Supply Chain
Semiconductor supply chain, capacity, geopolitics, and trade dynamics.
Intel’s $36 Billion Second Chance: The Technology Is Working. Will the Business Follow?
One year ago, the United States government made an extraordinary bet on Intel. On Aug. 22, 2025, Washington agreed to invest $8.9 billion in the company, converting previously awarded CHIPS Act and Secure Enclave funding into an equity stake. The goal was bigger than rescuing another struggling American corporation. It was to preserve something the […]
Alan Shimel · Aug 12, 2026 · 9 min
AI-Driven Chip Shortage Triggers Washington Lobbying War as Apple Seeks Chinese Supplier Relief
An explosion in artificial intelligence (AI) development has ignited a severe global memory chip crunch, igniting an aggressive lobbying campaign on Capitol Hill as non-AI sectors scramble to secure critical components and protect failing supply pipelines. Driven by data centers vacuuming up massive volumes of high-bandwidth memory and dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) to train advanced […]
Jon Swartz · Aug 10, 2026 · 2 min
Beyond the Die: The Definitive Guide to Advanced Packaging in the AI Era
For decades, semiconductor progress was told through the story of the chip itself. That story still matters — but it no longer explains how the most advanced AI systems get faster. The most consequential change is now happening around the die as much as inside it. In Beyond the Die: The Definitive Guide to Advanced […]
Alan Shimel · Aug 4, 2026 · 1 min
Commerce Department Plans $874 Million for Seven Semiconductor R&D Projects
The US Department of Commerce plans to provide up to $874 million in CHIPS and Science Act incentives to seven semiconductor companies developing technologies for AI infrastructure, extending the government’s support for domestic semiconductor research and the US compute supply chain. The funding, announced through letters of intent, still requires additional review before final awards […]
James Maguire · Jul 31, 2026 · 3 min
Samsung Lands $200 Billion Broadcom AI Chip Partnership in Major Foundry Win
Samsung Electronics and Broadcom have signed a memorandum of understanding to expand a strategic semiconductor partnership that the companies estimate will be worth more than $200 billion through 2030. The partnership is expected to support Broadcom’s growing portfolio of custom artificial intelligence processors and strengthen Samsung’s position in the rapidly expanding AI infrastructure market. The […]
Andy Patrizio · Jul 28, 2026 · 1 min
Samsung Negotiates Multimillion-Euro Stake in Mistral AI at $22.8 Billion Valuation
Samsung Electronics is in advanced talks to make a massive financial bet on Europe’s leading artificial intelligence (AI) startup, Mistral AI, signaling a critical shift in how global semiconductor leaders compete for dominance in the AI hardware supply chain. According to a report from The Financial Times, South Korea’s Samsung is negotiating an investment of […]
Jon Swartz · Jul 22, 2026 · 2 min
AI Can Be Underbuilt and Overinvested at the Same Time
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. delivered almost everything an AI infrastructure bull could have wanted from its second-quarter earnings report. Revenue reached $40.2 billion, an increase of 33.7% from a year earlier. TSMC recorded another quarter of record profit. Gross margin reached 67.7%, operating margin came in at 60.3%, and management raised its expectations for full-year […]
Alan Shimel · Jul 20, 2026 · 8 min
TSMC Crushes Q2 Earnings Expectations, Raises Outlook
Just days after Samsung’s record-breaking second-quarter earnings, history repeated itself when Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) reported record second-quarter earnings on the chipmaker’s central role in the global artificial intelligence (AI) boom. The world’s largest contract chip manufacturer posted second-quarter revenue of NT$1.27 trillion (US$40.2 billion), a 36% increase from Q2 of 2025. Net income […]
Andy Patrizio · Jul 16, 2026 · 2 min
China’s Chip Ambitions Rise as CXMT Launches $10 Billion IPO
Chinese memory chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies Inc. is launching a blockbuster initial public offering (IPO) on Shanghai’s tech-focused STAR Board to raise nearly $10 billion, one of the largest in Asian history and a crucial test of investor appetite for China’s burgeoning artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain. The Hefei-based DRAM (dynamic random-access memory) champion has […]
Jon Swartz · Jul 15, 2026 · 2 min
Intel Pours €5 Billion into Ireland to Feed the Xeon Surge
Intel Xeon expansion gets €5 billion boost as Intel invests heavily in Ireland fab capacity for next-generation CPUs with EUV-compatible capacity.
