Shanghai AtomIC Technology has launched what it describes as the world's first 8-inch pilot line for two-dimensional semiconductors, marking a shift from laboratory research to engineering validation, small-batch tape-outs and early industrialisation.
SK Hynix has begun placing orders with major suppliers for advanced DRAM manufacturing equipment for the first phase of its Yongin Y1 fab, with the initial installation expected to support production of about 20,000 wafers per month, according to ZDNet Korea, which cited semiconductor and equipment industry sources.
TYLSemi, a semiconductor startup founded by former executives of AlphaWave, the connectivity chip specialist acquired by Qualcomm, has emerged from stealth with US$43 million in early-stage funding to help companies develop custom AI chips through an open, chiplet-based approach.
The US has become the leading source of helium and other noble gases for Taiwan, South Korea and Japan as disruptions to Qatari production and China's temporary export ban reshape supply routes for materials used in semiconductor manufacturing, according to a Nikkei Asia analysis of customs data and related reporting.
Intel has unveiled Starfire, a space-grade processor that leverages its leading-edge 18A manufacturing process for satellites and other systems designed to survive beyond Earth's atmosphere. The move extends Intel's most advanced node — the centerpiece of its foundry turnaround — into a defense-and-space niche long dominated by specialist radiation-hardened suppliers. It stakes the design on a selling point that rivals cannot easily match: domestic US production.
As the world enters an AI-centric era, the global race for technological leadership is no longer defined only by who can build the most advanced models. It is increasingly shaped by who can secure compute, deploy infrastructure at scale, reduce energy constraints, and turn research into commercial capability.
