1. Global Q1 2026 Semiconductor Sales Reach\u00a0$298.5 Billion, Up 25%. The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) announced global semiconductor sales reached $298.5 billion during the first quarter of 2026, a 25% increase compared to Q4 2025. Global sales were\u00a0$99.5 billion during March 2026, up 79.2%, with the market on track to reach $1 trillion in 2026, with Q1 sales significantly exceeding sales in Q4 2025,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. Regionally, year-over-year sales in March were up in Asia Pacific\/All Other (108.5%), the Americas (83.1%), China (74.8%), Europe (46.5%), and Japan (7.4%).<\/p>\n 2. TSMC Expands 2nm Capacity with Five Fabs in Ramp-up<\/strong> 3. Samsung Narrows Gap with TSMC in 2nm Race<\/strong> 4. Global Foundry Revenue Projected to Grow 24.8% in 2026<\/strong> 5. Intel Reportedly Reaches Preliminary Chipmaking Agreement with Apple<\/strong> 6. NVIDIA’s China AI Chip Market Share Drops from 90% to Zero<\/strong> <\/strong>7. AMD Posts Record Q1 2026 Revenue of\u00a0$10.3 Billion On May 5, AMD announced Q1 2026 fiscal results, with record revenue of $10.3 billion, up 38% year-over-year, exceeding guidance. Gross margin rose to 55%. CEO Lisa Su announced the company’s AI-era core processor roadmap, including the sixth-generation EPYC processor codenamed Venice, based on the new Zen 6 microarchitecture and manufactured on TSMC’s 2nm process. AMD expects server CPU revenue to grow more than 70% year-over-year in Q2 and continue its strong momentum through 2026 and 2027. AMD also confirmed that Samsung has won orders for some of its upcoming 2nm CPUs (Venice), breaking TSMC’s sole-supplier position.<\/p>\n 8. HBM Market 2026 Size Reaches $62.9 Billion, Up 82% YoY<\/strong> 9. Memory Prices Surge Dramatically: DRAM Up ~400%, NAND Up >600%<\/strong> 10. Samsung Reports Record Q1 Operating Profit of 53.7 Trillion Won<\/strong> <\/strong>11. Micron Market Cap Approaches\u00a0$900 Billion on AI Storage Demand Micron’s stock price surged 15.49% to $795.33 per share and marking seven consecutive all-time high closes. Micron’s market capitalization approached\u00a0$900 billion. Deutsche Bank raised its price target on Micron from $550 to\u00a0$1,000 (approximately 84% upside). Micron’s revenue reached $23.86 billion, far exceeding the\u00a0$8 billion from the same quarter last year. Analysts attribute this not to cyclical fluctuations but to the semiconductor industry being reshaped by one of the strongest technology waves in decades. UBS expects the three major memory manufacturers to generate approximately $430 billion in total operating profit in 2026.<\/p>\n 12. Global Storage Makers Shift Over 70% of DRAM Capacity to DDR5<\/strong> 13. U.S. Proposes Expanding ASML Equipment Ban on China; Netherlands Objects<\/strong> 14. FTC Approves $406 Billion SMIC Merger; China’s National Policy Continues<\/strong> 15. Memory Shortage Intensifies: All Four Storage Media in Severe Shortage<\/strong> 16. Samsung and Kioxia Reduce 2D NAND Flash Production<\/strong> 17. ASML Set to Receive up to \u20ac4.6 Billion in Equipment Orders<\/strong> 18. Applied Materials Lands Massive 2nm Equipment Order from TSMC<\/strong> 19. SMIC’s RMB 40.6 Billion Acquisition of SMIC North Approved<\/strong> 20. NVIDIA Enters RISC-V Ecosystem with SiFive G\u2011Round Funding<\/strong> 21. AI Inference Drives RISC-V Adoption Accelerates<\/strong> Samsung’s 2nm process saw multiple key advancements in May 2026, quickly narrowing the gap with TSMC. By March 2026, Samsung’s 2nm yield had surpassed 60%, achieving a leap from approximately 20% in the second half of 2025, now approaching TSMC’s 2nm yield level of 60\u201370%. With yields stable and customer orders increasing, Samsung Foundry is expected to achieve historic growth in 2026. Earlier in April, Samsung secured HBM4 validation from NVIDIA and AMD, with supply expected to begin in June 2026.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":3088,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[317,282],"class_list":["post-3087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry-news","tag-industry-news","tag-siproin"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siproin-ic.