Semiconductors & AI Chips Weekly Briefing

March 6, 2026

Nvidia shifts China strategy & invests $4B in AI optics, AMD expands AI chips & partners with Meta, Intel CPUs surge due to AI, and more.

• Nvidia made significant strategic moves, including halting the production of chips for the Chinese market due to regulatory barriers, investing $2 billion each in Lumentum and Coherent for AI optics and infrastructure, and committing to building 6G with telecom leaders. ^{123456789101112131415161718192021222324}
• AMD expanded its AI portfolio with the new Ryzen AI 400 Series and PRO chips for next-gen AI PCs and desktops, announced a multiyear AI partnership with Meta Platforms, and collaborated with Flex to manufacture the AMD Instinct platform in the U.S. ^{25262728293031323334353637}
• Intel saw increased demand for CPUs due to agentic AI, with CEO Lip-Bu Tan reconsidering 18A manufacturing technology for external clients and the company spending $1.5 billion on New Albany fabs in 2025. ^{253828394041424344454647}
• Samsung Electronics faced a potential union strike over wage disputes, won a German court ruling against TCL for misleading QLED TV advertising, and confirmed a 100% DRAM price increase for customers. ^{4849505152535455565758596061626364656667686970717273}
• ASML announced the readiness of its High NA EUV technology for high-volume AI chip manufacturing after exposing over 500,000 customer wafers, with reports highlighting its $400 million machine. ^7475767778
• Marvell reported strong financial results for Q4 and FY 2026, with revenue up 22% and 42% year-over-year respectively, and introduced 1.6T ZR/ZR+ pluggable and 2nm coherent DSPs with MACsec security for AI data center interconnects. ^7980818283

