Semicon Briefing

The US Department of Defense has added Chinese memory chip manufacturer CXMT to the military blacklist, increasing pressure on global supply chains. The decision coincides with Apple's lobbying attempt to source CXMT chips and intensifies the technological decoupling process between the USA and China.

Although the US export ban on Nvidia's H20 chips has been officially relaxed, not a single unit has reached China so far – Jensen Huang accompanies Trump on a state visit, suggesting ongoing geopolitical blockades. Meanwhile, Reddit reports that Nvidia's AI chip sales in China are stagnating, while Huawei and local suppliers are gaining market share.

Washington is planning further tightening of export rules for semiconductor equipment, putting European suppliers like ASML under pressure and causing their stock to fall. China is responding symmetrically with its own export controls on US firms and tightening rules for foreign investment in tech sectors.

Meta is reportedly negotiating a $7.7 billion agreement with Samsung for its own AI chip manufacturing, even as the company simultaneously builds a cloud computing service and allegedly operates at overcapacity. The story underscores the ongoing drive by hyperscalers toward vertical integration in chip manufacturing.

Qualcomm announced the acquisition of AI infrastructure startup Modular for approximately $4 billion on June 26, 2026, pursuing a clear strategy to strengthen its software and AI expertise. The deal signals that M&A activity in the chip sector is increasingly focused on AI stack integration, rather than just hardware capacity.

Samsung plans a DRAM price increase of around 20% for the third quarter, confirming the start of a new memory upcycle and positioning Micron and SK Hynix as direct beneficiaries. Combined with the $1.3 trillion investment plans of both companies, the market is sending clear signals of structural demand recovery, particularly driven by HBM for AI systems.