01. TrendForce: SLC NAND Prices to Jump 120%-170% in H2
According to a July 13 TrendForce survey, SLC NAND contract prices in H2 2026 are projected to rise 120%-170% from H1, with room for further upward revision.
Supply side: High-layer 3D NAND is crowding out mature process capacity, causing severe MLC NAND shortages. This has forced industrial, automotive, and networking customers to switch to SLC NAND. Yet major suppliers have no near-term plans for new capacity, creating a structural supply deficit.
Demand side: Four key applications are driving SLC NAND demand: (1) AI edge computing and high-end networking require highly reliable storage for core systems; (2) data centers and telecom infrastructure use SLC extensively for boot drives and high-frequency write buffers; (3) automotive electronics and smart home systems demand zero-error read/write performance; (4) medical imaging and aerospace/defense rely on SLC's exceptional endurance for long-term data retention in extreme environments.
02. TSMC: Price Hikes Must Remain Affordable; 68% Gross Margin Is Sufficient
At TSMC's July 16 earnings call, when investors suggested further price increases, Chairman C.C. Wei responded that while higher margins are always welcome, customers must succeed first—prices cannot be raised to unsustainable levels. He noted that memory makers' 86% gross margin is staggering, while TSMC's 68% is satisfactory. The top priority is supporting customer success.
Market reports indicate TSMC has notified customers of 5-10% wafer price hikes for 3nm and sub-7nm advanced processes.
03. China's Top Two Memory Makers Ramp Up Capacity for AI Servers
Driven by booming global AI server demand, HBM, DDR5, and high-capacity NAND are seeing rapid growth. China's two leading memory manufacturers, CXMT and YMTC, are investing up to RMB 63 billion ($8.7B) in equipment this year—CXMT accounting for up to RMB 43 billion and YMTC approximately RMB 20 billion.
CXMT's monthly wafer output reached 280K-290K in 2025, with plans to add another 50K-60K in 2026, primarily for wafer fabrication and production line buildout. YMTC's two Wuhan fabs currently run ~150K wafers/month, with its Phase 3 project expected to begin mass production in H2 2026, eventually exceeding 170K wafers/month at full capacity.
04. Bosch Begins Sample Production at First US Silicon Carbide Chip Plant
Bosch has started silicon carbide (SiC) chip sample production at its Roseville, California facility, backed by a $225 million US Commerce Department grant. The $2 billion plant is slated for commercial production later this year.
SiC chips enable high-voltage power conversion, improving EV energy efficiency, range, and charging performance. They also serve charging infrastructure, renewable energy, and data center power systems. Paul Thomas, Bosch North America President, noted that despite slowing EV growth, demand from hybrid vehicles and defense applications supports the investment.
05. IDC: Q2 Global Smartphone Shipments Fall 6.7% to 13-Year Low Amid Memory Crisis
IDC's July 14 report shows global smartphone shipments hit 277.5 million units in Q2 2026, down 6.7% YoY for a second consecutive quarterly decline—the lowest level in 13 years.
Tight memory supply and soaring prices continue to inflate manufacturer costs, with memory costs surging nearly 300% YoY and accounting for over 65% of low-end device bills of materials. Among the top five global vendors, only Apple and Samsung posted growth. Apple achieved a record Q2 shipment high on strong iPhone 17 demand. Chinese brands Xiaomi, OPPO, and vivo saw accelerated declines, with Xiaomi's drop the steepest as it actively trimmed low-end volume to protect margins.
Overall, the low-end segment is bearing the brunt, while premium-heavy vendors with strong supply chain leverage prove more resilient.
06. Jensen Huang Visits Japan to Advance Sovereign and Physical AI Ecosystems
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang led a senior delegation to Japan this week to build a sovereign AI ecosystem centered on Nemotron and expand the Cosmos physical AI alliance, connecting semiconductor supply chains, manufacturing, robotics, and telecom firms.
Huang stated that Nemotron's open models, datasets, and training recipes allow enterprises to deploy AI securely according to their own needs. Tokyo University of Science, Hitachi, NTT DATA, ENEOS, and robotics startup avatarin have already announced adoption. The Cosmos physical AI initiative is also expanding into Japan, with Fujitsu, Fanuc, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Yaskawa Electric, Sony, and SoftBank joining—spanning robotics, smart manufacturing, and autonomous driving.