Weekly IC Briefing: US Bans Chinese Institutions, Major PC Makers Return to China, Samsung Posts Record Q3 Profit

Industry Chain

• Spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce answers reporters' questions on the U.S. release of a new version of proposed rules on outbound investment restrictions

The Ministry of Commerce stated that the proposed rules discriminately expand the scope of investment restrictions on China and intensify the restrictions. This is a typical practice of overgeneralizing national security, violates the important consensus reached by the heads of state of the two countries, disrupts normal economic and trade cooperation between Chinese and American enterprises, and undermines the international economic and trade order. China expresses serious concern and firm opposition to this, will closely follow the subsequent development of the situation, and reserves the right to take corresponding measures.

• U.S. FCC to ban Chinese carriers from directly obtaining U.S. phone numbers and shut out Chinese laboratories; Foreign Ministry responds

On October 30, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun hosted a regular press conference.

• U.S. FCC warns TP-Link routers violate power limits, may impose equipment ban

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has told TP-Link Systems that some of the company's Wi-Fi routers violate power limits—a move that could pave the way for a further ban on the technology company's equipment.

• Exposed: Nanjing embodied intelligence company owes 8 million in wages, mired in work stoppage turmoil

From 110 million yuan in financing arriving and an order backlog of nearly 1 billion yuan to rumors of employees demanding unpaid wages and the company coming to a standstill, Nanjing Wujing Future Power Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Wujing Power") took less than half a year.

Against the backdrop of continuously rising component costs, HP as well as major PC manufacturers such as Asus and Acer are moving part of their production from Thailand and Vietnam back to China and beginning to cooperate with a new batch of contract manufacturers.

• Chengdu Hiwafer Technology issues another statement: the company is a state-controlled military chip enterprise, and the governance rights dispute has endangered safety production

On October 25, 2026, Chengdu Hiwafer Technology Co., Ltd. issued a solemn statement, making public the fierce dispute over corporate governance rights that has unfolded over the past year or more. In the statement, this confidential military enterprise, in which state capital interests account for more than 57%, not only raised strong doubts about the rulings of the two levels of courts in Chengdu, but also accused private shareholder Sichuan Haite High-tech Co., Ltd. of repeatedly seizing official seals and causing substantial and major harm to the company's normal operations and safety production.

• 60,000 people can apply! Microsoft launches voluntary departure program, also applicable to vice presidents

Microsoft (MSFT-US) announced on Monday (the 26th) that it is offering a voluntary departure program to some employees in the United States, Canada, India and the United Kingdom, balancing capital use efficiency while expanding AI infrastructure investment. People familiar with the matter revealed that about 60,000 employees are eligible to apply, accounting for about 27% of the 223,000 employees worldwide, but this does not represent the actual number of departures, and the company has not set a target number for this program.

• Intel plans to acquire startup Classiq to advance quantum computing strategy

Intel Corporation agreed to acquire Israeli startup Classiq Technologies Ltd. to advance its quantum computing strategy. Quantum computing is still in its embryonic stage, and the industry is seeking its commercial applications. The chipmaker did not disclose the acquisition price. Classiq's customers include BMW Group and AT&T.

• Vietnam's first wafer fab target falls through! Site covered in weeds, DUV lithography machines not yet procured

Vietnam's first semiconductor plant is likely to struggle to meet its goal of starting trial production in 2027—people familiar with the matter said that Vietnam's agreement to purchase chip manufacturing equipment from ASML has not yet been reached.

• TSMC may raise CoWoS advanced packaging prices by up to 20%

According to media reports, affected by the continued explosive demand for AI chips, TSMC is preparing to raise prices for CoWoS advanced packaging by up to 20%. Delivery times for some packaging have been significantly extended, and pressure on capacity continues to intensify.

