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Friday 14 November 2025
SK Hynix reportedly to order HBM4 equipment, accelerate mass production
SK Hynix is reportedly set to begin ordering equipment for its 12-layer sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM4) as early as November 2025. Considering the construction schedule of its Cheongju M15X plant in South Korea, the equipment is expected to start being installed gradually in early 2026.
Friday 14 November 2025
SMIC warns of 2026 memory squeeze: AI demand surges, customers turn cautious
SMIC warns that an emerging memory shortage could disrupt production of cars, smartphones, and consumer electronics as early as 2026. Co-CEO Zhao Haijun said Chinese manufacturers have become more cautious about first-quarter 2026 orders because they are unsure they can secure sufficient memory. Rising demand from AI workloads is expected to push memory prices higher and add to market uncertainty.
Friday 14 November 2025
Global Mixed-mode Technology eyes 2026 DDR5 and DDR4 demand crossover
Global Mixed-mode Technology (GMT) held its earnings call on November 12, 2025, revealing that early customer stocking in the first half of 2025 dampened the traditional peak season effect in the second half of 2025. GMT reported a significant gross margin decline in the third quarter due to reduced inventory write-back gains and currency headwinds.
Friday 14 November 2025
DDR5 becomes 2026 standard, and power-control overhaul lifts passive component market
The memory market's ongoing shortage-and-price surge continues to accelerate, lifting the broader sector and boosting earnings for DRAM manufacturers, module suppliers, memory packaging and testing houses, and BT substrate makers, as rush orders surge. The passive component segment has also emerged as a key beneficiary of this upcycle.
Friday 14 November 2025
HBM's breakneck rise is draining DRAM supply, repricing the smartphone sector
The global AI boom is driving up smartphone and tablet production costs, as memory suppliers divert more capacity toward high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for AI accelerators. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have steadily reduced PC and mobile DRAM output to prioritize HBM, Fntimes reports, leaving device makers across Asia — including China's budget smartphone brands — with little choice but to raise prices.
Friday 14 November 2025
Samsung expected to dominate HBM4 market as prices snap back
Samsung Electronics is poised for a commanding performance in the advanced memory sector, with analysts forecasting the tech giant could seize 40 percent of the lucrative HBM4 market by 2026. This anticipated dominance is underpinned by a sharp resurgence in memory prices and pivotal supply agreements for Nvidia's next-generation GPUs, setting the stage for a dramatic spike in profitability.
Friday 14 November 2025
ADATA sets new quarterly profit records amid strong memory market demand
ADATA Technology Co. (ADATA) has reported record-breaking financial results for the third quarter of 2025, marking a clean sweep of quarterly highs in operating gross profit, operating income, and net profit. These gains contributed to a substantial rise in the company's year-to-date earnings, surpassing its full-year performance from 2024 well ahead of schedule.
Thursday 13 November 2025
Humanoid robots to debut in smart factories by 2026 as AI accelerates deployment
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is accelerating the shift from conceptual smart manufacturing to real-world application, with Qisda chairman Peter Chen forecasting the debut of humanoid robots in 2026, primarily within smart manufacturing environments. These factories represent the first viable domain for humanoid robot integration, marking a significant step in industrial automation.
Wednesday 12 November 2025
Samsung vice chair exit triggers major leadership overhaul
Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong's right-hand man, Chung Hyun-ho, has suddenly retired. Chung led the Business Support Task Force (TF), and Lee is expected to take full control of Samsung's personnel and outline a new blueprint for the company's future to restore its former glory.
Wednesday 12 November 2025
Samsung Pyeongtaek P4 shifts to 1c DRAM production
Samsung will continue investment in the Phase 4 production line at its Pyeongtaek campus, converting the facility from foundry to 1c DRAM production. The latest monthly capacity is estimated at 80,000 wafers. Additionally, the previously postponed Phase 2 (Ph2) line is expected to resume investment in 2026 as a foundry production line.
Wednesday 12 November 2025
SK Hynix targets 70% DRAM profit margin amid supply crunch
The AI boom has caused memory giants to concentrate production on HBM, resulting in a shortage of general-purpose DRAM and high prices. According to Chosun Biz, DRAM prices are expected to continue rising as a product of the supply shortage. Analyses indicate that SK Hynix's general-purpose DRAM operating profit margin could reach 70%, drawing attention to its future developments.
Wednesday 12 November 2025
ChipMOS returns to profit as memory demand rebounds; chairman sees strong 2026 ahead
Taiwan-based semiconductor tester and packager ChipMOS Technologies swung back to profit in the third quarter of 2025, buoyed by a sharp rebound in memory demand. Chairman Shih-Jye Cheng said the company expects the momentum to strengthen further, predicting that 2026 will be "a good year across the board" for the memory industry.
Wednesday 12 November 2025
CXMT and Tesla's chip plans challenge South Korea's semiconductor lead
South Korea's semiconductor industry, boosted by AI-driven HBM memory demand, faces challenges as China's CXMT speeds up HBM3 production and Tesla plans to create its own wafer fab for chip self-sufficiency.
Wednesday 12 November 2025
Micron reallocates CHIPS Act funds to Idaho, delaying New York fabs
US memory giant Micron will postpone the commissioning of its first two fabs in Clay, New York, by 2–3 years and will reallocate part of the funding from the CHIPS and Science Act to accelerate construction of a new fab in Boise, Idaho.
Wednesday 12 November 2025
SK Hynix reportedly developing high-bandwidth storage to boost smartphone AI performance
SK Hynix is reportedly developing a new hybrid memory platform that combines mobile DRAM and NAND flash to accelerate on-device artificial intelligence in smartphones and tablets, according to Korean industry media, including ET News and G-ENews.
Tuesday 11 November 2025
YMTC expands Wuhan production with third fab, targets global top-four memory ranking by 2027

