Semicon Briefing

Skyworks has officially completed its acquisition of Qorvo for $8.6 billion – Qorvo shareholders received $32.50 cash plus 0.960 Skyworks shares. The deal creates a new dominant player in the RF and analog semiconductor market and significantly shifts the balance of power in the mobile and IoT chip segment.

US authorities have arrested a tech CEO accused of smuggling Nvidia chips worth $300 million to China in violation of export controls. The case illustrates the escalation of circumvention attempts: China needs these chips to close an expected hardware gap through 2030.

Following the end of Verified End User (VEU) approvals, Samsung (Xi'an) and SK Hynix (Wuxi, Dalian) are testing their chip manufacturing facilities in China under new export control conditions. The fabs are significant NAND and DRAM production sites – their operational status under tightened US rules is strategically critical for global memory supply.

On November 10, 2026, the US moratorium on expanded chip export controls and China's moratorium on rare earth export restrictions simultaneously expire – both sides accuse each other of violations. A failure to extend could cut chipfabs worldwide off from critical inputs and significantly escalate the technology war.

Following the completed sale of the non-optical sensor business to Infineon (€570 million, completed July 2026), ams-OSRAM confirms the deal on September 17 and issues a Q3 revenue forecast of €770–870 million – new is the explicit announcement to return to profitability from 2027 onwards and focus entirely on photonics and microLED.

The EU opens a new €80 million support channel for semiconductor and AI chip production, while the Irish presidency under Chips Act 2.0 relaxes requirements for companies to report supply chain risks. In parallel, ASML warns it sold 'absolutely nothing' in Europe in 2026 – the purely supply-driven orientation of the previous Chips Act is deemed a structural failure.