• Jensen Huang: U.S. controls "accelerate" China's chip progress, open to cooperation with ChangXin Memory

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said in an interview during the GTC conference in Berlin on Thursday that although memory stocks have been sold off over the past week on concerns about oversupply and weakening demand, a memory supply glut is unlikely by 2029.

• Former Samsung vice president sentenced to 3 years for leaking trade secrets

News on October 27: the Seoul High Court of South Korea rejected the appeal of Ahn Seung-ho, former vice president of Samsung Electronics and former head of its intellectual property center, upheld his 3-year prison sentence for leaking Samsung trade secrets, and took him into custody in court.

• Marvell plans to acquire optical component supplier Lumentum

According to reports, chipmaker Marvell Technology Inc (Nasdaq stock code: MRVL) is in in-depth negotiations to acquire optical equipment supplier Lumentum Holdings Inc (Nasdaq stock code: LITE). After the news broke, Lumentum's stock price surged more than 9% in after-hours trading on Wednesday, while Marvell's stock price fell more than 7% due to investor concerns about the financial impact of the potential merger. If the deal is reached, it will become one of the largest consolidation cases in the semiconductor sector this year.

• Epitaxial supplier Episil Technologies suffers sudden fire, property losses about NT$130 million

According to reports, a fire broke out on the morning of the 28th at the Innovation Plant of Episil Technologies, a major semiconductor epitaxial wafer manufacturer in Taiwan, China, located in the Hsinchu Science Park. The fire burned fiercely for more than 3 hours. Fortunately, no casualties were caused, but preliminary estimates put property losses such as machinery and equipment in the plant at as high as NT$130 million (about 26.6971 million yuan).

• AUO sells two Central Taiwan plants to TSMC for NT$38.8 billion, asset revitalization comes to an end

AUO Chairman Paul Peng confirmed at an earnings conference that the company will sell its Central Taiwan L7 and L5C panel plants to TSMC for NT$38.8 billion, with an estimated disposal gain of about NT$18.5 billion, marking the end of its asset revitalization.

• Total investment of US$300 million! Hunan wafer foundry enters bankruptcy review

Recently, Changsha Chuangxin Integrated Circuit Co., Ltd. added a bankruptcy review case, case number (2026) Xiang 01 Po Shen No. 242, with the applicant being Changsha Economic and Technological Development Group Co., Ltd. This local 6-inch wafer foundry, which once carried Hunan's semiconductor ambitions, has formally entered bankruptcy review proceedings.

• Asus: PCs to rise another 5% next year; component costs for memory, SSDs, etc. expected to keep climbing

After Acer released news that PCs will continue to rise in price in 2027, Liao Yixiang, general manager of Asus Technology's systems business, estimated that commercial PC prices in the Taiwan, China market will rise by about 10% in the second half of the year compared with the first half, and prices in the first half of next year will increase by at least more than 5% compared with the fourth quarter of this year.

• High-end graphics cards see crazy price increases; some merchants in China say prices rose by thousands of yuan in a week

Artificial intelligence (AI) data centers continue to crave computing power. In China's mass consumer market, high-end consumer discrete graphics cards have recently seen crazy price increases. The prices of many Nvidia high-end consumer graphics cards have changed considerably recently, and some merchants said that the price of some products rose by thousands of yuan within a week.

• Goke Microelectronics raises prices for the second time this year: memory shortage spreads to "rigid-demand small components"

Goke Microelectronics announced that starting in November it will raise prices again for co-packaged KGD products, with 64MB to 256MB products increased by US$0.5 to US$1.5 respectively, marking its second price adjustment this year. Direct competitor Geke Microelectronics simultaneously adjusted prices for KGD packaging by 40% to 80%, and security and memory chip makers such as Fullhan Microelectronics and Beijing Junzheng followed with price increases.

• Intel Israel plant explosion: US$600 million in revenue lost, 10nm CPU chip supply reduced!

