01. Power Semiconductor Firms Unveil Collective Price Hikes, MOSFETs from China Resources, NCE Rise 10%
On February 27, Economic Daily reported that mainland Chinese power semiconductor manufacturers, including China Resources Microelectronics, NCE (Nexperia China), and Hongway Technology, have collectively announced price increases of approximately 10%. This wave of hikes stems from cost pressures driven by surging global upstream raw material and key precious metal prices, alongside demand growth fueled by AI data center construction.
NCE issued a price adjustment notice implementing MOSFET price increases starting at 10%, effective March 1. Packaging costs account for 70%-80% of total costs in small-to-medium power devices, while tight wafer foundry capacity is also pushing up outsourcing costs. Since early 2026, multiple mainland Chinese chip companies, including AMEC and Goke Microelectronics, have successively released price hike notices, with increases ranging broadly from 10% to 80% across product categories, including MCUs, NOR Flash, and power devices.
02. TrendForce: Price Momentum Accelerates Sharply This Quarter
On February 27, TrendForce reported that DRAM contract price increases will accelerate dramatically this quarter: general-purpose DRAM is estimated to rise 90%-95%, while overall contract prices including HBM are projected to climb 80%-85%. Taiwanese manufacturers, including Nanya Technology, Winbond, and ADATA, stand to benefit simultaneously.
Nanya Technology is advancing its DDR5 deployment with improved gross margins expected; Winbond's capacity is fully booked through 2027, with 2026 capex raised to NT$42.1 billion, hitting a record high. TrendForce analysis indicates that despite consumer applications entering the slow season, CSPs (Cloud Service Providers) maintain an open attitude toward pricing to secure supply, while other application segments risk failing to obtain original manufacturer supply if they don't follow suit on price increases.
03. Murata Considers Raising High-End MLCC Prices to Address Surging AI Demand
On February 23, foreign media reported that global MLCC leader Murata Manufacturing is considering price increases due to surging demand for high-end products driven by AI infrastructure investment. The company is currently analyzing real AI technology demand, with a definitive decision expected in Q4 2026 and final decisions potentially finalized by March 2027.
Murata commands over 40% global MLCC market share, with an even higher position in AI servers; AI customers demonstrate low price sensitivity and prioritize supply stability, with virtually no downward pricing pressure on legacy products. The company warned that competitors may sacrifice other market segments to aggressively pursue the AI server business, potentially deepening reliance on Murata instead.
04. SK Hynix and SanDisk Join Forces to Drive HBF Standardization for AI Inference Era
On February 26, SemiMedia reported that SK Hynix and SanDisk have launched a global initiative to standardize High Bandwidth Flash (HBF), kicking off at SanDisk headquarters in Milpitas, California. The companies have established a dedicated workstream under the Open Compute Project (OCP) framework to formally develop specifications.
HBF aims to fill the gap between High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) and solid-state drives in AI inference scenarios, balancing performance and capacity. As AI transitions from large-scale model training to multi-user real-time inference services, traditional storage solutions struggle to simultaneously address throughput, capacity, and power consumption requirements.
05. Nvidia Partners with MediaTek to Attack Consumer PC Market
On February 25, Commercial Times reported that Nvidia will return to the consumer PC market, collaborating with Intel and MediaTek to launch laptop products featuring Nvidia chips through PC brands including Dell and Lenovo this year. NVIDIA's new PC processor is designed as a System-on-Chip (SoC) integrating CPU and GPU, targeting mobile-specific efficiency and battery life without sacrificing performance.
The first batch of PCs featuring the Nvidia-MediaTek SoC may launch in the first half of this year, adopting Arm architecture; chips developed with Intel will integrate Intel CPUs with Nvidia GPUs and AI technology. The target customer base is gamers, though PC compatibility remains a challenge.
06. Samsung Semiconductor Quotes Double, Apple Instantly Accepts
On February 27, Commercial Times reported that Samsung Electronics' Device Solutions (DS) division originally targeted a 60% price increase, but quoted Apple at 100% during negotiations, with Apple immediately accepting, reflecting a seller-dominated memory market. Apple's rapid decision stemmed from LPDDR5X prices surging too quickly, jumping from $25-29 in early 2025 to $70 by year-end. TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo stated that Apple plans to absorb the iPhone 18 premium itself, using services division revenue as a financial buffer, though the iPhone 18 series will still see price increases this year. Samsung currently supplies approximately 60% of DRAM for Apple's iPhone series.
After Samsung sold to Apple at high prices, its own supply costs also rose accordingly, with pricing cycles shifting from semi-annual to quarterly. Samsung was consequently forced to raise prices for its latest Galaxy S26 series in the United States by 6-16%: the entry-level S26 increased by $40 to $899, the Plus version jumped by $100 to $1,099, while the flagship Ultra 256GB maintained its pricing.