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Monday 29 December 2025

SK Hynix weighs US expansion for advanced chip packaging

According to South Korean technology outlet ZDNet Korea, SK hynix is reviewing plans to build its first 2.5D advanced packaging mass production line in the US, a move that would deepen the South Korean memory maker's role in supplying memory for artificial intelligence systems.

Monday 29 December 2025

Move over, Malaysia? India's emerging OSAT sector claims price parity in legacy packaging

India's first wave of OSAT facilities is moving from capacity announcements to competitive positioning, with some domestic players now benchmarking themselves against established backend hubs rather than solely against local peers.

Monday 29 December 2025

South Korea expected to reclaim no. 2 in global chip equipment spending by 2026

South Korea is on track to significantly increase semiconductor equipment investment in 2026 as rising demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and advanced DRAM drives a new wave of capacity expansion, positioning the country to overtake Taiwan and regain second place globally behind China.

Monday 29 December 2025

8-inch foundry price rises take hold as BCD, HV nodes lead

The global 8-inch wafer foundry market has entered a price upcycle. Foundries, including SMIC and Hua Hong Semiconductor, along with major Taiwanese and South Korean mature-node players, have notified customers that 8-inch foundry prices are set to rise by around 5 to 10% starting in the first quarter of 2026, covering specialty processes such as BCD and high-voltage (HV) platforms.

Monday 29 December 2025

Wingtech seeks full Nexperia control with US$8 billion arbitration threat

On the afternoon of December 26, 2025, Wingtech Technology convened its fifth extraordinary shareholders' meeting of 2025, sending a resolute signal: the company is prepared not only to regain full control of Nexperia but also to pursue as much as US$8 billion in international arbitration claims.

Monday 29 December 2025

Foundry 2.0 market hits US$85 billion in 3Q25: TSMC, AI packaging lead growth

The global semiconductor industry's transition into the "Foundry 2.0" era is now measurable in revenue, utilization, and competitive positioning. The expanded foundry ecosystem generated US$84.8 billion in revenue in the third quarter of 2025, up 17% year over year. Growth was driven by a simultaneous surge in advanced-node wafer output and AI-led demand for advanced packaging, according to Counterpoint Research.

Monday 29 December 2025

AI supercycle and replacement demand support Foxconn's growth in 2026

Foxconn's operating structure is clearly shifting. Previously driven mainly by consumer electronics cycles, it is now gradually tilting toward AI servers, cloud, AI infrastructure, and high-performance computing (HPC). With continued investment and deployment in emerging businesses such as electric vehicles (EVs), results are expected to surface in 2026.

Monday 29 December 2025

Rohm partners with Nvidia to expand power semiconductor opportunities

According to Nikkei, although electric vehicle (EV) demand has been below expectations, weighing heavily on Rohm Semiconductor's SiC power semiconductor equipment investments, the company has decided to expand applications into the AI server sector. Rohm's annual revenue from server-related fields is only around JPY10 billion (approx. US$64 million), but it has already started supplying new products in collaboration with Nvidia.

Monday 29 December 2025

Weekly news roundup: AMD lands Alibaba chip deal as US probes Nvidia buyers, ASML keeps lithography lead

These are the most-read DIGITIMES Asia stories in the week of December 22 to December 29, 2025.

Monday 29 December 2025

Silicon photonics set to make commercial breakthrough in 2026

Data centers are entering a new phase of infrastructure upgrades in 2026, feeding off generative AI under Nvidia's leadership. While silicon photonics (SiPh) and co-packaged optics (CPO) technologies are still in the deployment stage, the optical communications industry is expected to move into commercialization by 2026.

Monday 29 December 2025

Tariff wars and AI demand reshape electronics supply chain structure in 2025

In 2025, the global electronics supply chain transformed due to rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC), boosting servers, chips, and cooling sectors. Geopolitical tensions, export controls, and multi-location approaches also reshaped the supply chain to improve flexibility and risk management. The DIGITIMES Asia news team has summarized the top 10 key developments from this shift.

Monday 29 December 2025

India roundup: Foxconn brings China strategy to India as Japan firms deepen chip ties

Japanese firms like Rohm and AOI Electronics built partnerships with Indian partners. Foxconn is mimicking its strategy in China, setting up a factory city in India.

Sunday 28 December 2025

TSMC operations stable after magnitude 7.0 quake, Taiwan's third largest in 26 years

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) confirmed that its personnel are safe and facility safety systems are functioning normally following a powerful magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck off the eastern coast of Taiwan late Saturday night.

