chip industry

Dutch chip equipment maker ASML said it is not selling its chipmaking machines in Europe, warning that the region risks falling behind the United States, China and India in semiconductors. The comments are drawing wide attention, with debate about Europe's industrial competitiveness and dependence on foreign technology picking up in both Indian and Chinese online discussions.

An ASML executive has said the Dutch chipmaking equipment giant currently sells none of its machines in Europe, underscoring how little leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing takes place on the continent. The comment highlights Europe's reliance on Asia and the United States for chip production, despite EU ambitions to expand domestic semiconductor capacity.

China may allow Alibaba and ByteDance to purchase new Nvidia chips, according to a report by The Information. The potential decision would mark a shift in Beijing's stance on access to advanced US semiconductor technology for its largest technology companies, which rely heavily on Nvidia chips for artificial intelligence development.

Reports suggest China may allow Alibaba and ByteDance to purchase Nvidia's newest AI chips, a shift from earlier restrictions on advanced US semiconductor exports. If confirmed, the move would ease access to critical hardware for two of China's largest technology companies and could signal a thaw in US-China tensions over chip trade. Observers are watching for official confirmation from both governments.

A shortage of memory chips is being driven by surging AI infrastructure demand colliding with limited wafer capacity and the industry's focus on high-bandwidth memory for accelerators. DRAM and NAND makers have shifted investment toward HBM, leaving conventional memory supply tight, and new manufacturing capacity takes years to bring online. Discussion centres on how long the squeeze will last and what it means for pricing across the tech industry.

Workers at the Taiwanese factory producing a popular snack treated as a good luck charm in the chip industry have voted 94% in favour of a strike, threatening a production halt. The dispute centres on demands that employees receive a share of a $176 million factory sale to semiconductor firm ASE. The standoff has drawn attention because the snack is a familiar talisman in computing circles.

China is considering allowing ByteDance and Alibaba to buy Nvidia's newest chips, according to a report by The Information. The deliberation comes amid ongoing US-China tensions over semiconductor exports, with Washington restricting sales of advanced Nvidia technology to Chinese companies. Any approval would signal a shift in Beijing's stance and could ease pressure on major Chinese AI firms seeking cutting-edge hardware.

US-based chipmaker GlobalFoundries reports strong demand for Chinese optical modules as data centre construction accelerates, and is expanding its presence in China to serve domestic clients amid the infrastructure boom. The news, reported by the South China Morning Post, highlights how data centre buildout continues to drive semiconductor and optical component supply chains even as US-China tech tensions persist.

NVIDIA's GPU Technology Conference (GTC) is in the spotlight. The event is the company's flagship gathering for announcing new chips, AI software and data-center products, and is closely watched across the semiconductor and artificial intelligence industries. Attention is focused on what NVIDIA will reveal next and what it signals for AI hardware demand.

ASML, the Dutch chip equipment maker, says it sold 'absolutely nothing' in Europe in 2026 and is calling on the EU to help create demand for its lithography machines. The comments highlight Europe's weak semiconductor manufacturing base, as ASML's sales remain concentrated in Asia, particularly Taiwan, South Korea and China.

Apple is reported to be considering re-entering the server market, a move that would intensify competition among major technology companies in the interconnected server ecosystem. Commentators are weighing what such a return would mean for an industry currently dominated by the likes of Dell, HPE and cloud providers, and how Apple's chip expertise could reshape it.

Qualcomm has renewed its patent licensing agreement with Apple, extending the arrangement through 2027. The deal keeps in place the payments Apple makes to use Qualcomm's wireless technology in iPhones, a relationship that has swung between litigation and cooperation for years. The renewal signals continued reliance on Qualcomm modems even as Apple works on its own in-house modem development.