Semiconductors & AI Chips Weekly Briefing

December 26, 2025

Samsung and SK Hynix geared up for HBM4 mass production, Nvidia secured Groq's AI tech, Qualcomm embraced RISC-V, and TSMC accelerated its Arizona fab timeline, and more.

• South Korean giants Samsung and SK Hynix are set to begin mass production of sixth-generation HBM4 in February next year, while both companies also reportedly hiked HBM3E prices by nearly 20%; Samsung notably gained ground in HBM4 tests conducted by Nvidia. ¹²³⁴⁵
• Nvidia secured a reported $20 billion deal to license Groq’s AI inference chips and hired key executives and staff from the startup, while also partnering with SK Hynix to develop a new AI SSD that could be up to 10 times faster. ^67891011
• The foundry landscape shifted as TSMC accelerated the production timeline for its second Arizona factory, even as Taiwan considered limiting advanced node exports, and Nvidia tested but ultimately decided not to move forward with manufacturing chips using Intel's 18A technology. ^{12131415161718}
• Qualcomm completed the acquisition of high-speed connectivity specialist Alphawave Semi and acquired Ventana Micro, signaling deeper adoption of RISC-V, which caused a massive decline in Arm's market capitalization. ¹⁹²⁰²¹
• Samsung unveiled the Exynos 2600, reportedly the first 2nm smartphone processor with the company’s first largely in-house developed mobile GPU; meanwhile, Intel detailed its 86-core Granite Rapids Xeon CPUs, and AMD saw a large order for its MI308 accelerators from Alibaba. ^{22232425262728}
• Other notable developments included the indictment of 10 individuals, including a Samsung executive, for allegedly stealing core semiconductor technology for China, and US lawmakers sought disclosure on H200 license reviews as Tencent accessed advanced Blackwell chips via overseas cloud services. ^2930313233

Sources

1. SK, Samsung to Begin World's First Mass Production of HBM4 in February Next Year businesskorea.co.kr
2. SK, Samsung to Begin World's First Mass Production of HBM4 in February Next Year businesskorea.co.kr
3. Samsung, SK Hynix reportedly hike HBM3E prices nearly 20% ahead of 2026 shift digitimes.com
4. Samsung gains ground in Nvidia HBM4 tests as AI memory supply race tightens koreaherald.com
5. Samsung’s HBM4 scores well in Nvidia tests -Korean Herald By Investing.com investing.com
6. What Nvidia-Groq $20Bn Deal Means — AI Chips and Executive Moves Explained outlookbusiness.com
7. Nvidia makes its biggest purchase ever finance.yahoo.com
8. Nvidia partners AI hardware startup Groq; hires its key engineers and founder timesofindia.indiatimes.com
9. Nvidia Licenses Groq’s AI Technology as Demand for Cutting-Edge Chips Grows wsj.com
10. Nvidia and SK Hynix are working on a 10x faster SSD project - Overclocking.com overclocking.com
11. Nvidia and SK hynix are building an AI SSD that could be 10x faster techspot.com
12. TSMC Kumamoto plant leaves concerns over water impact japantimes.co.jp
13. Nvidia Tested Intel Production Technology But Stopped Moving Forward, Sources Tell Reuters morningstar.com
14. Nvidia Tested Intel Production Technology But Stopped Moving Forward, Sources Tell Reuters morningstar.com
15. TSMC accelerates production timeline for new Arizona factory, reports say abc15.com
16. Taiwan considers TSMC export ban that would prevent manufacturing its newest chip nodes in U.S. — limit exports to two generations behind leading-edge nodes, could slow down U.S. expansion finance.yahoo.com
17. Taiwan ramps up plans for overseas chipmaking as threat from China looms finance.yahoo.com
18. TSMC’s AI Strategy Fuels Growth and Investor Confidence ad-hoc-news.de
19. Qualcomm completes acquisition of Alphawave Semi dqindia.com
20. Arm sheds billions in market capitalization after Qualcomm hints at RISC-V adoption with Ventara Micro acquisition techradar.com
21. England High Court Sanctions QUALCOMM Incorporated (QCOM)'s Alphawave IP Group Acquisition finance.yahoo.com
22. Samsung develops first inhouse mobile GPU for Exynos 2600 koreaherald.com
23. Intel Showcases Its Next-Level & Massively Scalable Packaging Capabilities: 12X Reticle With 16 Compute Tiles On 18A/14A... wccftech.com
24. Intel's Granite Rapids Xeon CPUs spotted with up to 86 cores, 336MB cache, and $9,300 pricing techspot.com
25. Alibaba reportedly plans to order more than 40,000 AMD MI308 chips technode.com
26. Samsung introduces Exynos 2600, the world’s first 2nm smartphone processor indianexpress.com
27. Samsung Unveils Exynos 2600, A New Mid-Range Mobile Processor techstory.in
28. Arm announces Samsung Exynos 2600 powered by Arm Arm
29. S. Korea indicts 10 over alleged chip tech theft for China - UPI.com upi.com
30. US lawmakers want disclosure of license reviews for Nvidia H200 chip sales to China reuters.com
31. Tencent Uses Overseas Cloud Strategy To Access Nvidia Blackwell Chips benzinga.com
32. The U.S. Can't Get Xi Hooked on Nvidia Chips wsj.com
33. China's Tencent Uses 'Weakest Link' in Export Rules to Access Nvidia's Top Chips barrons.com