Russia is reportedly considering reinstating parallel imports of products from Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to ease shortages of memory and storage devices used in data centers. The measure remains under consideration and has not been implemented. However, US export controls on Russia and tight global memory supplies are expected to make it difficult for either company to resume direct shipments to the Russian market or significantly expand local sales.
memorystorage devicesSamsung Electronics, SK HynixDigiTimes AsiaPolicy/Regulation
On Oct. 21, Samsung Electro-Mechanics announced it had signed a strategic business partnership with Nvidia to supply semiconductor package substrates. The two companies will jointly invest to establish dedicated production facilities for artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor package substrates at Samsung Electro-Mechanics' Sejong and Busan plants; the plan to expand package substrate production lines through customer-backed investment, under consideration since the first half of 2026, has taken shape through the Nvidia partnership. The products include flip-chip ball grid array (FC-BGA) substrates for AI computing chips and for network switches that enable high-speed connections between chips in data centers. Samsung Electro-Mechanics will supply next-generation substrates from its Korean production facilities under a multiyear arrangement beginning in 2026. Supply volumes are expected to grow at a double-digit annual rate starting in 2026, and by 2028 Nvidia-related production is expected to account for a significant share of the company's total capacity. The substrates will also embed passive components including multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) and silicon capacitors (Si-Caps), which will help control power noise generated during ultra-high-speed computing and maximize power efficiency. This is a planned/expected expansion; implementation remains to be carried out.
Song Jae-hyuk, chairman of the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association (KSIA) and president of Samsung Electronics, said at the 19th Semiconductor Day ceremony held at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas in Gangnam, Seoul, on Oct. 21 that timely investment is the most important factor for the semiconductor industry. He called on the government to take proactive administrative measures to support companies in developing new technologies and investing at the right time through proactive infrastructure development, expedited permits and approvals, and bold, swift policy support. He noted that competition in semiconductor technology is intensifying between countries, with major countries fostering semiconductors as a national strategic industry, and that as the AI era gains momentum, advanced semiconductors offering high performance and high bandwidth are becoming increasingly important. He also pledged that the association will continue investing in advanced manufacturing facilities, next-generation technology development and talent cultivation. The article states South Korea achieved $10 billion in semiconductor exports in 1994, and cumulative shipments reached $340.3 billion through September 2026, roughly double the 2025 full-year exports of $173.4 billion. This year, 54 industry figures received government awards, with the Gold Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit going to Lee Jun-hyuk, chairman of Dongjin Semichem. This is a call/proposal, not an implemented policy.
semiconductorKorea Semiconductor Industry Association, Samsung Electronics and 3 totalThe ElecPolicy/Regulation
Related manufacturers
Korea Semiconductor Industry Association, Samsung Electronics, Dongjin Semichem
On 21 October 2026 (Wednesday), Intel announced that it had started installing production tools at its Fab 62 in Arizona, with the fab on track for mass production by late 2028; however, the company has not disclosed when it intends to begin high-volume production, the planned wafer processing capacity, the capital expenditures required to complete the facility, and it has not officially assigned Intel 14A to Fab 62 (Fab 62 remains unassigned, while Fab 52 has been designated for Intel 18A). Per Intel's manufacturing roadmap disclosed earlier this year, Fab 62 will be able to make chips on 18A, 18A-P, and 14A nodes. Intel also confirmed that it has integrated High-NA EUV lithography into high-volume manufacturing (HVM), used to produce select tiles for Panther Lake CPUs at its D1X fab in Oregon; Intel has not explicitly confirmed whether High-NA EUV scanners are currently used to produce the same circuits as Low-NA EUV machines. In addition, construction workers recently installed the first major structural truss at the first fab of the Ohio One complex in New Albany, Ohio, but Intel did not provide an updated construction schedule, disclose when the first fab is expected to begin operations, or reveal which process technology it will use or its estimated capacity. The source does not state the cause (this is a capacity expansion progress update, not a price or disruption event).
