Semiconductors & AI Chips Weekly Briefing

April 17, 2026

Semiconductor giants TSMC and ASML reported massive growth fueled by AI demand as OpenAI invests $20B to diversify its hardware supply and more.

• TSMC reported a record 58% jump in first-quarter net profit, driven by surging AI chip demand, and forecast sales growth of more than 30% for the full year 2026. ^123456789
• ASML raised its 2026 sales guidance and confirmed plans to ramp up High NA EUV production as the global AI spending boom continues to underpin heavy investment from cloud providers. ^{10111213141516171819}
• Nvidia introduced the Ising open-source quantum AI platform and faced mixed news including a legal battle over AI copyright suits and reported shipments pauses for some GPUs to stabilize pricing. ^2021222324
• Samsung is accelerating the delivery of next-generation HBM4E memory samples to Nvidia and increased production targets for its Galaxy S26 series amid strong demand. ^2526272829
• AMD secured a multi-billion dollar partnership with the French government to anchor the country's national AI strategy and reportedly landed a major customer for its upcoming Instinct MI450 chips. ³⁰³¹³²
• OpenAI reportedly entered a $20 billion multi-year agreement with chip startup Cerebras Systems for AI server capacity as it seeks to reduce its dependency on Nvidia hardware. ³³
• Other notable developments include Intel's launch of Core Series 3 processors, Arm's introduction of the AGI CPU for agentic AI, and Cadence's expanded partnerships with Google and Nvidia to accelerate chip design. ^{34353637383940414243444546}

Sources

1. TSMC Sees 58% Boost to Profits in Q1 of 2026 Supply Chain Brain
2. TSMC Flags Higher Spending After Earnings Beat. What It Means for Intel. Barron's
3. Taiwan’s chipmaker TSMC reports 58% jump in profit, warns about Iran war impacts AP News
4. TSMC guides over 15% 2Q26 revenue growth, N3 margins set to top average DIGITIMES
5. TSMC expects 2026 sales to grow more than 30% Focus Taiwan
6. TSMC logs huge profit jump and predicts record Q2 revenue on AI boom CNA
7. TSMC reports first quarter EPS of NT$22.08 TSMC
8. AI chip maker TSMC set to post 50% quarterly profit jump The Globe and Mail
9. TSMC Earnings: Refining Guidance and Expansion Plans Amid Strong AI Demand Morningstar
10. ASML extends Low NA EUV to 2031, ramps up High NA production DIGITIMES
11. ASML significantly increases production of chip machines: new cleanroom, more EUV systems and hundreds of extra jobs AD
12. Strong ASML, TSMC Forecasts Signal AI Spending Boom Is Intact U.S. News & World Report
13. ASML Falls Post-Earnings, Chip-Making Expansion Anchors Outlook | Investing.com Investing.com
14. ASML raises sales guidance as EUV advances continue optics.org
15. ASML reports €2.8 bil. profit in Q1; Ups revenue forecast as chips demand outpace supply NL Times
16. ASML's AI-Driven Surge: A Promising Revenue Outlook for 2026 Devdiscourse
17. ASML reports €8.8 billion Q1 2026 net sales ASML
18. ASML boosts 2026 sales forecast despite shrinking China sales South China Morning Post
19. ASML Anticipates Strong Q1 Results Amid AI Chip Demand Surge GuruFocus
20. Nvidia Fights Uphill For Big Trim Of Authors' AI Copyright Suit - Law360 Law360
21. NVIDIA’s Ising Quantum AI Debut Adds New Dimension To Growth Story Yahoo Finance
22. NVIDIA reportedly halts GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8GB shipments to avoid price drops TweakTown
23. NVIDIA launches Ising open AI models Nvidia
24. NVIDIA Launches Ising, the World's First Open AI Models to Accelerate the Path to Useful Quantum Computers Markets Insider
25. Samsung enhances Audio Eraser for Galaxy S26 series Samsung
26. Samsung targets May HBM4E samples for Nvidia after validation DIGITIMES
27. Samsung Races to Deliver Next-Gen HBM4E Memory Samples to Nvidia - EconoTimes EconoTimes
28. Glass substrates move toward mass production as Intel, Samsung Electro-Mechanics step up efforts DIGITIMES
29. Samsung boosts Galaxy S26 production by 600,000 units in April DIGITIMES
30. AMD signs Letter of Intent with French Government AMD
31. AMD Anchors France s AI Strategy With Exascale Supercomputer Partnership - Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ Benzinga
32. AMD s Instinct MI450 Reportedly Secures A Major AI Customer Wccftech
33. OpenAI reportedly to spend over US$20 billion on Cerebras chips, reducing reliance on Nvidia DIGITIMES
34. Intel welcomes Shawn Han as SVP and GM Intel
35. Arm estimates 4x more CPU cores for agentic AI Arm
36. Intel launches Core Series 3 processors Intel
37. Cadence introduces AI Super Agents for chip design Cadence
38. Cadence Teams With Nvidia And Google To Redefine AI System Engineering Forbes
39. Cadence, Nvidia working together on developing AI for robotics Reuters
40. Cadence expands partnership with NVIDIA Cadence
41. Cadence collaborates with Google on AI-driven chip design Cadence
42. Broadcom announces extended partnership with Meta Broadcom
43. Nvidia Partners with Chip Software Maker to Close Sim-to-Real Gap AI Business
44. Arm partners with Rebellions and SK Telecom Arm
45. NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) Partners with Google on Gemma 4 to Enhance Agentic AI Capabilities Yahoo Finance
46. Arm discusses AI changes Arm