TSMC has made a significant change in its process plan for the Kumamoto second fab, confirming an upgrade from the initially planned 6/7nm node to 3nm. This facility will become Japan's first 3nm wafer fab, while Japan-backed Rapidus advances toward 2nm development.

OSAT leader ASE Technology Holding is optimistic that its growth momentum will extend through 2026 and beyond, benefiting from the short supply of advanced packaging and testing capacity. COO Tien Wu said order visibility has improved over the past three months, prompting the company to further raise its 2026 advanced packaging and testing revenue target to US$3.2 billion. This would represent a doubling from US$1.6 billion in 2025, and is more than 20% higher than the previous forecast of US$2.6 billion. Of the total, 75% is expected to come from advanced packaging, with the remaining 25% contributed by advanced testing.

Japanese semiconductor startup Rapidus has secured more than JPY160 billion (US$1.02 billion) in private funding for fiscal 2025, surpassing its initial JPY130 billion target, according to a report by Nikkei on February 4. SoftBank Group and Sony Group each invested JPY21 billion to become the company's largest shareholders, while IBM is also reportedly preparing to join the round, adding international backing. The funding surge signals strong investor confidence and aligns with Japan's push to reinforce domestic semiconductor self-sufficiency.

Given frequent price increases across precious metals, wafer foundry services, and packaging and testing, Infineon's announcement of price increases is very telling for the market. The company will implement price adjustments for power switches and IC products starting April 1, 2026, and it is rumored that the maximum price adjustment reaches as high as 25%. Some Taiwanese companies plan to renegotiate prices for new orders after the Lunar New Year and in the second quarter of 2026.

The global boom in generative artificial intelligence is driving an insatiable demand for computing power. This is pushing the world's largest cloud service providers to rethink a long-standing dependence on Nvidia's AI GPUs.

Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation, one of Taiwan's smaller but strategically positioned chipmakers, reported a sharp narrowing of losses in the fourth quarter of 2025, buoyed by rising memory prices, a stronger US dollar, and income from an overseas partnership with India's Tata Group.

Global outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) leader ASE Technology Holding held its earnings call, revealing that robust demand for advanced semiconductor packaging services drove growth throughout 2025. ASE's chief operating officer, Tien Wu, highlighted that the company's full-year consolidated revenue posted growth in 2025, with advanced test materials revenue increasing 23%.

Chunghwa Precision Test Tech (CHPT) reported year-over-year and month-over-month revenue growth in January. The surge was mainly driven by strong demand for AI, application processor (AP), and related chip testing services, which significantly boosted the usage of test load boards.

As global competition in the semiconductor industry intensifies, the focus is no longer limited to technology and production capacity. Protection of data, intellectual property, and supply chains has become an equally critical battleground.

Renesas Electronics forecast a sharp improvement in profitability for the January to March quarter as growth in data center and other industrial infrastructure demand offsets weakness in automotive, after the Japanese chipmaker swung to its first annual net loss since fiscal 2019.

In a moment that blurred the lines between corporate diplomacy and fan-like devotion, TSMC CEO C.C. Wei turned a high-stakes semiconductor summit into a personal tribute on February 5, 2026.

The third edition of the Asia Photonics Expo (APE) opened on February 4, 2026, at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, bringing together the global photonics and semiconductor ecosystem for three days of networking, conferences, and industry collaboration through February 6, 2026.

In the high-stakes theater of global chipmaking, TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei has mastered a rare skill: the art of the well-timed strategic masterstroke.

As advanced packaging technologies continue to evolve toward larger sizes and panel formats, Skytech CEO George Yi stated that in response to the key process requirements of next-generation chip-on-panel-on-substrate (CoPoS) advanced packaging, the company has completed delivery of the world's first 310mm by 310mm panel-level packaging physical vapor deposition (PLP PVD) equipment. The equipment has been successfully introduced into the production line of a major semiconductor packaging and testing plant in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

Siemens has acquired French startup Canopus AI, adding AI-based metrology and inspection software to its electronic design automation (EDA) portfolio as it expands deeper into semiconductor manufacturing workflows.

TSMC has formulated a plan to mass-produce advanced 3nm chips in Kumamoto Prefecture, marking an unprecedented move within Japan. The company has notified the Japanese government of this initiative, with estimated equipment investment reaching US$17 billion.

Qualcomm reported record financial results for its fiscal first quarter of 2026, while guiding lower for the current quarter as memory supply constraints begin to weigh on handset production.

Texas Instruments (TI) has announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire chip designer Silicon Laboratories for approximately US$7.5 billion, marking the largest deal for TI since its US$6.5 billion purchase of National Semiconductor in 2011. The acquisition underscores TI's strategy to strengthen its presence in wireless connectivity chips for industrial, consumer, and smart-device applications.

Infineon's planned purchase of Ams Osram's non-optical sensor portfolio underscores a strategic move to deepen its systems capability, rebalance exposure away from cyclical automotive pressure, and reinforce long-term growth tied to artificial intelligence, industrial automation, and medical applications.

Infineon's first quarter of fiscal year 2026 showed that strong demand linked to artificial intelligence (AI) can cushion cyclical weakness in other markets, reinforcing the company's medium-term growth narrative while also bringing higher investment needs and cash flow pressure into focus.

Infineon's decision to accelerate investment to expand AI power capacity is set to lift fiscal 2026 capital spending and intensify fab loading management, even as the company maintains a cautious view of a gradual, uneven recovery in automotive and industrial demand.

According to Bloomberg and Nikkei, citing respective sources, Renesas Electronics is set to divest its clocks and timing device business to US chip design company SiTime for around US$3 billion, in a move aimed at sharpening its focus on microcontrollers for automotive and industrial applications. The potential sale comes amid slowing demand for automotive semiconductors and rising interest in high-speed data center components.

Samsung Electronics has once again pushed its net cash above KRW100 trillion (US$68.97 billion), reaching KRW100.61 trillion at the end of 2025, up 7.8% from the same period in 2024. This marks Samsung's return to the milestone for the first time since 2022, highlighting its increasingly robust financial structure and strong capital deployment capabilities.