On August 6th, WT Microelectronics, a leading IC distributor based in Taiwan, held its investor conference where Chairman Simon Cheng expressed confidence that current semiconductor market headwinds are only a short-term phenomenon.

On August 6th, 2024, the Future of Memory and Storage (FMS) event commenced, highlighting AI storage applications and new products. Leading companies Phison and Western Digital (WD) have each made strides into the data center SSD market, both unveiling storage solutions with capacities reaching up to 64TB.

Google's defeat in an antitrust suit filed by the Justice Department has cast a shadow over partner Apple Inc., which generates roughly US$20 billion per year in payments from the internet search giant.

Google illegally monopolized the search market through exclusive deals, a judge ruled Monday, handing the government a win in its first major antitrust case against a tech giant in over two decades.

SEMICON Taiwan 2024 is set to take place from September 4-6 at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, spotlighting key industry themes such as the AI value chain, advanced processes, heterogeneous integration, compound semiconductors, and silicon photonics.

China-based foundries are rapidly expanding their capacity for mature logic IC processes, limiting local NOR production capability. As a result, global NOR flash supply and demand are close to equilibrium, with supply expected to be constrained in 2025, according to industry sources.

Samsung Electronics reported strong results for the second quarter of 2024, with its Device Solutions (DS) division, led by memory chips and the System LSI Business, driving nearly 60% of the company's operating profit.

MediaTek, the leading smartphone AP supplier in India, sees the country as a promising market for its automotive technology. The company is focusing on providing scalable hardware and software solutions while prioritizing safety and reliability for the automotive sector.

Amid a slowing Chinese IPO market due to regulatory tightening and economic uncertainties, reports suggest that Honor is planning to go public after securing substantial government support, a claim the company has denied.

Indian opto-semiconductor supplier Polymatech has announced the acquisition of a US-based semiconductor equipment provider specializing in packaging and testing. This move is part of Polymatech's broader strategy to build an integrated chipmaking business that spans multiple sectors.

One month into the UK's new Labour government taking office, the shelving of key AI projects has signalled a major shift in the country's tech policies. Recent reports indicate that the new government plans to scrap two major computing infrastructure projects collectively worth GBP1.3 billion (US$1.7 billion).

South Korea's leading component suppliers, Samsung Electro-Mechanics (Semco) and LG Innotek, have defied the traditional second-quarter slump with impressive results, driven by recovering market demand and a strategic focus on high-value products. As they head into the peak season of the second half, both companies are poised to expand their high-margin product lines to fuel further growth.

Apple's financial report for the third quarter of fiscal year 2024 revealed impressive results for the iPad and Mac series, with the iPad showing particularly strong performance. Supply chain sources indicate that both product lines are expected to maintain steady momentum in the second half of the year. Furthermore, the anticipated launch of a foldable iPad in 2025 is expected to generate significant consumer interest.

Since late July, there have been numerous speculations in the market that Nvidia's new generation Blackwell series roadmap has been adjusted. Reports suggest that the B100 models will be phased out, while the B200A will be launched as a degraded version. The B200 and GB200 releases will reportedly be postponed by one quarter.

Worldwide silicon wafer shipments increased 7.1% quarter-on-quarter to 3.035 billion square inches in the second quarter of 2024, but saw an 8.9% decline from the 3.33 billion square inches recorded during the same quarter last year, SEMI disclosed in its quarterly analysis of the silicon wafer industry.

The current hypergrowth in GPUs and other accelerator chips for AI in the cloud and the data center will eventually decelerate but not until it has transformed the industry, according to Omdia. The market will ultimately reach US$151 billion in 2029, having grown from just under US$10 billion in 2022 to US$78 billion this year.

Following a 37% surge in sales during the off-season second quarter, PCB giant Zhen Ding reported robust performance in July. The company anticipates strong demand momentum across its four key business areas for the second half of the year.

Apple's iPhone sales slipped 1% year-over-year in the April-June quarter of 2024, primarily due to continued weak shipments in Greater China. The tech giant's ability to reignite iPhone demand with AI features will significantly impact Taiwan's supply chain partners.

LITE-On's Vietnam-based plant growth is projected to reach NT$10 billion in 2025, having also incorporated servers and casings into its production line. It has the potential to become LITE-ON's largest overseas production base. Meanwhile, the delayed Dallas plant is set to commence mass production in the second half of the year.

Benefiting from the ongoing growth driven by the AI server industry, Foxconn Industrial Internet (FII) reported its highest half-year revenue and net profit since going public in its earnings update.

