Semiconductor

[Brief] Intel Appoints New Foundry EVP, Invests in Diamond Wafer Technology Intel announced on June 22 the appointment of Seok-Hee Lee as Executive Vice President of Intel Foundry, reporting directly to CEO Lip-Bu Tan. Lee will lead advanced packaging, systems integration, and back-end technology development. Previously, Lee served as CEO of both SK On and SK Hynix. Separately, CEO Lip-Bu Tan revealed Intel has invested in a diamond wafer company, viewing synthetic diamond as a superior thermal conductivity material for chip cooling as advanced processes approach physical limits. ...

[Brief] Evonik Plans 3,200 Global Layoffs; TSMC Cuts 28nm Capacity German chemical company Evonik announced it will extend and expand its global restructuring plan affecting approximately 3,200 employees, responding to continued weakness in chemical markets. Meanwhile, TSMC has cut capacity at its mature 28nm process node by approximately 25% from the start of the year, reflecting soft demand for consumer electronics and automotive chips. Both developments point to a new cyclical adjustment pressure facing global manufacturing. ...

Driven by AI demand, global memory chip makers SK Hynix and Micron both surpass $1 trillion market cap, marking a new milestone in AI infrastructure investment.

Sony Announces $3 Billion Buyback Amid Memory Price Pressure Sony Group announced a $3 billion share buyback program. Its semiconductor division faces pressure from declining memory chip prices. Despite slowing PlayStation growth, Sony maintains its double-digit profit growth forecast.

AMD stock surged following strong quarterly earnings results, driven by data center and AI accelerator demand.

Nvidia stock tumbles as investors worry about intensifying competition from Google and Amazon’s in-house AI chip development, challenging the $4.9 trillion chip giant’s dominance.

A Taiwan court has sentenced two former Tokyo Electron employees to 10 years in prison for stealing core process technology secrets from TSMC, underscoring the importance of IP protection in the global semiconductor industry.

OpenAI is developing a custom smartphone processor with Qualcomm and MediaTek, targeting 300-400 million annual shipments to directly challenge Apple’s dominance in smartphone chips.