Chinese chip designer GigaDevice is investing another CNY500 million (approx. US$73.9 million) into its wholly owned subsidiary to support its DRAM research and industrialization project, continuing a series of capital injections aimed at expanding its memory business.
SK Hynix said in a July 22 disclosure that it had neither pursued nor decided on an acquisition of Intel's under-construction semiconductor site in New Albany, Ohio, denying a JoongAng Ilbo report that the companies were negotiating over the campus.
Rising memory prices and higher costs for other key upstream components are forcing smartphone brands to reduce mid- and low-end models this year, but handset makers said the demand hit may not be as severe as expected. Industry players said global smartphone shipments could still fall in 2026, though the decline may narrow to a single-digit percentage as higher average selling prices lift total sales value.
Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Micron Technology are reportedly scaling back or shelving plans to commercialize internally developed Compute Express Link (CXL) controller chips, shifting more controller work to specialist fabless suppliers while continuing to develop CXL-based memory products.
As the AI boom keeps memory shortages running hot, steep price hikes for smartphones in the second half of 2026 are coming into view. Global market researchers have issued increasingly bleak forecasts, warning that "chipflation" could last through 2027 and that surging memory prices are already lifting the cost of consumer devices.
A powerful rally in memory-chip stocks has stalled as investors reconsider whether record spending on AI data centers could eventually push the DRAM market back into oversupply.
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are reportedly allocating additional or flexible DRAM production capacity to server DDR5 and other conventional memory products while maintaining high-bandwidth memory (HBM) volumes already committed to customers.
Samsung Electronics is cutting over 800 jobs in the US from its smartphone, display, and consumer electronics business units. The division, part of Samsung Group, is facing a challenging market this year, in contrast to the soaring performance of its chip unit.
The global scramble for AI memory is fast becoming a matter of national economic security, with governments intervening in supply and Chinese newcomers such as ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) emerging as a credible alternative to incumbent leaders.
CXMT's STAR Market IPO marks a coming-of-age moment for China's DRAM industry, but the listing is only the beginning. Having proved China can manufacture DRAM, the memory chip maker must now compete directly with Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron in the global memory market.
Samsung Electronics' latest multi-billion-dollar equipment procurement reflects the company's accelerating investment in AI memory capacity while raising a broader question about what is driving one of the industry's most aggressive fab expansion strategies.
AI competition is widening from chips to connectivity, memory, talent, patents, and model access, with governments and suppliers tightening control across the stack. Below are the most-read DIGITIMES stories from the week of July 13-19, 2026.
AI data center expansion and high-speed network upgrades continue to support demand for networking equipment. However, as the industry enters the second half of 2026, supplies of key components—including memory, printed circuit boards (PCBs) and passive components—remain tight, with lead times extending significantly.
Chinese DRAM maker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) is accelerating construction and technology upgrades across its manufacturing network following its A-share subscription on July 16. The moves have placed its capacity expansion and next-generation memory roadmap under closer scrutiny from the industry.
Rising demand for AI data centers and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) is pushing semiconductor competition further upstream into silicon wafers and critical materials. Micron and GlobalWafers recently announced a 10-year agreement, with Micron also providing US$500 million in support, marking the longest and potentially largest long-term supply agreement in GlobalWafers' history.
