Semiconductor News 20260509

Today’s semiconductor news is a mix of explosive AI demand, dramatic supply chain reorganization, and new alliances between companies: reports of Apple’s tentative agreement with Intel to outsource semiconductor production have caused a stir in the foundry market. There have also been notable breakthroughs by Japanese materials and device makers, such as Sony and TSMC forming a joint venture for next-generation image sensors for AI and automotive applications, and Ajinomoto acquiring a new factory site for ABF substrate materials, which is booming due to the AI boom. On the other hand, the industry as a whole is in the midst of upheaval, with labor risks and tight supply of materials and components that arise on the back of growth becoming apparent, such as concerns over a strike at Samsung Electronics and supply shortages of 2D NAND.

Main News

1. Apple reportedly reaches tentative agreement to outsource semiconductor production to Intel
   Apple has reached a tentative agreement to outsource some of its semiconductor production to Intel Corporation, the Wall Street Journal reported. Until now, Apple has relied heavily on Taiwan’s TSMC for the manufacture of its core chips, but the company aims to secure a manufacturing option in the U.S. to diversify production capacity constraints and geopolitical supply chain risks. For Intel, this is a major impetus for the restructuring of its foundry business.
2. Sony and TSMC Agree to Establish Joint Venture for Next-Generation Image Sensors
   Sony Semiconductor Solutions and Taiwan’s TSMC have reached a basic agreement on a strategic alliance to develop and manufacture next-generation image sensors and will establish a joint venture in Japan. The alliance includes the creation of new production lines focused on automotive, robotics, and even artificial intelligence applications. The two companies intend to strongly promote stable supply of high-performance vision sensors and technological innovation in the rapidly growing fields of edge AI and automated driving.
3. Major Tech Firms Offer to Fund EUV Equipment for SK Hynix
   As the global supply shortage of AI memory grows, several major technology companies have reportedly offered to fund the installation of production lines and expensive extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment for SK Hynix of South Korea. The hyperscaler companies are expected to be the first to offer financial support to SK Hynix. Hyperscaler companies are moving toward an unusual enclosure strategy of directly supporting suppliers’ capital investments to ensure the availability of high-bandwidth memory, which is critical to the performance of AI data centers.
4. Ajinomoto Acquires Site for New Plant to Further Strengthen ABF Substrate Materials Business
   Ajinomoto has acquired a site for 1.2 billion yen to build a new plant, scheduled to start operation in 2032, to strengthen its ABF business, an insulation material for semiconductor packaging substrates. Demand for ABF, which is essential for mounting high-performance chips due to the boom in artificial intelligence, is rapidly increasing, and the profit margin of this business has reached a high level of over 50 percent. In order to eliminate bottlenecks in the advanced packaging market, the Company is significantly expanding its production capacity from a medium- to long-term perspective.
5. Strike Concerns at Samsung and Demand for Pay-for-Performance at Chinese Factories Intensify
   At Samsung Electronics Korea, labor unions are demanding greater returns on profits from special AI demand, and tensions between labor and management are rising as a strike deadline looms. Furthermore, the conflict over performance pay is not confined to South Korea, but is also causing a sense of relative deprivation among local employees at manufacturing plants in China, who want “us to share in the profits. Behind the record-breaking performance of the company, labor risks involving the global production base are surfacing.
6. TSMC Promotes CoPoS to Secure Next-Generation Packaging Advantage
   TSMC, the world’s largest foundry, is reportedly promoting CoPoS as an exclusive next-generation solution for advanced packaging technology. As chip miniaturization approaches its physical limits, back-end technologies that efficiently integrate multiple chips are key to improving performance. The company’s strategy is to surround itself with an ecosystem of proprietary packaging technologies to maintain its competitive advantage over rivals over the long term.
7. Nvidia Invests Heavily in Cooling Technology for Next-Generation AI Chips
   AI semiconductor giant Nvidia is investing heavily in the latest cooling technology to address the extreme heat generation issues it faces in next-generation AI server designs, inside information has revealed. In anticipation of deploying next-generation architectures, the company is rushing to secure solutions to physically push the limits of power consumption and heat exhaustion in data centers, creating a huge oversupply in the hardware infrastructure cooling market.
8. With Samsung and Micron Withdrawing from the Market, Supply Shortage of 2D NAND Bec omes More Serious
   As major memory manufacturers such as Samsung of Korea and Micron of the United States have successively withdrawn from the market for older generation 2D NAND flash memory due to profitability issues, the supply shortage of this product is becoming more serious. While investment is concentrated on cutting-edge 3D NAND, demand for 2D NAND remains strong in niche markets such as industrial equipment and telecommunication infrastructure, where high reliability is required, and customer companies are facing procurement difficulties.
9. Baidu’s AI Chip Division to IPO at a valuation of approximately HK$100 billion
   Chinese technology giant Baidu’s AI chip development division, Kunlunxin, has reportedly begun the process of an initial public offering (IPO) on the Chinese STAR market. The company is expected to be valued at approximately HK$100 billion when it is listed in Hong Kong. To counter U.S. export restrictions, domestic AI chip development and financing in China is proceeding at a furious pace, backed by state support.
10. SKC to Accelerate Mass Production of Glass Substrates for U.S. Clients by the End of the Year
    SKC of Korea will accelerate mass production of glass substrates, which are attracting attention as a next-generation semiconductor packaging material, by the end of the year, ahead of its original plan, it has been announced. The move is intended to promote a new non-embedded technology for a major client in the U.S. Expected to be a next-generation substrate that can handle larger and faster AI chips, competition to develop the technology and bring it to market in the related ecosystem is intensifying.

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