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.
Murata Manufacturing sued Chinese RF front-end leader Maxscend Microelectronics in a German court over alleged patent infringement involving RF filters, marking an escalation of the China-Japan semiconductor patent dispute into Europe.
The 29th International Conference on Technology Law, hosted by National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) from November 20–21, 2025, spotlighted Taiwan's role in global technology security. The Science and Technology Law Institute (STLI) under the Institute for Information Industry (III) presented research comparing international foreign investment review frameworks and explored implications for Taiwan's semiconductor, AI, and quantum sectors.
Leading smartphone chip designers Qualcomm and MediaTek are reportedly set to increase prices for their 2026 flagship mobile SoCs due to dual pressures from advanced wafer foundry processes and soaring memory expenses.
Samsung Electronics' long-running foundry partnership with Baidu is facing renewed questions after the Chinese tech giant unveiled a five-year roadmap for its Kunlun AI chips without identifying a manufacturing partner. Industry analysts say the omission reflects growing pressure from geopolitical and regulatory headwinds that are reshaping cross-border semiconductor cooperation.
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