Semicon Briefing

Infineon, STMicroelectronics and NXP announced a partnership with Nvidia on March 17, 2026 to develop hardware solutions and AI processors for humanoid robots. The partnership combines European semiconductor expertise with Nvidia's robotics platform and positions all three companies in the rapidly growing Physical AI market.

Infineon Technologies was recognized as the first semiconductor company to receive the Intel EPIC Supplier Award 2026, underscoring the strategically close supply relationship between both corporations in the power management sector. The award signals that Infineon is regarded as a key supplier for Intel's fab ecosystem despite market turbulence.

Bipartisan US senators have formally requested the Commerce Department to suspend all export licenses for Nvidia AI chips to China and Southeast Asia – triggered by an exposed Supermicro smuggling case. This endangers Nvidia's just-restarted H200 sales to China and could shake the entire AI chip market anew.

SK Hynix has concluded a purchase agreement for 12 trillion won (approximately $7.9 billion) for ASML EUV scanners to be delivered by December 2027, intended for next-generation memory production. The order underscores ASML's persistent capacity constraints and escalating demand for EUV lithography in the AI era.

The EU Commission has officially granted 'Open EU Foundry' status to an innovative chiplet manufacturing facility – a new instrument under the EU Chips Act to promote open manufacturing capacity for European chip designers. In parallel, ASML delivery bottlenecks with over one year lead times are blocking the effective buildout of new fabs despite multi-billion-dollar subsidies.

The Iran war has disrupted helium supplies from Qatar; within weeks, shortages threaten to impact chip manufacturing supply chains globally, as helium is indispensable in wafer production. European chip buyers are already paying significantly higher air freight costs for chip imports and are drawing on inventory reserves.