On October 8, 2026, TSMC announced a $2 billion partnership with GlobalFoundries to have GlobalFoundries produce silicon interposers for TSMC's CoWoS advanced packaging specification at its Malta, New York fab, aiming to bolster US silicon interposer production and close a domestic supply chain gap. The partnership is expected to last five years with an option to extend, but volume production is not slated to begin until the first half of 2028.
Intel Foundry published a two-article series on chip power delivery. The first article cites Gartner forecasts that worldwide data center power demand will rise from 104 gigawatts in 2025 to 132 gigawatts in 2026 and reach 290 gigawatts by 2030; these figures are forecasts. It also states that AI-optimized servers are expected to account for 31% of consumption in 2026 and surpass conventional servers by 2027. The article explains that conventional frontside power delivery routes electricity and signals through shared metal layers, creating resistance and inductance issues as designs grow more complex; Intel says its RibbonFET Gate-all-around (GAA) transistor architecture with Intel 18A separates these functions by moving power routing to the chip's backside, reducing resistance, inductance, and IR drop. The article also describes local energy storage options such as Omni MIM on-die capacitors, substrate-embedded capacitors, and embedded deep trench capacitors, as well as implementations including fully integrated voltage regulators with CoaxMIL magnetic inductors, C2VR capacitive voltage regulators, and dedicated regulator chiplets. The second article extends the problem to chiplets and stacked dies, noting that advanced packaging can create electrical bottlenecks, and advocates moving voltage conversion closer to the load.
power deliveryRibbonFET Gate-all-around (GAA) transistorOmni MIM on-die capacitorsIntel FoundrySemiWiki
According to a report by Chosun.biz (published 8 October 2026), AMD CEO Lisa Su is visiting South Korea to secure additional supply of HBM memory for AI accelerators, saying 'We are going to talk about our broader partnership' with Samsung executives; Samsung, meanwhile, reportedly 'hopes to turn its memory supply relationship with AMD into foundry' orders for logic chips. The visit comes a little less than seven months after the two companies signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) this March, effective for three years and covering four areas: supply of next-generation memory products including HBM4 and advanced DDR5; co-development and optimization of memory solutions for AI and high-performance computing systems; exploration of foundry manufacturing opportunities for future AMD platforms; and co-optimization of advanced packaging and related semiconductor technologies. Samsung has become a principal supplier of HBM4 for AMD's Instinct MI400-series accelerators; expanding collaboration beyond memory supply is considerably more complicated, as it involves considerable efforts to design chips for Samsung Foundry's process technologies and risks associated with a product ramp at a new contract chipmaker — AMD's most recent Annual Report states that transitioning production of some products to new manufacturers may cause delayed product introductions, lower yields or poorer performance. AMD has already started shipments of its Instinct MI455 accelerators with 432GB of HBM4 onboard as well as rack-scale Helios AI systems to interested parties; Su said 'Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are key supply-chain partners for AMD,' that 'AI demand is extremely high' so AMD is planning its long-term supply chain with partners, and that 'It is important to plan three to five years ahead with our partners.' The article concludes that AMD is negotiating for more memory supply and whether it will take the risk of adopting Samsung Foundry beyond niche programmable chips 'only time will tell.'
HBM4DDR5HBM memoryAMD, Samsung and 5 totalTom's HardwarePartnership/M&A
Microsoft released its first Surface notebook powered by Nvidia's RTX Spark SoC (the N1X chip), the Surface Laptop Ultra, during an event in San Francisco on Wednesday. It is one of several new Copilot+ PCs aimed at 'builders,' available for preorder starting today and expected to begin shipping next week. It starts at $2,599 for the gray variant with the lower-end 18-core N1X, 24 GB of unified memory, and a 512 GB user-serviceable SSD; stepping up to the 20-core chip, 128 GB of memory, and 1 TB of storage costs $5,899. Microsoft also announced a mini PC style development kit based on the N1X priced at $5,999. The machine ships with either an 18- or 20-core CPU designed by MediaTek and Arm and an Nvidia Blackwell-based RTX GPU with between 5,120 and 6,144 cores, with up to 128 GB of memory. The source does not state any impact on supply or pricing.