Microchip's radiation-tolerant GaN point-of-load converter POL-05-20S-T delivers up to 20 A of continuous current to power FPGAs, MCUs and other digital loads in space. It uses a synchronous buck topology with current-mode control, an input voltage range of 4.75 V to 13.2 V, and an adjustable output of 0.7 V to 5 V. Its electrical parameters are specified before and after irradiation up to 50 krad(Si), and its single-event effects (SEE) have been characterized up to a linear energy transfer (LET) of 43 MeV·cm²/mg; it operates at full load over −55°C to +100°C. Housed in a 1.51×1.51×0.45-in. surface-mount package, it is now available in production quantities. The source does not state the cause (not an event-driven report).
GaN point-of-load converterGaN power HEMTsMicrochipEDN
NVIDIA announced plans with a group of supply chain partners to expand global manufacturing capacity to meet growing demand for its accelerated computing and full-stack AI factory platform. The partners include Amkor Technology, IBIDEN, King Yuan Electronics (KYEC), Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Siliconware Precision Industries (SPIL) and Unimicron Technology Corporation, with expansion of critical manufacturing capabilities across substrates, advanced packaging, testing and optical engines, covering both new and existing suppliers, to strengthen the resiliency and redundancy of NVIDIA's global supply chain. This is an announced expansion plan only; the source does not indicate the capacity changes have been implemented.
substratesadvanced packagingtestingNVIDIA, Amkor Technology and 7 totalTechPowerUpCapacity Change
According to ZDNet citing industry sources, Groq, the AI chip company that licensed its inference technology to NVIDIA, is reportedly considering 3D-stacked DRAM for its next-generation chips, a potential shift away from its SRAM-centric design that could significantly increase on-chip memory capacity; this remains a reported plan/rumor, not a confirmed implementation. The report indicates Groq is exploring 3DS (3D Stacked Memory), which uses through-silicon vias (TSVs) to vertically connect DRAM dies; while both 3DS and HBM rely on TSVs, HBM focuses on high data transfer speeds while 3DS aims to increase memory capacity while retaining conventional DRAM interfaces. The existing NVIDIA Groq 3 LPX is a rack-scale AI inference accelerator designed for low-latency, large-context workloads on the Vera Rubin platform; according to NVIDIA, each Groq 3 LPU integrates 500MB of SRAM with 150TB/s of on-chip memory bandwidth, while a full LPX rack combines 256 LPUs to deliver 128GB of SRAM and 40PB/s of aggregate SRAM bandwidth; according to the company, each rack provides 12TB of DDR5 memory alongside 128GB of SRAM. According to 36Kr citing d-Matrix CEO Sid Sheth, SRAM capacity increases by only around 10–20% every two years while AI model sizes could double every six to nine months, making it increasingly difficult for SRAM alone to meet growing demands for memory capacity and bandwidth. On manufacturing, according to Seoul Economic Daily, Samsung Foundry produces NVIDIA's Groq 3 LPU using its 4nm process at its Pyeongtaek facility; Samsung executives said in June that the company was discussing foundry cooperation with NVIDIA on the next-generation Groq LPU, and TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei said during the company's April earnings call that TSMC was working with customers on next-generation LPU development. Separately, Cerebras, another AI chipmaker that relies heavily on SRAM, is also pursuing 3D-stacked DRAM; according to the company, its future CS-6 system will integrate stacked DRAM with wafer-scale SRAM and compute to significantly expand memory capacity while preserving fast data access.