Brendan Burke · Jul 15, 2026 · 7 min
Meta to Begin Production of Custom Iris AI Chips in September in Bid for 14-Gigawatt Power Grid: Report
Meta Platforms Inc. plans to begin manufacturing its next-generation custom artificial intelligence (AI) chip in September, according to an internal memo reviewed by Reuters. Code-named Iris, the in-house silicon is part of a broader effort by the social media giant to double its computing infrastructure capacity to 14 gigawatts by next year and reduce its […]
Jon Swartz · Jul 14, 2026 · 2 min
Samsung Posts Record Q2 Preliminary Profit
The AI memory boom has produced at least one big winner: Samsung Electronics, one of the three major memory makers, posted preliminary Q2 earnings that blow away all prior sales figures. The South Korean technology giant said it expects second-quarter operating profit of 89.4 trillion won (US$58.4 billion), a nearly 19-fold increase from a year […]
Andy Patrizio · Jul 13, 2026 · 3 min
Micron’s $250B U.S. Investment Finds Its Edge on Korea’s Memory Juggernaut
Micron’s $250B U.S. investment out-positions Korea’s bigger memory bet, securing critical AI chip supply chains and aligning with customer needs.
Brendan Burke · Jul 13, 2026 · 8 min
Micron Bets $250 Billion on AI Boom with Expanded U.S. Manufacturing
Micron Technology Inc. on Thursday announced an expanded $250 billion U.S. investment strategy through 2035, placing itself squarely at the forefront of the domestic semiconductor manufacturing boom. Driven by skyrocketing artificial intelligence (AI) demand and a federal push to secure critical supply chains, the memory chip giant increased its previous capital expenditure commitment by $50 […]
Jon Swartz · Jul 9, 2026 · 2 min
Infineon’s €5 Billion Dresden Fab Reshapes the Global Power Semiconductor Supply Chain
Infineon’s Dresden Fab reshapes global power semiconductor supply chain with €5 billion investment.
Brendan Burke · Jul 7, 2026 · 8 min
Apple, Broadcom Extend Custom AI Chip Partnership Through 2031
Broadcom Inc. has secured a major long-term extension to supply custom semiconductors to Apple Inc. through 2031, the company announced Monday. The expanded partnership leans heavily on application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) designed to power Apple’s growing artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, effectively easing Wall Street concerns regarding the iPhone maker’s efforts to phase out third-party silicon. […]
Jon Swartz · Jul 6, 2026 · 3 min
Applied Materials’ Master Class Schools Memory Makers on Logic-Class Fabrication
Advanced packaging systems from Applied Materials enable AI-scale logic-memory convergence with laser process control.
Brendan Burke · Jul 1, 2026 · 8 min
South Korean Government Proposes Massive Investment in Memory Manufacturing
The government of the Republic of Korea has unveiled a plan to invest at least $880 billion in memory capacity to ease the global shortage brought on by AI investment. South Korea is home to two of the three dominant DRAM makers, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. The third is Micron Technology, headquartered in Boise, […]
Andy Patrizio · Jun 30, 2026 · 2 min
Will Intel 18A-P Risk Production Bring External Foundry Customers Through the Door?
Intel 18A-P enters risk production with 9% performance boost and new Power Boost transistor, positioning Intel Foundry to attract external customers.
Brendan Burke · Jun 29, 2026 · 6 min
Apple Seeks White House Approval to Buy Chips From Blacklisted Chinese Maker Amid AI Supply Crunch
Apple Inc. is lobbying the Trump administration for federal permission to purchase memory chips from ChangXin Memory Technologies Inc. (CXMT), a prominent Chinese semiconductor firm currently blacklisted by the U.S. government, according to a report by The Financial Times. The tech giant approached the Commerce Department more than a month ago and has engaged White […]
Jon Swartz · Jun 28, 2026 · 2 min
TSMC Signals Broad Price Hikes Across Advanced Chip Portfolio, Threatening Tech Margins: Report
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world’s dominant contract chipmaker, […]
Jon Swartz · Jun 25, 2026 · 3 min
Will a U.S. Quantum Foundry Leverage $4.6 Billion in New Capital to Become the Next TSMC?
With $4.6B in new capital, is a U.S. Quantum Foundry set to become the next TSMC? Learn how recent investments are reshaping quantum manufacturing.
Brendan Burke · Jun 24, 2026 · 10 min
Can AMD and Rackspace Scale Sovereign AI Inference?
AMD and Rackspace’s partnership deploys 30 MW AI compute capacity for regulated enterprise environments starting late 2026.
Brendan Burke · Jun 23, 2026 · 5 min
Tech Tracking Firms Back Congressional Bill to Lock Down Advanced AI Chips From China
A coalition of specialized tracking firms has thrown its weight behind a critical Capitol Hill bill, arguing that enforcing tougher security mechanisms on America’s most powerful artificial intelligence (AI) chips is essential to plugging export loopholes and preventing sensitive technology from reaching foreign adversaries like China. In a letter sent to congressional leadership obtained by […]
Jon Swartz · Jun 22, 2026 · 2 min
Trump Announces Blockbuster Apple-Intel Chip Deal as ‘RAMmageddon’ Hits Tech Industry
President Donald Trump announced early Thursday that Apple Inc. has agreed to partner with Intel Corp. to design and manufacture its semiconductor chips domestically – a potentially big win for the White House’s aggressive campaign to reshore critical technology manufacturing to the U.S. through targeted tariffs and state-backed investments. Writing on Truth Social, Trump criticized […]
Jon Swartz · Jun 18, 2026 · 3 min