Micron Decides to Withdraw from Semiconductor Business for Chinese Data Centers

TSMC posts record-high Q3 net profit of 21 trillion won, fueled by surge in demand for AI semiconductors.
According to Reuters on the 16th (local time), TSMC announced in its earnings report that its net profit for the third quarter of this year increased 39.1% year-on-year to NT$452.3 billion (approximately KRW 21 trillion). 

This performance exceeds the LSEG SmartEstimate forecast of NT$417.7 billion (approximately KRW 19.3395 trillion), which is a composite assessment of 20 semiconductor industry experts. 

TSMC previously announced its preliminary third-quarter sales at NT$990 billion (approximately KRW 46 trillion), which is also a 30% increase year-on-year and the largest ever.

SemiFive seeks KOSDAQ listing with “AI-tailored semiconductors.”
SemiFive submitted a securities registration statement to the Financial Services Commission on the 17th. It plans to offer a total of 5.4 million shares through a new stock offering, with a target offering price of 21,000 to 24,000 won. The total offering amount is estimated at 113.4 to 129.6 billion won. Following demand forecasting and subscriptions next month, the company aims to list within the year. 

Founded in 2019, SemiFive is a specialized AI-specific semiconductor design company that has developed data center chips in collaboration with major domestic fabless companies such as Rebellion and Furiosa AI. Recently, the company has expanded its design scope to include edge computing, CXL, and autonomous driving, and is also collaborating with global device manufacturers.

Micron decides to withdraw from semiconductor business for Chinese data centers.
U.S. semiconductor company Micron has decided to stop supplying server chips for data centers in China, Reuters reported on the 17th, citing sources.

According to multiple sources, Micron made the decision after determining that its business recovery was impossible after the Chinese government banned the use of Micron products in the country’s critical infrastructure in 2023.

Micron will withdraw from the server chip business in China, but will continue to supply two Chinese companies with data center operations outside of China. One of these companies is Lenovo, a leading Chinese laptop manufacturer, officials said. Micron will also reportedly continue to supply memory chips for general consumer products, including automotive and mobile devices.

The automotive industry is on high alert due to disruptions in Nexperia chip supply amid the China-Netherlands conflict.
The conflict between China and the Netherlands surrounding Dutch semiconductor company Nexperia, a subsidiary of a Chinese company, has spilled over into the global automotive industry. 

According to Reuters on the 16th (local time), the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said that automakers and suppliers were notified by Nexperia last week that it could no longer guarantee chip supplies. 

ACEA said this could significantly disrupt vehicle production. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation (AAI), which represents major U.S. automakers, also called for a swift resolution to the issue. 

ASML reports Q3 revenue of KRW 12.4 trillion… “We expect improved performance next year.”
Dutch semiconductor equipment company ASML announced on the 15th that it recorded net sales of 7.5 billion euros (12.4 trillion won) in the third quarter of this year.

ASML forecasts net sales of €9.2 billion (KRW 15.2 trillion) to €9.8 billion (KRW 16.2 trillion) for the fourth quarter of this year, with a gross profit margin of 51% to 53%. It also forecasts total net sales this year to grow 15% compared to last year, with a gross profit margin of 52%. 

In addition, the company forecast that next year’s total net sales will not be lower than this year’s performance.

Padu and Taiwanese Companies Join Forces to Build Next-Generation eSSD Ecosystem
FADU, a data center semiconductor specialist, announced on the 15th that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Taiwan’s Adata and Giga Computing to build a next-generation eSSD (enterprise solid-state drive) ecosystem.

The three companies plan to combine their technological strengths to provide a high-performance, high-efficiency storage solution optimized for the AI ​​era. 

This collaboration will center around ADATA’s new enterprise brand, TRUSTA, which combines Padu’s controller technology, ADATA’s SSD expertise, and Giga Computing’s advanced server engineering technology.

Apple Unveils M5 MacBook Pro and iPad Pro
Major foreign media outlets, including The Verge, reported on the 15th (local time) that Apple has released the MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro equipped with the next-generation M5 chip.

Apple said the M5 chip is up to 3.5 times faster in AI tasks than the M4 thanks to its next-generation 10-core graphics processing unit (GPU) with a Neural Accelerator.