Sources

1. Nvidia is shifting its China strategy. Here's why. Yahoo Finance
2. Nvidia and AMD Could Face Worldwide AI Chip Export Controls Imposed By the Trump Administration Yahoo Finance
3. US drafts rules for sweeping power over Nvidia's global sales CNBC TV18
4. US Mulls Requiring Permits for Global Nvidia, AMD AI Chip Sales Bloomberg
5. Nvidia stops production of chips intended for Chinese market Financial Times
6. Nvidia Refocuses TSMC Capacity as Export Controls Stall China Sales, FT Reports U.S. News & World Report
7. Nvidia refocuses TSMC capacity as export controls stall China sales, FT reports Reuters
8. Nvidia in Orbit? Job Listing Suggests GPU Maker Eyeing Space-Based Data Centers PCMag
9. Nvidia commits to building 6G with telecom leaders Nvidia
10. Nvidia will not be able to invest $100 billion in OpenAI due to IPO, CEO Huang says Reuters
11. Nvidia Global AI And DGX VP Hired By Google To Lead AI Infrastructure CRN
12. How Nvidia, Google and Amazon are dealing with ‘Dubai challenge’ as employees stranded and office temporarily closed The Times of India
13. Lumentum NVIDIA Deal Recasts AI Optics Role And Concentration Risks Yahoo Finance
14. Nvidia introduces cuTile.jl for Julia Nvidia
15. Nvidia's Optical Strategy: $4 Billion Reshapes AI Data Center Economics Forbes
16. Nvidia Turns Its AI Ambitions Toward 6G, Argues It Should Be Open Source PCMag
17. Diagnostics startup Droplet Biosciences partners with Nvidia to speed cancer test results Reuters
18. NVIDIA announces GTC 2026 conference Nvidia
19. Akamai to deploy thousands of Nvidia Blackwell GPUs DCD
20. Nvidia-backed Ayar Labs raises $500 million at $3.75 billion valuation Reuters
21. Nvidia announces strategic partnership with Coherent Nvidia
22. Nvidia announces strategic partnership with Lumentum Nvidia
23. Nvidia to Invest $2 Billion in Both Lumentum and Coherent The Wall Street Journal
24. SoftBank, NVIDIA, and Amazon back OpenAI with USD 110B investment at USD 730B valuation Dataquest
25. ‘CPUs are cool again, Intel and AMD reporting spikes in CPU demand due to agentic AI, shortages — Lisa Su says business exceeded expectations while Intel is looking at long-term agreements with potential customers Tom's Hardware
26. AMD just gave desktop PCs an AI brain with the Ryzen AI 400 series Yahoo Tech
27. AMD Expands AI Portfolio With New Ryzen Chips: Can the Tech Deliver? Yahoo Finance
28. ‘CPUs are cool again, Intel and AMD reporting spikes in CPU demand due to agentic AI, shortages — Lisa Su says business exceeded expectations while Intel is looking at long-term agreements with potential customers Tom's Hardware
29. U of T and AMD launch dedicated AI and computing research lab University of Toronto
30. Meta Reworks AI Chip Strategy With AMD, Google And Cost Outlook Shifts Yahoo Finance
31. AMD partners with DSP Concepts for automotive audio AMD
32. Akash Systems Announces World's First Diamond Cooled AI Servers with AMD Instinct™ MI350X GPUs and MiTAC Computing - The Korea Herald The Korea Herald
33. Credo & TensorWave Team Up to Power Next-Gen AMD AI Clusters Yahoo Finance
34. AMD Faces Export Limits on MI325 Chips to China GuruFocus
35. AMD announces Ryzen AI PRO 400 Series CPUs AMD
36. AMD s CEO Dr. Lisa Su says CPU sales far exceeded my expectations Yahoo Finance
37. Flex Announces U.S. Manufacturing Collaboration with AMD to Accelerate Domestic AI Infrastructure Yahoo Finance
38. Howard Lutnick, Intel CEO Sued Over Firm’s 10% Stake Sale to US Bloomberg Law
39. Intel Foundry Breakeven Target For 2027 Now Looks a Lot More Real, Driven By 18A, 14A & a Surprising Advanced Packaging Surge Wccftech
40. Intel CEO Tan reconsidering fate of chipmaker's new manufacturing tech, CFO says Reuters
41. Intel elects Barratt as board chair as Yeary retires Intel
42. Intel has manufacturing capacity issues. They may take years to fix. Yahoo Finance
43. Intel previews 6G future at MWC 2026 Intel
44. Former TSMC executive under investigation for leaking core chip technology DIGITIMES
45. Samsung and Vodafone validate new chipset for AI-native networks Samsung
46. Intel spent $1.5B on construction of New Albany fabs in 2025 The Business Journals
47. Intel Confirms Arc Pro B70 Workstation GPU Via LLM-Scaler vLLM AI Release Notes Wccftech
48. Samsung hosts #PlayGalaxy Cup PUBG Mobile Global Open Samsung
49. Samsung Electronics Wins German Court Ruling Against TCL Over Misleading QLED TV Advertising 알파경제
50. GTT Receives Samsung Heavy Industries Order for LNG Carrier Tank Design MarineLink
51. Samsung has reportedly confirmed a 100% DRAM price increase for its customers, so hold on to your hats, folks PC Gamer
52. Samsung's Galaxy S26 Ultra wins Best in Show Samsung
53. Cadence tapeouts 32GT/s UCIe IP subsystem Cadence
54. Samsung Galaxy S26 in for review GSMArena
55. Samsung Electronics Union Votes on Strike Action Amidst Wage Dispute Businesskorea
56. Samsung Vietnam Contributes 10% to Samsung Electronics' Global Profit Businesskorea
57. Samsung Electronics Denies Supplier Allegations as Korean Antitrust Regulator Reviews Complaint | PYMNTS.com PYMNTS.com
58. Samsung Venture Investment Makes Strategic Investment in AI Agriculture Firm N.Thing Yonhap Infomax
59. Samsung casts doubt on Galaxy S26 Edge and Z TriFold 2 VietNamNet
60. Samsung Electronics Ramps Up Hiring Ahead of Trial Production at Taylor Foundry Fab in Texas 알파경제
61. Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor and LG Electronics Suspend Middle East Operations Amid Escalating U.S.-Iran-Israel Tensions 알파경제
62. Samsung Issues 8 Critical Security Fixes—Is Your Galaxy On The List? Forbes
63. Samsung secures Open RAN deal with Rakuten Mobile in Japan DCD
64. Samsung Asset Management Establishes Responsible Investment Strategy Team to Strengthen Voting Rights Exercise Yonhap Infomax
65. Samsung Launches Galaxy S26 In India: Pioneering AI-Powered Privacy & On-Device Data Control Free Press Journal
66. Samsung and Vodafone validate vRAN on Intel chipset SDX Central
67. Samsung supplies 5G Open RAN radios to Rakuten Mobile Samsung
68. Synopsys collaborates with Samsung Foundry on multi-die chip design Synopsys
69. Samsung confirms the Galaxy S26 Ultra's screen is worse than it initially claimed Android Authority
70. Samsung sneaks out a business Galaxy S26 Ultra and keeps the price the same TechRadar
71. Samsung launches Digital Home Key in Samsung Wallet Samsung
72. Samsung abandons Exynos for its next Galaxy Watch Android Police
73. Samsung Removes Key 'Recovery' Tools from Galaxy Phones—Including OS Sideloading Android Headlines
74. Odido also leaked data of 16 thousand employees in strategic sectors - from ASML to Defense Follow the Money
75. ASML Files 2025 Annual Report, Showcasing Scale, Profitability and AI‑Driven Growth The Globe and Mail
76. ASML'ers protest against the dismissal of experienced engineers. 'In two years they will need us again' NRC
77. ASML announces High NA EUV technology readiness ASML
78. ASML's $400 Million Beast Arrives To Power The Next AI Leap AOL
79. Marvell reports Q4 and FY 2026 financial results Marvell Technology
80. Marvell announces 1.6T ZR/ZR+ pluggable and 2nm coherent DSPs Marvell Technology
81. Broadcom launches Wi-Fi 8 ecosystem Broadcom
82. Cadence releases Tensilica HiFi iQ DSP Cadence
83. Marvell introduces Golden Cable Initiative Marvell Technology