SK Hynix posted record revenue of KRW66.2 trillion (US$46.3 billion) in 2024, with an operating profit of KRW23.5 trillion, yielding a 35% margin. Net income reached KRW19.8 trillion
Chinese foundries, despite their advanced process expertise and competitive pricing, remain less attractive to Taiwan-based IC design firms primarily due to intellectual property and geopolitical concerns
Chinese automobiles have consecutively secured the title of the world's largest automobile exporter in 2023 and 2024. Despite being impacted by the trade war surrounding battery electric vehicles (BEVs), Chinese manufacturers have adeptly adjusted their product mix, replacing BEVs with plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), which have achieved an impressive year-over-year export growth rate of nearly 200%
Xiaomi recently announced that the Xiaomi SU7 had surpassed the Tesla Model 3 in terms of vehicle deliveries in December 2024, thereby achieving a position among the top 5 in China's electric vehicle (EV) sedan sales list. This announcement was a challenge to Tesla. Previously, BYD's statistics indicated that its production of pure electric vehicles (BEV) had surpassed Tesla for the first time
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, composed of General Motors (GM), Toyota, Volkswagen, and others, has recently appealed to a US court to overturn a regulation set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) during the Biden administration. This regulation mandates that by 2029, all new cars in the US must be equipped with Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) systems. As Biden's ban constrained Chinese companies, this offered opportunities for Taiwanese manufacturers
Micron is expanding its investment in Taiwan, with plans to exceed NT$1.1 trillion (US$33.6 billion) by the end of 2024. According to Donghui Lu, head of Micron Taiwan, the company will increase overall production capacity for HBM3E in 2025 while continuing the ramp-up of 1β process capacity. Additionally, the 1γ process, which marks the first implementation of EUV equipment, will enter mass production at the Taichung plant in 2025
Under mounting US sanctions on AI chips, Chinese domestic GPU companies are accelerating development and entering capital markets to strengthen their position. In a significant move, Chinese GPU maker MetaX has completed its listing guidance filing and officially launched its IPO process, while Moore Threads has also completed its filing. These developments highlight the resilience of China's GPU industry despite increasing pressure from US restrictions
As Samsung Electronics (Samsung) attempts to reshape the global memory market through its sixth-generation high bandwidth memory (HBM4), industry watchers are closely monitoring two critical factors: the mass production and yield of the sixth-generation 1c DRAM, as well as internal confidence in its foundry processes. Currently, SK Hynix dominates the HBM market
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) has launched an innovative type of asset-based financing that utilizes semiconductor manufacturing equipment as collateral. This approach involves collaboration with external specialists for asset valuation. Memory chip manufacturer Kioxia has already benefited from this financing model, and it could potentially be extended to other chipmakers, like Rapidus
On January 15, Mitsubishi Electric unveiled its updated R&D strategy, highlighting its commitment to advancing technologies like electronic-photonic converging integration (EPCI) besides an increased investment of JPY100 billion (approx. US$6.4 million) in R&D from the fiscal year 2024 to 2030, a 1.7-fold increase over its initial plan. This investment will be funneled into collaborations between industry, academia, and government, supporting efforts to create game-changing technologies
Samsung Electro-Mechanics is teaming up with South Korean semiconductor materials company SoulBrain to develop materials for glass substrates, with plans for mass production by 2027. This partnership aims to enhance Samsung's supply chain ecosystem and boost the development of next-generation semiconductor technology
On January 16, 2025, reports emerged that Muxi Integrated Circuit Co., Ltd. (MetaX), a Chinese GPU manufacturer, entered the IPO pipeline for the A-share market after completing its corporate restructuring and filing for listing guidance with Huatai United Securities
Industry observers anticipate accelerated consolidation among second-tier LCD panel makers as US President Donald Trump prepares to implement new trade policies in his second term
On January 17, it was officially announced that George Zhao would step down as CEO of Honor. Reportedly, the newly appointed CEO Jian Li is a veteran of Huawei, known for his deep research background, extensive overseas market experience, and ability to tackle tough challenges
Samsung Electronics has denied reports about the redesign of its fifth-generation 10nm-class DRAM (1b DRAM), following media speculation about changes to the latest commercially available technology. Sources had suggested the company was planning to adjust the design to improve performance and yield
