Semicon Briefing

Applied Materials officially opened its $5B EPIC Center in Santa Clara on October 12, 2026 – with Samsung, SK Hynix, TSMC, Intel, Micron, AMD, IBM, Nvidia, and Western Digital as founding partners. The facility with 180,000 sqm of cleanroom space targets $25B in R&D investments in the first decade and is thus the world's largest cross-industry semiconductor research center.

In early September 2026, ASML received binding commitments from leading chip companies to deploy its High-NA EUV technology with 12-inch photomasks for AI chips; Samsung plans high-volume DRAM production using it by 2028. The alliance sets a global standard for the next lithography generation and increases pressure on laggards massively.

The US has expanded AI chip export restrictions to foreign subsidiaries of Chinese companies and now ties restrictions to ownership rather than buyer location – thus closing the previously exploited loophole via third countries. A SIA report simultaneously warns that the US chip sector itself has deeply rooted, often invisible dependencies on Chinese upstream products throughout the supply chain.

Taiwan and Slovakia have signed a bilateral semiconductor agreement covering automotive and EV chips, chip packaging, and module integration – including technology transfer from Taiwan. The deal is another sign of Europe's strategy to secure semiconductor supply chains through direct partnerships with Taiwan.

According to media reports from July 21, 2026, SK Hynix has agreed to acquire Intel's semiconductor fabrication plant and assets in Ohio. The deal consolidates Intel's ongoing restructuring and strengthens SK Hynix's US presence at a time when demand for HBM memory for AI data centers is exploding.

Infineon completed its acquisition of C2i Semiconductors on October 7, 2026, to expand its innovation capabilities in AI data center power management. This deal complements the recently completed acquisition of the ams-OSRAM sensor division and solidifies Infineon's position as a leading European provider of power electronics in AI infrastructure.