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Feb 13
TSMC and memory makers boost capex to offset China export restrictions impact
TSMC raised its 2026 capital expenditure forecast to US$52-56 billion, driving strong demand in the global semiconductor supply chain amid AI growth. Memory giants SK Hynix, Micron, Nanya Technology, and Winbond also expanded capacity plans.
UMC appoints new representative as Unimicron chairman Tseng retires
Feb 15, 07:52
Leading IC substrate maker Unimicron Technology announced that chairman Tzyy-jang Tseng is stepping down upon reaching retirement age. The company said the leadership change was triggered by a representative change by corporate director United Microelectronics (UMC).
Taiwan's export value in January 2026 surged 69.9% year-on-year, surpassing the NT$2 trillion (US$63.7 billion) mark for the first time, largely due to differences in the number of working days between the Lunar New Year periods in 2025 and 2026. Strong shipments of AI servers and high-performance chips have prompted foreign banks to forecast Taiwan's GDP growth could reach 8.0% in 2026. If realized, this would mark a second consecutive year of above-8% expansion, following 2025's 8.63% growth.

Joseph Liow, dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, said in a recent public lecture that technology is no longer merely an engine of economic growth but has become a core instrument in great-power competition. For Taiwan, which sits at the center of the semiconductor industry and global supply chains, Liow said the rules of competition have fundamentally changed.

CXMT, a leading Chinese DRAM maker, is expanding aggressively but faces significant production and regulatory hurdles, ChosunBiz reported, citing industry sources. Despite rising global memory demand, the company's wafer output has hit capacity limits, with yield issues and US export restrictions constraining further growth.
Demand for AI servers' power management chips is surging, tightening supply and demand in the 8-inch wafer foundry market. Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC) plans to raise prices for 8-inch power device foundry services starting in March.
In a development few would associate with the world's largest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) has expanded an environmental initiative that now encompasses roughly one million rehabilitated bees across its major Taiwan campuses.
Why is TSMC spending $45bn so early?
Feb 15, 00:05

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) has greenlit a massive $44.96 billion capital budget following a historic board meeting in Kumamoto, Japan.

Chinese tech giant ByteDance is rapidly scaling its in-house chip development efforts, with its chip R&D team now exceeding 1,000 employees, signaling a strong push into AI hardware. According to a recent report by 36Kr, the company's investment in AI chip technology is accelerating quickly.
GaAs foundry leader Win Semiconductor forecasts explosive growth in the 1.6T optical communication module market in 2026, expecting a 2-3x increase in demand driven by satellite and optical communications sectors.
Artificial intelligence-driven growth in the semiconductor industry has drawn increasing public attention. SEMICON Korea, organized by SEMI, continues to expand in scale. The 2026 exhibition featured 550 participating companies and more than 2,400 booths, with pre-registered attendance reaching 75,000.
AMD's EPYC server processors captured a record 41.3% revenue market share in the server segment in the fourth quarter of 2025, Mercury Research reported, driven by accelerated adoption in cloud and enterprise markets. The gain marks a significant shift in the composition of vendor revenue in the quarter.