01. Major Boons for the Semiconductor Industry: DDR4 Price Hikes and Breakthroughs in Chinese Optical Chips
DDR4 chip prices soared by 53% in May and continued to surge in June, with 8Gb chips quoted at a 50% increase and some 16Gb products' spot prices exceeding $6. There is a shortage and price increase of old-process DRAM resources, and low-capacity embedded finished goods' spot prices have also risen. Micron will gradually cease DDR4 shipments, and Samsung and SK Hynix are also exiting the DDR4 market.
The Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has successfully developed the "Meteor One" chip, solving the optical chip dilemma and realizing a prototype verification system for photonic computing, marking a breakthrough in China's photonic computing field. It is expected that DDR4 production will be reduced or decreased after the first quarter of next year, and domestic related companies are expected to benefit. The prices of most storage products continued to rise in April and May, and Micron's expected DDR4 quote in June jumped by 50%.
02. SiC Overcapacity Alert: Can New Energy Vehicles Digest the Rampant Expansion?
On June 19, Semiconductor Industry analyzed that the global SiC substrate production capacity is expected to reach 4 million pieces in 2025, while the demand is only 2.5 million pieces. Tesla Model 3 pioneered the application of SiC, and in 2024, Tesla's shipment volume was nearly 2 million vehicles, a 5% decrease compared to 2023, but the long-term growth prospect of SiC remains unchanged. Chinese car manufacturers are rising, with BYD, NIO, and others actively expanding their SiC product portfolios.
However, suppliers are increasing capacity investment, promoting the transition from 6-inch wafers to 8-inch wafers. The terminal system demand cannot match the scale of expansion, and suppliers dynamically adjust production according to orders. By the end of 2024, the domestic 6-inch SiC MOS substrate price in China had dropped to 2500-2800 RMB, a decrease of over 40%. The SiC substrate market will enter an elimination stage in 2025, with small and medium-sized enterprises facing the risk of being phased out.
03. AMD Launches Low-Cost AI Chips, Claiming Performance on Par with Nvidia
AMD has launched new AI semiconductors, planning to compete with Nvidia with low-cost products. At a technology event in California, USA, AMD CEO Lisa Su introduced that the new products "MI350X" and "MI355X" will be provided by cloud service providers from July to September 2025, and a new generation of products "MI400" will be launched in 2026. AMD emphasizes the high cost-effectiveness of the products, with data processing performance 40% higher than Nvidia's under the same cost.
AMD's AI semiconductors have been adopted by Meta, Microsoft, and others, supplied to 7 out of 10 major AI-related companies, but there is still a significant gap compared to Nvidia. In 2024, Nvidia held over 70% of the AI semiconductor market share. AMD plans to win with low-cost products during the popularization period of generative AI. Its development environment "ROCm7" is open-source and can be used on semiconductors other than AMD, which helps with popularization.
04. Micron Plans to Expand US DRAM Capacity, Aiming for 40% Share
On June 17, according to SemiMedia, Micron Technology plans to significantly increase DRAM production in the United States, with the expected capacity of US factories accounting for 40% of its total capacity. Micron's plan aims to meet the growing demand related to AI, as the development of AI has made the market prospects for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) very broad.
Micron has already started mass production of HBM chips and expects to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue from these products in the 2024 fiscal year. Micron's expansion plan also aligns with the US government's strategy to localize the semiconductor industry. Micron plans to build a second factory in Idaho to increase DRAM production in the United States. In addition, Micron also plans to introduce advanced HBM packaging capabilities to the United States.
05. TSMC and Samsung Compete for 2nm Orders in the Second Half of the Year, with TSMC's Yield Breaking Through 60%
J.P. Morgan's latest report released on June 4th indicates that the strong demand for AI servers is driving an increase in supply chain orders. The report's analysis of Dell and HP's financial statements shows a promising outlook for AI server orders, with ODM manufacturers such as Wistron set to benefit. The growing interest in AI from second-tier cloud service providers (CSPs) is also contributing to the accumulation of supply chain orders, which is advantageous for manufacturers like Quanta, Wiwynn, and Foxconn.
Commercial PC demand remains robust, primarily driven by the expiration of Windows 10 and the launch of AI-enabled PC models. However, consumer demand is relatively weaker due to the impact of tariffs. Asian brands such as ASUS are less affected.
06. Wistron's New Factory Capacity Fully Booked by Nvidia, with Strong Orders for the Next Year
On June 19, Wistron's new factory in the Hsinchu AI Park was inaugurated, with its capacity fully booked by Nvidia, and strong orders for the next year. Benefiting from this, Wistron's revenue in May reached 208.406 billion yuan, ranking second among Taiwan's contract manufacturers.
Wistron Chairman Lin Xianming said that the Hsinchu AI Park is Wistron's largest investment in Taiwan, and it will be the starting point to build future industrial strength. Wistron General Manager Lin Jianxun revealed that they have rented the factory building of Far Eastern Textile, which is expected to be put into production next year after renovation. At that time, Taiwan's AI server production capacity will double. He also said that AI server orders have been scheduled until next May, with demand continuing to grow.