Micron's Taoyuan union in Taiwan secured the legal right to strike via a vote held between October 1 and 6, in which 1,994 of 2,258 registered members voted in favor, representing 88.3% of total membership and exceeding the required majority; Taoyuan is the first of Micron's separate Taoyuan and Taichung enterprise unions to secure the right to strike. The Taichung union is scheduled for a second labor-management mediation session on October 22 and could proceed to a strike vote if no agreement is reached. Union chairman Lin Che-jui called on Micron to present concrete proposals and negotiate as the company's board meets on October 8 and 9; without meaningful progress the union will discuss further action, and members will be notified by text message once the timing of any surprise strike is confirmed. The union is also planning a demonstration on Ketagalan Boulevard on October 19, encouraging employees to take leave to participate. Its demands include a profit-sharing system tied to 15% of Micron's operating profit: an additional one-time FY2026 bonus based on 15% of global operating profit, estimated at about 83 months of pay per Taiwan employee; an overhaul of the IPP system from FY2027 to distribute 15% of operating profit quarterly; plus 'no free-rider' and 'non-retaliation' clauses. The backdrop cited is compensation disparity: in 2025, Micron's global employee IPP performance factor was 93.9%, translating into about 2.3 months of performance bonuses for Taiwan employees before being adjusted to 2.6 months, while the CEO received annual cash performance compensation equivalent to 32.4 months of pay; only about 40% of Micron Taiwan employees had previously received stock awards. TrendForce notes that Micron's Taoyuan fab primarily produces DRAM; if a strike takes place and disrupts equipment maintenance and process monitoring by engineers, production yields and stability could decline, potentially affecting output, and the impact on supply could gradually increase if the strike is prolonged; however, the actual impact will depend on the scale and duration of the strike as well as Micron's contingency measures, and the outcome of labor-management negotiations still requires close attention.
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan told reporters on Wednesday (as reported on 7 October 2026) that Intel will remain part of Elon Musk's Terafab project. Back in April, Intel and Terafab, the semiconductor production venture by SpaceX, Tesla, and xAI, announced that the new chipmaker would use Intel's next-generation 14A fabrication process to make chips; details of the collaboration are still unknown, though there is a general understanding that Intel will license its manufacturing technology to Terafab, with unclear whether it will also help ramp up production on the node. Around the same time, Musk debunked rumors that his companies would invest in Terafab and then partner with TSMC, which would build and operate the fab, saying "No, we will build and run the fab," and proposing instead that TSMC sublease part of Terafab to make chips for its customers if it wants, "but nothing more than that." The sublease remains only Musk's proposal; the report notes his X statements are deliberately vague and raises questions about equipment qualification, IP isolation, and operational responsibility in such an arrangement.
Intel 14A fabrication processIntel, TSMC and 6 totalTom's HardwarePartnership/M&A
According to reports/rumors, Intel is reportedly developing laptop chips based on its rumored "Raptor Lake Next" CPU core architecture, which will be branded as the Core 2000HX series. Intel is already planning "Raptor Lake Next" chips as an update to its Socket LGA-1700 desktop processors. The stated reason is that, due to the DDR5 memory pricing crisis, PC buyers are stuck with the decade-old DDR4 memory standard, and the current Core Ultra "Arrow Lake" processors lack DDR4 backward compatibility, so these chips are needed to provide options. For mobile "Raptor Lake Next" chips, Intel is expected to bring a core configuration of up to 8 P-Cores and 16 E-Cores, for a total of 24 cores, similar to the regular "Raptor Lake" and "Raptor Lake Refresh" chips. Since "Nova Lake-HX" laptop chips are expected to carry the Core Ultra 4000HX naming scheme, Intel will drop "Ultra" and downgrade the series naming to Core 2000HX to differentiate the new Intel 18A chips from the older Intel 7 "Raptor Lake" dies that will be part of the "Raptor Lake Next" designs. Slight adjustments, as seen with the "Raptor Lake Refresh," are expected to improve D2D latency and include some minor tweaks. The event remains in a reportedly developing/rumored and planned stage, not a confirmed launch or implementation.
laptop CPUsCPU core architecture "Raptor Lake Next"IntelTechPowerUp
JEDEC released JESD264, the first industry-wide reliability standard for silicon photonics, covering modulators and waveguides. This addresses the lack of optical-specific testing protocols compared to CMOS. TSMC is also advancing mass production of 200Gbps modulators, signaling industry progress.
