Semiconductor News 20260505

Today’s semiconductor news reports on the fierce supply security moves in the wake of rapidly growing AI demand and the accelerating strategic mergers and acquisitions among companies. Intel has named TSMC as a major partner to revive its business, while Apple’s Mac shipments are constrained by TSMC’s 3nm process supply shortages. In the memory market, buyers’ premium payments have become the norm, with Samsung and SK Hynix strengthening long-term supply contracts against a backdrop of severe supply shortages, and contract terms for SSDs and HDDs extending to an unprecedented five years. Furthermore, competition in the AI semiconductor market has entered a new phase on a global scale, with Huawei targeting huge sales from AI chips and Cellebras planning a major IPO.

Main News

1. Intel Names TSMC as Major Partner to Drive Business Resurgence
   Intel Corporation of America has reportedly named Taiwan’s TSMC, the world’s largest foundry, as a major manufacturing partner as part of a multi-year plan to revive its own business. An insider is leading this strategic restructuring. While rebuilding its own manufacturing division, the company is also hurrying to regain product competitiveness by outsourcing stable manufacturing of cutting-edge chips to TSMC. Cooperation that transcends former rivalries is having a major impact on the industry’s power structure.
2. Huawei Aims for $12 Billion in AI Chip Sales to Replace Nvidia
   Chinese technology giant Huawei has set a massive $12 billion sales target for its AI chips. As strict U.S. export controls make the latest models of Nvidia chips hard to come by, companies in China are rushing to introduce homegrown hardware as an alternative. This move is accelerating the building of China’s own AI ecosystem and further intensifying the U.S.-China battle for supremacy in the global AI chip market.
3. Samsung Strike Raises HBM Supply Risks , While TSMC to Build New Plant
   Rumors of a labor union strike at South Korea’s Samsung Electronics have exposed dissatisfaction with the wage gap between departments in the AI age, raising supply risks for HBM, the next-generation broadband memory. Although some unions have withdrawn their joint struggles, labor risks remain smoldering. In contrast, Taiwan’s TSMC is pushing ahead with construction of a new 23 trillion won plant, and there is a clear divide among top manufacturers over production stability.
4. TSMC’s 3nm Supply Shortage Constrains Apple’s Mac Supply Until 2nm Expansion
   TSMC’s production capacity of its cutting-edge 3nm process has reached its limits, constraining the supply of Mac products for its key customer, Apple. This shortage is expected to continue until TSMC fully ramps up production of its next-generation 2nm process, as surging demand for AI infrastructure chips spills over into the manufacture of other electronics products, making foundry production line availability the biggest life-or-death issue for technology companies. The next generation of A.I. infrastructure chips is expected to be the most critical issue for technology companies.
5. Severe Memory Supply Shortages Drive Samsung and SK Hynix to Strengthen Long-Term Contracts
   It has been reported that Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are further strengthening long-term supply contracts with their customers against the backdrop of severe memory supply shortages caused by exploding demand for AI. Buyers are now paying a premium to secure the necessary supply, and long-term supply contracts for SSDs and HDDs have been extended to a record five years. This tight supply and demand situation is putting pressure on memory prices to rise further and increase costs in the broader electronics industry.
6. Kioxia and SanDisk Demonstrate Next-Generation QLC NAND Aiming for Over 1000 Layers
   Kioxia and SanDisk demonstrated QLC NAND flash memory using a multi-stacked cell architecture, which is expected to become the next-generation high-capacity storage technology. The two companies are aiming for extreme stacking, exceeding 1,000 layers in the future, and are poised to meet the enormous data storage demands of AI data centers and other applications. The race to develop technologies to break through the physical stacking limits of memory chips is intensifying among the top manufacturers.
7. Nvidia Competitor AI Semiconductor Cerebrus Plans to Raise 4 Trillion Yen Valuation through IPO
   Cerebrus Systems, a U.S. AI semiconductor startup that is attracting attention as a strong competitor to Nvidia, is reportedly planning to raise funds at a valuation of 4 trillion yen through an initial public offering (IPO). The company, which develops giant wafer-sized AI chips, aims to capture a share of the rapidly expanding AI infrastructure market. In the AI semiconductor market, where astronomical sums of money are at stake, the emergence of a new powerful player is generating investor enthusiasm.
8. Samsung’s 4nm Yield Surpasses 80 Percent, Wins U.S. AI Chip Contract
   It has been reported that manufacturing yields for the most advanced 4nm process have improved to over 80 percent at Samsung Electronics’ foundry division. This technological progress has led to the company winning new U.S. AI chip manufacturing contracts with ADT for Samsung’s 4nm technology, as Samsung continues to regain customer acquisition momentum in the foundry market through yield improvement, despite the continued concentration of orders on TSMC.
9. Applied Materials Expands Advanced Packaging Product Portfolio with Acquisition of NEXX
   Applied Materials, the world’s largest semiconductor equipment manufacturer, announced today that it has expanded its own product portfolio for advanced packaging through the acquisition of NEXX. As chip miniaturization approaches its physical limits, advanced packaging technologies that integrate multiple chips are becoming increasingly important. The ecosystem supporting the implementation of high-performance chips for AI is evolving as leading manufacturing equipment companies invest large sums of money to enhance back-end technologies.
10. JSR to Open Semiconductor Materials Production Base in Taiwan to Compete with Chinese Companies
    It has been announced that JSR, a leading semiconductor materials company, will open a new semiconductor materials production base in Taiwan. JSR will establish an integrated system from development to manufacturing of key materials such as photoresists, which are indispensable for the production of cutting-edge chips, close to its customers. Amid rising geopolitical risks, the strategy is to maintain competitiveness against emerging Chinese material manufacturers and meet the demands of economic security by strengthening the supply network in Taiwan, where major foundries such as TSMC are concentrated.

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