latest "2026 Electronics Industry Trend Forecast" highlights critical challenges and shifts that will impact the sector over the next few years. Chief among these are energy infrastructure constraints that are throttling AI expansion, a move toward strategic interdependence in regional supply chains, and advancements in packaging technologies that are transforming industry dynamics. These developments signal substantial changes in investment approaches, geopolitical relations, and manufacturing policies worldwide.

Friday 23 January 2026

Alibaba's T-Head Semiconductor reportedly eyes IPO amid China chip boom

Alibaba is reportedly planning to spin off its chip unit, T-Head Semiconductor, and pursue an initial public offering (IPO) to capitalize on the current surge in Chinese chipmaker listings.

Friday 23 January 2026

Taiwan-US semiconductor pact's financing details spark interpretation issues with broader industrial implications

Taiwan and the US have agreed to reduce tariffs and grant Taiwan most-favored-nation status under Section 232 for semiconductors and related products. However, a major issue has arisen regarding the financing for Taiwan's investment commitments. The US Fact Sheet cites Taiwan's credit guarantee financing as "at least" US$250 billion, while the official Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two specifies an "upper limit" of US$250 billion. This inconsistency has led to questions about the exact nature of Taiwan's financial obligations and how they will be implemented in the future.

Friday 23 January 2026

Samsung foundry ramps up utilization as Tesla orders near

Samsung Electronics' foundry division is expected to increase factory utilization to the 60%–70% range this year as the company focuses on improving profitability ahead of large-scale artificial intelligence chip production for Tesla, according to South Korean media reports, including The Asia Business Daily and ZDNet Korea.

Friday 23 January 2026

Rayzher restructures to boost global expansion and innovation in high-tech gas supply

Rayzher Industrial, a leader in high-tech gas supply systems, approved organizational restructuring and senior management changes at its board meeting on January 22. The company established an Innovation Business Group to support growth aligned with global semiconductor and advanced manufacturing industry trends.

Friday 23 January 2026

Thailand's tech hub ambitions: US$3.1 billion data centers, chip roadmap to 2050

Thailand is reinforcing its ambitions as a regional technology hub, approving US$3.1 billion in data center projects while unveiling a national semiconductor and advanced electronics strategy aimed at building a fully integrated "Made-in-Thailand" chip ecosystem by 2050.

Friday 23 January 2026

SAS charts new profit trajectory with GaN surge and semiconductor service chain value enhancement

Under the leadership of Sino-American Silicon Products Group (SAS) chairwoman Doris Hsu, 2026 was set to be a pivotal year for the group's compound semiconductor business unit, which was to advance aggressively. This outlook stemmed from SAS's deep positioning in high-performance power electronics and communication components, particularly its proactive deployment targeting AI servers and next-generation communication technologies.

Friday 23 January 2026

ASML leads chip equipment charge into advanced packaging

Global semiconductor equipment suppliers are accelerating their push into advanced packaging. They are positioning back-end processes as a new growth engine as artificial intelligence drives demand for more complex chip integration.

Friday 23 January 2026

Analysis: How Howard Lutnick is redrawing the memory-chip map

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is driving a fundamental reordering of the global semiconductor supply chain. According to exclusive analysis from DIGITIMES analyst Luke Lin, the administration has shifted its pressure campaign away from advanced logic chips and toward memory, delivering a blunt ultimatum to South Korea's two dominant producers: build wafer fabs in the US or face tariffs of up to 100%.

Friday 23 January 2026

TSMC and Samsung reduce 8-inch wafer capacity, but oversupply still remains

TSMC chairman C.C. Wei confirmed adjustments in 8-inch and mature process capacities to improve efficiency, with Samsung also cutting 8-inch output. Despite these reductions and price hikes by Chinese foundries like SMIC and Huahong, the 2026 market remains oversupplied.

Friday 23 January 2026

TSMC reveals dual purpose behind Chiayi AP7 plant as Yunlin expansion looms

TSMC has significantly expanded its advanced packaging capacity in recent years to meet surging AI customer demand. Despite planning six to eight phases for the Chiayi site, internal assessments indicate this remains insufficient. The company is now considering acquiring land for an additional facility in Yunlin, according to supply chain sources.

Friday 23 January 2026

South Korea-made EUV pellicles to be adopted at Samsung's Taylor fab

Industry sources stated that Samsung has signed equipment contracts and placed orders for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) photomask pellicle-related equipment for its Taylor fab with South Korean equipment supplier Fine Semitech Corp. (FST).

