Semiconductor News 20250917

Main News

1. Demand for TSMC ‘s 2nm process is expected to outpace 3nm and production ramp-up is expected to accelerate. Apple is also preparing four 2nm chipsets in 2026, at least two of which will feature advanced packaging technology. This highlights the competition for cutting-edge technology in the semiconductor industry and the strategies of major companies.
2. Microsoft’s Huge Investment in AI Infrastructure and Copilot Deployment Strategy Microsoft plans to invest 4.4 trillion yen over four years in the UK to develop its AI infrastructure. In addition, the company announced that it will force users of Microsoft 365 desktop version apps such as Word and Excel to install the Copilot app, its AI assistant, during October. This demonstrates Microsoft’s aggressive strategy for broad adoption of AI capabilities.
3. China’s Anti-Dumping Measures Against U.S. Analog Chips and Accelerating Semiconductor Self-Sufficiency China intends to impose anti-dumping measures against U.S.-made analog chips to promote market expansion for Chinese-made alternatives. This suggests that HiSilicon, a subsidiary of Huawei, may shift from “survival mode” to “leadership” under the “Trump 2.0” administration, indicating China’s strong will for semiconductor self-sufficiency and intensifying technology competition between the US and China.
4. Intel’s Restructuring and Sale of Altera Stake, Challenges in AI Intel has sold a majority stake in its FPGA division, Altera, to Silver Lake, strengthening its focus on its core business. This will allow the company to reduce its operating expense target to $16.8 billion in FY2025. On the other hand, it has been pointed out that Intel has neglected the “semiconductor division of labor” and as a result has been placed “outside the mosquito net” in the current special demand for AI, indicating the need for a change in strategy.
5. Up to 500 Billion Yen Subsidy for Micron’s Next Generation DRAM Production by METI The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has announced that it will provide a subsidy of up to 500 billion yen for next generation DRAM production at Micron Technology’s Hiroshima Plant in the United States. This massive subsidy is part of the government’s strong support program aimed at strengthening Japan’s semiconductor supply chain and improving its international competitiveness in the development of advanced semiconductor technologies.
6. IonQ CEO Predicts Quantum Chips Will Make GPUs Obsolete The CEO of quantum computing company IonQ has claimed that the company’s quantum chips could make existing GPUs like NVIDIA’s “Blackwell” obsolete by 2027. This statement suggests that quantum computing technology could cause a paradigm shift in future computing power and have a significant impact on existing high-performance computing technologies.
7. Chinese Government Finds NVIDIA in Violation of Antitrust Laws and Tightens Regulations on M&A The Chinese government has found NVIDIA in violation of antitrust laws. In addition, it is reported that the Chinese government is also imposing similar restrictions on Korean companies such as SK hynix, just as it has attacked NVIDIA in past M&A deals. This indicates that China is tightening its restrictions on foreign companies to protect its semiconductor industry and that geopolitical risks are increasing.
8. NAND Flash Market Supply Shortages and Price Spikes Cloud service providers’ (CSPs) migration to enterprise SSDs (eSSDs) has led to concerns about a shortage of QLC NAND flash supply by 2026 Samsung has delayed the start of V9 QLC NAND production to the first half of 2026 H1, and this supply shortage has led to a 70% spike in Kioxia’s stock price, underscoring the tightness of the market.
9. U. S. Withdrawal of VEU Exemption for Samsung and SK hy nix The U.S. government has withdrawn its Verified End-User (VEU) exemption for Samsung and SK hynix, leaving both companies facing operational difficulties. This action could cause uncertainty in the global semiconductor supply chain as the impact of the technology hegemony struggle between the U.S. and China has reached the major semiconductor companies in Korea.
10. AMD ‘s Strategy to Counter NVIDIA CUDA Ecosystem and Open FSR Redstone AMD is preparing to release ROCm 7.0 compute stack as a powerful alternative to counter NVIDIA’s CUDA ecosystem. Furthermore, AMD’s FSR Redstone technology is reportedly not exclusive to Radeon GPUs, but may also work on NVIDIA GeForce and Intel Arc GPUs, and AMD’s open strategy is expected to have a significant impact on the competitive landscape of the GPU market.

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