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siproin-ic.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siproin-ic.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siproin-ic.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siproin-ic.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3087"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.siproin-ic.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3087\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siproin-ic.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siproin-ic.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siproin-ic.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siproin-ic.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}2. ADVANCED PROCESS & FOUNDRY<\/h2>\n
\nTSMC is accelerating advanced process capacity expansion. The company recently announced at its North America Technology Symposium that five 2nm wafer fabs are simultaneously entering ramp-up in 2026 \u2014 an unprecedented model of multi-fab new process introduction within a single year. First-year 2nm output is projected to be approximately 45% higher than 3nm production at the same milestone. TSMC is also accelerating its Arizona expansion; the third wafer fab in Phoenix has successfully topped out its main structure, which will adopt 2nm or more advanced process technologies and is scheduled to begin production before 2030. TSMC has approved up to\u00a0$20 billion in additional capital investment for its Arizona wholly-owned subsidiary. Meanwhile, TSMC’s 3nm capacity remains fully booked, and the company has fully raised 2026 foundry prices for 5\/4nm and below processes. TSMC’s board previously approved a record capex budget of $52\u201356 billion for 2026.<\/p>\n
\nSamsung’s 2nm process saw multiple key advancements in May 2026, quickly narrowing the gap with TSMC. By March 2026, Samsung’s 2nm yield had surpassed 60%, achieving a leap from approximately 20% in the second half of 2025, now approaching TSMC’s 2nm yield level of 60\u201370%. With yields stable and customer orders increasing, Samsung Foundry is expected to achieve historic growth in 2026. Earlier in April, Samsung secured HBM4 validation from NVIDIA and AMD, with supply expected to begin in June 2026.<\/p>\n
\nTrendForce forecast 2026 global foundry revenue growth of 24.8%. TSMC is projected to lead with 32% growth. SMIC remained the third-largest foundry globally, continuing to benefit from localization tailwinds. On May 11, SMIC completed a major milestone when the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s M&A Committee approved the company’s issuance of shares to acquire the remaining 49% equity of SMIC North (Beijing) in an approximately RMB 40.6 billion transaction.<\/p>\n3. AI CHIPS & PLATFORMS<\/h2>\n
\nOn May 8, The Wall Street Journal reported that Intel had reached a preliminary agreement with Apple to manufacture chips for some of the iPhone maker’s devices. The negotiations reportedly lasted over a year. Following the news, Intel’s stock price surged nearly 14%, closing at $124.92 per share, while Apple’s stock price rose approximately 2%. Neither company commented on the agreement. The deal represents a major breakthrough for Intel’s foundry business and signals that the U.S. government’s push to bring chip manufacturing back to the U.S. is beginning to show results. Meanwhile, reports indicate that NVIDIA has also stepped in to support Intel, and Musk reportedly contacted Intel about its TeraFab plan for in-house semiconductor production.<\/p>\n
\nNVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang stated in an interview with U.S. think tank S CSP that NVIDIA’s China AI chip market share, which once accounted for approximately 90% of the company’s global market share, has now dropped to zero. Reports indicated that this result is a direct consequence of successive U.S. export control measures implemented since 2022. Huang was notably not included on the list of over 15 top U.S. business leaders accompanying President Trump on a state visit to China in mid-May, a notable omission given the escalating tech rivalry between the two countries. Separately, NVIDIA announced a $500 million investment in Corning to expand manufacturing of high-speed optical and glass components for AI data centers, addressing critical performance bottlenecks in AI factories.<\/p>\n4. MEMORY & STORAGE<\/h2>\n
