Semiconductor News 20260416

In today’s semiconductor news, we report on the simultaneous leap in performance due to demand for AI infrastructure and the dramatic restructuring of the supply chain due to geopolitical fragmentation: ASML has raised its 2026 revenue forecast to up to €40 billion on the back of strong AI demand, and Broadcom and Meta are deepening their partnership to build a multi-gigawatt scale AI infrastructure. At the same time, however, uncertainties are emerging that are shaking the footing of growth, including concerns about SK Hynix’s plans to scale back HBM4 shipments and the risk of South Korea’s 97.5 percent dependence on Israeli bromine. Furthermore, the global supply chain is taking on a new shape with complex polarization, as China’s chip equipment imports shift largely to Southeast Asia due to tighter U.S. export restrictions.

Main News

1. ASML Raises 2026 Sales Forecast on the Back of AI Demand
   The Netherlands-based ASML has raised its 2026 sales forecast from €36 billion to €40 billion on the back of strong memory and logic demand driven by growing AI demand. First quarter results were also solid, with South Korea reaching 45 percent market share by country. Continued strong demand for state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment in the race to develop semiconductors is symbolic of the booming capital investment in the industry as a whole.
2. SK H ynix May Scale Back HBM4 Shipments to NVIDIA
   It has emerged that South Korea’s SK Hynix may be scaling back its plans to ship HBM4, the next-generation high-bandwidth memory for NVIDIA. This move is likely in response to reports that the launch of NVIDIA’s next-generation AI semiconductor architecture, the Rubin line, has been delayed.The change in the roadmap for the cutting-edge chips that drive AI infrastructure building has a direct impact on memory suppliers’ production plans.
3. Samsung Electro-Mechanics to Invest K RW 1.8 Trillion in Vietnam
   Samsung Electro-Mechanics of Korea has decided to invest a massive KRW 1.8 trillion in its manufacturing facility in Vietnam in response to demand for ABF substrates, a high-performance packaging substrate, exceeding supply. By significantly expanding the production capacity of substrates, which are essential for advanced semiconductor packaging such as AI chips, Samsung Electro-Mechanics aims to address the global supply shortage and increase its market share in the back-end supply chain.
4. Tighter U.S. Export Controls Shift China’s Chip Tool Imports to Southeast Asia
   Strict U.S. export controls are shifting semiconductor equipment import routes in China: in 2025, China’s chip tool imports from Singapore and Malaysia will reach record levels, while U.S. imports from the U.S. have fallen to their lowest level since 2017. As the U.S.-China conflict accelerates supply chain fragmentation, Southeast Asia is beginning to serve as an important bypass route to China and a new sourcing hub.
5. NVIDIA Pushes RISC-V Strategy and Rises in Cloud AI Market
   AI semiconductor giant NVIDIA is aggressively promoting the adoption of RISC-V, an open source instruction set architecture. The company is backing SiFive, a RISC-V-related startup, which brings the competition among the three major architectures in cloud AI infrastructure to a new level. The rise of RISC-V in the data center has the potential to fundamentally transform the existing ecosystem.
6. China’ s YMTC to More Than Double Production Capacity by Building New Plant
   YMTC, China’s leading NAND flash memory company, has announced plans to more than double its current production capacity through the construction of a new semiconductor plant in the country. Riding the wave of the Chinese government’s initiative to strengthen the domestic chip manufacturing ecosystem and become more self-reliant, YMTC is rapidly increasing its presence in the memory market on the back of huge domestic demand, even in the face of strict U.S. technology regulations.
7. Broadcom and Meta Deepen Alliance on Multi-Gigawatt Scale AI Infrastructure
   Broadcom and Meta Platforms of the United States are reportedly deepening their strategic alliance to build next-generation AI infrastructure with multi-gigawatt scale power requirements. The partnership is expected to be completed by the end of 2012. The two companies will collaborate on the development of high-performance communication chips and custom silicon to enable massive data centers that consume extremely large amounts of computational resources and power, and will strongly promote the development of infrastructure to push the limits of generative AI.
8. Korean Chip Supply Chain Faces Risk Due to Excessive Dependence on Israeli Bromine
   The Korean semiconductor industry reveals that 97.5 percent of its imports of bromine, an essential material for manufacturing processes and related components, are dependent on Israel. As tensions in the Middle East increase and the risk of geopolitical conflict rises, extreme supply dependence on a specific country can become an extremely vulnerable bottleneck for the entire chip supply chain. Korean manufacturers are under pressure to respond quickly to this risk by diversifying their procurement networks.
9. Kyocera to Acquire Ushio’s Semiconductor Laser Device Business
   Kyocera has announced that it will acquire the semiconductor laser device business from Ushio. With this strategic acquisition, Kyocera will significantly strengthen its foundation in RGB laser technology and accelerate its expansion into new optical solutions markets. Laser devices based on semiconductor technology are expected to see growing demand in next-generation displays, sensors, and communications, and this acquisition is a noteworthy move by a Japanese component manufacturer to strengthen its competitiveness.
10. Advantest Opens Collaboration Center for Semiconductor Test in the U.S.
    Advantest, a leading semiconductor test equipment company, announced the opening of its new collaboration center for semiconductor test, the Advantest Innovation Center, in the United States. As the development of cutting-edge chips and a return to manufacturing in the U.S. continues to gain momentum, the center will be located in close physical proximity to key customers and partners to provide rapid and advanced solutions for complex testing requirements, such as AI semiconductors.

News List