Intel's stock price plunged 23% after the bell on October 29. Earlier, the chipmaker warned that due to the PC market downturn, bottlenecks in manufacturing, and huge expansion spending, the company will burn cash in 2026. The explosion at the Israel plant will wipe out about US$600 million in revenue within two quarters and reduce the supply of AI server chips to cloud customers.

• Samsung Electronics Q3 profit grows nearly ninefold, hitting a record high

On October 29, Samsung Electronics said that driven by strong demand for AI chips, its third-quarter operating profit grew nearly ninefold, hitting a record high. Although investors remain cautious about the sustainability of AI-related spending, this performance is still impressive.

• Intel plunges 20% on weak guidance, blames slowing PC market

Intel's fiscal 2026 third-quarter revenue of US$16.51 billion and adjusted EPS of 52 cents both beat expectations, but fourth-quarter guidance was weak, sending shares down 20% after the bell; the CFO said the PC slowdown may continue into the first half of next year, and the explosion at the Israel fab is estimated to cost about US$600 million in revenue over two quarters.

• Samsung's 2027 HBM capacity sold out, DRAM supply expected to remain tight in 2028

On October 29, Samsung Electronics said on its fiscal 2026 third-quarter earnings call that its 2027 high-bandwidth memory (HBM) capacity has been fully sold at the established target prices, and it expects DRAM memory supply to remain tight in 2028.

• Anduril teams up with Qualcomm to launch "Made in America" laptops

On October 27, defense technology company Anduril said it plans to use Qualcomm chips to manufacture a series of rugged computers in the United States for government and military customers. The laptop, called BlueChip, will be made in the United States, with circuit board assembly carried out at Anduril's factory in Ohio.

• Report: Chinese cloud giants such as Alibaba and Tencent rush to stockpile, seek 10-year DRAM long-term agreements with Samsung Electronics and others

According to people familiar with the matter, Chinese giants such as Alibaba, Tencent, and ByteDance, due to insufficient domestic DRAM supply, are negotiating long-term agreements (LTAs) of up to 10 years with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, far exceeding the usual 3-5 years, with contracts extending to 2035.

• Biggest AI infrastructure bottleneck is chip substrates! Semiconductor supply may remain tight until 2028; Nvidia's share of CoWoS and HBM resources declines

SemiAnalysis CEO Dylan Patel pointed out that chip substrates are the biggest bottleneck for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, while Bernstein senior analyst Stacy Rasgon noted that semiconductor supply chain tightness may last until 2028. Google and Amazon are accelerating in-house chip development, and Nvidia's share of HBM and CoWoS resources is declining.

• Micron plans to adopt wafer bonding and High-NA EUV lithography in next-generation DRAM

After abandoning the 4F² memory cell route, Micron must adopt other methods to continue advancing DRAM scaling in the coming years in order to keep up with competitors that plan to move to smaller DRAM transistors by the end of this decade. Micron intends to introduce wafer bonding in its upcoming 1ε DRAM process.

• Broadcom reaches US$63 billion financing deal to support AI chip supply to Anthropic

Chipmaker Broadcom has reached a US$63 billion arrangement with Bank of America, Blackstone, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley to provide financing for AI model developer Anthropic's chip purchases.

• US$3 billion investment! Nvidia to expand Muse intelligent assistant cooperation with Meta

On October 27, Nvidia and Meta announced that the two sides will establish a partnership to further expand cooperation on Meta's Muse intelligent assistant and the Muse series of models. Nvidia said it will invest US$3 billion in Meta's equity offering program.

• AI demand drives capacity expansion, UMC Q3 capacity utilization exceeds 90%

Driven by continued growth in demand for artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing (HPC), communications, and automotive chips, United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) saw further improvement in operating performance in the third quarter of 2026, with strong momentum maintained in the mature-process and specialty-process markets.

