Semicon Briefing

TSMC has joined Applied Materials' $5B EPIC Center as a founding partner – following Samsung, Micron, SK Hynix, and Advantest. The partnership targets next-generation AI chip technologies and solidifies the EPIC Center as a de-facto industry consortium for advanced packaging and manufacturing innovation.

Nvidia, SK Hynix, and TSMC are increasingly perceived industry-wide as a strategic 'AI Semiconductor Triangle' that dominates the AI supply chain. The alliance is intensifying ahead of Taipei events and signals structural consolidation of the global AI chip value chain among three actors.

Lattice Semiconductor has signed a merger agreement to acquire AMI for approximately $1.65B in a cash-and-stock transaction; closing is scheduled for Q3 2026. The deal strengthens Lattice's position in the embedded firmware and platform management market and is part of an accelerated M&A wave in the semiconductor sector.

SkyWater shareholders have approved the merger with IonQ; closing is expected for Q2/Q3 2026. The combination of IonQ's quantum computing expertise and SkyWater's US semiconductor manufacturing is considered a strategic milestone for commercial quantum manufacturing on home soil.

With the official launch of EU Chips Act 2.0 on May 27, European chip stocks surged in parts: XFAB gained 65% after €128M in EU funding and €288M in SiC supply chain subsidies were confirmed in the same week. The program's €30-60B budget is intended to systematically expand European chip sovereignty with a focus on photonics and SiC.

China's chip exports have doubled to $31B, while YMTC scales to 500,000 wafers/month and prepares an IPO – a direct result of US export restrictions. Parallel to the US release of H200 chips to 10 Chinese companies, this shows: Washington's sanctions policy is accelerating China's semiconductor independence rather than slowing it.