Semiconductor News 20260220

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1. TSMC’s Facility Budget Increase and Global Capacity Competition
   TSMC’s significant increase in its 2026 capital budget suggests that competition for global semiconductor capacity expansion is intensifying.To meet surging AI demand, foundries are rapidly expanding their manufacturing capacity for cutting-edge processes The investment is expected to be significant, and will be funded by the global semiconductor industry. This massive investment is expected to have a long-term impact not only on the reorganization of the global semiconductor supply chain, but also on the competition among nations for technological supremacy through the stable supply of cutting-edge chips.
2. MediaTek CEO Advocates Importance of System-Level Efficiency
   In his ISSCC address, MediaTek’s CEO declared that the single chip era, which relies on single chip performance improvements, has come to an end. He emphasized that the next frontier in future semiconductor development will be system-level efficiency through whole-system architecture and advanced packaging technologies. This represents an important shift in strategy to fundamentally address the power consumption and heat generation challenges associated with increasingly sophisticated AI processing.
3. Memory Market to Expand to Twice Size of Foundry Market by 2026 Due to AI Demand
   According to TrendForce’s latest forecast, the semiconductor memory market is expected to grow rapidly and more than double the size of the foundry market in 2026, driven by strong AI demand The performance of AI servers Demand for high-bandwidth memory and high-capacity enterprise SSDs is driving the market strongly. As a result, memory manufacturers are accelerating capital investment and technology development, which has the potential to significantly change the revenue structure of the entire semiconductor industry.
4. U.S. Tariff Credits Put Strong Pressure on Korean Memory Makers to Produce Locally
   The design of a new tariff credit system that the United States is considering introducing could put strong pressure on major Korean memory manufacturers to establish production structures in the United States. As localization of supply chains becomes inevitable to meet preferential tariff conditions, U.S. geopolitical trade policy is directly influencing the huge investment strategies and factory location decisions of global semiconductor companies.
5. Rapidus to Begin Production of 2-Nanometer Generation Test Chips by End of 2026
   The CTO of Rapidus, a Japanese next-generation semiconductor manufacturer, has announced plans to begin production of its cutting-edge 2-nanometer generation test chips by the end of 2026. Milestones toward the mass production of logic semiconductors in Japan are materializing, and the manufacturing ecosystem is being built at a rapid pace. This is an extremely important step toward the revival of Japan’s semiconductor industry and is attracting attention both domestically and internationally.
6. Bosch to Launch New SiC Power Semiconductors with New Structure and Vertical GaN by 2031
   Bosch, a major automotive parts manufacturer, has announced its plan to commercialize SiC power semiconductors with a new proprietary structure by 2031. In addition, the company is also looking to develop vertical GaN devices, which are expected to become the next generation of compound materials. In the race to develop high-efficiency power devices, which are indispensable for extending the cruising range of electric vehicles and reducing system size, the company is moving to secure its technological superiority over the medium to long term.
7. OpenAI to surpass $850 billion enterprise value with $100 billion in funding
   OpenAI, the leader in generative AI, is reportedly close to raising an unprecedented $100 billion in new funding. If this massive financing comes through, the company’s enterprise value is expected to surpass $850 billion. The realization of general-purpose artificial intelligence and the learning of next-generation basic models will require massive investments in computational resources and semiconductor infrastructure, and the massive influx of funds will further intensify the battle for AI supremacy.
8. Chinese BCI Company Moves to Human Testing, Becoming Strong Rival to Neuralink
   NeuroXess, a Chinese brain-computer interface company, is rapidly moving into the human testing phase, backed by strong government support and an enthusiastic injection of funds from investors. With the clear goal of surpassing the U.S.-based Neuralink led by Elon Musk, the company is greatly accelerating its development speed. From medical applications to extending human capabilities, the competition between the U.S. and China over next-generation technologies has entered a new stage.
9. Demonstration of Quantum Teleportation on Existing Commercial Fiber Optic Networks
   Research institutes at Deutsche Telekom and others have successfully demonstrated quantum teleportation on existing fiber optic networks with an average accuracy of 90 percent, using commercially available hardware. This achievement is an important breakthrough for the practical application of the quantum Internet, which will enable extremely secure encrypted communications. It has shocked the industry by demonstrating the possibility of building a next-generation communications infrastructure without the need for a new dedicated infrastructure.
10. Renesas Develops SoC for Automotive Multi-Domain ECUs for the SDV Era
    Renesas Electronics has developed next-generation SoC technology for automotive multi-domain ECUs, which will be essential in the era of software-defined vehicles. This will be the fundamental technology to control multiple complex in-vehicle systems with a single integrated chip to efficiently realize advanced automated driving and connected functions. With the rapid shift to electronic vehicles, high-performance in-vehicle semiconductors are becoming even more important.

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