The European Commission has approved a EUR450 million Czech measure to support US semiconductor company Onsemi in establishing a new integrated manufacturing plant for Silicon Carbide (SiC) power devices in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm. The measure, approved under EU State aid rules, aims to strengthen Europe's technological autonomy in semiconductor production and advance the bloc's digital and green transitions.
Google has been on a streak of breakthroughs in AI. Gemini 3 has been outperforming major AI models, while it has also received strong engineering feedback on Antigravity. Its already fast-rising TPU business is now seeing another major development: Google is reportedly in discussions with Meta about potentially deploying TPUs in Meta's data centers. This is fundamentally different from Google providing TPU computing services to Apple or Anthropic in the past.
Japan is preparing to designate artificial intelligence, nuclear fusion, space, and other advanced sectors as "national strategic technologies," while moving to require stricter cybersecurity protections at semiconductor plants that receive government subsidies, according to reports from Nikkei and financial news outlet Minkabu. The dual initiatives highlight Tokyo's push to strengthen technological competitiveness and reduce supply chain risks amid intensifying global competition.
Former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger previously pointed to Taiwan's "precarious" position in the global geopolitical balance. This assessment has now reversed, however, as Gelsinger—now a partner at the Silicon Valley venture capital firm Playground Global—offered high praise for Taiwan's supply chain and manufacturing prowess. As Taiwan rises in global influence with its tech hub status, experts are urging foreign players to expand collaboration with local companies, rather than worry about geopolitical risks.
TSMC said on November 25, 2025, that it has filed a lawsuit against its former senior vice president, Wei-Jen Lo, in Taiwan's Intellectual Property and Commercial Court, accusing him of violating his employment contract, a non-compete agreement, and obligations under the Trade Secrets Act.
Samsung Electronics has reportedly launched mass production of its latest mobile application processor, the Exynos 2600, sparking increased activity across South Korea's semiconductor ecosystem. Local test and assembly firms, including Doosan Tesna and Hana Micron, have begun increasing utilization rates in response to the new production phase.
Image processing SoC maker Jeilin held a pre-listing performance briefing on November 24, announcing plans to launch a new product platform in response to rapidly growing AI-driven image recognition demands in 2025. The company aims to enter the high-end market with upgraded versions of its traditional digital camera, ecological tracking camera, and action camera products, while also targeting security, drone, and other innovative AI application fields.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently indicated that the design finalization of Tesla's AI5 chip is imminent, sparking speculation about Samsung Electronics' semiconductor foundry in South Korea as the likely production site.
As the global memory shortage intensifies, Innodisk chairman Randy Chien stated that the trend for 2026 will be simultaneous shortages in DRAM and NAND Flash, while edge AI applications take off. With AI-related products accounting for 25% of Innodisk's revenue in 2025, the company expects to increase the share to 30% in 2026. DDR4 will remain a key product for industrial applications over the next two to three years.
China's semiconductor expansion is running into fresh obstacles as the US tightens export controls on advanced chipmaking tools. CXMT and other Chinese chipmakers are likely to face constraints on equipment investment despite Beijing's push for domestic alternatives. While the government moved early to accelerate local equipment development, replacing leading-edge tools remains difficult in the near term.
The Taiwanese government has expanded its list of core national technologies from 32 to 42 items to enhance the protection of trade secrets and prevent unlawful infringements. The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) coordinated efforts among various ministries, industry associations, and academic experts to update the list in accordance with the National Security Act.
More coverage
