May 23, 2026 · 03:47 Uhr
As part of the Trump-Xi summit, China has committed to addressing US concerns about rare earth supply chains (yttrium, scandium, neodymium, indium); meanwhile, AI chip export questions remain unresolved. The agreement defuses supply chain risks for the semiconductor industry in the short term, but deliberately leaves the strategically critical AI chip conflict open.
US export controls have tripled China's chip export volume within two years – to $31 billion in a month – as China invested massively in domestic manufacturing. This demonstrates a fundamental miscalculation in US sanctions strategy with far-reaching consequences for Western chip equipment suppliers.
Lattice Semiconductor has signed a merger agreement to acquire AMI in a cash-and-stock deal valued at approximately $1.65 billion; closing is scheduled for Q3 2026. The deal strengthens Lattice's position in the firmware and platform security segment and continues the record wave of 121+ semiconductor M&As from 2025.
SkyWater shareholders have approved the merger with IonQ by an overwhelming majority; closing is expected in Q2/Q3 2026. The combination of quantum computing expertise and the only purely US-based semiconductor foundry creates a strategically unique asset for US technology sovereignty.
The European Commission has given the green light for €288 million in direct German subsidies for two semiconductor projects under the European Chips Act. In parallel, Brussels is preparing a Chips Act 2.0 draft that would allow the Commission for the first time to make direct investments in cross-border fab projects.
Infineon launches the European research project Moore4Power, which combines silicon, SiC and GaN with sensing and communication functions for power electronics – with a clear focus on humanoid robots and AI infrastructure. This complements Infineon's ongoing €570 million acquisition of the ams-OSRAM sensor division and solidifies Europe's position in the power semiconductor segment.
The semiconductor industry is in a phase of simultaneous geopolitical de-escalation and structural realignment: the Trump-Xi summit brought a rare earth agreement, but deliberately left the AI chip export question unresolved – a clear signal that the technological decoupling process is being strategically controlled. At the same time, China's tripling of chip exports demonstrates that Western sanctions have effectively accelerated the build-up of an independent Chinese semiconductor industry. On the deal side, the M&A wave continues with Lattice/AMI and IonQ/SkyWater, while Europe is attempting to close the structural gap with the US and Asia through €288 million in state aid and the planned Chips Act 2.0. The greatest escalation risk remains the unresolved Nvidia-China question and the question of whether China's growing chip export strength will long-term challenge Western equipment suppliers like ASML and Applied Materials in their home markets.
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