GCT clinches licence to supply satellite operator with 5G and 4G chipsets
GLOBAL 11:02

GCT clinches licence to supply satellite operator with 5G and 4G chipsets

GCT Semiconductor has agreed a licensing deal to supply its satellite-capable 5G and 4G RF chips to an unnamed client, described as one of the world's largest satcom providers. Under the agreement, GCT's 5G and 4G product can be integrated with the client's user equipment, unlocking high-bandwidth connectivity via both satellite and terrestrial networks. GCT said the deal provides scope for additional chip volumes, with the client committed to leveraging its latest 5G silicon for direct-to-satellite applica

MaxLinear hails adoption of latest products as FY sales soar 30%
GLOBAL 09:46

MaxLinear hails adoption of latest products as FY sales soar 30%

MaxLinear has reported FY 2025 turnover of USD 467.4 million, up 30 percent from 2024 amid customer appetite for its state-of-the-art signal components for data centres and optical networks. Net losses were slashed by nearly 50 percent to USD 136.68 million, and GAAP gross margins climbed to 56.8 percent from 54 percent in FY24.

Korea passes bill to expand government support for chip industry
KOREA, REPUBLIC OF 05:45

Korea passes bill to expand government support for chip industry

South Korea's National Assembly has passed a special bill to strengthen support for the domestic semiconductor industry, providing a legal framework for expanded government assistance to one of the country's key export sectors, according to Yonhap, citing government sources. Approved at a plenary session on 29 January, the legislation enables the designation of semiconductor clusters and establishes a basis for financial support.

NEC develops compact amplifier for 5G base stations
JAPAN 29 JAN

NEC develops compact amplifier for 5G base stations

NEC Corporation has developed a high-efficiency, compact Power Amplifier Module (PAM) for the sub-6 GHz band, designed for integration into 5G base station Radio Units (RUs). PAMs are electronic components that amplify signals for long-distance radio transmission, and their power consumption accounts for approximately 75 percent of the total power consumed by an RU. By integrating this high-efficiency PAM into RUs, NEC aims to reduce device power consumption and size, thereby contributing to reduced operati

SK Hynix posts record 2025 profit, launches US AI subsidiary
GLOBAL 29 JAN

SK Hynix posts record 2025 profit, launches US AI subsidiary

SK Hynix said it recorded an annual operating profit of KRW 47.2 trillion (USD 33.1 billion) in 2025, more than doubling its result from a year earlier and surpassing Samsung Electronics' total operating profit for the first time. The South Korean chipmaker attributed the performance primarily to strong demand for high bandwidth memory (HBM) products used in AI workloads. Net profit rose 116.9 percent year on year to KRW 42.9 trillion, while sales increased 46.8 percent to KRW 97.1 trillion, marking record

Samsung's profit triples on AI-driven memory demand
GLOBAL 29 JAN

Samsung's profit triples on AI-driven memory demand

Samsung Electronics said it delivered a record operating profit in the fourth quarter of 2025, as strong demand for memory chips used in AI servers and tighter supply conditions lifted prices and earnings. The company reported operating profit of KRW 20.07 trillion (USD 13.9 billion) for the October–December period, more than tripling from KRW 6.49 trillion won a year earlier and exceeding its previous quarterly record of KRW 17.6 trillion set in 2018.

ASML plans 1,700 job cuts despite record results in 2025
NETHERLANDS 28 JAN

ASML plans 1,700 job cuts despite record results in 2025

ASML reported record revenues and profits for 2025. The Dutch company's turnover jumped 16 percent to EUR 32.7 billion and net profit was 27 percent higher at EUR 9.6 billion. Despite the strong demand for its chip production machines, the group is starting a restructuring that will lead to 1,700 jobs lost worldwide. The company said it needs to improve efficiency in order to scale up its growth further. 

Micron starts construction of USD 24 billion advanced wafer fab in Singapore
SINGAPORE 27 JAN

Micron starts construction of USD 24 billion advanced wafer fab in Singapore

Micron Technology has announced it has broken ground on an advanced wafer fabrication facility located within the company's existing NAND manufacturing complex in Singapore. This new facility represents a planned investment of USD 24 billion (approximately SGD 31 billion) over 10 years and is designed to ultimately provide 700,000 square feet of cleanroom space. Wafer output is scheduled to begin in the second half of calendar 2028.