\nThe HBM market continues its explosive growth amid unprecedented shortages. Goldman Sachs reports the market is on the brink of the most severe storage chip supply shortage in 15 years, with global DRAM, NAND Flash, and HBM supply-demand gaps reaching 4.9%, 4.2%, and 5.1% respectively in 2026 \u2014 the highest levels since 2011. HBM remains the most structurally supported memory category. Major manufacturers’ HBM capacity is sold out through 2026. SK Hynix’s Q1 2026 operating profit of 37.61 trillion won (72% operating margin) represented a 405% year-over-year increase, setting a global semiconductor record and surpassing NVIDIA (65%) and TSMC (58%).<\/p>\n
\nContract prices for NAND chips have surged over 600% since late September 2025, while DRAM contract prices have risen nearly 400% over the same period. According to Bernstein, Q1 2026 DRAM contract prices surged 85\u2013100% quarter-over-quarter. TrendForce data shows DDR4 mainstream spot prices up 1788% from early 2025 levels, with DDR5 up 740%. South Korean customs data covering April to early May 2026 revealed SSDs soared 63% and HBM increased 19%, with year-over-year increases for major memory categories generally ranging between 165% and 500% \u2014 underscoring the severity of the ongoing memory super-cycle.<\/p>\n
\nSamsung reported record Q1 2026 operating profit of 53.7 trillion won ($36.15 billion), a 49% increase from 1.1 trillion won in the same quarter last year. Samsung is channeling approximately 40.9 trillion won in Device Solutions division investment this year, aiming to more than triple custom HBM capacity. Meanwhile, Samsung announced it would stop accepting new orders for LPDDR4 and LPDDR4X mobile memory as of April 17, shifting capacity toward higher-margin LPDDR5\/5X and HBM. UBS maintained its 2026 HBM shipment forecast for Samsung at 9.7 billion gigabit, up 124% year-over-year, and raised its 2027 forecast to 23 billion gigabit.<\/p>\n
\nGlobal storage manufacturers \u2014 Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron, and CXMT \u2014 have shifted over 70% of their advanced DRAM capacity to DDR5 product lines. Even production lines originally used for NAND flash are being converted to produce DDR5. The storage industry is facing an unprecedented phenomenon \u2014 HDD, DRAM, HBM, and NAND are all experiencing severe shortages simultaneously in 2026. Most capacity has already been sold out for the year. Manufacturers expect the shortage to persist into 2027 or beyond.<\/p>\n5. GEOPOLITICS & TRADE<\/h2>\n
\nReports on May 13 indicated that the U.S. is proposing additional legislation to further restrict ASML from selling products to China and providing services to its Chinese customers. The Netherlands government has formally raised objections to the proposed bill. Under current comprehensive U.S. export controls, ASML is already prohibited from selling its most advanced EUV lithography tools to China. Separately, proposed U.S. legislation explicitly lists five Chinese semiconductor companies (SMIC, Hua Hong, Huawei, CXMT, and YMTC) along with their subsidiaries as “controlled facilities” subject to comprehensive export restrictions.<\/p>\n
\nOn May 11, the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s M&A Committee officially approved SMIC’s issuance of shares to acquire the remaining 49% equity of SMIC North (Beijing) in a transaction valued at approximately RMB 40.6 billion. The deal, which took less than three months from filing to approval, represents the largest merger and acquisition case in the history of China’s STAR Market. SMIC will fully consolidate SMIC North, a 12-inch wafer foundry with 75,000 wafers per month capacity for 28nm and above process nodes. China’s “15th Five-Year Plan” continues to list integrated circuits as the top strategic pillar industry, with the National IC Fund Phase III of RMB 344 billion now in place, targeting a 70% core equipment and materials localization rate by 2027.<\/p>\n6. SUPPLY CHAIN & MANUFACTURING<\/h2>\n
