chip industry

Dutch chip equipment maker ASML says it is not selling its chipmaking machines in Europe, warning that the region risks falling behind the US, China and India in semiconductors. The remarks are drawing attention to Europe's limited role in advanced chip manufacturing despite hosting ASML itself, and are fueling debate about industrial policy and investment in the region.

China may allow Alibaba to purchase Nvidia's RTX chips, according to a report by The Information. The potential approval would mark a notable shift in Beijing's stance on access to American AI hardware, which has been tightly restricted amid US-China tech tensions. The report was also picked up by Bloomberg, drawing attention across the semiconductor and cloud computing industries.

Nvidia's latest AI chips may be headed to China, according to market chatter reported by financial media. The prospect is drawing attention given US export restrictions that have limited the company's ability to sell advanced semiconductors to Chinese customers, making any return to that market a significant development for the industry.

China may permit Alibaba to purchase Nvidia's RTX chips, according to a report by The Information picked up by NDTV Profit. The reported move would mark a significant shift in China's stance on foreign semiconductor purchases amid ongoing US-China technology tensions. The news is drawing attention across global semiconductor and tech industry watchers, with implications for both Nvidia's China business and Chinese AI development.

Huawei's latest smartphone chip is closing the performance gap with leading competitors, according to industry coverage. The development signals continued progress by the Chinese tech firm in domestic semiconductor design despite export restrictions limiting its access to advanced foreign chip technology.

Reports suggest China may allow Alibaba and ByteDance to purchase Nvidia's newest AI chips, a shift from earlier restrictions on advanced US semiconductor exports. If confirmed, the move would ease access to critical hardware for two of China's largest technology companies and could signal a thaw in US-China tensions over chip trade. Observers are watching for official confirmation from both governments.

Chinese chipmaker Amicro, described as a 'little giant' firm, has cleared a key regulatory hurdle for a listing in Hong Kong, according to sources cited by the South China Morning Post. The reported progress would advance the semiconductor company's plans to go public as China pushes to develop its domestic chip industry and expand funding channels for strategic technology firms.

Industry observers are asking when the global memory chip shortage will ease. The squeeze is driven by surging AI infrastructure demand, limited wafer capacity, and the priority given to HBM production, while DRAM and NAND investment remains constrained. New manufacturing capacity takes years to build, so analysts say relief is unlikely before major fabs now under construction come online.

China is considering allowing ByteDance and Alibaba to buy Nvidia's newest chips, according to a report by The Information. The deliberation comes amid ongoing US-China tensions over semiconductor exports, with Washington restricting sales of advanced Nvidia technology to Chinese companies. Any approval would signal a shift in Beijing's stance and could ease pressure on major Chinese AI firms seeking cutting-edge hardware.

Workers at the Taiwanese factory producing a popular snack treated as a good luck charm in the chip industry have voted 94% in favour of a strike, threatening a production halt. The dispute centres on demands that employees receive a share of a $176 million factory sale to semiconductor firm ASE. The standoff has drawn attention because the snack is a familiar talisman in computing circles.

ASML, the Dutch chip equipment maker, says it sold 'absolutely nothing' in Europe in 2026 and is calling on the EU to help create demand for its lithography machines. The comments highlight Europe's weak semiconductor manufacturing base, as ASML's sales remain concentrated in Asia, particularly Taiwan, South Korea and China.

Google plans to test its AI chips aboard satellites in orbit under a project called Suncatcher, according to a report in The Daily Star. The initiative suggests the company is exploring whether space-based hardware could help run artificial intelligence workloads. Details on timing, partners and the scale of the orbital tests have not yet been made clear.

NVIDIA's GTC conference is in the news as the company's flagship event for announcing new AI chips, software and partnerships. The gathering typically draws developers, investors and cloud providers looking for updates on NVIDIA's GPU roadmap and its role in the artificial intelligence boom, with markets watching closely for product news and guidance.

South Korean chip developer Moblint is working with LG, Doosan and Daedong to build on-device AI semiconductors designed to run artificial intelligence directly inside robots and home appliances. The partnerships signal a push to bring AI processing off the cloud and into everyday consumer and industrial hardware across Korea's electronics and machinery sectors.

This week's semiconductor roundup highlights the Mach M100 chip, which delivers 1,280 TOPS of AI computing performance, alongside news that a chip business unit has been split off and is actively seeking customers. The recap suggests major strategic shifts in the AI chip market, with the newly separated unit hunting for buyers to secure its commercial future.

Qualcomm has renewed its patent licensing agreement with Apple, extending the arrangement through 2027. The deal keeps in place the payments Apple makes to use Qualcomm's wireless technology in iPhones, a relationship that has swung between litigation and cooperation for years. The renewal signals continued reliance on Qualcomm modems even as Apple works on its own in-house modem development.

South Korean semiconductor startup Mobilint has announced partnerships with LG, Doosan Robotics and Daedong to supply its on-device AI chips. The deals would embed Mobilint's neural processing technology directly into products spanning consumer electronics, industrial robots and agricultural machinery, allowing AI tasks to run locally without cloud connections. The move highlights South Korea's push to build a domestic edge-AI chip industry to compete with global players.

Apple is reported to be considering re-entering the server market, a move that would intensify competition among major technology companies in the interconnected server ecosystem. Commentators are weighing what such a return would mean for an industry currently dominated by the likes of Dell, HPE and cloud providers, and how Apple's chip expertise could reshape it.

Leaked specifications for the chips expected to power Sony's PlayStation 6 and Microsoft's next-generation Xbox console have surfaced online. The leak suggests details about the future console hardware have emerged well before either company has announced its next machine, fueling speculation among gamers and industry watchers about performance and timing.