China is reportedly stepping up efforts to expand advanced chip manufacturing despite continuing U.S. restrictions. According to Nikkei, sources say the country aims to increase output of relatively advanced chips—including production at the 7nm and potentially 5nm performance levels—to 100,000 ...

Ahead of its upcoming earnings, U.S. chip equipment giant Applied Materials faces a $252 million hit, agreeing to settle over illegal exports of chipmaking tools to China’s top foundry, SMIC, Reuters reports. The announcement, as per Reuters, was made by the U.S. Department of Commerce on Wedne...

Amid market talk of potential price hikes of around 10%, China’s leading foundry SMIC released its 4Q25 and full-year 2025 results on Feb. 10. Citing chinastarmarket.cn and the company’s disclosure, fourth-quarter revenue came in at US$2.489 billion, rising 4.5% quarter on quarter and 12.8% year...

Mature-node foundries may be poised for a new wave of price hikes. According to Commercial Times, the expansion of AI applications is driving rapid growth in demand for power management components, with industry sources suggesting that mature-node pricing could rebound. Among mature-node foundrie...

Global 8-inch wafer capacity seems to be entering a contraction phase, driven by major foundries shifting focus to advanced nodes. TSMC began scaling back in 2025, aiming to fully close selected fabs by 2027, and Samsung appears to be following the same path, with plans to shutter its Giheung-based ...