SRAM3D-stacked DRAM (3DS)HBMGroq, NVIDIA and 6 totalTrendForce
At SEMICON West 2026, under the theme "Optical Integration for the Next Generation of AI," NVIDIA presented its next-generation co-packaged optics (CPO) technology, including an optics-on-interposer (OOI) prototype that moves optical engines from the organic package substrate onto the silicon interposer carrying the computing chips; according to The Elec, this eliminates the organic substrate from the electrical signal path, allowing signals to travel through shorter, fine-pitch interposer connections that could increase bandwidth density and reduce power consumption. NVIDIA also demonstrated DWDM technology that, according to Wccftech, combines eight wavelengths operating at up to 32 Gb/s each, delivering an aggregate bandwidth of 256 Gb/s per fiber. Both technologies remain in the research stage with no commercialization timeline announced, and NVIDIA said it is evaluating them for potential future products. Looking ahead, NVIDIA plans to extend optical interconnects with its Kyber NVL1152 architecture, which will connect eight racks into a single 1,152-GPU NVLink domain and support the Feynman platform, which Wccftech says is expected to arrive in 2028. On existing products, in May 2026 NVIDIA announced that its Spectrum-X Ethernet Photonics switches had entered full production, integrating 200Gb/s SerDes with CPO technology for the Vera Rubin platform, with CoreWeave, Lambda, and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure among early adopters; its manufacturing ecosystem includes TSMC for silicon photonics fabrication, SPIL for chip-scale packaging, assembly, and testing, TFC for laser die packaging and reliability validation, and Foxconn for integrating Spectrum-X Photonics switches into complete networking systems, plus Coherent, Lumentum, and Sumitomo Electric for external laser source modules, Corning, Senko, and Browave for optical fibers and related components, and Fabrinet for cooling and final testing.
Elon Musk said on October 20, during a live broadcast of SpaceX's Q3 2026 earnings call on X, that ASML and other critical semiconductor equipment suppliers have expedited shipments to the Terafab semiconductor manufacturing facility, a joint megaproject between Tesla and SpaceX, to support his aggressive timeline. He said the company is targeting volume chip production at Terafab's primary facility in Gibbons Creek, Texas, by the third or fourth quarter of 2028, emphasizing that the timeline is highly aspirational and carries 'big error bars'; SpaceX plans to manufacture its first experimental test chip at its research fabrication facility in Austin, Texas, around Q2 2027. Terafab will use traditional extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems utilizing Intel's 14A manufacturing node; Intel officially joined the Terafab venture in April 2026 to co-develop and refactor silicon fabrication technology. According to unofficial sources, Terafab's first EUV tool was reportedly slated for delivery in mid-2027, and it remains unclear if this is the expedited timeline Musk referred to. Other major suppliers include Applied Materials, Lam Research, and KLA Corporation, as well as Japan's Tokyo Electron; Tesla and SpaceX are also in talks with about 10 South Korean equipment makers, including Hanmi Semiconductor (advanced packaging equipment) and HPSP (high-pressure hydrogen annealing equipment). Musk also outlined AI compute goals: 2.5 to 3 GW of computing capacity active by the end of 2026, a total of 13 GW by the end of 2027, and plans to bring a 440,000-GPU Nvidia 'Vera Rubin' training cluster online by the end of Q2 2027. The event remains a plan/target and volume production has not been achieved.
EUV lithography systemslogic chipsmemoryASML, Tesla and 11 totalTom's HardwareCapacity Change
Samsung Electro-Mechanics has signed a long-term supply agreement to provide package substrates for memory semiconductors to an unnamed global customer throughout 2027, in a deal worth KRW 360.5 billion (approximately USD 271 million), covering the period from January 1 to December 31, 2027. According to a press release from Samsung Electro-Mechanics, this is the first major order of this kind for its Package Solution Unit; its Component Solution Unit has signed similar agreements since May for silicon capacitors, MLCCs for AI servers and high-performance inductors. With this order, the company has signed seven long-term supply agreements since May 2026 that were large enough to require public disclosure, meaning each worth at least 2.5% of the company's sales, together totaling KRW 4.3 trillion (USD 3.2 billion). The company points to generative AI and high-performance computing increasing demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and high-performance server DRAM modules, and notes that as memory chips become faster and more densely integrated, substrates connecting them to the main board need more layers, finer circuits and thinner designs. The company plans to expand long-term agreements with major customers to reduce exposure to volatile business cycles and says it will build closer supply cooperation and a stable supply system for the package substrate business as AI and HPC demand grows.