YMTC has begun constructing its third semiconductor plant in Wuhan, with mass production slated for 2027, while ramping up output at its second facility. Despite its strong domestic focus, industry insiders expect the company to rank among the world's top five memory makers within two years.

Tuesday 11 November 2025
China's IC exports surged 24.7% in first ten months of 2025, driven by AI demand and memory price hikes
China's total goods trade value reached CNY37.31 trillion (approx. US$5.23 trillion) in the first ten months of 2025, marking a 3.6% increase from the same period last year, according to the General Administration of Customs. Exports rose 6.2% to CNY22.12 trillion, while imports remained steady at CNY15.19 trillion.
Monday 10 November 2025
AI drives shift to memory-centric computing, redefining semiconductor supply chains
The evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the semiconductor industry, shifting the focus from sheer compute power to memory-centric architectures. As AI models grow to handle longer contexts, multi-turn dialogues, multimodal inputs, and advanced tool integration, the primary bottlenecks are no longer processing speed but memory bandwidth and latency, according to industry experts.
Monday 10 November 2025
China's memory squeeze deepens: NOR flash prices jump, Puya expands into 2D NAND

Following back-to-back price increases for DRAM and NAND, NOR flash has become the next segment to spike. Prices are up by at least 10% this quarter, with certain models surging over 30% in under a month, signaling a new round of broad-based memory price escalation.

Monday 10 November 2025
Macronix sees rising NOR, NAND, and eMMC demand amid memory market recovery
Macronix International is witnessing a strong rebound in demand for its NOR, NAND, and eMMC memory products, with chairman Minin Wu highlighting growing market opportunities as the overall memory sector recovers.
Monday 10 November 2025
NAND prices double in six months; Phison CEO predicts years-long shortages
The global boom in artificial intelligence has triggered a severe shortage of essential storage chips, doubling prices in just six months, according to Khein-Seng Pua, CEO of Phison Electronics.
Monday 10 November 2025
Memory module makers expect supply shortage and price surge to extend into 2026
Rising memory prices and volumes are driving a strong finish for memory module manufacturers in 2025, with Taiwanese module leaders optimistic that the boom will continue through 2026. Transcend chairman Peter Shu highlighted that while DDR4 DRAM has seen the largest price increase since the start of 2025, DDR5 and NAND Flash shortages have only just begun.
Monday 10 November 2025
Weekly news roundup: LGES probes tech Theft; ASML pivots in China; Samsung sparks market chaos; Nexperia feud explodes
Below are the top DIGITIMES Asia stories from November 3 to November 10, 2025.
Monday 10 November 2025
Etron chairman outlines vision for Taiwan's next competitive edge
Etron Technology chairman Dr. Nicky Lu predicts AI-driven memory demand to enter a peak spring period between 2026 and 2027, but supply and demand will not be balanced for at least another six months to a year. Contrary to popular belief, AI will not become a bubble, and it will continue to grow. According to Dr. Lu, Taiwan should use an AI + NI (Natural Intelligence) strategy to build new advantages and should establish a sovereign R&D research center.
Sunday 9 November 2025
SK Hynix pushes 1C DRAM for HBM4E as AI memory demand surges
South Korea's two largest memory chipmakers, SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, are reportedly finalizing supply agreements with Nvidia for next-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM4), according to ETNews and The Seoul Economic Daily.