Amid global uncertainty and volatile market conditions, AI servers have emerged as a strategic cornerstone for the ICT industry in 2025. With the ramp-up of Nvidia's GB200 series beginning in the second quarter of the year, suppliers across Asia are aggressively jockeying for a spot on the coveted "MP Ready" list — a designation signaling readiness for mass production.

In a closely watched intellectual property case, the Hsinchu District Court has issued a first-instance ruling in favor of Phoenix Silicon International (PSI), ordering Integrated Service Technology Inc. (iST) to pay a fine of NT$5 million (US$155,000) and to jointly pay damages of NT$36.49 million (US$1.2 million) with a former Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS) employee. The case stems from allegations that iST and the former employee misappropriated trade secrets belonging to PSI.

As global automakers advance deeper into electrification and intelligent mobility, China's top EV brands—BYD, Nio, and Xiaomi—are fast-tracking the development of self-designed chips. The push reflects a broader transition from dependence on foreign semiconductor suppliers to fully integrated hardware-software platforms, with significant implications for the global EV value chain.

The Trump administration has lfited at least some export license requirements for chip design software sales in China, as Washington and Beijing implement a trade deal designed to see both countries ease flows of critical technologies.

AMD is significantly expanding its footprint in India, with plans to increase its employee base to over 10,000 within the next two to three years. This move reflects the company's confidence in the country's engineering talent and its supportive environment for semiconductor and artificial intelligence (AI) development.

Japanese semiconductor equipment maker Towa Corporation, a global leader in advanced packaging systems, recently unveiled its newest technology for sixth-generation HBM4, aiming squarely at the surging demand from generative AI and high-performance computing markets.

Leading Chinese electronics manufacturer, Suzhou Dongshan Precision Manufacturing, has announced plans to acquire Source Photonics, a Taiwan-based optical communications firm located in the Hsinchu Science Park, for up to CNY5.935 billion (approx. US$828 million). The deal, priced at roughly six times Source Photonics' market value, aims to help Dongshan Precision break into the high-growth optical communication sector.

Since US President Donald Trump championed the "Made in America" initiative, technological competition between the US and China has intensified, rapidly escalating global geopolitical risks. Overseas customers have successively adopted "non-China" and "non-Taiwan" manufacturing policies, driving a new wave of semiconductor supply chain restructuring. The future division of regional manufacturing roles is becoming increasingly clear.

Unisoc (Shanghai) Technologies Co., Ltd. has filed IPO counseling documents with the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), signaling plans to list on the Shanghai STAR Market. Chinastarmarket.cn, citing sources familiar with the matter, reported the listing could occur in late 2025 or 2026. The company is still operating at a loss and is aiming to reach breakeven by 2025.

As the AI revolution accelerates, global tech giants are racing to shortcut innovation by acquiring not just technology but the talent behind it. Companies like Nvidia, Meta, Google, Microsoft, AMD, and Qualcomm are in an escalating global talent war, eager to absorb entire teams or acquire startups outright to gain access to elite AI capabilities.

The leading third-generation semiconductor silicon carbide (SiC) supplier, US-based Wolfspeed, has filed for bankruptcy reorganization. Its major creditors recently reached a restructuring support agreement (RSA) acknowledging losses.

Fueled by booming global demand for Nvidia's GB200 chips—and the anticipated launch of the more powerful GB300 in the second half of 2025—Taiwan's semiconductor manufacturing sector is experiencing a rapid surge in revenue, particularly in the country's southern science parks. Recent data from Taiwan's National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), released in June 2025, shows that the Southern Taiwan Science Park generated NT$285.3 billion (US$9.8 billion) in revenue in April 2025—nearly three times the NT$109.6 billion recorded by the Central Taiwan Science Park.

Meta's surprise success with its Ray-Ban smart glasses in 2024 reignited industry confidence in headworn devices. The result: a renewed wave of investment and innovation from big tech, startups, and semiconductor vendors aiming to capture the next major frontier in AI-powered consumer electronics.

As the July 9, 2025 deadline approaches for the expiration of the United States' temporary suspension of "reciprocal tariffs," US President Donald Trump appears to be shifting his trade focus toward Asia, following a recent victory in persuading NATO allies to increase defense spending.

Silicon Motion Technology Corporation has appointed Jeffrey Ju, former co-chief operating officer at MediaTek, as its senior vice president of platform and strategy. The company aims to leverage Ju's expertise to enhance cross-platform collaboration and innovation.

Under pressure from low-cost competition in China, many application sectors are struggling to turn a profit. Recently, the compound semiconductor gallium nitride (GaN) industry has seen reports of major manufacturers experiencing fatigue and reduced willingness to invest, even considering more aggressive strategies. This could trigger sectoral shifts within the "non-China GaN supply chain."

Loongson has launched its next-generation processors at the 2025 Product Launch and User Conference in Beijing, introducing chips built on its proprietary LoongArch instruction set. The lineup includes the flagship 3C6000 server CPUs and the 3B6000M and 2K3000 processors for industrial control and edge applications, reinforcing China's ambitions in AI infrastructure, secure computing, and homegrown IT systems.

Ericsson announced an expansion of its Research and Development (R&D) team in Bengaluru, India, focusing on ASIC development, aiming to leverage local expertise and enhance Ericsson's semiconductor design capabilities to maintain its leadership in future communication technologies.

US semiconductor giant Nvidia has recruited two leading artificial intelligence (AI) specialists from China as part of its ongoing efforts to broaden its research team, according to a report by the South China Morning Post on June 29.

Samsung Electronics has secured a broad license to a portfolio of semiconductor patents originally developed by Intel, a move industry analysts view as both a defensive strategy against potential litigation and a step toward strengthening its global technological competitiveness.

Facing external challenges such as US tariffs, exchange rates, and interest rates, IC distributor GMI stated that despite numerous market uncertainties, it expects its operational performance in the second half of 2025 to be on par with the first half. The company is striving for full-year revenue growth, particularly targeting double-digit increases in new projects within the AI servers and automotive markets.

Samsung is pushing its second-generation 2nm process, SF2P, promising notable performance and efficiency gains. As its chip business faces mounting pressure, the company is betting on advanced AI and mobile applications to revive its foundry momentum and attract major clients amid stalled 3nm adoption and scaled-back capital investment.

South Korean artificial intelligence chip startup Rebellions has unveiled a prototype of its next-generation neural processing unit (NPU), integrating Samsung Electronics' 12-stack HBM3E high-bandwidth memory in a strategic move to challenge Nvidia's high-end accelerators.

Safroadu Yeboah-Amankwah, chief strategy officer (CSO) at Intel, is set to depart the company by June 30, marking one of the latest executive changes following Lip-Bu Tan's appointment as CEO in March, according to two individuals familiar with the matter who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity. Intel has confirmed Yeboah-Amankwah's departure, expressing gratitude for his contributions.