As 8-inch capacity tightens and operating costs climb, foundries are bracing for a new wave of price hikes. Following Chinese peers led by SMIC, Nexchip, the country’s third-largest foundry, announced on March 12 a 10% increase in foundry fees starting June 2026, TechNews reports. According to ...

As traditional copper-based electrical transmission reaches physical limits, the semiconductor industry is increasingly turning to optical transmission technologies, with UMC joining the trend. HyperLight and UMC, along with the foundry’s wholly owned subsidiary Wavetek, announced a strategic part...

As US-China tech tensions escalate, Beijing’s controls on strategic minerals like tungsten are rattling the supply chain. Among these, tungsten hexafluoride (WF₆), made from high-purity tungsten powder and fluorine gas, spiked in early 2026, with Korean and Japanese suppliers hiking prices 70–...

As the AI boom drives memory demand, semiconductor equipment makers are reaping the benefits while deepening ties with top memory producers. Applied Materials has teamed up with Micron and SK hynix to develop next-generation chips critical for AI and high-performance computing, according to Reuters....

Amid rising semiconductor tensions, Nexperia’s Chinese unit, according to Reuters, announced on Monday that it has started producing its own chips, taking a further step toward independence from its Dutch parent amid a dispute that has rattled global automakers’ supply chains. The report, cit...