Friday 23 January 2026

Intel’s “better than guidance” quarter comes with a catch

Intel's latest financials highlight a fragile turnaround: while AI-linked data center demand and early traction in advanced manufacturing offer strategic promise, weak margins, volatile profitability, and cautious guidance suggest near-term pressure remains, keeping investor focus squarely on execution and the pace of recovery, which Intel attributed to tight supply across the industry.

Friday 23 January 2026

Lip-Bu Tan faces Intel's first real bottleneck of the AI era

Intel outlined an increasingly AI-centric roadmap across client PCs, data centers, and manufacturing. Still, executives cautioned that tight supply and early-stage foundry ramps continue to limit near-term revenue and profitability, keeping the company's turnaround highly dependent on execution through 2026.

Friday 23 January 2026

Intel slows its most ambitious node—and signals where the real battle is for now

Intel is sharpening its manufacturing strategy around yield improvement, selective capital spending, and differentiated advanced packaging, while keeping major 14A capacity investments on hold until customer demand is secured.

Thursday 22 January 2026

SAS shifts SiC strategy with 12-inch wafers and AI glasses innovation

Facing intense price wars triggered by China's rapid expansion in the global silicon carbide (SiC) wafer industry, Sino-American Silicon Products (SAS) chairwoman Doris Hsu has decisively reshaped the company's resource allocation. She revealed that standard SiC wafer prices have plunged 60-70% within six months due to market turbulence. In response, SAS is withdrawing from the commoditized power segment for GlobalWafers' SiC wafers and prioritizing three niche markets focused on high-barrier applications.

Thursday 22 January 2026

Nvidia overtakes Apple as TSMC's largest customer

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said rising demand for AI computing has pushed the company past Apple to become the largest customer of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).

Thursday 22 January 2026

GlobalWafers' Texas plant holds six-phase expansion potential

GlobalWafers chairwoman Doris Hsu said in a January 21, 2026, media interview that with easing inflation pressures and some central bank policy adjustments, the global economy is experiencing moderate growth despite ongoing challenges from geopolitical tensions and trade uncertainties.

Thursday 22 January 2026

GlobalWafers chair sees Taiwan's semiconductor edge, says AI is irreversible

On January 21, 2026, GlobalWafers chairwoman Doris Hsu spoke to the media about the recent US-Taiwan tariff agreement, which lowers Taiwan's reciprocal tariffs to 15% without stacking most-favored-nation (MFN) rates. This makes Taiwan the first country to secure tariff relief under Section 232. Both sides also plan to expand supply chain investment cooperation. Hsu called this a very positive outcome for Taiwan's overall industry and said it has eased market concerns.

Thursday 22 January 2026

GlobalWafers eyes quarterly revenue growth in 2026; chair sees better market than last year

GlobalWafers chairman Doris Hsu told the media on January 21, 2026, that the company's global expansion plans are starting to pay off, with subsidiaries in Niigata and Utsunomiya, Japan, as well as Denmark, all hitting record revenues in 2025. Niche products like gallium nitride (GaN) stood out for their strong performance. Hsu also outlined GlobalWafers' 2026 strategy and shared her outlook on market conditions.

Thursday 22 January 2026

Chinese AI chipmakers face mixed reactions to Nvidia H200 block

The US has confirmed that under a new set of stringent regulations, Nvidia's H200 is permitted to be exported to the Chinese market, and Chinese customers have expressed strong demand. However, the Chinese government has shown no intention of granting approval, causing supply chain plans that were originally preparing to ship to be put on hold. Currently, the main obstacle to entering the Chinese market is the mindset of the Chinese authorities. From the Chinese government's perspective, since domestic AI chips are already usable, there is no need to further allow China's AI development to rely more heavily on the US and Nvidia.

Thursday 22 January 2026

Taiwan advances second-phase quantum strategy, betting on hybrid computing and global partnerships

Taiwan's government is moving its quantum technology development program into a second phase, centered on building a national-level heterogeneous hybrid computing platform that integrates high-performance computing (HPC) with quantum computing (QC). Based in southern Taiwan, the system is intended to accelerate real-world applications through international cooperation, leveraging the country's strong semiconductor manufacturing expertise.

Thursday 22 January 2026

PSMC to upgrade DRAM processes as demand strengthens

Following its announcement to sell the Tongluo fab to Micron Technology, Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing (PSMC) provided an update on its latest operational plans.

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