Sunday 28 December 2025

Tatun Electric eyes AIDC, ultra-high-voltage markets as power transmission bottleneck looms

Market attention in the modern AI computing power competitive landscape has mainly focused on semiconductor chip upgrades. But according to Chih-Ming Lin, chairman of Tatun Electric, the real challenge lies elsewhere. The company, with more than 70 years of industry experience, believes AI will not turn into a bubble—provided power transmission issues are effectively resolved.

Sunday 28 December 2025

South Korea's AI chips struggle beyond cost advantage

South Korea's drive to build a domestic artificial intelligence semiconductor industry is hitting a key constraint. Despite gains in power efficiency and pricing, industry executives say the lack of large-scale validation environments is slowing commercial adoption and limiting the ability of local chips to compete beyond pilot deployments.

Saturday 27 December 2025

Chipbond finds new growth engine in silicon photonics

With panel industry demand remaining weak, display driver IC testing and packaging specialist Chipbond is pursuing a second growth engine and has formally entered the silicon photonics (SiPh) packaging market.

Friday 26 December 2025

Japan quadruples chip and physical AI spending, deepens state backing for Rapidus

Japan is preparing a major expansion of state support for advanced semiconductors and artificial intelligence, with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) set to nearly quadruple related funding from fiscal year 2026, starting in April 2026.

Friday 26 December 2025

AMD wins major Alibaba MI308 chip order to challenge Nvidia H200

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang recently received US President Donald Trump's approval for the H200 to return to the China market. Shipments to Chinese customers were reportedly fast-tracked for around February 2026.

Friday 26 December 2025

SMEE wins China lithography order, yet ASML still controls advanced-node tools

A disclosure on China's government procurement platform shows that Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment (SMEE) has won a contract to supply a step-and-scan lithography system valued at CNY109 million (US$15.5 million). The buyer, identified only by a coded designation under China's Ministry of Science and Technology, has reignited industry scrutiny of Beijing's push to localize semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

Friday 26 December 2025

Winbond prepares 16nm 8Gb DDR4 mass production for 2026 shipment upgrade

Memory maker Winbond Electronics has recently continued to expand capital expenditures by increasing capacity for 16nm and DDR4 DRAM. As inventories of legacy DDR3 products decrease, DDR4 will officially become Winbond's main product in the first half of 2026. The company's new 8Gb DDR4 products manufactured on its in-house 16nm process have recently passed customer qualification smoothly and are expected to enter mass production and shipment in the first to second quarters of 2026.

Friday 26 December 2025

Tariff restraint masks continued hard line as US weighs broader controls on Chinese chip capabilities

The US government has decided not to impose additional semiconductor tariffs on China for the next 18 months, despite concluding that Beijing's state-led chip industry policies involve unfair subsidies and market distortion. DIGITIMES analyst Luke Lin stressed in a recent podcast that this should not be misinterpreted as a softening stance toward China.

Friday 26 December 2025

South Korean giants race to mass-produce semiconductor glass substrates in 2026

As demand for artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors continues to surge, the market for glass substrates, which are widely regarded as a critical material for next-generation advanced packaging, is gaining momentum. South Korean companies such as Samsung Electro-Mechanics (SEMCO) and LG Innotek are gearing up to compete for leadership in this emerging segment.

Friday 26 December 2025

ENE Technology eyes custom ICs amid US drone import ban

Microcontroller (MCU) maker ENE Technology has officially entered the drone industry, partnering with Taiwan's HY Tech, Aeroprobing, and Egis to integrate communications, vision modules, and AI image processing and computing technologies. The company also established a new business unit staffed with drone experts to compete in the customized drone IC market.

Friday 26 December 2025

Nvidia reportedly tests Intel 18A process but does not move forward

Intel's 18A process node has reportedly drawn interest from Nvidia, though the chipmaker has yet to commit to using the technology, according to Reuters, citing sources familiar with the matter. The potential collaboration has not progressed, leaving the future of Intel's 18A node in question.

Friday 26 December 2025

Exclusive: Ex-TSMC COO discusses how mass production sparked full-scale advancement

J.K. Wang, a veteran leader in the semiconductor industry and former COO of TSMC, shared insights on TSMC's large-scale wafer fab mass production during his first media interview since retirement. Speaking on DIGITIMES' IC Broadcasting podcast, Wang highlighted how TSMC's success stems from meticulous teamwork rather than any single individual.

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