Nvidia deepens partnership with CoreWeave to scale AI data centres
UNITED STATES 27 JAN

Nvidia deepens partnership with CoreWeave to scale AI data centres

Nvidia and CoreWeave have announced an expansion of their collaboration aimed at accelerating the deployment of large-scale AI data centres, which the companies refer to as AI factories. The agreement is intended to support CoreWeave's plans to build more than 5 GW of AI infrastructure by 2030 to meet what it said was rising demand for compute from cloud service providers and enterprises.

Net Insight projects near 13% sales decline in Q4 amid sluggish returns from media unit
GLOBAL 23 JAN

Net Insight projects near 13% sales decline in Q4 amid sluggish returns from media unit

Net Insight said in a preliminary earnings bulletin that it now expects Q4 net turnover of about SEK 117 million (USD 12.95 million). This represents a 12.7 percent decline from the same period in 2024, and is driven mainly by lower sales in Net Insight's media segment, particularly in EMEA and APAC. The segment's decline was partially offset by larger year-on-year turnover in the Americas, helped by the launch of Net Insight's 400G-capable IP broadcast solutions during the quarter.  Depreciation in the US

Intel posts Q4 loss, sales down 4% as supply problems hurt results
GLOBAL 23 JAN

Intel posts Q4 loss, sales down 4% as supply problems hurt results

Intel reported a net loss for the fourth quarter on lower sales and margins, hurt by supply chain shortages. The company said results were still better than its forecasts, with revenues down 4 percent year-on-year to USD 13.7 billion and the gross margin 3.1 pp lower at 36.1 percent. The net loss widened to USD 0.6 billion from USD 0.1 billion a year ago, but was a positive USD 0.8 billion after excluding restructuring charges and other one-off items.

Memory market revenue to peak in 2027 on AI-driven demand - TrendForce
GLOBAL 23 JAN

Memory market revenue to peak in 2027 on AI-driven demand - TrendForce

The global memory market is on track to reach a new revenue peak in 2027, driven by changes in AI system architectures that are sharply increasing demand for high-performance DRAM and NAND Flash, according to new research from analysts TrendForce. The total memory market revenue will reach USD 551.6 billion in 2026 before rising to USD 842.7 billion in 2027, representing year-on-year growth of 53 percent. 

JAPAN 22 JAN

Japanese carmakers and chip suppliers to share data

Japanese automakers are preparing to work with semiconductor suppliers to share detailed information on automotive chips, as the industry seeks to strengthen supply chain resilience against geopolitical tensions and natural disasters, according to Nikkei, citing industry sources. The initiative, led by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association and the Japan Auto Parts Industries Association, will involve around 20 semiconductor suppliers, including Renesas Electronics, Rohm and Germany's Infineon Techn

SPAIN 20 JAN

Spain to invest EUR 190 mln in Imec's Malaga chip plant

Spain's Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Administration has opened a public tender to build a semiconductor centre managed by Belgian chip researcher Imec and located in Malaga's Andalucia Technology Park. The Spanish government, which has committed to invest a total of EUR 500 million in the project, will allocate an initial EUR 190 million from the state-backed Spanish Society for Technological Transformation (SETT) entity to the construction of the future Imec Centre.

GLOBAL 20 JAN

NXP to implement Origin AI's software to enable smart home Wi-Fi sensing

Origin AI announced a commercial deal with NXP Semiconductors that will see its AI Sensing software embedded in the Dutch silicon producer's wireless tri-radio-enabled processor chips. This strategic collaboration will involve optimising Origin AI's wireless sensing platform to run directly from NXP's i.MX 9 Applications Processors, a system-on-chip product family with built in tri-radio Wi-Fi 6 support as well as Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity.

IRELAND 19 JAN

Qualcomm plans EUR 125 million AI R&D investment in Cork

Qualcomm Technologies will invest EUR 125 million to expand its R&D operations in Cork, Ireland. The investment is supported by the Irish government through IDA Ireland, and help drive AI innovation for the group. The expansion will create hundreds of highly-skilled R&D roles. Qualcomm first opened the Cork site in 2023, and has since developed strong relationships with University College Cork (UCC), the Tyndall National Institute (part of UCC), and Munster Technological University (MTU).