Although Innolux just turned around in the second quarter of 2024, James Yang, President of the company, recently indicated uncertainties when looking ahead to the third quarter. Demand is expected to decrease, and Innolux's utilization rate will be reduced by about 5%. This slowdown in demand is anticipated to continue until the first quarter of 2025, with hopes for a surge in AI-related product replacements in 2025, leading to better notebook demand.

Infineon Technologies has completed the sale of its two backend manufacturing sites, one in Cavite, Philippines, and one in Cheonan, South Korea, to two fully owned subsidiaries of ASE, a Taiwan-based provider of independent semiconductor manufacturing services in assembly and test, according to the semiconductor IDM company.

Innolux has selected FOPLP as the primary driver of its transformation from an LCD panel maker to a semiconductor firm and is getting ready for market growth, according to company chairman Jim Hung.

Largan Precision reported a surge in revenue for July as the company entered the peak season. It anticipates that most of its facilities will operate at full capacity in the second half of the year.

MediaTek is confident in the stability and resilience of its ASIC business between 2025 and 2028 and is committed to bolstering the ecosystems of related industries, according to the Taiwanese IC design house.

Foxconn has reported record-breaking July sales, propelled by AI-driven growth in its cloud and networking business, as well as a product ramp in its smart consumer electronics division. The company anticipates its third-quarter revenue to grow both sequentially and annually.

Taiwanese PCB makers have particularly targeted the automotive market in their investments. The simultaneous expansion of their operations in Thailand reflects their clients' emphasis on a "China+1" production strategy. Furthermore, the Thai government's focus on electric vehicles (EVs) as a priority industry has attracted companies from Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and China to expand production in the country.

Taiwan's chipmaking tool exports, which prioritize the market in China, have been impacted by China's increased efforts to achieve self-sufficiency in semiconductor equipment.

Infineon Technologies has unveiled a new microcontroller unit (MCU) series for automotive system-on-chip (SoC) solutions, focusing on applications such as smart cockpits. This development comes through a collaboration with MediaTek, and Infineon is also working with other chip providers including Qualcomm, Intel, and Nvidia.

Nvidia is said to be making major changes to the shipment roadmap for its next-gen Blackwell chips.

TSMC has notified clients of a 3-8% price increase for its 5nm and 3nm process manufacturing in 2025 to reflect escalating costs, according to sources at IC design houses.

Infineon Technologies AG reported revenue that missed analysts' expectations after the hoped-for resurgence in the electric vehicle market was delayed.

Germany's carmakers are growing gloomier about their prospects after a disappointing earnings season marked by waning electric-vehicle sales and weakness in China for companies including Volkswagen AG and Mercedes-Benz Group AG.

After eight years on the market, Nintendo's sales have dropped significantly, primarily due to the absence of major blockbuster games to boost demand.

Winbond Electronics, a specialty DRAM and flash memory chipmaker, has begun ramping up its DDR4 chip output in the second half of 2024, with the memory output increase expected to boost its sales performance.

Apple's new iPhone is slated to launch in the second half of 2024, sparking intense competition between the two major South Korean panel manufacturers for the iPhone's OLED market. Reports indicate that Samsung Display (SDC) and LG Display (LGD) are aggressively vying for OLED orders in the iPhone 16 series' two high-end models.

Advantest has significantly raised its profit forecast for the current fiscal year.

Over the past two years, the semiconductor industry has undergone a dramatic transformation, shifting its focus to AI development. This shift has driven chipmakers to significantly reallocate resources, diverting investments from consumer applications to AI computing and encouraging employees to transition into AI-related roles.

Huawei reportedly mimics Apple by designing a chip with shared memory to improve its chip performance amid US sanctions and develop its in-house chip infrastructure ecosystem.

Former Tesla APAC Head of Technology Leo Liu is charting new territory with the launch of Xelerate Ventures, targeting startups dedicated to "AI for Good" initiatives. As he extends his reach into markets in the US, Europe, and Singapore, Liu is also eyeing the potential to position Taiwan as a hub for next-generation entrepreneurship, aiming to capitalize on the island's growing reputation as an "AI Island."

Apple reported weaker-than-expected revenue in China, facing increasing competition from Chinese rivals. The company's only recourse is to leverage Apple Intelligence to counter these challenges, which remains a significant hurdle.

Kioxia has announced that the construction of Fab2 (K2) at its factory site in Kitakami was completed in July. K2 is the second flash memory manufacturing facility at Kioxia's Kitakami site in Iwate Prefecture, Japan.