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Tuesday 14 April 2026

Samsung begins P4 equipment orders as 1c DRAM investment enters execution

Samsung Electronics has begun procuring semiconductor equipment for its P4 facility in Pyeongtaek, marking the transition of its planned 1c nanometer DRAM investment into the execution phase, according to South Korean media reports.

Tuesday 14 April 2026

AI infrastructure boom triggers NAND shortage, memory profits seen rising 2–3x, Silicon Motion says

Silicon Motion's president, Wallace Kou, said the memory industry is undergoing an irreversible structural shift driven by AI infrastructure growth. Since August 2025, NAND flash prices have surged 4–10x, and module makers' profits are expected to grow 2–3x in 2026 as this becomes the new normal.

Tuesday 14 April 2026

Silicon Motion breaks ground on Taipei HQ, targets 2030 opening to anchor dual-site operations

Silicon Motion Technology held a groundbreaking ceremony on April 13 for its new corporate headquarters in Taipei, marking a key step toward expanding its operational footprint. The company plans to connect its two major sites — in Taipei and Zhubei, a major tech hub in northern Taiwan — through the new Taipei facility, which is expected to open by 2030.

Tuesday 14 April 2026

Nanya Technology posts NT$26 billion profit in 1Q26 as DRAM prices surge over 70%

Nanya Technology reported strong financial results for the first quarter of 2026, driven by a significant rise in DRAM prices and artificial intelligence (AI)-fueled demand across key market segments.

Tuesday 14 April 2026

Phison eyes US$1.4B fundraising to tackle severe NAND shortage in 4Q26

Phison Electronics founder and CEO Pua Khein-Seng warned that the current NAND Flash shortage will worsen significantly in the second half of 2026, with an acute supply crunch expected in the fourth quarter of 2026, where "even money can't buy stock." To secure inventory amid this tight market, Phison has broken its no-debt tradition by launching a syndicated loan in March and plans to issue US$800 million in Euro-convertible bonds (ECB), targeting over NT$43 billion (US$1.4 billion) in total fundraising for 2026.

Tuesday 14 April 2026

Samsung boosts Galaxy S26 production by 600,000 units in April

Samsung Electronics has raised its production plans for the Galaxy S26 series in April 2026 from 2.4 million to 3 million units, driven mainly by strong demand for its top-tier Galaxy S26 Ultra model, which accounts for 60-70% of sales and serves as a key growth driver.

Tuesday 14 April 2026

DDR5 dethrones HBM as memory's top profit engine

The AI boom has reshuffled memory industry priorities. DDR5 modules have overtaken high-bandwidth memory (HBM) as the primary profit source for manufacturers — a reversal few anticipated. Once hailed as the core product of the AI era, HBM is now weighed down by yield difficulties and capacity constraints. DDR5, meanwhile, has quietly become the margin champion.

Monday 13 April 2026

Qualcomm moves into custom DRAM with CXMT for smartphones

Qualcomm is reportedly exploring a partnership with China's Changxin Memory Technologies (CXMT) to develop custom DRAM tailored for smartphones, a move that reflects mounting pressure across the mobile supply chain as memory shortages and rising costs reshape industry dynamics.

Monday 13 April 2026

Taiwan's monthly exports top US$80 billion for first time, fueled by AI demand

Taiwan's exports rose to a record high in March, supported by demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and memory-related products, according to the Ministry of Finance.

Monday 13 April 2026

Weekly news roundup: Shortages spread to MLCCs; SK Hynix reportedly in talks with Microsoft and Google

Below are the most-read DIGITIMES Asia stories from the week of April 6-April 13, 2026:

Monday 13 April 2026

AI memory crunch revives DDR3 in PC market

AI demand is squeezing global DRAM supply to the point where the PC market is turning back to decade-old technology. Shortages in DDR5 and DDR4 have pushed prices high enough to revive DDR3 platforms, with Fnnews reporting that Colorful Yugong Technology (formerly Seethru Co.) will restart limited production of Intel H81 motherboards in May to target low-cost PC builds.

Saturday 11 April 2026

Catcher adopts cautious outlook, citing supply chain bottlenecks and cost pressures

Despite revenue growth in March 2026, Catcher Technology is maintaining a prudent outlook for 2026, citing supply chain bottlenecks, cost pressures, and uncertain end-market demand.

