August 13, 2026 · 03:48 Uhr
China's AI chip market has shifted 90% to domestic suppliers according to analysts; Huawei has evolved from a sanctioned company to market leader. US export restrictions have paradoxically served as the strongest industrial policy for China – VanEck launched a China Semiconductor ETF in June 2026 as a direct investment product on this trend.
Doosan has agreed to acquire 70.61% of SK Siltron, one of the world's largest silicon wafer manufacturers, from SK Inc. for approximately $1.7 billion. The deal strengthens Doosan's position in the upstream chip supply chain and was completed at a favorable price according to Citi.
Onsemi is acquiring interface and AI chip specialist Synaptics in an all-stock transaction valued at $7 billion; closing is planned for mid-2027. The deal positions Onsemi in the growing market for edge AI and physical AI applications and is one of the largest semiconductor M&A deals of the year.
ASML and Tata Electronics have signed a strategic partnership worth $11 billion to build a semiconductor ecosystem in India – India's largest single chip investment pact to date. This solidifies India's position as an emerging fab destination with now cumulative ~$19 billion in approved semiconductor investments across 12 projects.
The US Commerce Department has signed seven new CHIPS Act letters of intent totaling $874 million, including for GlobalFoundries and quantum computing startup Kepler; the government acquires minority stakes. In parallel, a tracking report confirms ~$400 billion in private follow-on investments and 12 active fab construction sites in the US.
President Lee ordered the evacuation of Gwangju military airbase by mid-2028 to make way for a massive semiconductor complex, part of the $576 billion megaproject with Samsung and SK Hynix. Additionally, Seoul is allocating a $3.5 billion fund for chip materials and smaller fabless companies – South Korea is betting everything on chips.
The semiconductor industry is in a phase of accelerated geopolitical fragmentation: while the US ramps up domestic manufacturing capacity through the CHIPS Act and export controls, sanctions against China have had the opposite effect – China's AI chip market has shifted 90% to domestic suppliers and Huawei has become the dominant force. In parallel, global investment flows are shifting massively: South Korea is mobilizing nearly $580 billion, India is securing its first major fab anchor with the ASML-Tata deal, and Europe is defending its industrial base with German subsidies and the TSMC Dresden project. The M&A cycle is also accelerating strongly – from Doosan's wafer acquisition to Onsemi's $7 billion AI chip acquisition – suggesting companies are using the current consolidation phase to vertically integrate and close technological gaps. The central escalation risk remains whether China's accelerated self-sufficiency will permanently undermine Western sanctions regimes and thus call into question the entire logic of technology export controls.
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