TrendForce

📡 US Export Controls Cover the Whole AI Data Center Stack US export controls now cover the full AI data center stack — from GPU clusters and HBM to optical modules, CPO, and Ethernet switches. Out-of-China capacity and supply chain traceability are entry requirements for North American customers, not differentiators. As supply chains restructure globally, who stands to gain? 👉 buff.ly/orVweML #TrendForce #SelectedTopics

🚨 As #Samsung’s large-scale strike is set to begin next week on May 21, the company is reportedly moving to cushion the impact with preemptive steps, including a “warm-down” production slowdown and a shift in product mix toward #HBM.💡More: buff.ly/FtYgEmn 🔗

👀 #TSMC plans to sell up to 152M Vanguard shares, about an 8.1% stake, as it sharpens focus on core business amid rising capEx — potentially including advanced process, packaging, and global expansion. 💡More: buff.ly/M2hDpYO 🔗

📈 Japanese memory giant #Kioxia is riding the memory price upswing, with 4QFY26 margins surging to 66%, sharply up from 47% for full-year FY26. The company also expects April-quarter net profit to jump 48x year-on-year to ¥869 billion.💡More: pse.is/93qxrm 🔗

🚀 #Samsung is reportedly working on next-gen mobile #HBM packaging using ultra-high-aspect-ratio copper pillars and FOWLP, with bandwidth gains said to reach 15%–30%.💡More: pse.is/93nz5y 🔗

Samsung’s strike is set to formally begin on May 21. Because the company’s semiconductor fabs are already highly automated, the impact on production is expected to be limited. However, there will likely be noticeable disruptions to packaging and logistics, R&D and design, as well as customer relations. In terms of unionization, about half of all employees across the Samsung Group are union members, most of whom work in the semiconductor division. Internally, management has already extended an olive branch to the DRAM division, but has not yet reached an agreement with union members in the Foundry and LSI divisions.

Key takeaways of #AppliedMaterials' latest earnings call: Advanced packaging is emerging as a primary growth driver.

👀 #SMIC saw smartphone-related revenue share fall to 18.9% in Q1, down from 24.2% a year earlier and the lowest since 2021. Are memory headwinds hitting China’s top foundry? 💡More: pse.is/93pr9b 🔗

Japan’s power semiconductor sector is racing to close the gap with Europe—but integration remains a tough challenge.

🔥Mobile #DRAM contract prices continue rising in 2Q26. As high prices become the norm, how will smartphone brands offset DRAM cost pressure on product mix?💡More analysis from #TrendForce: buff.ly/vbTr84L 🔗

🔥 Amid reports that #Foxconn may have accelerated #CPO rack deliveries to #NVIDIA, the company said at its earnings call that silicon photonics CPO switches remain on track for Q3 mass production, with 2026 shipments expected to hit 10,000 units.💡More: buff.ly/hr2cHfG 🔗

🔥 The U.S. reportedly cleared #NVIDIA #H200 sales to ~10 Chinese firms including #Alibaba and #Tencent, but no chips have shipped yet. Now Jensen Huang is on Trump's China trip. How will this play out? 💡More: buff.ly/mfDxlzH 🔗

🔥 #TSMC sees the global chip market topping US$1.5T by 2030 and is positioning for a major share, with its #2nm and A16 chips projected to grow at a 70% CAGR through 2028. 💡More: pse.is/93m5fm 🔗

👀 China’s #GaN RF players posted strong Q1 growth while #SiC firms struggled, with SICC reporting a 10.4% YoY revenue decline. What’s driving the growing divide in the country’s wide-bandgap chip market?💡More: pse.is/93hvm2 🔗

📈 As memory supply tightens into 2027, Japanese consumers may be among the hardest hit, with #SSD prices reportedly surging across PC retailers—led by #Samsung, where certain flagship 9100 Pro models are said to have jumped as much as 300%.💡More: pse.is/93je2p 🔗

POWEV is a memory module company based in Shenzhen, not a DRAM memory manufacturer as suggested by the headline. The company recently introduced a 64GB DDR5 RDIMM memory module, which primarily signifies its ability to enter the server market and target applications such as AI servers and data centers. What differentiates POWEV from other module makers is its in-house development of memory testing equipment. This gives the company distinct strengths in validation and testing capabilities, which could provide a competitive advantage in the enterprise memory segment.

👀 #SKhynix CEO is reportedly meeting Bill Gates at #Microsoft’s CEO Summit as the Korean memory maker deepens its role in the tech giant’s custom chip push beyond NVIDIA.💡More: pse.is/93hsuz 🔗

⚡ Agentic AI Has a New Bottleneck: CPUs In traditional LLM deployments, CPUs account for ~15% of server demand. Agentic AI pushes that to ~50%. NVIDIA and Arm each launched standalone CPU racks in Q1 2026. Intel and AMD are both raising CPU prices as the supply gap widens. Inside the 2026 CPU supply crunch 👉 buff.ly/ualQs5q #TrendForce #SelectedTopics

👀 #Samsung's strike impact looks manageable given chip manufacturing complexity and regulatory constraints on the union — but order shifts to #SKhynix and #Micron remain a risk worth watching. 💡More: buff.ly/9feVYAf 🔗

👀 #Qualcomm’s #Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro is reportedly set to top $300 as it shifts to #TSMC 2nm — and with memory shortages piling on, tight margins may keep adoption limited. 💡More: buff.ly/PfLLAlx 🔗