Friday 10 April 2026

SK Hynix M15X reportedly ramps early production

SK Hynix's M15X is widely viewed as the company's next-generation DRAM manufacturing hub in Cheongju, South Korea. Designed primarily to support high-bandwidth memory (HBM) output and advanced 1b DRAM production, the facility is built for AI-era workloads. Its exact status remains partially unconfirmed, but recent media reports point to early production activity and faster-than-expected equipment installation.

Friday 10 April 2026

Ampak cites DDR price swings disrupting orders, sees industrial control demand support

Ampak Technology's focus on Wi-Fi 7, 5G RedCap, SoM modules, AIoT, and Edge AI signals strategic shifts with global implications: customers worldwide may see delayed consumer shipments amid DDR memory price volatility, while industrial control demand offers clearer near-term opportunities, affecting supply chains and product rollouts through 2026 and beyond.

Friday 10 April 2026

Demand for AI infrastructure spreads shortages beyond memory chips to MLCCs

As global corporations accelerate spending on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, supply constraints are no longer limited to memory chips. Signs of tightening availability are now emerging in multi-layer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs), small but essential components used across a vast range of electronic systems. Lead times for these parts are lengthening across the industry, according to market data.

Friday 10 April 2026

CXMT targets 12-layer HBM production by 2027, closing gap with Korea

China's largest memory maker CXMT is targeting mass production of 12-layer high-bandwidth memory (HBM) by 2027, positioning itself to challenge mainstream specifications long dominated by South Korean suppliers — all within three years of entering the segment.

Thursday 9 April 2026

Memory shortage persists, ASPs surge up to fivefold, says module maker chief

Memory prices are rising sharply, with Transcend Information chairman Peter Shu warning that supply-demand pressure will intensify through 2026 despite weakening consumer demand.

Thursday 9 April 2026

Samsung, SK Hynix pivot to long-term memory deals; Kioxia signals dividend confidence

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are reportedly shifting to multi-year memory supply agreements, marking a structural change in how the global memory industry prices, allocates, and plans capacity in the AI era.

Thursday 9 April 2026

Samsung P4 fab nears completion, expanding 1c DRAM capacity

Samsung has entered the final phase of equipment investment at its P4 fab in Pyeongtaek, issuing purchase orders (POs) for front-end tools for Phase 2 (Ph2) and Phase 4 (Ph4). According to ZDNet Korea, Samsung placed the orders in March 2026 for the two remaining phases of the four-phase P4 project.

Thursday 9 April 2026

Samsung profit jumps on memory rally, chips drive over 90% of earnings

Samsung Electronics posted record first-quarter 2026 results, with more than 90% of earnings tied to its memory business, underscoring the scale of the AI-driven memory upcycle.

Thursday 9 April 2026

CXMT IPO delay eases DRAM supply risks, supports pricing cycle

China's DRAM maker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) may be delaying its IPO, easing near-term supply concerns, and reinforcing the current memory upcycle. Sources cited by iNews24 said CXMT had targeted a first-half 2026 IPO to fund capacity expansion of 60,000–70,000 wafers annually. With the listing paused, both capital deployment and expansion timelines are likely to be delayed.

Thursday 9 April 2026

Phison Electronics sees AI-driven demand surge, downplays retail memory price swings

Phison Electronics reported consolidated revenue of NT$18.32 billion (approx. US$577.81 million) for March 2026, up 50% sequentially and 221% year over year, setting a new record high for a single month. Consolidated revenue for the first quarter of 2026 reached NT$40.97 billion, a 196% year-over-year increase, also marking a record high.

Thursday 9 April 2026

China's memory capacity surge led by YMTC and CXMT shifts global supply in AI cycle

Global memory markets are entering a new restructuring cycle driven by AI demand, with China's YMTC and CXMT scaling capacity and state-backed investment to gain share in a sector long led by US, South Korean, and Japanese suppliers.

Thursday 9 April 2026

Intel–Terafab collaboration highlights potential role for 18A in next-generation AI manufacturing

The collaboration between Intel and Elon Musk under the Terafab initiative is emerging as a potential catalyst for demand for Intel's most advanced manufacturing node, 18A, even as key details of the partnership remain undisclosed.

Thursday 9 April 2026

Transcend posts record March sales, 1Q26 revenue hits nearly 80% of 2025

Memory module maker Transcend reported a new monthly revenue high in March 2026 of NT$5.7 billion (approx. US$178.8 million), up 78.6% month-over-month and 3.8 times year-over-year. The company's consolidated revenue for the first quarter of 2026 reached NT$13.6 billion, marking the highest quarterly revenue in its history.

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