Semiconductor

UNISOC, a leading Chinese semiconductor firm, has filed for an IPO on Shanghai’s STAR Market. This move signifies a major step towards becoming China’s first publicly listed domestic smartphone chip designer. With extensive expertise in 2G through 5G baseband technology, UNISOC competes with global giants. The company has bolstered its finances through substantial equity rounds and boasts a broad product portfolio serving over 500 brands worldwide. UNISOC aims for world-class status by 2030, driven by innovation and a strong R&D focus.

Samsung has reportedly delayed its 1.4nm test line construction, potentially pushing production rollout to 2028 due to market headwinds and its foundry business’s financial losses. The company is now focusing on its 2nm process, aiming for mass production by year-end, and pursuing orders from top suppliers like Tesla and Qualcomm. They plan to deploy the 2nm process at their new Texas facility.

TSMC’s 2nm process has achieved a production yield exceeding 60%, solidifying its leadership in semiconductor manufacturing. This puts them far ahead of Samsung, whose 2nm yield is around 40%. TSMC’s 2nm technology, leveraging GAA, promises significant performance and efficiency gains. Key clients like Apple, NVIDIA, and AMD are expected to adopt it, while Samsung is targeting 2nm production for its Exynos 2600 processor later this year.

SK Hynix surpassed Samsung Electronics in operating profit in 2024, achieving 21.33 trillion won, driven by a strong performance in the memory chip market. South Korea’s 1,000 major listed companies also saw record profits, with a 92.7% increase from 2023. While Samsung had significantly higher revenue, SK Hynix’s operating profit margin was much higher. The CXO Institute predicts SK Hynix to maintain its lead in 2025.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick testified before Congress, indicating potential renegotiations of the Biden administration’s semiconductor subsidies under the CHIPS Act due to concerns of overgenerosity. The administration is reevaluating grants, aiming for better returns on investment, and hinting at cancellation of some deals. TSMC’s increased investment commitment is cited as a positive example. The industry anticipates the impact of revisions impacting future semiconductor independence.

TSMC CEO C.C. Wei, addressing a shareholder meeting, acknowledged the indirect impact of US tariffs. While recognizing potential price and demand fluctuations, Wei remained optimistic about the semiconductor industry, particularly AI chips. He highlighted strong, consistently unmet demand for AI processors and confidently forecast a “very good” outlook for TSMC over the next decade.

TSMC is considering building a cutting-edge chip fabrication plant in the UAE, a significant strategic move for the world’s largest chipmaker. This potential expansion highlights the UAE’s drive to become a global tech leader, particularly in AI. Discussions with UAE officials and US representatives suggest advanced stages of assessment. This move, along with potential investments from other major semiconductor companies, could lead to major shifts in the global semiconductor supply chain, boosting the Middle East’s tech capabilities.

Intel skipped its traditional Computex 2025 keynote to celebrate 40 years of collaboration with Taiwan, a strategic partner vital to global semiconductor innovation. CEO Lip-Bu Tan shared his career transformation through lessons learned in Taiwan, emphasizing cultural adaptability and relationship-driven business. He highlighted Intel’s legacy of nurturing 30 local startups via five venture funds and outlined a collaborative foundry strategy prioritizing partnerships over control, aligning with Taiwan’s evolving role as a key contributor to next-generation computing technologies.

The US-China AI chip battle escalates as Nvidia’s restricted H200 and B200 GPUs enter China via shadow networks during a 90-day tariff reprieve, fueling a volatile black market. Cloud giants face acute scarcity, while emerging hybrid supply chains disguise GPUs as industrial goods. Structural contradictions emerge: despite speculative bubbles and unviable projects, specialized AI adoption grows, exposing systemic bottlenecks in technical innovation, data readiness, and vertical integration. Government subsidies clash with industry demands for foundational ecosystem reforms as companies pivot to VC-driven compute models amid shifting demand from pre-training to inference workloads.