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Sep 23
Nvidia's 800V power shift hands Taiwan's capacitor makers a new AI segment

As AI computing workloads surge, demand for higher GPU and CPU performance is triggering exponential growth in data center power density and energy consumption. Nvidia's transition toward an 800V high-voltage direct current (HVDC) power architecture is driving hardware upgrades across sidecar power cabinets and battery backup units (BBUs), while spurring demand for customized high-voltage NP0 (C0G) multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs).

Cadence Design Systems and Synopsys have achieved certification for key design flows on TSMC's A14 process, expanding the design ecosystem for the foundry's next full node ahead of risk production in 2027 and volume production in 2028.

Nscale, the UK AI cloud company preparing a US listing at a reported US$35 billion valuation, got nearly three-quarters of its 2025 sales from a Singapore company. Singapore and US records reviewed by DIGITIMES show that company's parent owns the trademarks for ByteDance's AI models and products outside China.

European Union industry ministers are set to debate the proposed Chips Act 2.0 in Brussels on September 24, days after a senior ASML executive said the company is currently selling no chipmaking systems in Europe, highlighting the gap between the bloc's semiconductor ambitions and where industry investment is flowing. The policy debate is scheduled for about 11:30 a.m. Brussels time at the EU Competitiveness Council.

South Korea's major semiconductor, display, and electronics parts factories are staying open through the Chuseok holiday as AI-driven memory demand and new Apple iPhone panel production keep lines running. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are continuing output at key plants, while display and MLCC makers are also maintaining round-the-clock operations.

Beijing Eswin Computing Technology has cleared its Hong Kong Stock Exchange listing hearing, moving closer to becoming the market's first listed RISC-V-focused chip company.
Qualcomm is sticking with TSMC for both of its newly launched 2nm Snapdragon flagship processors, extending the Taiwan foundry's hold on Qualcomm's top-tier mobile chips even as Samsung Electronics ramps its second-generation 2nm process and steps up efforts to win advanced-node customers.
Qualcomm splits flagship mobile SoCs into more tiers
Sep 24, 12:47
Qualcomm is launching two flagship platforms in 2026—the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6—signaling a new era of finer-grained flagship mobile SoC segmentation. The move has raised questions about whether pricier flagship phones are on the way.
Samsung Electronics has reportedly revised the roadmap for its first sub-10nm DRAM generation, making a wafer-to-wafer hybrid-bonding architecture the baseline for its D0a process while moving its vertical-channel-transistor (VCT) design to a separate D0a-V derivative.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to make his first state visit to the US since 2015, with the Trump administration rolling out high-level welcoming ceremonies, a state dinner and other diplomatic pomp. But industry observers and think tanks say the real goal is not to settle structural disputes over trade, AI, rare earths and Taiwan in one shot, but to keep US-China competition from spiraling further out of control.

Qualcomm used the second day of its Snapdragon Summit 2026 to underline a broader shift for Snapdragon-powered PCs, announcing Linux support for the Snapdragon X2 Series while highlighting Googlebook laptops powered by the Snapdragon X Elite. The moves signal growing momentum for Qualcomm's PC business across operating systems and new AI-focused form factors.

TSMC is reportedly planning another wafer foundry price increase, with supply chain sources saying its order visibility now extends to 2030. According to the sources, the company plans to adjust wafer prices from January 2027 across different processes, with hikes of about 3-6% as tight capacity and strong AI demand keep customers in line.