Semicon Briefing

ams-OSRAM divests its non-optical analog/mixed-signal sensor business for €570 million in cash to Infineon and will focus on AI photonics in the future. The deal is expected to close in Q2 2026 and brings Infineon approximately €230 million in additional revenue – a clear signal of consolidation in the European semiconductor market.

Analog Devices (ADI) is on the verge of acquiring power supply chipmaker Empower Semiconductor for approximately $1.5 billion in cash. The deal underscores consolidation pressure in the analog segment as chipmakers aggressively expand their AI infrastructure portfolios.

According to Crunchbase, approximately $10 billion was invested in semiconductor startups in the first months of 2026 – the pace exceeds the entire year 2025. This signals that AI-driven demand has structurally changed the venture capital market for chips.

The European Commission has officially unveiled Chips Act 2.0 and fundamentally shifts strategy: instead of primarily providing fab subsidies, demand accelerators and public procurement mandates for European chips will now drive demand. European chip giants such as STMicro, Infineon, and NXP had previously warned that €10 billion is insufficient for a single cutting-edge fab.

TSMC has publicly stated it does not rule out price increases in light of rising costs and persistent demand overload – unprecedented for the market leader. Since TSMC effectively manufactures all AI chip supply from Nvidia to Apple, price increases would impact the entire tech supply chain.

US Congressional representatives are pushing for tightened export control rules that also cover contract manufacturers indirectly supplying Chinese firms via third countries – in parallel, Taiwan is considering its own AI chip export restrictions against China. These measures systematically close the remaining loopholes in the Western chip embargo and increase pressure on Samsung and other foundries with China business.