https://sagire.online/topic/semiconductors/ Rolling analysis and coverage of geopolitics, energy, security and supply chains. en Thu, 05 Nov 2026 03:40:00 -0300 https://sagire.online/wire/4a222bbb/https://sagire.online/wire/4a222bbb/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 03:21:00 -0300Japan Investment Corp (JIC), a Japanese state-backed fund, plans to sell chipmaking materials maker JSR to Mitsui Chemicals in a deal that could exceed 1.3 trillion yen ($8.2 billion), after buying it for some 900 billion yen two years ago, taking advantage of higher chip-firm valuations on the artificial intelligence investment boom, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke to Reuters, in a text republished by DealStreetAsia. Founded in 1957, JSR is a leading manufacturer of photoresists used to transfer circuit patterns onto semiconductor wafers, and Nikkei Asia notes that the sale would be the biggest deal in the history of Japan’s chemical sector.JapanSemiconductorsTechnologyEconomy https://sagire.online/wire/0e7e6eab/https://sagire.online/wire/0e7e6eab/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 23:25:00 -0300AMD recorded a $1.07 billion non-cash charge, or 66 cents a share, in the third quarter ended September 26, to account for warrants granted to OpenAI and Meta. The information comes from Reuters, in a text republished by StreetInsider. The company forecast faster-than-expected 2027 growth on surging data-center sales, and its shares rose 8% in extended trading. The warrants are part of a wave of equity incentives used by chipmakers to secure long-term purchases from a small group of AI customers: Cerebras granted OpenAI warrants against a $20 billion commitment, and Marvell issued warrants to Alphabet’s Google that give Google the right to buy a potential $12.2 billion stake.United StatesSemiconductorsTechnology https://sagire.online/wire/88291f74/https://sagire.online/wire/88291f74/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 08:24:00 -0300Samsung Electronics will use its second semiconductor plant in Taylor, Texas, to produce base dies for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips for AMD and Nvidia, according to South Korea’s Maeil Business Newspaper, which cited industry sources, in a Reuters report published by WHTC. Construction is due to start formally this month, with the plant having secured orders for its entire output, most of it for AMD. The facility will use 2-nanometer technology and cover about 2.7 million square feet, roughly 1.5 times the size of the first plant, which has a contract with Tesla. Equipment is expected to be installed from February 2029, with mass production in 2030.South KoreaUnited StatesSemiconductorsTechnology https://sagire.online/wire/0ec4ce14/https://sagire.online/wire/0ec4ce14/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 12:23:00 -0300China rejected allegations of a Chinese espionage operation targeting Nvidia’s chief executive, Jensen Huang, describing the claims as groundless speculation, the BBC reported. Foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a regular media briefing in Beijing that the report was based on groundless speculation and was aimed purely at smearing and slandering China, the South China Morning Post reported: “The relevant report is based on groundless speculation and [is] purely aimed at smearing and slandering China.” Nvidia told the newspaper that “Megaspeed has been no different than many other regional cloud customers” and that “Jensen’s interactions with Ms. Huang are not unusual or unexpected”.ChinaUnited StatesSemiconductorsTechnology https://sagire.online/wire/361e8886/https://sagire.online/wire/361e8886/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 05:21:00 -0300Nvidia pushed back on the report about American intelligence agencies surveilling a person close to CEO Jensen Huang as a possible Chinese intelligence asset, saying Singapore-based Megaspeed is just another regional cloud customer, that Huang's contacts with its executives are routine and that the chip-diversion allegations against the company were investigated and debunked last year, a company spokesperson said, as cited by CNBC.United StatesChinaSemiconductorsTechnology https://sagire.online/wire/84bf7e26/https://sagire.online/wire/84bf7e26/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 23:22:00 -0300Malaysia’s customs department seized 30 servers fitted with advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips in a suspected export-control violation: the shipment, worth about 50 million ringgit (US$ 12.2 million), was intercepted in the free trade zone of the country’s main airport on Oct. 15 after being falsely declared as electrical components for re-export to another Asian country without the required permit. Malaysia introduced permit requirements for the export, transit and transshipment of AI chips of US origin under pressure from the US to keep sensitive technology from being rerouted to China through third countries.MalaysiaTechnologySemiconductorsTrade https://sagire.online/wire/f8df100d/https://sagire.online/wire/f8df100d/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 04:21:00 -0300Customs authorities found 30 server units containing advanced AI chips during an October 15 inspection in Kuala Lumpur International Airport’s free-trade