China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) is stepping in to steady the memory supply chain after a sharp rise in DRAM and mobile memory prices began feeding into smartphones and other consumer electronics.
Qualcomm Chief Executive Cristiano Amon is expected to meet senior executives from Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix during a recent visit to South Korea, according to industry sources. The discussions are expected to focus on securing memory supplies as well as potential cooperation with Samsung in advanced semiconductor manufacturing, including its 2nm foundry process.
The global retreat from 2D NAND flash production is no longer a possibility but an emerging certainty. As major memory makers exit the segment, tightening supply has driven a sharp surge in prices for low-capacity chips. Recent market chatter suggests that United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) could receive foundry orders for SLC and MLC flash, a move that, if realized, might disrupt what is shaping up to be an increasingly concentrated supply landscape.
Memory module maker Apacer Technology reported its consolidated financial results for the first quarter of 2026, with revenue reaching NT$7.04 billion (approx. US$223 million), gross profit NT$3.47 billion, operating profit NT$2.31 billion, net profit NT$1.86 billion, and earnings per share (EPS) of NT$14.54. Revenue, gross profit, operating profit, and net profit all hit record highs for the quarter. Compared with EPS of NT$6.7 for the full-year 2025, Apacer's first-quarter earnings alone have already exceeded last year's total.
Tesla has reached the tape-out stage for its next-generation AI chip, AI5, marking a milestone in its in-house semiconductor development and offering early signals on memory supplier positioning and demand for low-power DRAM.
Samsung Electronics is aiming to produce its first samples of next-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM4E) as early as May, with plans to deliver the chips to Nvidia after internal validation, according to Chosun Biz.
China-based Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp (YMTC) is advancing an aggressive expansion plan that could become the world's third-largest NAND maker by 2026. The company is set to begin volume production at its third fabrication plant in Wuhan in the second half of 2026.
