Semiconductor News 20250919

Main News

1. NVIDIA’s $5 Billion Investment in Intel and Its Impact on the Semiconductor Industry NVIDIA plans to invest $5 billion in Intel’s CPU-GPU collaboration to include NVIDIA’s RTX GPUs in new x86 SoCs. DIGITIMES analysts assess that the partnership will have a positive impact on TSMC, explaining that Intel will continue to offer GPU products in the future, but that the NVIDIA deal complements its product roadmap. The move is a show of unity among U.S. semiconductor national representatives, with Intel’s stock price surging in the U.S. market; NVIDIA CEO Huang has indicated that the partnership is design-only and cautious about manufacturing support.

2. Tighter Regulations on NVIDIA in China and Shift to Domestically Pro duced AI Chips The Chinese government is tightening regulations on NVIDIA, and an antitrust investigation has reignited the Mellanox acquisition controversy. Major Chinese tech giants such as Tencent, Alibaba, and Baidu are switching to domestically produced AI chips in an effort to shake NVIDIA’s dominance. The Chinese government has also reportedly ordered domestic companies to stop purchasing NVIDIA’s AI semiconductors, which has accelerated the race to develop AI chips in China.

3. Huawei’s AI Chip Roadmap and Rivalry to NVIDIA Huawei detailed its roadmap for Ascend AI chips over the next six years, highlighting advances in HBM (high bandwidth memory) and the scale of its SuperNodes. The company announced its next generation Atlas 950 and 960 SuperPoD AI servers, which it claims will outperform NVIDIA’s Rubin lineup. In particular, the company plans to introduce the Ascend 950PR with its own HBM in Q1 2026, the Kungpeng 950 series with up to 192 cores in Q4 2026, and the 960 series with over 256 cores in Q1 2028.

4. 2-nanometer Design Advances and AI Inference Accuracy by Rapidus Japanese semiconductor manufacturing company Rapidus has announced that it has reached nearly 100% AI inference accuracy in the development of basic circuits in 2-nanometer designs. This advancement is an important step in Japan’s efforts to establish leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing technology and has the potential to increase competitiveness in the future AI semiconductor market. cost concerns exist as the transition to the EUV high NA (high aperture) generation is rapidly emerging for DRAM.

5. Apple’s Foldable iPhone Development Considerations and Shipping Targets Apple is considering a test production line for the foldable iPhone, with the goal of increasing shipments by 10% by 2026. Prototypes in Taiwan and mass production in India are reportedly being considered, a move that could lead to entry into new form factors and regional diversification in key supply chains. iPhone 17 Pro camera defects and user dissatisfaction with iOS 26’s liquid glass design are also reported. and issues with existing products have also been reported.

6. Microsoft’s Transition to the AI Era and CEO Satya Nadella’s View Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella acknowledged that the transition to the AI era could be chaotic, but said his company does not want to be left behind in this tech race. Microsoft has already unveiled the world’s largest AI data center, housing hundreds of thousands of GPUs, demonstrating its strong intent to establish its leadership in the AI era through major investments in AI infrastructure.

7. Taiwan’s Major Investment in Silicon Photonics Taiwan is making a major investment in silicon photonics technology, aiming to capture a $100 billion global market. This technology, which uses light to transmit data at high speed, is expected to help eliminate interconnection bottlenecks in AI data centers and further advance semiconductors. Taiwan is strategically moving to maintain its dominance in the semiconductor industry with next-generation technology.

8. EU and Japan plan joint development of rare earths in Greenland The EU and Japan plan to jointly develop rare earths in Greenland in order to reduce their dependence on China (G2) for supply. Rare earths are rare metals essential for high-tech products and renewable energy technologies, and this move aims to diversify the supply chain and reduce geopolitical risks. Both countries are strengthening their collaboration to secure strategic resources.

9. Long-Term Supply Guarantee for Automotive Microcontrollers and Movement toward Stable Semiconductor Supply STMicroelectronics has extended the long-term product supply guarantee for its SPC58 family of automotive microcontrollers from 15 years to 20 years. This indicates the growing importance of stable supply of semiconductors in the automotive industry and reflects the industry’s move to build a supply system that can withstand fluctuations in the supply chain. ROHM is also developing low VF and low IR Schottky barrier diodes for automotive-compatible protection.

10. Murata Manufacturing Strengthens M&A and Significantly Raises Capital Expenditure Target Murata Manufacturing has strengthened its M&A plan and significantly raised its capital expenditure target from 100 billion yen to 220 billion yen. This demonstrates the company’s strong ambition to accelerate its growth strategy in the electronic components market and to pursue technological innovation and market share expansion. It shows the company’s determination to maintain and strengthen its competitiveness through aggressive investment, even in an uncertain economic climate.

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