Semicon Briefing

AMD and Samsung have signed a Memorandum of Understanding: Samsung will supply HBM4 for AMD's Instinct-MI455X GPUs and DDR5 for EPYC-Venice CPUs – and both sides are exploring a foundry partnership for the first time. The deal signals strategic diversification away from TSMC and significantly increases pressure on Nvidia/SK Hynix in the HBM market.

Media reports from Seoul and X-posts from multiple analysts confirm: AMD CEO Lisa Su visited Samsung to discuss 2nm AI chip production – parallel to the HBM MoU. The move indicates a deliberate dual-sourcing strategy by hyperscalers intended to reduce TSMC concentration risk in Taiwan.

An in-depth analysis shows how government subsidies (CHIPS Act, EU Chips Act, Korea Fund) are creating three separate technological ecosystems – with ASML as a critical bottleneck, whose lead times exceeding one year are hampering all expansion plans. The geopolitical fragmentation of the supply chain is becoming structural, not cyclical.

German semiconductor group Elmos is exploring a sale with Morgan Stanley as advisor, according to Reuters sources; potential buyers include Infineon and Qualcomm. The move comes shortly after Infineon already acquired the ams-OSRAM sensor portfolio – a second acquisition would significantly strengthen Infineon's automotive position.

Tower Semiconductor has risen to $18.4 billion – more than three times its value at the time of the failed $5.4 billion Intel deal. New partnerships with Oriole Networks and Nvidia, along with speculation about a possible Nvidia acquisition, are driving the stock; Tower is becoming the takeover target of the moment.

A new Italian chip fab has officially received 'First-of-a-Kind' foundry status under the European Chips Act; in parallel, GlobalFoundries is launching its Dresden fab expansion with €623 million in EU co-financing. Europe is accelerating its path to 20% global market share by 2030 – but Infineon managers warn that fabs are still too small and insufficiently automated.