package substrates for memory semiconductorshigh-bandwidth memory (HBM)high-performance server DRAM modulesSamsung Electro-MechanicsEvertiqPartnership/M&A
Hirose has expanded its FunctionMAX™ family of floating board-to-board connectors with a high-density version designed for space-constrained, harsh-environment applications: the FX36 Series. Featuring a 0.5 mm pitch, the series supports high-density mounting, improves design flexibility, and contributes to application miniaturization, weight reduction, and more efficient automated assembly. With 125°C heat resistance, the connector targets automotive powertrain applications, particularly BEV and HEV multifunctional systems such as X-in-1 units with strict board layout requirements. It provides misalignment absorption of ±0.7 mm in the X and Y directions and ±0.5 mm in the Z direction, plus vibration absorption of 0.05 mm in the Z direction; a two-point contact design supports high-reliability connections in vibration-prone applications. The source does not state the cause beyond addressing demand for high-temperature, vibration-tolerant board-to-board connector options. This is a product introduction, a background-level event with no direct stated impact on procurement pricing.
On October 21, 2026, Apple announced an expansion of its American Manufacturing Program: Qnity Electronics, based in Delaware (it joined the programme in March), will produce in the US the advanced films used in the variable aperture of the iPhone 18 Pro's main camera. Apple also signed Pennsylvania-based Perryman Company to supply titanium for the foldable iPhone Duo, with a commitment of up to USD 100 million over three years. According to Apple, nearly 100 components in its newest iPhones now come from American companies, and suppliers in more than a dozen states provide US-made components for the iPhone Duo and iPhone 18 Pro. Among them: Broadcom is expanding and modernising its Fort Collins, Colorado facility under a USD 1.5 billion investment announced in July, with a multi-year agreement covering more than 15 billion US-made chips; Corning's Harrodsburg, Kentucky site will produce all cover glass for the iPhone and Apple Watch sold worldwide by the end of 2026; Coherent supplies VCSEL lasers for Face ID from Sherman, Texas; TSMC's Arizona fab is set to produce more than 100 million chips for Apple in 2026, with construction of the north campus under way; Amkor broke ground on its first high-volume packaging and test facility in Peoria, Arizona in September 2025 and began construction of the building shell this year, with Apple as one of its first customers and the first two phases expected to employ more than 3,500 people. Apple also opened an Advanced Manufacturing Center in Houston in August, where it will start manufacturing the Mac mini this year in the same facility where it builds AI servers. The programme is part of Apple's USD 600 billion, four-year commitment to US manufacturing and innovation.
variable aperture camera filmstitaniumRF componentsApple, Qnity Electronics and 8 totalEvertiqCapacity Change
Japan's Fujifilm is expanding its extreme ultraviolet (EUV) photoresist production capacity to deepen cooperation with Samsung Electronics. Brian O'Donnellley, president of Fujifilm Electronic Materials USA, said the company is producing EUV photoresists in Pyeongtaek and, although it has not yet entered full-scale mass production, some EUV PR products have passed qualification tests at major customers. Fujifilm has expanded EUV PR production facilities in Shizuoka, Japan (its primary hub for advanced photoresist development and production) and Pyeongtaek, South Korea (near Samsung, selected for its most advanced products); EUV PR production and inspection equipment at both locations began operating in October 2025. The source does not state when full-scale mass production in Pyeongtaek will begin. The company cited artificial intelligence (AI) driving demand for materials used in processes at 2 nanometers and below, and expansion of advanced manufacturing processes increasing demand for ArF and EUV photoresists as the stated reason. Separately, Fujifilm is expanding its CMP slurry production facility near Samsung's Cheonan campus, planning to increase production capacity by approximately 30%, with additional facilities scheduled to begin operating in the first half of 2027; Fujifilm holds the largest global market share in CMP slurries for copper interconnects. The company also operates a facility in Carrollton, Texas near Samsung's Taylor plant and is considering various options to expand its manufacturing presence in South Korea, where it currently has two production facilities.
