Dr. Luc Van den hove, president and CEO of Belgian research institute imec, used his keynote at SEMICON Taiwan 2025 to call for a global push toward "super-fueled innovation" as the semiconductor industry faces mounting demands from artificial intelligence (AI), rising energy consumption, and shifting geopolitical currents.

Intel has secured another high-profile backer. Following earlier commitments from SoftBank and the U.S. government, Nvidia has announced a US$5 billion investment in Intel, buying shares at US$23.28 each. The move directly contradicts CEO Jensen Huang's dismissal in March of rumors that his company might take a stake in Intel.

Transcom, a specialist in high-power amplifiers, is making bold strides into the dual frontiers of national defense and space communications. Leveraging its deep expertise in compound semiconductor technologies such as gallium arsenide (GaAs) and gallium nitride (GaN), the company is expanding the application of its amplifier technology to address both pressing geopolitical demands and the rapidly growing low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite market.

China's internet regulator has instructed leading technology firms, including Alibaba Group Holding and ByteDance, to stop buying Nvidia's artificial intelligence chips.

SpaceX is reportedly working with semiconductor manufacturers to develop a custom chip that will enable its upcoming direct-to-device (D2D) satellite communication service, aimed at connecting ordinary smartphones directly to its Starlink satellite network. The service is slated for testing by the end of 2026, marking a major step in the company's ambitious plan to reshape global connectivity.

China's Ministry of Commerce has announced a sweeping anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation into certain analog ICs imported from the US, in a move widely seen as both a retaliatory response to recent US tariff extensions and a strategic effort to bolster its domestic chip industry.