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Jul 2
Micron and GM strike long-term memory supply deal for vehicles
Micron Technology and General Motors (GM) have signed a strategic customer agreement to secure a long-term supply of memory and storage products for vehicle production. The deal underscores how automakers and suppliers are trying to stabilize global semiconductor access as cars become more software-driven, connected, and reliant on advanced electronics worldwide.
South Korea on June 29 unveiled a large-scale investment plan for the country's Honam region in the southwest, which mainly covers the city of Gwangju and North and South Jeolla provinces, including semiconductor clusters for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, AI data centers, and regional infrastructure. The plan is seen as a key move by the South Korean government to respond to surging AI chip demand, excessive industrial concentration in the Seoul capital area, and pressure for balanced regional development.
With supply chain inventory normalization largely complete, Sonix Technology (Sonix) has seen business momentum recover. The MCU supplier is benefiting from resilient demand for microcontrollers used in medical monitoring devices and steady shipments of multimedia image-processing chips, giving it better order visibility for 2026 than in previous years. Meanwhile, the company's drone business has entered niche commercial and industrial applications, providing a stepping stone toward higher-end markets.
As transistor density scaling slows, chipmakers are leaning on advanced packaging to keep improving accelerator performance. A SemiAnalysis roundup of this year's IEEE Electronic Components and Technology Conference described a shift in which Intel, Marvell, TSMC, and others detailed new packaging approaches as packages themselves begin hitting limits.

TSMC has accelerated efforts to localize its supply chain in recent years, using joint development, joint validation, and long-term partnerships to help Taiwanese equipment, materials, and chemical suppliers enter the advanced semiconductor supply chain. The move is steadily building a more resilient and complete local supply system, with both CoWoS and panel-level advanced packaging (CoPoS) now spawning a "second fleet."

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi held her first summit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on July 2, during a three-day visit that both governments framed as the next step in a long-running partnership.

China's AI chip sector has a heavyweight new entrant: veteran semiconductor figure Shaojun Wei has formally unveiled Shanghai Orient Computing Core Technology Co., a 3D AI compute chip startup now valued at CNY12.2 billion (approx. US$1.8 billion), just two years after it was founded.

Taiwanese power management IC (PMIC) design houses have been expanding into new applications and broadening their product portfolios in recent years, aiming to move beyond consumer electronics into higher-spec, more stable markets as the AI boom accelerates.

Samsung Group detailed plans on July 2 to invest KRW140 trillion (US$90 billion) in display panels, batteries, chips, and chip materials in South Korea's central Chungcheong region.

SK Hynix plans to invest KRW100 trillion (approx. US$64.38 billion) to build new NAND memory chip and advanced packaging facilities in Cheongju, betting that AI demand will keep tightening supply for storage and server memory.
Infineon has opened its new Smart Power Fab in Dresden ahead of schedule, adding capacity for chips used in AI data centers, electric vehicles, renewable energy, and industrial systems. The move expands Europe's semiconductor base, strengthens supply chains, and could affect technology markets far beyond Germany and the continent.

Anthropic is exploring a custom AI chip and has held talks with Samsung Electronics as a potential manufacturing partner, joining OpenAI, Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta in the race to control AI infrastructure.