According to industry sources on Oct. 21, LS Electric is seeking to expand its semiconductor factory automation business in overseas markets, including the United States and Southeast Asia. For several years, the company has attempted to enter the market for control systems and drive components used in overhead hoist transport (OHT) systems, which handle materials in semiconductor factories; despite offering motion controllers, servo drives and motors, its domestic supply track record remains limited. Japanese companies have long dominated the OHT equipment and control component markets: Daifuku and Murata Machinery established early positions in complete OHT systems, and suppliers such as Mitsubishi Electric have provided control systems and drive components using proprietary communication protocols, creating a high barrier because replacing entire existing systems is difficult. In South Korea, Samsung Electronics subsidiary SEMES developed domestically produced OHT equipment in the 2010s, followed by companies including SFA and MX Robotics, formerly SMCore. An industry official said semiconductor manufacturers often designate suppliers of key OHT components when placing equipment orders, with Mitsubishi Electric products primarily used in South Korea and Siemens products also used in Europe. According to market research firm QY Research, the global semiconductor automated material handling system (AMHS) market is projected to grow from $3.709 billion in 2025 to $5.988 billion in 2032, with OHT's share of the overall market expected to increase from 46.86% to 48.91% over the same period. LS Electric said it is pursuing opportunities to supply complete packages of reliable automation products when domestic and overseas semiconductor companies build new factories in the United States and Southeast Asia, and is first building its track record and demonstrating the reliability of automation control technologies developed for automotive and battery production lines.
overhead hoist transport (OHT) systemsOHT control systemsdrive componentsLS Electric, Daifuku and 8 totalThe ElecCapacity Change
BOS Semiconductors will collaborate with LG Electronics and Hana Micron on Oct. 21 to develop chiplet-based automotive semiconductors, covering the entire development cycle from design to commercialization. BOS will supply NPU chiplets for autonomous driving, LG will provide base chiplets for vehicle control, and Hana Micron will handle packaging and testing.
NPU chipletsbase chipletmulti-chiplet packaging solutionsBOS Semiconductors, LG Electronics and 3 totalThe ElecPartnership/M&A
Samsung Electronics is transitioning its 4nm production capacity to HBM, with its next-generation mobile modem, the M2800, set to move to a 2nm process. The freed 4nm capacity will primarily support production of HBM base dies, which handle control functions at the bottom of HBM stacks. The source does not state the cause of this capacity shift.
M2800 modemHBM base dies4nm capacitySamsung ElectronicsDigiTimes AsiaCapacity Change
According to the source, Samsung Display (SDC) is reportedly advancing both micro-patterned OLED (MPO) and inkjet-printed OLED technologies in parallel, expanding its non-fine metal mask (non-FMM) RGB OLED lineup. SDC is currently validating high-resolution fabrication processes using a 7-inch engineering sample for MPO, while evaluating a pilot line for inkjet printing; initial commercial targets are focused on IT panels such as notebooks and desktop monitors. These remain development and evaluation-stage plans, not realized mass-production results.
micro-patterned OLED (MPO)inkjet-printed OLEDnon-fine metal mask (non-FMM) RGB OLEDSamsung Display (SDC)DigiTimes Asia
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are upgrading their NAND flash factories in China to make chips with more than 200 layers, Reuters reported on October 21, citing four people familiar with the plans. According to the report, the move would let the South Korean memory makers win back ground lost to Yangtze Memory Technologies Co (YMTC), even though US curbs on upgrading their China operations remain formally in place. This is a reported plan under way; no completion timeline is given and the US restrictions have not been lifted.
NAND flashSamsung Electronics, SK Hynix and 3 totalDigiTimes AsiaCapacity Change
Related manufacturers
Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, Yangtze Memory Technologies Co (YMTC)
Chinese equipment supplier AMEC is seeking an entry into South Korea's power semiconductor market through MOCVD equipment trials with SK Keyfoundry and Magnachip; the trials remain at the trial stage and no confirmed supply arrangement is reported. AMEC holds a large share of its domestic MOCVD market but remains unable to supply Samsung Electronics' and SK Hynix's South Korean fabs. The source does not state the cause of this inability.
Micron Technology's Taoyuan union has announced a one-day warning strike for October 22, coinciding with a second round of labor mediation between the company and its Taichung union. The Taoyuan union is demanding a concrete response to its profit-sharing proposals, particularly the percentage and amount of a one-off bonus for 2026 and a future profit-sharing framework. The strike is a warning action announced by the union; whether it will actually take place and its impact are not stated in the source.