• From a broad single-day decline to a deep full-year pullback: the four core causes of falling share prices at 33 listed automakers

On October 29, 2026, the total market value of 33 Chinese listed automakers stood at 1,991.44 billion yuan, with 32 declining that day and an average drop of 2.18%. This article analyzes the characteristics of automaker stock price fluctuations from four dimensions: the day, the past 6 days, the month, and the year.

• Toward 6G: MIMO continues to evolve, and basic innovation releases long-term value

Judging from current standardization progress, a notable feature of 6G is not disruption, but continuity.

• Advanced packaging materials reach an inflection point for volume ramp-up, and domestic substitution migrates to higher-end tiers

According to the 2026 third-quarter reports, Aisen Co., Ltd., Feikai Materials, and Yoke Technology reported revenue of 565 million yuan, 2.654 billion yuan, and 6.721 billion yuan, respectively, in the first three quarters, all achieving year-on-year growth, with Feikai's single-quarter net profit attributable to parent company doubling.

• US$45 billion to buy a "US entry ticket": the triple exchange behind Solidigm's US plant construction

Solidigm, a subsidiary of SK Hynix, is in talks with the US Department of Commerce over a US$45 billion NAND plant, with total investment potentially nearing US$100 billion, New York State as a candidate site, construction possibly starting as early as 2027, and a US$10 billion IPO already shelved. The equipment upgrade license for the Dalian plant and the US plant construction serve as mutual bargaining chips, and the NAND market is expected to double to US$147.3 billion in 2026.

• From "de-sinicization" to "returning to China": a memory crisis rewrites the rules of the PC industry

Two years ago, HP was still ambitiously planning to move up to 70% of its capacity out of China; now, this PC giant is turning back. According to Nikkei Asia, under the heavy pressure of rapidly rising component costs, HP and mainstream PC makers such as Asus and Acer are moving part of their production from Thailand and Vietnam back to China, and the "China+1" strategy that the global technology supply chain has followed for years is showing a rare phased reversal under the impact of the AI wave.

• One circuit board stalls the global PC industry: how is the AI boom backfiring on the consumer electronics supply chain?

AI computing demand is pushing printed circuit boards from a supporting role in the industrial chain to the center of the bottleneck. Capacity for high-multilayer boards and upstream materials such as ABF substrates and high-end copper-clad laminates is being rapidly siphoned off by AI servers, and HP and Dell unexpectedly "got stuck" when planning PC supply for 2027, with the shortage possibly lasting until 2028.

• 1.1 billion euros bet on "next-generation silicon": the triple considerations behind Infineon's world's first 12-inch gallium nitride wafer fab

Infineon announced an investment of about 1.1 billion euros to build the world's first 300mm gallium nitride power semiconductor volume production base in Villach, Austria, with production to begin by the end of 2027, and the European Union approved 319 million euros in state aid. Output per 12-inch wafer is 2.3 times that of 8-inch, and GaN costs are approaching silicon-based levels.

• AI capacity investment is "paying off": semiconductor equipment prosperity as seen from ASM's financial report

ASM International's third-quarter report beat expectations on three fronts: revenue up about 45% year on year, fourth-quarter guidance above consensus, and its 2027 target raised to more than 5.7 billion euros, locking in its 2030 target three years early, which the company attributed to AI-related capacity investment.

• The logic of rising volume and price is delivered, and Nexchip's third-quarter report highlights its "gold content"

Coupled with its July listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and downstream device leader Huaqin Technology's announcement of increasing its H-share holdings, Nexchip's growth story is switching from "cyclical recovery" to a new stage of "dual expansion of capacity and technology."

• From "chasing process nodes" to "competing on latency": behind the ten major black technologies of the Huawei Mate 90 series, a chip race whose rules have been rewritten

On October 28, Huawei's Double 11 renewal season all-scenario new product launch event was held as scheduled. Looking at the categories alone, this launch event was nothing new: the Mate 90 series filled in ten technical details, and the Pura 90 Plus and others took the stage in turn.

