Semiconductors

ASML, the Dutch company that dominates lithography equipment for chip manufacturing, has said it currently sells no chipmaking machines within Europe. The remark highlights how little advanced semiconductor production actually happens on the continent, even as EU policymakers push to build up domestic chipmaking capacity and reduce reliance on Asia and the United States.

Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten is pressing Washington to avoid new export restrictions targeting ASML's business in China. The appeal comes as US lawmakers pursue legislation that could tighten controls on the chip-equipment maker's immersion lithography systems and its servicing operations for Chinese customers. The standoff puts the Netherlands' most valuable tech firm between American policy pressure and its commercially important Chinese market, with both governments weighing next steps.

ASML, the Dutch maker of advanced chip lithography equipment, says it sold 'absolutely nothing' in Europe in 2026, with its sales going almost entirely to chipmakers in Asia and the United States. The company is calling on the European Union to help build actual demand for chips and chip manufacturing in Europe rather than focusing on regulation. The remarks highlight how little of Europe's semiconductor ambitions have translated into orders.

Reporting from Taipei frames Taiwan as the potential deciding factor in the escalating technology rivalry between the United States and China. Taiwan's tech industry produces more than 90 percent of the world's most advanced semiconductors, the chips that power AI servers, giving the island outsized strategic importance as both superpowers compete for dominance in artificial intelligence.

The Trump administration is moving to redirect unallocated CHIPS Act funds while leaning on tariff threats to push chipmakers toward US investment. TSMC retained its $6.6 billion grant, but tariff pressure has prompted it to raise its pledged US investment from $65 billion to more than $165 billion. Analysts note this shifts reshoring costs onto private capital, though tariffs build manufacturing capacity far more slowly than direct subsidies.

Taiwan's dominance in semiconductor manufacturing, led by TSMC, is being described as a 'silicon shield' that deters Chinese aggression and makes the island indispensable to the United States, especially as artificial intelligence drives global demand for advanced chips. Commentators argue this economic and technological leverage has kept Taiwan secure despite rising cross-strait tensions.

US export controls on semiconductors were not a key topic at the summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, according to the South China Morning Post. The observation is drawing attention given how central chip restrictions have been to US-China trade tensions, raising questions about whether both sides deliberately set the issue aside or reached quiet understandings on technology policy.

Huawei's Ascend processors have reportedly overtaken Nvidia in China's market for AI chips, marking a significant shift in the country's semiconductor landscape. The claim suggests Chinese firms are increasingly turning to domestic hardware as US export restrictions limit Nvidia's access to the market, handing Huawei a lead in powering China's artificial intelligence buildout.

India has proposed banning junk food sales in school canteens and within 50 meters of school premises, in a bid to curb rising obesity and diabetes rates among children. The health ministry move follows growing concern over children's diets and the spread of processed, high-sugar foods near educational institutions. Commentators are weighing the potential impact on students' health and on vendors who rely on school-adjacent business.

India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has urged increased investment in artificial intelligence and semiconductor manufacturing. She positioned the sectors as key to India's economic and technological ambitions, aligning with the government's push to attract chip fabrication projects and build AI capacity. The remarks come as countries compete for investment in these strategic industries.

A new filing reveals that ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, gained access to more than 2,000 Nvidia B200 chips through Nscale's data center operations in Norway. A Singaporean subsidiary called Spring reportedly contributed 73 percent of a UK neocloud provider's 2025 revenue. The arrangement highlights how export controls restricting advanced US chips to China may be circumvented through cloud services and third countries.

Apple and Qualcomm have renewed their chip licensing agreement, extending a business relationship that has swung between partnership and litigation over the years. Qualcomm supplies modem chips for iPhones under licensing terms, and the renewal keeps that arrangement in place. The deal matters for the semiconductor and smartphone industries since both companies depend on the continued supply relationship.

Micron is reporting its fiscal first-quarter 2026 earnings, with attention focused on whether a boost from Nvidia's latest chip launch will reach the memory maker later than expected. Analysts and investors are watching Micron's guidance for signs that demand tied to Nvidia's new chips may take longer to translate into sales, a factor that could shape sentiment across the semiconductor sector.

Google is preparing to test its AI chips in space, according to a report by The Brussels Times. The project would see the company's custom semiconductor hardware evaluated in orbital conditions rather than solely in terrestrial data centres. Further details on timing, partners or the specific chips involved have not been disclosed, and there has been no independent confirmation of the programme's scope so far.

Google has announced Project Suncatcher, a plan to test its AI chips in space for the first time. The initiative points to the company exploring whether orbiting hardware could support future AI computing, as demand for processing power strains terrestrial data centres. The announcement has drawn attention across tech and semiconductor coverage worldwide.

Huawei has unveiled its Atlas 960E AI computing system with 4,096 chips, not the 15,488 it previously announced. The discrepancy has raised questions about the company's stated specifications for the system, which is part of Huawei's push to build domestic AI computing power amid US export restrictions on advanced semiconductors.

Microsoft announced expanded Azure transparency reporting, new Surface devices and its own custom AI chips, strengthening its cloud and hardware lineup. The company is positioning the chips to reduce reliance on outside suppliers and to lower costs for AI workloads running across its data centres. Coverage focuses on how the moves fit Microsoft's broader push into artificial intelligence infrastructure alongside rivals such as Amazon, Google and Nvidia.

The United States cut into the International Team's lead on Saturday at the Presidents Cup but still trail by three points going into Sunday's final-day singles matches. The International side enters the last day holding a 3-point advantage, leaving the Americans needing a strong singles session to defend their title, while the International Team eyes a rare win.