zone, according to the South China Morning Post. The servers — falsely declared as electronic components and shipped through Malaysia so there would be no restrictions on export to the next destination, according to customs cited by the paper — were linked to a syndicate already involved this year in five cases with a total value exceeding US$ 24 million, officials cited by TRT World said.MalaysiaSemiconductorsSoutheast AsiaArtificial intelligence https://sagire.online/wire/4bafef9b/https://sagire.online/wire/4bafef9b/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 14:25:00 -0300A US export licence allows Firebird to ship 45,000 Nvidia Grace Blackwell graphics processing units (GPUs) to Kazakhstan, according to Nvidia. OilPrice reports that the chips are bound for Ekibastuz.KazakhstanUnited StatesData centersSemiconductorsArtificial intelligence https://sagire.online/wire/c49e6b32/https://sagire.online/wire/c49e6b32/Fri, 23 Oct 2026 22:23:00 -0300The US Treasury Department proposed expanding the Outbound Investment Security Program, currently limited to China, including Hong Kong and Macau, to cover North Korea, Russia, Iran and Cuba, according to the Korea Herald. Certain investments by US persons in sensitive technologies would be prohibited, while other transactions would require notification. Covered sectors include semiconductors, microelectronics, artificial intelligence (AI), quantum information technologies, high-performance computing and supercomputing.United StatesTechnologySemiconductorsArtificial intelligenceTrade https://sagire.online/wire/3b77869c/https://sagire.online/wire/3b77869c/Fri, 23 Oct 2026 22:22:00 -0300The computing capacity available to Chinese entities for artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to double in 2027, from about 4.6 million to 8.8 million H100-equivalents, a metric benchmarked against Nvidia's data-center graphics processing units, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP). US-designed chips will account for about 65 per cent of that capacity. Remote access through offshore clouds is expected to swell from roughly 1 million this year to 2.8 million H100-equivalents by the end of 2027.ChinaArtificial intelligenceSemiconductorsTechnologySupply chains https://sagire.online/wire/6257aad5/https://sagire.online/wire/6257aad5/Fri, 23 Oct 2026 20:23:00 -0300The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced that Energy Secretary Chris Wright has designated helium as a critical material under the Energy Act of 2020, stating that its unique properties make it indispensable to semiconductor production, with no viable substitutes in many critical applications. According to US News, the designation means more federal financing will be available for helium producers and the government will monitor it more closely.United StatesCritical mineralsSemiconductorsSupply chainsTrade https://sagire.online/wire/9c6caf14/https://sagire.online/wire/9c6caf14/Thu, 22 Oct 2026 08:24:00 -0300Deepening “symbiosis” with artificial intelligence model start-up DeepSeek is helping Huawei Technologies catch up with Nvidia’s chip hardware and software ecosystem, according to a new SemiAnalysis report cited by the South China Morning Post. The report says DeepSeek is likely to rely “primarily” on Huawei’s “already mature and well developed” technology stack by 2027 or 2028, in a scenario that could mean Jensen Huang’s “nightmare is starting to come true”.ChinaSemiconductorsArtificial intelligenceTechnology https://sagire.online/wire/c56f623b/https://sagire.online/wire/c56f623b/Thu, 22 Oct 2026 06:23:00 -0300Chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is exploring alternatives to rare-earth components in factory equipment, according to three people familiar with the matter cited by Reuters, in a text republished by WHBL, aiming to reduce the risk that Beijing's export controls could disrupt operations at plants that make the world's most advanced chips. The discussions remain at an early stage and have not yet resulted in a broad rollout of rare-earth-free equipment, according to two of those people.TaiwanChinaSemiconductorsCritical mineralsSupply chains https://sagire.online/wire/e3a84354/https://sagire.online/wire/e3a84354/Wed, 21 Oct 2026 18:23:00 -0300Representative Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said restrictions on advanced chips are Washington’s key lever to keep its lead in artificial intelligence over China, the South China Morning Post reported. He said he did not believe the US would hold that edge in frontier AI indefinitely. “And the one real lever we have there, of course, is just slowing the dispersion of advanced chips into China,” he said.United StatesChinaSemiconductorsArtificial intelligence https://sagire.online/wire/35b5ab64/https://sagire.online/wire/35b5ab64/Tue, 20 Oct 2026 06:22:00 -0300ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent have ordered more than 3 million of Nvidia’s new RTX PRO 5500 graphics cards, with a collective sticker price of over $35 billion, according to two people familiar with the matter cited by Reuters in a text republished by The Business Times. Nvidia has told customers and partners it cannot guarantee that it can fill the orders because demand from Chinese technology companies far exceeds planned production.ChinaUnited StatesSemiconductorsTechnology