Silicon PhotonicsModulatorsPhotodiodesJEDEC, TSMC and 4 totalTrendForceTechnical
China stockpiled 343 DUV systems (270 NXT:1980i) spending over $13B in 2024-25, supporting 7nm production despite export controls. This confirms strong demand for ASML equipment, with China accounting for 33-41% of its net sales.
DUV Lithography SystemsImmersion DUV SystemsASML, Huawei and 3 totalTrendForceCapacity Change
Advantest and Teradyne dominate the global memory testing equipment market, but HBM4 orders and the rise of Chinese suppliers like TBSTest are reshaping the landscape. Chinese firms secured over 300 systems from TBSTest and are targeting 15% market share by 2026, challenging the 80% import dependency. The increasing complexity of HBM4 is driving demand, with Digital Frontier and UniTest receiving over 280 billion KRW in orders.
HBM4DRAMNAND FlashAdvantest, Teradyne and 8 totalTrendForceMarket Analysis
Related manufacturers
Advantest, Teradyne, Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, Micron, TBSTest, Digital Frontier, UniTest
TSMC is exploring a joint venture with Elon Musk's Terafab to establish advanced semiconductor manufacturing in the US, potentially focusing on secondary capabilities rather than the latest nodes. This collaboration aims to provide dual-source expertise for Intel's 14A node, though the specific technology transfer details remain uncertain.
Advanced NodesTSMC, Terafab and 3 totalTechPowerUpPartnership/M&A
ASRock Industrial launched the NUC Core 300 BOX Series featuring Intel Core 3/5 processors and DDR5 6400 MHz support for industrial edge computing. This product lineup targets applications like HMI and digital signage. Neutral impact on spot market pricing.
Intel expects its 14A node to enter risk production in H2 2027 and mass production in 2028, targeting 15-20% performance gains over 18A. This roadmap indicates competitive parity with TSMC's A14 but carries no immediate supply chain impact.
Tower Semiconductor and the Japanese government plan a $4 billion investment to expand optical connectivity capacity by 40 times by 2029, targeting 45,000 monthly 300mm wafers. This dual-track expansion involves converting an idle fab and building a new facility to meet AI-driven demand for silicon photonics and SiGe EICs. Bearish for spot prices: Massive capacity expansion signals future oversupply risk in the optical connectivity market.
TSMC has initiated pilot production for its 1.4nm A14 node at its Hsinchu facilities, with risk production scheduled for 2027. This early success suggests the timeline for high-volume manufacturing in 2028 may be accelerated. The advancement positions TSMC ahead of competitors like Samsung and Intel in the angstrom era.
New LTA prices for 12-inch wafers are projected to rise 15-25% for epi wafers and over 40% for polished wafers in 2027, driven by AI demand. This follows a new contract renewal cycle as pandemic-era contracts expire, with spot prices expected to surpass LTA levels by Q4. Bullish for wafer suppliers like GlobalWafers, which forecasts a 32.6% YoY ASP increase to $122 in 2027.
12-inch wafersEpi wafersPolished wafersGlobalWafers, SUMCO and 6 totalTrendForcePrice Movement
China's A-share semiconductor sector saw net profit surge 607% YoY in 1H26, driven by a memory upcycle and AI demand. CXMT led with 873% YoY revenue growth, benefiting from tight global supply and mass production of its G5 DRAM platform. Bullish: High capacity utilization and strong earnings confirm continued supply constraints.
DRAMLPDDR5XCXMT, SMIC and 7 totalTrendForceFinancial/Earnings
Alibaba unveiled the Zhenwu V900 AI chip for 1Q27 mass production and Yitian 720/730 server CPUs for 3Q27, aiming to build a full in-house data center stack. This capacity expansion reduces reliance on external suppliers but signals increased demand for foundries and packaging partners in the long term. Neutral impact on current spot prices.
Solidigm, a subsidiary of SK hynix, plans to build its first NAND fab in the US with a 50% capacity increase target by 2027. This expansion aims to enhance global supply chain resilience following a four-year freeze in mainland China. The move signals a return to capacity growth, potentially increasing NAND supply.
NAND FlashSolidigm, SK hynixTechPowerUpCapacity Change
Tesla and SpaceX face a trademark dispute over the 'Terafab' name with Tera-print, a nanotechnology firm. The dispute involves a cease-and-desist letter and settlement meetings, while the Terafab project aims to build an AI chip factory in Texas.
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Tesla, SpaceX and 3 totalTechPowerUpPartnership/M&A