Semicon Briefing

Infineon is acquiring ams-OSRAM's analog and mixed-signal sensor business for €570 million; closing is planned for Q2 2026, subject to clearance by the German Federal Cartel Office. ams-OSRAM is thereby sharpening its focus on Digital Photonics, cutting its interest costs in half, and receiving approximately €670 million in total liquidity – Moody's has already upgraded the outlook to 'positive'.

At its Tech Symposium 2026, TSMC postponed the introduction of the A16 node from end-2026 to 2027 and surprisingly announced A12 for 2029 – an aggressive acceleration of the node roadmap. At the same time, TSMC confirmed it will continue to rely on existing EUV tools for all displayed technologies and will not deploy High-NA-EUV in the near term.

Europe is advancing the establishment of its own AI chip manufacturing through the planned Industrial Accelerator Act and the European Chips Act, while China has already threatened countermeasures. In parallel, an HBR analysis shows that the US chip strategy, despite massive subsidies, still has significant gaps in back-end packaging.

Through CHIPS Act investments, the US government unintentionally holds an Intel stake worth around $36 billion – no one in Washington strategically planned this. This raises new questions about the state's role in the semiconductor industry and political conflicts of interest, while China's Nexchip simultaneously seeks to raise $5.1 billion through a Hong Kong IPO for a new fab.

According to Automotive Semiconductor Market Analysis, STMicroelectronics has received a massive ADAS chip order from Stellantis, while NXP and Bosch have signed a V2X deal for European highways. Both deals signal that the automotive segment, despite difficult overall economic conditions, is becoming a central growth driver for European chip suppliers.

In Malaysia, a government-sponsored semiconductor project worth 1.11 billion Ringgit (approximately $240 million) is being investigated by the anti-corruption authority MACC – political adviser James Chai has been summoned. The incident highlights corruption risks in massive government chip subsidies in Southeast Asia, which is increasingly being used as an alternative location amid US-China technology conflicts.