Semicon Briefing

Applied Materials has opened its $5 billion EPIC Center in Sunnyvale – with TSMC, Intel, Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron as founding partners. Historically unprecedented: Direct competitors like Intel and TSMC share the same research floor for the first time, signaling a new era of cross-industry pre-competitive collaboration.

Samsung Foundry secures HBM base die orders from AMD and NVIDIA for its second Taylor fab in Texas (2nm, 1.5× larger than Fab 1) and a KRW 22.76 trillion long-term contract with Tesla through 2033 for the AI6 chip. Full capacity utilization before the planned production start significantly intensifies competition with TSMC's $45 billion Texas plans.

The Trump Administration approves chip exports to China totaling approximately $35 billion – a policy shift that sparks controversy both domestically and strategically. Simultaneously, China completes its indigenous development with the CXMT 6G DRAM prototype, demonstrating that export restrictions accelerate rather than restrain Beijing's self-sufficiency strategy.

ASML and TSMC launch an initiative to develop 12-inch photomasks for High-NA EUV with a pilot line by 2031 and advanced node production starting 2033 – a significant, previously unreported development step beyond the known Samsung-ASML partnership. In parallel, Intel Foundry confirms productive deployment of ASML's High-NA EUV technology, reassessing Intel's competitive position.

Infineon completed the acquisition of ams OSRAM's non-optical analog/mixed-signal sensor portfolio for €570 million in July 2026, strengthening its automotive competence ahead of Q4 results on November 10. The deal complements the parallel Qualcomm partnership for integrated vehicle CPUs and positions Infineon as a central supplier for software-defined vehicles.

The USA, India, Japan, and Australia coordinate an $85 million initiative within the Quad framework to identify vulnerabilities in chip supply chains and expand access to trusted semiconductors. The measure is a direct geopolitical response to China's export restrictions on critical materials and signals institutional deepening of the democratic chip alliance.