Below are the most-read DIGITIMES stories from the week of February 16-22, 2026.
Pengtagon's 1260H list withdrawal illustrates delicate US-China tech balancing act
The US Department of Defense briefly updated its Section 1260H "Chinese Military Companies" list before withdrawing it within an hour, adding major Chinese technology firms including Alibaba, Baidu, and BYD, while unexpectedly removing memory chipmakers YMTC and CXMT. Although inclusion on the list does not trigger direct sanctions, it raises compliance scrutiny and may limit future US defense procurement access.
The abrupt withdrawal, which is reportedly pending further interagency review, comes ahead of a planned April summit between President Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. This highlights Washington's attempt to balance trade stabilization with ongoing technology and national security pressure. Removal from the Pentagon list would not ease existing export controls on China's memory sector, underscoring the distinction between reputational designation and binding trade restrictions.
Memory shortage delays consumer tech launches
AI data center expansion has caused a global memory shortage and is now disrupting consumer electronics roadmaps. DRAM prices are being pushed upwards by as much as 75% in a single month, forcing companies to reassess product timing and pricing. Massive purchases of Nvidia AI accelerators, each packed with high-bandwidth memory, by firms such as Alphabet and OpenAI have tightened supply for mainstream DRAM and NAND.
Sony is reportedly considering delaying its next PlayStation console to 2028 or 2029, while Nintendo may adjust pricing for its upcoming Switch 2. Smartphone vendors, including Xiaomi and Oppo, are trimming shipment targets. Analysts warn memory could account for up to 30% of low-end smartphone bill of materials this year, reflecting how AI infrastructure spending, projected at hundreds of billions of dollars by hyperscalers, is cascading through the broader hardware ecosystem.
Micron's US$200 billion expansion addresses supply gap
Given the tightest memory market in over four decades, Micron is accelerating global capacity expansion, including a US$50 billion Boise campus buildout and a US$100 billion megafab project in New York. The company expects new DRAM capacity to come online starting in 2027, aimed largely at AI-focused high-bandwidth memory. Executives say they are currently meeting only half to two-thirds of demand from some key customers, as hyperscaler capex surges.
Meanwhile, rivals, including SK Hynix, are also expanding aggressively. Micron projects gross margins of 68% this quarter, with both HBM4 and HBM3e sold out through year-end. The company argues the imbalance is structural, driven by inference workloads that require far higher memory density and bandwidth than previous computing cycles, signaling sustained tight allocation and elevated pricing into 2027.
Samsung set to reclaim semiconductor leadership in 2026
After ceding industry leadership to Nvidia during the AI accelerator boom, Samsung Electronics is forecast to regain the world's top semiconductor revenue ranking in 2026, powered by surging DRAM and NAND prices. Analysts estimate Samsung's semiconductor division could generate as much as US$200 billion next year, with DRAM revenue up 170% year-over-year and NAND up more than 90%. Operating margins in DRAM may exceed 70%, rivaling peak 2017-2018 levels.
The broader semiconductor market could approach US$1.1 trillion in 2026, with memory alone potentially reaching US$500 billion, which is more than double 2025 levels. The rebound may also propel South Korea's semiconductor exports past Taiwan's for only the third time in 25 years, underscoring how memory pricing is reshaping global industry rankings.
Glass fiber crunch reshapes PCB supply chains
A global shortage of glass fiber, which is critical for printed circuit boards, is intensifying competition between AI heavyweights such as Nvidia and Apple while pushing suppliers toward higher-margin specialty materials. Taiwanese producers, including Taiwan Glass Ind. and Nan Ya Plastics Corporation, are reallocating capacity from commodity E-glass to low-dielectric and low-thermal-expansion products used in advanced IC substrates.
Monthly price hikes of 10-15% are planned, with some projections suggesting prices could double by year-end. However, converting kilns reduces total output, tightening supply further and potentially reversing years of oversupply in lower-end PCB materials.
Tata's Gujarat fab delay tests India's chip ambitions
India's flagship wafer fab project in Gujarat, led by the Tata Group in partnership with Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp, faces fresh delays that could push initial production to 2028. The US$11 billion project, part of the India Semiconductor Mission, reportedly required a site relocation after excavation issues and may face risks tied to rare earth supply constraints.
The facility is expected to produce mature-node chips such as power management ICs and display drivers at 28nm. As India positions itself as an alternative semiconductor destination amid US–China tensions, further slippage could affect broader investor confidence in the country's manufacturing ambitions.
AI rack infrastructure broadens Taiwan's supply chain boom
January 2026 revenue data show Taiwan's AI server boom expanding beyond chips and system assembly into rack-level infrastructure. Suppliers of chassis, rail kits, optical modules, and thermal systems posted triple-digit annual growth. Chassis maker Chenbro and rail kit specialist NAN JUEN both reported record revenue, reflecting rising demand for heavier, high-density AI racks and liquid cooling architectures.
Optical supplier Landmark Optoelectronics is expanding silicon photonics capacity, while BMC provider ASPEED continues steady gains. The data suggest AI infrastructure spending is penetrating deeper into the hardware stack, spreading benefits across mechanical, thermal, and optical tiers as hyperscale data center buildouts accelerate.
Article edited by Jack Wu