On October 28, Ingenic and Fullhan Microelectronics surged on the same day after earnings: the former touched the 20% daily limit intraday and closed up 18.37%, while the latter sealed the daily limit. With memory price increases and on-device AI resonating, the two companies' net profit attributable to parent company in the first three quarters jumped 922.95% and 845.02% year on year, respectively.

• 833 million yuan all-cash acquisition of Senasic: SG Micro's sensor puzzle and the moment of domestic analog chip consolidation

SG Micro plans to acquire 58.29% of Shanghai Senasic for 833 million yuan in cash, entering the sensor chip track. The target company had a net loss of 50.4709 million yuan in 2024, turned profitable in 2025, and had a net profit of 12.6923 million yuan in the first half of 2026. The transaction is both a horizontal integration for SG Micro and a microcosm of the domestic analog chip M&A wave.

• The chip giant's "fear of missing out": why can't Intel miss quantum computing again?

Intel announces the acquisition of Israeli quantum software company Classiq, pushing its quantum business toward a full-stack transformation. The former chip hegemon, which lost the initiative in the AI wave, is now acting decisively in the nascent stage of quantum computing, aiming to seize the development window for the next generation of computing technology and fill out its own technology ecosystem.

• From 9% to 20%: Behind Applied Materials' increased stake in BESI, hybrid bonding is the real key to victory in AI chips

Applied Materials announced it will raise its stake in BESI from 9% to about 20%, deepening the hybrid bonding partnership that began in 2020; the deal awaits U.S. antitrust review. Hybrid bonding is a key packaging technology of the post-Moore era, BESI holds about 70% of the global equipment share, and the advanced packaging market has broad room for growth.

• Chip Insights No. 1 | Memory modules are still rising in price, but Huaqiangbei has cooled first

A few months ago, stall owners in Huaqiangbei were used to first checking how much prices had risen; now, the first thing they check is the number of closed deals. Prices remain high, and even factory prices are still climbing, but the first thing the owners look at has become today's number of closed deals.

• When computing power is stuck on a beam of light: Marvell's gamble of swallowing Lumentum

Marvell plans to acquire Lumentum. If completed, the two companies, with market values of $221 billion and $83 billion, will merge into one, becoming this year's largest semiconductor integration deal. The expansion of computing power has pushed optical interconnect into a bottleneck; what this deal buys is not revenue, but certainty in light sources, optical switching and production capacity.

• Tight capacity and "one chip hard to find": how does CoWoS block global AI chip shipments?

TSMC is considering raising CoWoS advanced packaging quotes by 10% to 20%, equipment lead times in the supply chain have stretched to 6 to 8 months, and AI chip demand has spread from GPUs to server CPUs and custom ASICs, with tight capacity the main cause. Analysts estimate its CoWoS monthly capacity will exceed 130,000 wafers in 2026.

• JW Insights releases the "2026 China Semiconductor Communication Chip Industry Listed Companies Research Report": On-device AI + Wi-Fi 7 double waves overlap, ushering in a new round of iteration cycles

Recently, JW Insights officially released the "2026 China Semiconductor Communication Chip Industry Listed Companies Research Report" (the "Report"). The Report sorts out the market landscape around industry overview, financial data analysis, key findings and risk warnings.

• JW Insights releases the "2026 China Semiconductor Power Line Carrier Industry Listed Companies Research Report": HPLC dual-mode share exceeds 85%, becoming "standard equipment" for new power systems

Recently, JW Insights officially released the "2026 China Semiconductor Power Line Carrier Industry Listed Companies Research Report" (the "Report"). The Report sorts out the global and Chinese market competitive landscape around industry overview, financial data analysis, key findings and risk warnings.

• JW Insights releases the "2026 China Semiconductor MCU Listed Companies Research Report": The era of 300 MCUs per vehicle arrives, and domestic substitution of automotive-grade chips enters a critical period

GigaDevice's market value reached 571.926 billion yuan, surpassing international MCU giants such as NXP, and Puya Semiconductor's stock price surged 502.63% in half a year — in the first half of 2026, 13 Chinese MCU listed companies had combined revenue of 28.550 billion yuan.

