New trade data shows South Korea’s export engine is still humming, even after the US imposed a 15% tariff. The relentless demand for semiconductors, up 43.2% in December, is doing most of the heavy lifting. This resilience gives the central bank crucial breathing room.
TSMC is moving faster than expected on its next-generation chipmaking. The foundry giant is expediting construction of its 1.4nm fabrication plant, with risk production now slated for 2027.
TSMC has officially begun volume production of its 2nm-class N2 process. This marks the foundry’s first use of gate-all-around transistors and a major step forward for chip manufacturing, with production starting at its new Fab 22 in Kaohsiung.
Nvidia is moving fast to counter a major threat. The chip giant is reportedly in talks to acquire AI chip startup Groq for a staggering $20 billion, a deal seen as a direct reaction to Google’s growing independence from Nvidia hardware.
Samsung is taking full control of its mobile GPU destiny. The upcoming Exynos 2600 chip for 2026 will use a GPU based on AMD’s RDNA4 architecture, but developed entirely in-house by Samsung. It’s also set to be the world’s first smartphone chip built on a 2nm manufacturing process.
Samsung is planning a major shift in its chip strategy. According to a new report, the company will stop using AMD’s RDNA graphics architecture and develop its own in-house GPU, likely debuting in the Exynos 2800 chip for the Galaxy S28 series in 2028.
Nvidia has signed a deal to license AI inference tech from startup Groq and is hiring its founder and key team members. This follows a pattern where big tech companies target specific talent from smaller AI firms, leaving many employees behind.
In a stunning reversal, Samsung is reportedly hitting the brakes on phasing out DDR4 memory. The move is a direct play to capitalize on severe shortages, but it comes with strings attached for customers.
Intel is gearing up to contribute multi-queue support for the upcoming Linux 7.0 kernel, a feature tied to its next-gen “Crescent Island” platform. At the same time, its Video Processing Library is getting AI-assisted encoding capabilities.
Despite China’s broader economic woes, its AI chip sector is minting billionaires overnight. A wave of successful IPOs, driven by US export controls and domestic demand, is creating a new tech elite.
