Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan met with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on December 1, 2025, where Anwar announced an additional investment of MYR860 million (approx. US$208 million) to strengthen Malaysia's position in the semiconductor packaging and testing market.
The Pan Wen Yuan Foundation announced on December 1 that MXIC chairman Miin Wu has been honored with the 19th Pan Wen Yuan Prize. The award aims to recognize lifetime achievements contributing significantly to Taiwan's technology industry. Under Wu's leadership, MXIC became one of Taiwan's earliest memory manufacturers to promote proprietary branded products and technology, standing out as a rare integrated device manufacturer (IDM) in Taiwan with capabilities spanning IC design, production, packaging, testing, and marketing.
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which control about 70% of the global DRAM market, signalled in recent IR meetings with global investment banks that they will not pursue aggressive supply expansion. Their cautious stance comes as DRAM shortages widen from servers to PCs and smartphones.
South Korea is facing a sharp rise in industrial technology leakage cases, with incidents increasing nearly 50% year-over-year amid growing risks of Chinese attempts to steal proprietary technologies. Key sectors such as rechargeable batteries and semiconductors—where South Korea holds exclusive expertise—are under heightened pressure from increasingly sophisticated, organized, and international espionage efforts.
Samsung Electro-Mechanics is set to increase its AI server multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) production by expanding capacity at its Calamba City plant in the Philippines starting early 2026, as utilization rates at its current factories approach full capacity. This expansion aims to support the growing demand in the AI supply chain.
Giga Computing, a subsidiary of Gigabyte Technology, has entered a strategic partnership with India-based electronics manufacturing services provider Syrma SGS Technology to begin local production of Gigabyte server products in Tamil Nadu, the companies announced on Thursday. The move aligns with India's "Make in India" policy and is intended to expand Giga Computing's supply chain footprint in South Asia.
Google's expanding investment in custom AI accelerators is reshaping the high-bandwidth memory market and lifting Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix as demand for tensor processing unit-based systems rises in data centers.
Amid rising demand for Google's TPU chips, MediaTek has emerged as a key ASIC supplier with confirmed orders for its V7e product line set to begin shipping in the second half of 2026. Market sources indicate that MediaTek expects shipments of 300,000 to 400,000 units next year, surpassing earlier conservative estimates and positioning the company to reach its US$1 billion revenue target from this segment. Looking at the full V7e product cycle, total shipments could reach at least 2 million units, with peak volume anticipated in 2027.
Former senior vice president of corporate strategy development at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Wei-jen Lo, was recently reported to have taken confidential documents related to sub-2nm technologies with him before moving to Intel, drawing widespread attention. TSMC has since officially filed a lawsuit, while Intel responded by expressing confidence in Lo and welcoming him back to the team.
Nvidia's US$2 billion investment in Synopsys marks a pivotal attempt to extend CUDA and GPU-accelerated computing from AI training into the core of industrial and semiconductor engineering, tightening its grip on the entire AI server ecosystem, as ASIC servers, particularly TPU-based, are challenging Nvidia.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is fueling a DRAM supercycle, prompting South Korean securities firms to continuously raise their forecasts for Samsung Electronics' operating profit in 2026. Some projections now approach KRW90-100 trillion (approx. US$61.3-68.1 billion).
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