Semiconductors & AI Chips Weekly Briefing

April 10, 2026

Semiconductor leaders see record profits and escalating competition as Amazon eyes the AI chip market and Nvidia faces minor hardware delays and more.

• Nvidia faced reports of a potential delay to its next-generation Rubin GPUs due to memory issues, while media scrutiny intensified over the company's investment in its own customers and a series of acquisitions aimed at building a $10 billion AI software empire. ¹²³⁴
• Samsung Electronics projected a record-breaking first quarter with an eightfold jump in operating profit to 57.2 trillion KRW, driven by a memory chip supercycle and rising DRAM prices as the company prepares for 2nm production in the U.S. ⁵⁶⁷⁸⁹
• TSMC reported a 35% year-over-year revenue surge for the first quarter of 2026, fueled by an 80% growth rate in its advanced CoWoS packaging technology which is reportedly being heavily reserved by Nvidia. ^10111213
• ASML shares faced pressure following news of a U.S. congressional plan to further restrict chip equipment exports to China, though the company secured a major $8 billion EUV equipment order and continued its 100 million Euro share buyback program. ^141516171819
• Amazon CEO Andy Jassy signaled a direct challenge to Nvidia and AMD by suggesting the company may sell its proprietary Trainium AI chips to third parties, a business unit currently valued at a $20 billion annual run rate. ²⁰²¹²²
• AMD introduced the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 with a $899 price tag and joined the UALink Consortium to ratify the 2.0 specification for open AI interconnects, while Intel expanded its AI infrastructure partnership with Google to deploy Xeon 6 processors. ^{23242526272829}
• Other developments include Arm launching new CPUs for agentic AI, Synopsys introducing AI-powered analog layout synthesis, and Taiwanese chipmakers urging their government to stockpile strategic materials like helium and LNG due to geopolitical risks. ^{30313233343536}

Sources

1. Nvidia Rubin GPUs may be delayed, slowing the next phase of AI infrastructure networkworld.com
2. Nvidia’s ‘circular’ AI financing deals in focus as Firmus raises another $730m capitalbrief.com
3. Nvidia moves to build US$10B AI empire, one acquisition at a time digitimes.com
4. Nvidia Faces Minor Rubin Delay On Memory Issues finance.yahoo.com
5. Samsung Electronics Preoccupies DRAM Supercycle... World's No. 1 operating profit forecast for next year mk.co.kr
6. Samsung flags eightfold jump in Q1 profit as AI chip demand drives up prices reuters.com
7. Samsung announces Q1 2026 earnings guidance Samsung
8. Samsung’s US-Based 2nm Chip Production May Arrive Sooner Than Expected androidheadlines.com
9. Samsung raises RAM prices again because a 100% price hike wasn't enough androidheadlines.com
10. TSMC s Q1 revenue jumps 35% y/y, beats market forecast reuters.com
11. TSMC announces March 2026 revenue TSMC
12. TSMC says its most advanced chip packaging tech, CoWoS, is growing at an 80% CAGR as it ramps up capacity; Nvidia has reportedly reserved most of the capacity techmeme.com
13. TSMC's First Quarter Earnings: A Crucial Test Looms aktiencheck.de
14. ASML's Q1 Report to Gauge China Risk Amid Shareholder Returns aktiencheck.de
15. ASML carries out €100 million in share buybacks in four days nl.investing.com
16. ASML Holding (ASML) Secures $8 Billion EUV Equipment Order finance.yahoo.com
17. ASML shares fall on US Congress plan to further restrict China exports reuters.com
18. ASML Set To Report Q1 Earnings: Here's What to Expect finance.yahoo.com
19. No Good Friday: Americans crucify ASML | BNR Newsradio bnr.nl
20. Amazon may sell Trainium AI chips to third parties in shot at Nvidia finance.yahoo.com
21. Amazon CEO Jassy says company could sell AI chips, raising stakes for Nvidia, AMD finance.yahoo.com
22. Andy Jassy is so bullish on Amazon's chips that he took a rare shot at Nvidia businessinsider.com
23. AMD Plays Central Role As UALink 2.0 Shapes Future AI Clusters finance.yahoo.com
24. Intel and Google deepen AI infrastructure collaboration Intel
25. Google and Intel expand their partnership to deploy Xeon chips, including Xeon 6, and co-develop custom Infrastructure Processing Units to improve efficiency techmeme.com
26. AMD to Report Fiscal First Quarter 2026 Financial Results finance.yahoo.com
27. AMD finally puts a price tag on the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 and it’s hefty digitaltrends.com
28. UALink Consortium takes another swing at Nvidia's NVLink supremacy with specification 2.0 sdxcentral.com
29. AMD Gains Market Share, Agentic AI Fuels Chip Demand - Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) benzinga.com
30. Arm delivers Arm AGI CPU for agentic AI Arm
31. KLA marks 50 years of semiconductor innovation KLA
32. Synopsys introduces AI-powered analog layout synthesis Synopsys
33. Taiwanese chip makers call on government to stockpile helium, liquid natural gas — TSIA pleads for strategic supplies as US and Iran sign ceasefire in Middle East tomshardware.com
34. Applied Materials introduces deposition systems for Angstrom-era logic chips Applied Materials
35. Synopsys releases Ansys 2026 R1 Synopsys
36. Arm releases Keil Studio in GitHub Codespaces Arm