The new GPU also boasts 1.6x better graphics performance and up to 1.6x faster frame rates in games. Multithreading performance is also improved by 20%, and memory bandwidth has increased from 120 Gbps in the previous model to 153 Gbps. Storage options include up to 4 Terabytes SSD. 

CATL’s skateboard chassis ‘Bedrock’. /Photo = CATL

GM’s withdrawal of its electric vehicle transition plan will result in financial burdens exceeding 2 trillion won.
American automaker General Motors (GM) has reportedly withdrawn its originally planned electric vehicle production plans, incurring costs amounting to 2 trillion won (approximately $1.6 billion) related to the plan revision.

GM announced on the 14th (local time) that a total of $1.6 billion (approximately 2.3 trillion won) in costs will be reflected in its third-quarter performance as a result of adjusting electric vehicle production capacity.

Of this, $1.2 billion will be reflected as non-cash expenses, and $400 million will be reflected as cash expenses such as contract cancellation fees.

Global electric vehicle sales hit a record high in September, raising hopes for a resolution of the chasm.
Last month, global electric vehicle sales reached 2.1 million units, a 20% increase compared to the same period last year, marking the highest monthly figure ever.

Even amid the electric vehicle chasm (temporary stagnation in demand) that began in earnest last year, sales of affordable, mass-market electric vehicles are increasing in Europe, and in the US, where electric vehicle policies are being rolled back, there is a surge in last-minute demand for electric vehicle purchases just before the abolition of electric vehicle subsidies.

K-battery share in the electric vehicle market excluding China decreases, but CATL continues to dominate.
According to SNE Research, an energy market research firm, on the 15th, the total battery usage of pure electric vehicles (EVs), plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs), and hybrid vehicles (HEVs) registered in countries around the world, excluding China, from January to August this year was approximately 288.3 GWh (gigawatt hours), a 27.3% increase compared to the same period last year.

CATL, the global leader, recorded a 36.8% year-on-year increase in battery usage, reaching 83.8 GWh. It maintained its lead with a 29.1% market share.

The market share of the three domestic battery companies, LG Energy Solution, SK On, and Samsung SDI, was recorded at 38.3%, down 6.5 percentage points (p) from the same period last year.

China to impose export controls on lithium batteries and synthetic diamonds starting next month
Hong Kong’s Ming Pao reported on the 13th that China is planning to implement export controls on advanced lithium-ion batteries and artificial diamonds, following rare earth elements.

Lithium-ion batteries are an essential power source widely used in smartphones, laptops, electric vehicles, power tools, medical devices, and renewable energy storage. Synthetic diamonds, with the same properties as natural minerals but at a lower price, are used in the manufacturing of advanced semiconductor chips, as well as in polishing ultra-strong materials and laser optical devices.

POSCO FutureM to launch Canadian cathode materials plant next year; precursor expansion on hold
POSCO FutureM will begin operations at its cathode materials plant in Canada, established in partnership with automaker General Motors (GM), next year. However, investment in expanding precursor production capacity (CAPA) has been temporarily suspended. This is due to a slowdown in demand for electric vehicles.

According to Bloomberg and other foreign media outlets, GM announced on the 16th (local time) that its cathode materials plant, built in Bécancois, Quebec, Canada, with POSCO FutureM, will begin operations next year. The annual capacity is 30,000 tons.

EcoPro BM is pursuing the establishment of a European cathode material sales corporation.
EcoPro BM announced on the 13th that it will pursue the establishment of a cathode material sales corporation in Europe.

The company explained that it plans to promote its recently established European liaison office in Germany to a legal entity. The German office serves as a communication channel between the Korean headquarters and European clients, and the company plans to expand this function.

EcoPro BM announced that it has begun pursuing the establishment of a corporation to strengthen its battery materials cooperation with local customers, as the European electric vehicle market grows. The company does not have a separate corporation in Europe, except for Hungary, where it is building a cathode materials plant.

Toyota, a leader in all-solid-state batteries, secures a cathode material supply source and aims for a 2027 launch.
Japanese automaker Toyota, with plans to launch all-solid-state batteries as early as 2027, has secured a supplier of cathode materials, a key component. According to foreign media outlets such as Reuters and Inside EV, Toyota has agreed to collaborate with Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. to mass-produce cathode materials for all-solid-state batteries.

Toyota also revealed that it is considering hybrid vehicles rather than pure electric vehicles with solid-state batteries.

