Arm was notified by the US Federal Trade Commission in early 2026 that it was the subject of an antitrust investigation after the chip designer said it would begin engineering its own processors, according to Bloomberg. The FTC is examining whether Arm used its dominant position in chip licensing to deny or downgrade the quality of CPU blueprints it licenses to others in order to disadvantage rivals. The regulator asked Arm to cooperate and preserve related documents.

Prices for semiconductor-grade hydrogen fluoride supplied to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are expected to rise sharply between late June and July, as higher costs for a key China-sourced raw material ripple through South Korea's chip supply chain, according to industry sources cited by The Elec.

A US research firm reported that Nvidia's next-generation Vera Rubin platform will consume more low-power DRAM (LPDDR) in 2027 than the combined global usage of Apple and Samsung, the two largest smartphone brands. According to a Citrini Research estimate cited by Wccftech, Rubin is expected to require more than 6 billion gigabytes of LPDDR in 2027, outstripping Apple's 2.966 billion gigabytes and Samsung's 2.724 billion gigabytes combined.

AI-driven memory demand has sent NAND prices soaring more than 20-fold, but flash memory and hard drive makers alike remain cautious about large-scale capacity expansion. SanDisk argues that the widening price gap between NAND and hard disk drives (HDDs) has further weakened the economic case for solid-state drives (SSDs) to replace HDDs in AI data centers.

China's foundry sector is charting a different course as the global semiconductor market remains focused on AI GPUs, the 2nm process node, and advanced packaging. Led by Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC) and Hua Hong Semiconductor, domestic Chinese foundries have not stalled under US sanctions; instead, they are accelerating efforts to build a China-specific foundry ecosystem amid the AI boom, recovering demand for mature nodes, and a push for supply-chain self-reliance.

Kemflo, a Taiwanese water purification exporter, said it has shifted from selling filtration equipment to operating as a full-scale water resources company, driven by rising global water demand and stricter drinking-quality standards. The firm now combines in-house filter-media research and development, an international-grade laboratory, and vertical integration to supply home and commercial purification systems, filter cartridges, industrial water treatment, and activated carbon regeneration services.

The United States and China have reached a trade and investment agreement that could reshape critical technology supply chains, with Beijing committing to ease restrictions on rare earth minerals and open new government-to-government channels to manage economic ties, according to a White House fact sheet.

Apple has added a new high blood pressure notification feature to Apple Watch, sharpening the device's health-management appeal. Market watchers expect a major redesign of high-end Apple Watch models in the second half of 2026, which could boost end-market shipments by 20% to 30% from 2025 as incoming CEO John Ternus takes over on September 1.

Taiwan precision motion-control leader Hiwin Technologies is accelerating growth on the back of semiconductor automation and robotics demand, with robot-related products emerging as a rapidly expanding revenue driver as the company deepens its push into wafer-handling systems, logistics robots, and humanoid robot components.

Pan Jit's growing confidence in AI and automotive demand is set to shape the global supply of power semiconductors, as data-center power management needs intensify and automotive orders shift away from Nexperia, signaling tighter capacity, potential price adjustments, and new cooling technologies that could carry strategic implications for manufacturers and buyers worldwide in the years ahead.

Prosperity Dielectrics' surge in demand for high-end MLCCs, driven by higher-wattage AI server power systems, is extending lead times and prompting major capacity and material investments, with implications for global AI infrastructure supply chains as customers secure orders into 2026 and manufacturers race to rapidly boost high-performance ceramic powder production.