\nThe storage industry is facing an unprecedented scenario where HDD, DRAM, HBM, and NAND are all in severe shortage simultaneously in 2026. Most capacity has already been sold out for 2026. JPMorgan’s latest report indicates that major manufacturers expect the shortage to persist through 2027. Manufacturers have indicated that they expect the upward price trend to continue into at least 2027. HBM wafer consumption is three times that of DDR5; capacity shifting toward AI is squeezing traditional product lines. Industry projections indicate global MLC NAND capacity will drop 41.7% in 2026, with AI consuming 20% of total DRAM production.<\/p>\n
\nSamsung and Kioxia announced production cuts for 2D NAND flash in May, triggering supply cliff concerns. The reduction in legacy NAND supply is expected to further tighten overall memory availability through 2026.<\/p>\n7. EQUIPMENT & INFRASTRUCTURE<\/h2>\n
\nBank of America stated that the Apple-Intel partnership will increase Intel’s procurement of chipmaking equipment, primarily involving ASML and Besi. ASML has reportedly received up to \u20ac4.6 billion in equipment orders. Given ASML’s monopoly position and its upward revision of 2026 growth guidance, the market remains confident in ASML’s growth prospects. Global fab equipment investment is projected to reach $141 billion in 2026, and ASML is expected to maintain over 20% growth momentum. South Korea is also moving forward with aggressive capacity expansion; Samsung is reportedly planning an 828 billion won investment in next-generation facilities with 200,000 to 300,000 12-inch wafer annual capacity using a three-story wafer fab structure.<\/p>\n
\nApplied Materials confirmed it has landed a massive 2nm equipment order from TSMC. The company’s 2026 EUV-related revenue is now projected to jump by 40%. GAA technology introduction is expected to increase equipment sales per wafer by approximately $1 billion. Investors are closely monitoring the order conversion pace for GAA-related orders, which will be key to measuring earnings certainty for the next two to three years.<\/p>\n8. M&A AND CAPITAL MARKETS<\/h2>\n
\nOn May 11, the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s M&A Committee officially approved SMIC’s issuance of shares to acquire the remaining 49% equity of SMIC North (Beijing). The transaction, valued at approximately RMB 40.61 billion, represents the largest merger and acquisition case in the history of China’s STAR Market. SMIC will issue shares priced at RMB 74.20 per share to five shareholders including the National IC Fund, with no cash payment involved. Upon completion, SMIC will fully control SMIC North, which is expected to add over $120 million to SMIC’s 2026 net profit. The approval took less than three months from initial filing.<\/p>\n9. TECH TRENDS & ECOSYSTEM<\/h2>\n
\nSiFive announced completion of a $400 million oversubscribed Series G round in April, with NVIDIA appearing among the investors. The funding is aimed at accelerating the development of next-generation data center solutions to meet Agentic AI workload demands. The RISC-V ecosystem continues to expand rapidly, with applications ranging from automotive (ISO 26262 ASIL-D certified) to data center and edge computing. In China, SpaceTime announced completion of R&D for its third-generation RISC-V processor core X200, which will be used in next-generation cloud computing chips expected to reach mass production in 2027. RISC-V adoption is accelerating as AI inference workloads shift from centralized cloud to distributed edge.<\/p>\n
\nAs AI inference shifts from centralized cloud to distributed edge, RISC-V application scenarios are expanding exponentially, creating a positive cycle: increased adoption improves the ecosystem, lowers entry barriers, and further accelerates large-scale deployment. HighTec EDV-Systeme and SiFive announced a joint offering to strengthen the RISC-V ecosystem for safe and secure automotive and industrial applications, enabling software developers to adopt RISC-V more efficiently through an integrated approach to safety, security, performance, and scalable software development.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"