TAIWAN 19 JAN

Micron acquires PSMC's P5 chip plant in Taiwan for USD 1.8 billion

Micron Technology has agreed to acquire the P5 fabrication facility in Taiwan, from Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC) for USD 1.8 billion in cash. This acquisition includes an existing 300 mm fab cleanroom of 300,000 square feet and is expected to enable Micron to address growing global demand for memory products.

TAIWAN 16 JAN

US, Taiwan strike USD 500 billion semiconductor trade agreement

The American Institute in Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US have signed a trade deal designed to reshore America's semiconductor sector. The US Department of Commerce said it expects this commitment of investment from Taiwan to strengthen US economic resilience, create high-paying jobs, and increase national security. Taiwanese semiconductor and technology enterprises will make new, direct investments totaling at least USD 250 billion to build and expand semiconduct

GLOBAL 15 JAN

MediaTek updates flagship range with Dimensity 9500s, 8500 chips

MediaTek is expanding its range of processors for flagship-class smartphones with the new Dimensity 9500s and Dimensity 8500 chips. These products focus on delivering outstanding performance, efficiency, AI, imaging, gaming and wireless connectivity for the latest generation of premium phones. No word was provided on the customers for the new processors. 

KOREA, REPUBLIC OF 14 JAN

Korea, Netherlands to deepen chip, quantum R&D ties

South Korea and the Netherlands have agreed to strengthen cooperation in semiconductor and quantum technology development following the fourth Korea-Netherlands Innovation Joint Committee, held in The Hague on 14 January. The meeting was convened by South Korea's ministry of trade, industry and energy and the Dutch ministry of economic affairs. The two governments signed a letter of intent to expand collaboration in semiconductors and quantum technologies, citing both countries' technical capabilities and t

GLOBAL 13 JAN

RANsemi and Radisys develop 5G platform for mission-critical use

UK wireless semiconductor RANsemi Limited and telecom software company Radisys Corporation said they are expanding their relationship and will develop next-generation 5G products for tactical and mission-critical communications. They are bringing together RANsemi's software-defined baseband platforms and Radisys' 3GPP Release 18-compliant 5G RAN and Core software in order to offer secure, resilient and rapidly deployable 5G systems for defence, security and public safety environments. Radisys supports 5G RA

GLOBAL 13 JAN

Worldwide semiconductor revenue grew 21% in 2025 - Gartner

Worldwide semiconductor revenue totalled USD 793 billion in 2025, an increase of 21 percent YoY, according to preliminary results from analysts Gartner. The firm said AI semiconductors – including processors, high-bandwidth memory (HBM), and networking components continued to drive "unprecedented growth" in the semiconductor market, accounting for nearly one-third of total sales in 2025. This domination is set to rise as AI infrastructure spending is forecast to surpass USD 1.3 trillion in 2026.

GLOBAL 12 JAN

IQE expects FY sales in upper forecast range, reports non-binding takeover interest

IQE, a London-listed supplier of epitaxial wafers for compound semiconductors, said in a trading update it now expects full-year sales and earnings to finish at the higher end of its prior guidance. The company calculates turnover will arrive at around GBP 97 million, above the midpoint of its revised GBP 90 -100 million estimate, while adjusted EBITDA will finish at GBP 2 million or greater. IQE had projected the latter metric to range from a GBP 5 million loss to a GBP 2 million profit.

GLOBAL 9 JAN

Keysight tests NR-NTN link in band n252 using Samsung modem chipset

Keysight Technologies said it has achieved a new radio non-terrestrial networks (NR-NTN) connection in band n252 using Samsung Electronics' next-generation modem chipset. The demonstration took place at CES 2026 in Las Vegas and included live satellite-to-satellite (SAT-to-SAT) mobility using commercial-grade modem silicon and cross-vendor interoperability. The n252 band is expected to be adopted by next-generation low Earth orbit (LEO) constellations and this validation follows those for n255 and n256.

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