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May 8
TSMC reportedly pushes CoPoS exclusivity to lock in next-gen packaging lead
TSMC is accelerating the expansion of its CoWoS advanced packaging capacity while pushing ahead with the more technically demanding panel-level packaging technology CoPoS, aiming to widen its lead over rivals in the AI semiconductor race. Industry sources said TSMC has imposed strict confidentiality controls across the CoPoS supply chain, requiring Taiwan-based equipment and materials partners to sign agreements that prevent technology leakage and limit supply to TSMC for several years after mass production begins.
As India's semiconductor ambitions move from policy announcements to execution, Lam Research sees the country's opportunity extending beyond fabs to the less visible ecosystem that will determine whether it can become a meaningful part of the global chip manufacturing supply chain.

Intel's reported preliminary agreement to manufacture some chips for Apple devices would mark a major validation point for CEO Lip-Bu Tan's effort to rebuild the US chipmaker's foundry business. It would not, however, resolve the deeper manufacturing, cost, and organizational challenges still standing between Intel and a full-scale comeback.

Micron's senior vice president, Jeremy Werner, told The Circuit Podcast that memory has become a strategic bottleneck for data-center inference, warning that insufficient memory can sharply cut GPU utilization while faster, larger memory can theoretically multiply the compute extracted from GPUs. The remarks underscore how storage and memory design could limit AI deployment.
Samsung Electronics' labor and management have returned to the negotiating table under South Korean government mediation, as the company faces a planned general strike and a widening dispute over how profits from its semiconductor rebound should be shared.
The AI semiconductor supply chain is showing unexpected signs of a shift, with TSMC's long-held dominance in the foundry market beginning to loosen. US chipmakers are increasingly engaging with Samsung Electronics and Intel as alternative suppliers, and AMD has already handed its 2nm order to Samsung.

DIGITIMES senior analyst Luke Lin said Warren Buffett's investment in Apple should be viewed not simply as a stock trade, but as a bet on the company and its leadership under CEO Tim Cook.

Phison Electronics Corp. reported record revenue and profit for the first quarter of 2026, while Chief Executive Khein-Seng Pua warned that a severe imbalance in the global NAND market would push average selling prices higher and sustain tight supply conditions into the second half of the year. He said the company is accelerating a strategic shift into AI storage infrastructure and edge AI computing as part of its transition, which it calls Phison 3.0.
Tesla AI5 ignites Samsung-LG race for ABF substrates, robot parts
May 11, 11:33

LG Innotek is seeking to enter Tesla's AI semiconductor supply chain by targeting ABF-based FC-BGA substrate orders for the automaker's AI4 chips, intensifying its competition with Samsung Electro-Mechanics (Semco) across both autonomous driving and humanoid robotics hardware.

AI-driven demand and new product cycles are accelerating competition among major memory makers, creating pressure across storage and component supply chains. Production is running near full capacity, margins on some DDR5 products have improved, and next-generation HBM will be a focal point of contention through 2027 and beyond.
At SEMICON Southeast Asia 2026 in Kuala Lumpur, China's semiconductor equipment makers are steadily "infiltrating" the Southeast Asian market, extending from back-end packaging and testing into front-end processes while setting up subsidiaries in Singapore and Malaysia and using localized branding to break through. The shift is reshaping the competitive landscape at the region's annual semiconductor showcase.
Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE) and PCB manufacturer Wus Printed Circuit are teaming up to build a new packaging facility in southern Taiwan, as the world's largest chip assembler moves to expand capacity ahead of surging AI-driven demand. The plant, to be located in the Kaohsiung Nanzih Technology Industrial Park, is scheduled to open in September 2029.