Reports say China's Moonshot, an artificial intelligence firm, is seeking access to additional Nvidia Blackwell chips. The report comes a week after a Trump administration official flagged a breach of US export controls on advanced chips to China. The development lands amid tightening US restrictions on selling cutting-edge Nvidia semiconductors to Chinese companies, a flashpoint in the ongoing tech and trade standoff between Washington and Beijing.

Intel says its upcoming 14A process node will deliver performance within 5% of TSMC's rival A14 node, calling the estimate a conservative forecast. The claim comes as Intel leans on its 18A technology's frequency lead and pricing to compete for foundry customers, with observers weighing whether the gap is small enough to make Intel a credible alternative to TSMC at the leading edge.

PepsiCo says it will raise prices on its chips and soda products, with increases expected in the coming months. The snack and beverage giant, whose brands include Lay's, Doritos and Pepsi, is adjusting pricing amid ongoing cost pressures. Consumers are bracing for higher grocery bills, and the announcement is drawing wide attention as shoppers track when the new prices will take effect.

The U.S. team is trimming the International Team's advantage during Saturday play at the Presidents Cup, with live scoring drawing attention ahead of the afternoon foursomes session. The tournament remains tightly contested, and golf fans are closely tracking whether the Americans can complete the comeback heading into the final day.

Automotive localisation in India is advancing beyond chip manufacturing into complete smart factory capability, according to ET Auto. The shift means domestic players are moving up the technology stack, building higher-value manufacturing systems rather than only producing components, reflecting broader efforts to deepen self-reliance in the auto and semiconductor supply chain.

Vietnam's wood chip shipments to China dropped by 6% in August, according to trade figures reported by Lesprom. The decline points to softer demand from China's pulp and paper industry, a key buyer of Vietnamese wood chips. The dip may add pressure on Vietnam's forestry export sector, which relies heavily on the Chinese market.

Qualcomm has announced the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, joined for the first time by a higher-tier Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6. The company positions both as flagship smartphone chips, with the differences between them described as relatively minor — mainly improved AI processing, video capture and gaming performance. Coverage so far focuses on what the split into two flagship tiers means for upcoming premium Android phones.

NVIDIA's GPU Technology Conference (GTC) is in the news. GTC is the company's flagship event, where it typically unveils new chips, software and AI-related announcements for developers and partners. Coverage is currently limited to mentions of the conference itself, with no specific announcement details available.

Korean chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are moving into co-packaged optics (CPO) technology, which links AI semiconductors using optical connections to boost data transfer speeds and energy efficiency. As AI computing demand surges, Korean media describe the shift as a new race in which chips compete 'at the speed of light', alongside global players developing similar interconnect solutions.

Microsoft's Xbox division is developing a next-generation console in partnership with AMD, alongside plans for handheld gaming devices and a VR headset. The expansion signals Xbox's push beyond traditional home consoles into portable and virtual reality gaming, widening its hardware lineup in an increasingly competitive market dominated by Sony, Nintendo and handheld rivals like Steam.

A detailed technical analysis of Qualcomm's Adreno X2 GPU, the graphics processor in its Snapdragon X2 PC chips, has been published by the hardware analysis site Chips and Cheese. The piece examines the architecture in depth, and the topic is drawing attention among chip enthusiasts and developers following Qualcomm's latest Windows-on-ARM push.

Jensen Huang has reportedly committed to doubling chip supply, a move that would lock up roughly 37% of the world's high-bandwidth memory (HBM) output for 2026. The pledge underscores Nvidia's aggressive push to secure memory for its AI accelerators amid shortages, leaving rival chipmakers competing for the remaining HBM capacity from suppliers like SK Hynix, Samsung and Micron.

A former semiconductor factory in Eugene, Oregon, that has sat closed is being listed for sale again after the most recent attempt to redevelop or reopen the site fell through. The property's repeated failed revivals highlight the difficulty of bringing older chip manufacturing facilities back into use, even as interest in domestic semiconductor capacity grows.

KFF's Medicaid/CHIP Monthly Enrollment Tracker provides the latest figures on enrollment across the Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance programs in the United States. The tracker is used to follow coverage changes, including shifts tied to the unwinding of pandemic-era continuous enrollment protections. It remains a key reference for health policy analysts, reporters and state officials monitoring how many Americans rely on the programs.

Google is reportedly testing AI chips for what it calls 'fractionalized' space data centers, an approach that would split computing workloads across satellite-based infrastructure rather than relying solely on terrestrial facilities. The idea points to a growing push among tech giants to move data center capacity into orbit, where solar power and cooling are more abundant. Details on the testing and timeline remain limited.

Thieves in the San Francisco Bay Area made off with roughly 20 tons of material they believed were valuable microchips, only to discover the cargo was actually sand. The heist highlights ongoing thefts targeting semiconductors, among the most sought-after commodities in global supply chains. Reports say the haul is essentially worthless, leaving the culprits empty-handed despite the scale of the operation.

Barron's reports that SpaceX is purchasing a significant number of Nvidia AI chips, tying Elon Musk's space company to the booming demand for artificial intelligence computing hardware. The report follows widespread interest in how much AI compute Musk's ventures are securing, as Nvidia's GPUs remain the most sought-after chips in the industry. Investors are watching Nvidia's stock closely as major buyers like SpaceX add to already heavy demand.

TSMC has reportedly begun pilot production of chips on its A14 node, a 1.4nm-class process, with volume production targeted for 2028. The A14 line would succeed the current 2nm generation and keep the Taiwanese foundry ahead of rivals Samsung and Intel in the race for ever-smaller transistor sizes, with major customers such as Apple expected among early adopters.

Micron is being discussed as a key beneficiary of the AI boom, with attention focused on its memory chips used in AI data centres. The discussion centres on investment insights into whether the company's HBM and DRAM business can keep growing as demand for AI hardware accelerates.