Terminals

• Samsung Electronics joins hands with China Telecom to release the Heart of the World Samsung W27, on sale November 13 starting at 18,999 yuan

On October 29, Samsung Electronics and China Telecom held the Heart of the World Samsung W series new product launch, unveiling the ultra-high-end smartphone Heart of the World Samsung W27. After 19 years of accumulation, the Heart of the World Samsung W27 is a testament to the sincere cooperation between Samsung Electronics and China Telecom; both sides have always polished each generation of products with craftsmanship and responded to every trust with perseverance, letting technology carry wisdom and the brand convey warmth.

• Apple's storage business: Behind the $200 upgrade fee, a $15 cost and $185 gross profit

On October 29, a set of calculation data from Cailian Press sparked heated discussion in semiconductor and consumer electronics circles: last year, when consumers bought the iPhone 17 Pro, upgrading storage capacity from 256GB to 512GB required paying $200 more, while Apple's cost to add this portion of flash memory was only about $15. On this capacity upgrade alone, Apple can earn about $185 in gross profit.

• Foldable iPhone in hot demand: Apple reportedly asks for 30% more orders, benefiting Foxconn, TSMC and others

Apple's first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, sold out quickly after going on sale last Friday, and supply chain sources say Apple has asked partner manufacturers to speed up work and add 30% more orders; the market expects its 2027 shipments to reach 33 million units, potentially challenging Samsung's position as the global foldable phone leader.

• Institution: Global smartphone shipments expected to fall 12% in 2026

On October 29, data released by Omdia set a heavy tone for the global smartphone market in the third quarter of 2026: shipments fell 20% year on year to 254.7 million units, the lowest level for the same period since 2013. What alerts the industry even more is that this is not an isolated quarterly fluctuation.

Touch

• 1 billion yuan investment! LG Display reportedly to expand Guangzhou OLED module production line

LG Display will join hands with a Chinese state-owned enterprise to jointly invest 1 billion yuan to expand the ultra-large organic light-emitting diode (OLED) module production line at its Guangzhou plant.

• Apple responds to iPhone Duo inner screen cracking: will replace users' devices with new ones

A few days after releasing its first foldable-screen iPhone Duo, Apple acknowledged on October 26 that some devices have display problems and said it will replace users' devices with new ones.

• SFC seeks KOSPI IPO: Samsung Display contributes 76% of revenue, LG Chem patent lawsuit becomes a variable

Blue OLED material manufacturer SFC is seeking to list on South Korea's KOSPI. In its securities registration statement filed on October 19, the company disclosed that it is supplying blue host material for the OLED material system used in Apple's MacBook Pro. Apple plans to release its first MacBook Pro with an OLED screen next week, with display panels manufactured by Samsung Display at its "IT 8.6th generation" OLED A6 production line.

Communications

• European satellite company Eutelsat expects revenue of more than 10 billion euros

Eutelsat said on October 29 that, as it takes a leading role in the EU's planned Starlink alternative service, it expects commercial service revenue of more than 10 billion euros (about $11.1 billion) between 2032 and 2040.

• $11.5 billion! Amazon Leo's acquisition of satellite communications provider Globalstar approved

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said it has approved Amazon's Leo acquisition of Globalstar for $11.5 billion. The retail giant's satellite unit is focused on building a communications network to compete with SpaceX's Starlink.

• Ambani's Jio receives $77 billion in subscriptions, becoming India's most-subscribed IPO

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's first IPO in 20 years surpassed $77 billion in subscriptions on October 23, making his telecom and digital business Jio Platforms India's most-subscribed stock offering, surpassing the 2008 Reliance Power offering of his younger brother Anil's group. (Proofread by Li Mei)