Semiconductor News 20250725

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1. Intel’s Major Restructuring and Future Uncertainty Intel plans to cut up to 30% of its workforce (over 15,000 people) and has indicated that it may withdraw from the cutting-edge chip competition if there is no interest from outside customers. The company also posted a final loss of 430 billion yen in the second quarter, its sixth consecutive quarterly loss.
2. TSMC ‘s 2nm Process Orders Surge and Production Capacity Expansion Due to AI Demand TSMC’s 2nm process orders are surging and production capacity is expected to reach 200,000 units by 2028, surpassing 3nm Driven by AI demand, TSMC’s sales are breaking records.
3. Increased Competition in the HBM Market and SK Hynix’s Advantage While Samsung postpones HBM4 rollout to 2026 due to yield issues, SK Hynix strengthens its lead in AI memory and posts record quarterly profit SK Hynix is also preparing to supply HBM4 quickly.
4. Semiconductor Geopolitical Tensions and Tariff Issues between the U.S., China, and Taiwan AMD’s CEO noted that chips made at TSMC’s U.S. plant are 5-20% more expensive than those made in Taiwan, and trade friction between the U.S., China, and Taiwan over U.S. tariffs has intensified. China is promoting the development of next-generation EUV photoresists to break the U.S. technology blockade.
5. Explosive Growth of AI Data Center Semiconductor Market and Related Issues The AI data center semiconductor market is expected to exceed 40 trillion yen by 2028, and supply management is a challenge, as NVIDIA’s GB200 AI server is reportedly being smuggled into China.
6. Record Growth Projections for the Global Semiconductor Equipment Market SEMI forecasts that global semiconductor equipment sales will reach $125.5 billion in 2025, up 7.4% from the previous year and a record high. This suggests healthy growth for the semiconductor industry as a whole.
7. Rapidus Challenges TSMC with 2nm Process Japan’s Rapidus claims to be able to triple its chip manufacturing speed over TSMC with its unified 2nm process. This is a sign of new competition in advanced process technology development.
8. NVIDIA’s AI market dominance and political pressure Former President Trump considered dismantling NVIDIA, but was advised that it would take 10 years to topple Jensen, whom he acknowledged as the “AI champion.” In China, NVIDIA’s H20 chip is being shunned, with some switching to Huawei AI chips.
9. Growing Importance of Edge AI and Reevaluation of IoT Chip Manufacturing Edge AI is driving Innodisk’s growth, indicating increasing demand for distributed AI processing. Meanwhile, Sony is reportedly reevaluating IoT chip manufacturing and considering selling its semiconductor subsidiary in Israel.
10. China’ s Focus on Mature Process Technology and Semiconductor Self-Sufficiency China is focusing on 22/28nm technology against the backdrop of changes in the wafer procurement environment, aiming to establish self-sufficiency and leadership in the mature process field. Changjiang Storage is also accelerating its expansion plans.

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