Below are the most-read DIGITIMES Asia stories from the week of September 15–September 21.
Exclusive: Micron halts NAND and DRAM quotes after SanDisk price hike, sharper increases looming
Following SanDisk's announcement of a 10% price increase on NAND products, memory manufacturers are rapidly adjusting their strategies, signaling a wider industry trend toward rising prices. With supply shortages anticipated in 2026, Micron has halted pricing quotes for NAND Flash and DRAM for the week. Market sources predict potential NAND Flash price increases of up to 30%.
Nvidia's Jensen Huang reverses quantum strategy, bets billions on next computing era
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is making a sharp reversal on quantum computing. After years of downplaying its near-term potential, he's now investing heavily in quantum startups, signaling a newfound commitment to the emerging technology.
Memory prices surged in 4Q25, defying seasonal trends as AI drives demand
Fueled by strong AI-driven demand, contract prices for NAND and DRAM surged by an estimated 15–20% in the fourth quarter of 2025, defying the typical year-end price decline trend. Ongoing supply shortages prompted aggressive buying from cloud service providers, leaving high-stack 3D NAND products nearly sold out.
SMIC initiates testing of domestically produced lithography machines to bypass US sanctions
Amid escalating US export controls and a push to reduce reliance on ASML, China has initiated testing of its first domestically developed deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography machine. According to reports, SMIC is currently trialing an immersion DUV system—developed by a Shanghai-based startup—designed to support semiconductor production at the 7nm node.
Samsung gains edge as Micron falters on Nvidia's HBM4 demands
With Nvidia raising the performance requirements for fourth-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM4), reports indicate that Micron Technology may be facing challenges in meeting the new standards. Industry analysts in South Korea suggest that this development could give Samsung Electronics a competitive edge.
Beijing's anti-dumping drive puts US analog chips on notice, clearing path for Chinese alternatives
The US–China semiconductor conflict has intensified, entering a new phase as the US Department of Commerce adds 23 Chinese entities to its Entity List. Among them are 13 semiconductor companies located across key tech hubs, including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Wuxi, and Changsha. This broad move highlights Washington's strategic intent to tighten technology controls while targeting a wide swath of China's chip industry.
Exclusive: Taiwan plots quantum leap with IBM, eyeing industry commercialization
Taiwan's National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) is placing strategic emphasis on integrating quantum computing mainframes with high-performance computing (HPC) platforms, viewing it as a catalyst for transforming future industries. According to sources, the NSTC is expected to procure quantum systems from IBM Quantum, with the ambition of replicating IBM's 1980s success in establishing open PC-compatible standards—an approach that led to the rise of the Wintel ecosystem—in hopes of fostering a similar open framework in the quantum computing era.
Article edited by Jerry Chen
