Semiconductor News 20260303

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1. Google and Meta Sign Multi-Billion Dollar AI Chip Supply Deal
   Google and Meta have signed a major multi-billion dollar supply deal for AI chips. The move intensifies competition against NVIDIA, which holds a dominant share of the AI infrastructure market. The move has attracted industry attention as a strategic move by the two companies to diversify their procurement options for high-performance AI chips and move away from over-reliance on a single hardware manufacturer by deepening their proprietary hardware ecosystem collaboration.
2. Rapidus Raises 167.6 Billion Yen in Private Funding for 2-Nanometer Mass Production
   Rapidus, a Japanese next-generation semiconductor manufacturer, has raised 167.6 billion yen in private funding to support mass production of its 2-nanometer generation logic semiconductors by 2027. The company is currently in negotiations with 60 customers and has provided initial quotes to 10 of them. Huge investments in development and mass production, as well as business startups, are progressing at a rapid pace toward establishing a domestic manufacturing base for advanced semiconductors.
3. Huawei Challenges NVIDIA with Atlas 950 at MWC
   Huawei has launched its global rollout at MWC 2026 with the first international showing of its latest Atlas 950 SuperPoD with 8192 chips. The company is clearly poised to challenge NVIDIA head-on in building AI data centers on a cluster scale. As U.S. export restrictions continue, the Chinese tech giant is looking to establish its own AI computing infrastructure and increase its presence in the global market.
4. NVIDIA Invests 630 Billion Yen in Two Major Optical Communication Companies to Accelerate AI
   NVIDIA has invested a total of 630 billion yen in Lumentum and Coherent, two U.S. optical communication component manufacturers, to accelerate data processing in AI data centers. as AI models grow in scale, As data transfer speeds between chips have become a bottleneck, NVIDIA aims to dramatically improve the performance of the overall infrastructure by incorporating cutting-edge optical communication technologies such as silicon photonics.
5. Samsung and SK Hynix Plan Major DRAM Price Hikes
   Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are planning major DRAM price hikes against the backdrop of a global memory shortage caused by surging AI demand. This price spike is also spreading to the server market, with Wiwynn and others issuing warnings about sharp cost increases. In addition, with the arrival of the memory market super-cycle, both companies plan to increase the number of new hires by 20 percent, thus entrenching a supplier-dominated market environment.
6. Peking University Research Team Achieves Breakthrough in 1 Nanometer Chip
   A Peking University research team has reportedly achieved a groundbreaking technological breakthrough in a chip with just one nanometer node that delivers record low power consumption. The research achievement, which pushes the physical limits of miniaturization, is an important step toward realizing the ultra-low power, high-performance computing infrastructure of the future and shows that China is beginning to become a world-class competitor in next-generation advanced semiconductor fundamental research.
7. Huawei and ByteDance Unveil 66x Faster RRAM AI Chip
   An unusual technology alliance between China’s Huawei and ByteDance unveiled a groundbreaking RRAM (resistance-change memory) based AI chip at ISSCC 2026. This new architecture is claimed to be 66 times faster than conventional CPUs. To counter U.S. technology regulations, top Chinese companies are partnering with each other to accelerate the creation of a new hardware paradigm that breaks through existing limitations.
8. TSMC’s Overseas Sales, Arizona Turns Profitable, but Losses Widening at Japanese Factories
   TSMC’s overseas sales distribution for 2025 has been revealed, showing that the Chinese market is a strong driver of overall revenue. It also reported that the Arizona plant in the U.S. has returned to profitability, while the Japanese plant is reporting growing losses. As global production sites are increasingly decentralized, differences in regional demand trends, start-up costs, and subsidy policies provide a clear contrast in the initial profitability of each overseas plant.
9. Broadcom Now Offering 2-nanometer Generation 3.5D AI Processors
   Broadcom has further expanded its custom chip strategy to compete with NVIDIA, offering advanced AI processors employing state-of-the-art 2-nanometer process and 3.5D packaging technology. Responding to demand from giant high-tech companies for custom chips optimized exclusively for their own use, this is a powerful alternative to standardized GPUs in the battle for dominance of the ultra-high-performance, power-efficient AI hardware market.
10. Intel Foundry Head Moves to Qualcomm to Head Technology and Manufacturing
    Chandrasekaran, former head of Intel Foundry, Intel’s contract manufacturing division, has moved to competitor Qualcomm, assuming responsibility for both technology and manufacturing. The departure of key personnel is a blow to Intel, which is in the midst of restructuring its foundry business and launching miniaturization processes. Qualcomm, on the other hand, will strengthen its supply chain management and next-generation product development capabilities by bringing in a top executive with expertise in semiconductor manufacturing.

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