Semiconductor News 20260224

Main News

1. TSMC Accelerates Expansion in Taiwan: Up to 10 Factories to be Built or Operational by 2026
   TSMC is rapidly expanding its production capacity in Taiwan, with up to 10 new factories reportedly under construction or to begin operations by 2026. In order to meet the strong demand for AI semiconductors, TSMC is concentrating huge investments in the country, ranging from cutting-edge processes to advanced packaging. While expanding overseas, this highlights the company’s strategy to further solidify Taiwan’s position as a core base for technology development and production.
2. Memory Shortage Hits Market; Kioxia Sells Out, Lenovo and Others to Raise Prices
   The global memory supply is getting tighter due to surging AI demand. Kioxia has reportedly already sold out of NAND capacity for 2026. This shortage of materials and price spike has had a widespread impact on end products, with Lenovo raising prices for its North American partners and Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S26 Ultra smartphone also expected to see a price increase due to higher memory costs.
3. The Trump Administration’s New Tariffs and Their Impact on Taiwanese Chips
   The new Trump tariffs are in a 150-day bridging measure to take effect in the U.S., after which a new higher tariff of 15 percent is planned. A Plan B for tariffs has also been put forth to investigate overproducing Asian countries, and U.S. tariff judgments are beginning to directly target Taiwan-made chips. As trade policy uncertainty mounts, global electronics-related supply chains are under severe impact and restructuring pressure.
4. Samsung Reclaims DRAM Leadership Position and Moves Production Forward in Anticipation of HBM4
   Samsung Electronics has reclaimed the top share in the DRAM segment with a 40 percent increase in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2025. In addition, under its “Shell First” strategy, the company has accelerated the schedule for clean room construction at its P5 plant, is rapidly expanding production capacity for HBM4 memory for AI, and is in a hurry to strengthen its leadership position in semiconductors in general, with its foundry business utilization rate rebounding to over 80% in the first quarter of 2026. We are hurrying to strengthen our leadership in semiconductors in general.
5. Nvidia Enters PC Market in Earnest with AI-Enabled Laptop Chip
   Nvidia is taking on Intel and AMD in the PC market in earnest with the launch of a new laptop chip with integrated AI processing power. While Nvidia has a dominant share of the server AI chip market, the company has also extended its strong ecosystem to the growing AI PC market and has made clear its strategy to also dominate end-user hardware by raising AI performance in the mobile environment.
6. AMD Places India at Center of AI Strategy and Expands Loan Support
   AMD is accelerating its move to place India at the center of its global AI strategy through the introduction of the Helios platform and expanded partnerships. Following Nvidia’s lead, AMD has also announced a $300 million financing commitment to U.S. infrastructure company Crusoe. The company aims to expand its market share by strengthening its foundation in India, which has a huge market and human resources, and by providing direct financial support to cloud infrastructure companies.
7. PSMC Joins Intel and Others’ ZAM Initiative to Manufacture AI Memory to Replace HBM
   Taiwan’s PSMC (Power Solution Manufacturing Corporation) is breaking away from its reliance on mature processes to manufacture next-generation AI memory. The company will participate in the new memory architecture “ZAM” initiative promoted by Intel and Softbank, aiming to establish an alternative to HBM, which is currently the mainstream. The aim is to establish itself as a manufacturing partner for the commercialization of a new technology that solves the thermal and cost issues of AI infrastructure.
8. Tokyo Electron President Reveals Flood of Demand for Semiconductor Equipment and Requests to Move Forward
   Tokyo Electron’s president has revealed an unprecedented flood of demand for manufacturing equipment in the wake of a huge investment boom in semiconductors for AI. The company has received requests from almost all of its customers to accelerate the delivery of their equipment. The fierce competition among semiconductor manufacturers for development and mass production is strongly pushing up the performance of equipment makers.
9. ASML Increases EUV Power to 1000W to Improve Yield and Reduce Costs
   ASML, the largest provider of semiconductor lithography equipment, has announced technology to increase the light source output of its extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment to 1000W. The increased output dramatically increases wafer throughput, leading directly to higher manufacturing yields and lower per-chip manufacturing costs in leading-edge processes. As miniaturization approaches its limits, this fundamental technology will dramatically improve mass production efficiency and will be a key factor in the competitiveness of major foundries.
10. South Korea’ s Exports Hit Record High, Semiconductors Share Close to 35 Percent
    South Korea’s exports for the same period hit a historic high, with semiconductors reportedly accounting for a 34.7 percent share of that total. The surge in demand for high-value-added memory (e.g., HBM and high-capacity DRAM) in conjunction with the global AI boom has been a strong driver of the overall Korean economy. The reliance on semiconductors in the export structure is further increasing, and the situation where trends in the chip industry hold the fate of the national economy is becoming clearer.

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