Dec 29, 2025 – Commercial Times, After memory’s months-long climb, GPUs are next: AMD will lift prices in Jan 2026, NVIDIA follows in Feb and may raise them monthly. Channel sources say flagship RX 9070 XT and RTX-50 series will lead with ≥10 % hikes, high-end SKUs even more. HBM3E contract prices are already up ~20 %; VRAM accounts for >80 % of GPU BOM, and capacity is locked by AI orders, starving GDDR6/7. NVIDIA also plans to slash gaming-card output 30–40 % to protect AI-chip supply, further squeezing consumer availability.
Dec 30, 2025 – Commercial Times, Global power semis are polarizing into a “G2” landscape: US-Europe-Japan-Taiwan forge a non-China bloc to counter Beijing’s policy-fueled scale. China’s 6-inch power substrate capacity has surpassed 2.42 M wafers/yr; SiC share leapt from 6 % to 40 %, while GaN grabs sockets with aggressive pricing. Western vendors will answer with technology alliances and complementary capacity, making the G2 face-off unmistakable in 2026.
Dec 30, 2025 – SemiMedia, Wingtech Technology announced they will file an international arbitration claiming US$8 billion (≈ RMB 56 B) in the Nexperia ownership dispute. The firm has held preliminary talks with Nexperia’s independent directors and Dutch court-appointed administrators, demanding restoration of global supply-chain stability. After the Netherlands unilaterally halted wafer shipments to Nexperia China on 26 Oct—allegedly breaching contracts—Wingtech says Nexperia China has launched a “self-rescue” plan to qualify domestic wafer vendors by H1 2026.
Jan 2 – ROHM Semiconductor said raw-material inflation will force price increases on some products starting 1 Mar 2026. Efficiency gains and lean production “can no longer absorb the pressure.” Affected parts and exact hikes will be disclosed in March. ROHM claims the move safeguards quality and long-term supply while it “stays close to customers” to navigate market headwinds.
Jan 2 – Economic Daily, Both foundries are ramping 2 nm, with smartphones first in line. TSMC’s nanosheet-based N2 has locked Apple A20, Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, and Dimensity 9600; A20 die cost hits US $280, up >80 % vs A19. Samsung counters with Exynos 2600, its first 2 nm mobile SoC using GAA, doubling CPU/GPU/NPU and boosting AI by 113 % for Galaxy S26. 2 nm delivers big gains in efficiency and AI TOPS—but also record price tags. Coupled with soaring memory prices, phone makers are poised to pass the pain to consumers.
Jan 2 – Central News Agency, Korea’s Ministry of Trade announced 2025 exports at US $709.7 B, up 3.8 % and an all-time high. Semiconductors led at US $173.4 B (+20 % YoY). December chip exports alone jumped >40 %, the tenth straight monthly record. President Lee Jae-myung pledged to triple AI spending in 2026 to vault Korea into the world’s top-3 AI league.