Tesla Bot, a humanoid robot unveiled by Tesla

Google’s Waymo self-driving car is also being deployed for DoorDash food delivery in the US.
Google and DoorDash announced in a joint statement on the 16th (local time) that they will begin a grocery and food delivery service using Google’s self-driving cars in the Phoenix metropolitan area of ​​Arizona starting later this year.

The two companies announced that the service will initially begin with Dash Mart deliveries targeting convenience stores, grocery stores, and retail stores, and will gradually expand the number of stores and products in the future.

Users can choose Waymo for autonomous vehicle delivery when making a payment on the DoorDash platform, and when the Waymo vehicle arrives, they can open the trunk and collect their items using the DoorDash app.

Samhyun unveils its first mass-produced high-load autonomous robot at Roboworld.
Samhyun, a motion control specialist, announced on the 17th that it will unveil the mass-produced model of its ‘High-Amount Autonomous Driving Robot (HAMR)’ for the first time in Korea at RoboWorld, which will be held at KINTEX in Ilsan next month.

The HAMR being unveiled this time is a next-generation autonomous driving robot that can be operated in high-load environments such as industrial logistics, shipbuilding, and manufacturing, based on the 3-in-1 integrated solution (motor, controller, and reducer) technology accumulated by Samhyun.

Unlike existing unmanned guided vehicles (AGVs) that were limited to a speed of 5 km/h, Samhyun’s HAMR can travel at high speeds of up to 20 km/h, enabling it to meet diverse industrial needs with its lineup of 3 to 10 tonne vehicles.

Clobot Unveils ‘Chameleon v3.0’, Commercializing Physical AI Autonomous Driving 
Kim Chang-gu, co-CEO of Clobot, said at ‘Tech Day 2025’ held in Yeouido on the 16th, “The autonomous driving software ‘Chameleon v3.0’ we developed this time is the starting point for robot autonomous driving technology in the era of ‘physical AI’ where robots perceive, think, and act on their own.” He added, “We will accelerate our entry into the global market based on our technological competitiveness in the field of general autonomous driving software.”

Chameleon v3.0 is Clobot’s proprietary camera-based autonomous driving software. While existing lidar-based SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping) technology suffers from environmental dependence due to noise from lighting changes and reflective objects, Chameleon v3.0’s “Chamel-Eye” engine precisely recognizes the surrounding environment using only camera footage, creating high-precision maps and estimating location.

Naver to unveil humanoid robot next month
Naver will unveil a humanoid robot it’s developing in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) next month. The robot is scheduled to appear in person at Naver’s second headquarters, Building 1784, within the year. 

Seok Sang-ok, CEO of Naver Labs, made these remarks while giving a lecture on “Digital Twin, AI, and Robots for Future Cities” at the Digital Insight Forum held by the Korea Association for ICT Promotion (KAIT) at the Chosun Palace in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the 16th.

A panoramic view of LG Display’s Paju plant. / Photo = LG Display

AP Systems invests to double OLED equipment production capacity.
AP Systems has doubled its production capacity for organic light-emitting diode (OLED) equipment. The company announced on the 16th that it acquired a 15,000-square-meter (m²) cleanroom production facility and land from APS for 60 billion won.

This investment has increased OLED equipment production capacity (CAPA) to 30,000 square meters. This measure is in response to the full-scale investment in OLED for 8th-generation (8G) information technology (IT) devices from China.

Apple to Equip MacBooks with Touchscreens
Apple is developing a new version of the MacBook Pro with an OLED display, a touchscreen, and a punch-hole camera, Bloomberg reported on the 16th (local time).

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that Apple is preparing a next-generation MacBook Pro with an OLED display, a hole-punch camera, and a touchscreen. The product is expected to be released sometime between late 2026 and early 2027.

LGD sees end of deficit tunnel as demand for OLEDs from Apple soars
According to a report recently released by Seeking Alpha, the world’s largest investment information platform, LG Display’s share of OLED panel shipments to Apple in the third quarter was observed to be around 30.3%.

This represents a 9 percentage point increase compared to 21.3% in the second quarter. The report explained that the increase in market share was due to “strong continued demand for the new iPhone.”

The report added that “key growth drivers include the potential recovery in demand for large-sized OLEDs and the possibility that Apple will adopt OLED panels across its entire tablet and laptop product lineup in the future.”

Source: Kipost.net