The growing emphasis on power efficiency in cloud AI computing has drawn focus to the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) 800V supply chain, presenting notable opportunities and challenges within the semiconductor industry. According to sources from integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) and IC design houses, the market is currently dominated by established European and US players, making entry difficult for smaller companies.
Facing intense price competition from Chinese manufacturers in the silicon carbide (SiC) substrate market, Kenmec Mechanical Engineering's subsidiary TAISIC Materials is pursuing a targeted strategy emphasizing high-end niche applications and advanced R&D. This approach diverges from scale-based price competition and aims to redefine SiC's functional value within specialized technology sectors.
China's computing power supply chain is starting off 2026 in the dumps. Not only is demand for computing power surging while accelerator card resources remain scarce, but even vendors holding cash and searching for spot supply are unable to secure goods. The market is currently in a state of extreme supply-demand imbalance. Furthermore, Cailian Press has cited sources from channel distributors indicating that distributors in China who originally dealt in graphics cards have now shifted into the memory business under the lure of high profits. As a result, gray industrial chains have emerged, and the problem of "fake memory" has become increasingly more common.
The memory industry is currently facing significant demand shortfalls, bringing renewed attention to the long-developed concept of "compute-in-memory." Leading memory manufacturers are actively investing in related technology development. At the same time, major players are also focusing on startup teams in the market, aiming to secure innovation through strategic investments. Companies like d-Matrix and TetraMem have demonstrated promising growth potential.
Cmsemicon Semiconductor has released its first low-power SPI NOR Flash chip series, marking the Shanghai-listed chip designer's initial entry into the non-volatile memory segment. The launch fills a gap in the company's Flash product lineup and aligns with its "MCU+" strategy of pairing MCUs with complementary chips.
LG Display is moving from research toward execution in the emerging glass interposer market, working with domestic glass-processing partners to apply its display manufacturing experience to semiconductor materials, according to South Korean media reports.
Samsung Electronics is reportedly set to raise NAND Flash prices by more than twofold in the first quarter of 2026, amid tightening supply and surging demand driven by the expansion of artificial intelligence applications, according to industry sources.
MIPS is repositioning itself within the RISC-V ecosystem following the integration of the ARC Processor IP business acquired from Synopsys, moving beyond a CPU-centric model toward a broader processor platform that combines CPUs, NPUs, DSPs, and software tools.
MIPS has accelerated the development timeline of its S8200 neural processing unit, a RISC-V–based NPU designed for real-time, low-latency edge AI, as the company continues to advance its strategy around what it calls "Physical AI," following its integration into GlobalFoundries.
Memory module giant Adata Technology announced its unaudited consolidated earnings for December 2025, reporting profit before tax of NT$2.55 billion (approx. US$81.22 million), nearly matching the NT$2.56 billion in profit before tax recorded for the entire third quarter of 2025.
Below are the most-read DIGITIMES Asia stories from the week of January 19-25, 2026.
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