Weekly News Bulletin Sep 25, 2026
Weekly Semiconductor Industry News Brief
① Alibaba T-Head Launches "Zhenwu V900," the Most Powerful China-Designed AI Chip
On September 22, the opening day of the 2026 Apsara Conference, Alibaba's T-Head officially unveiled Zhenwu V900, its new-generation training-and-inference AI chip. The company describes it as the most powerful China-developed AI chip to date, delivering 3× the single-chip performance of its predecessor Zhenwu M890, equipped with 216 GB of HBM, and offering 1,200 GB/s of chip-to-chip interconnect bandwidth. Mass production is planned for Q1 2027, followed by large-scale deployment in Alibaba Cloud data centers. At the conference, Alibaba reiterated its long-term strategic focus on three directions: AI models, AI chips and AI cloud.
② Qualcomm Snapdragon Summit Unveils 2 nm Flagship Chip; On-Device 30-Billion-Parameter Models
From September 22 to 24, the 2026 Snapdragon Summit was held in Hawaii. Qualcomm officially launched the sixth-generation Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and the higher-positioned Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6. Both are manufactured on TSMC's second-generation 2 nm process (N2P), use Qualcomm's self-developed Oryon CPU, and are the first mobile CPUs to break the 5 GHz barrier, with strong emphasis on AI, gaming and imaging. The flagship platform can run a 30-billion-parameter model locally on-device, marking the start of an "AI-Native" era for smartphones.
③ Yuexin Semiconductor Opens Subscription on September 24; Largest ChiNext Issue of the Year
On September 24, Yuexin Semiconductor (301660), Guangdong's first 12-inch wafer fab in volume production and ChiNext's first pure-play wafer manufacturing issuer, opened online subscription on the ChiNext board. The offering totals 512.646 million shares, the largest ChiNext issue of 2026 and the fourth-largest IPO of the year. Focused on analog and specialty processes, the company targets the roughly 16% domestic localization rate of analog chips. The prospectus shows revenue CAGR of 57.3% from 2023 to 2025, while attributable net profit remained negative with widening losses.
④ Memory Price Hikes Exceed Expectations: DRAM +20%-30%, NAND +15%+; CXMT G5 Enters Mass Production
According to the latest memory-industry research from Bank of America Securities, in Q3 2026 the average price of most DRAM products increased 20%-30% QoQ and NAND flash rose more than 15%—a steeper increase than previously expected. AI and cloud applications are pushing DRAM and NAND demand sharply higher, the core driver of this round. CXMT's G5 process officially entered mass production this week, lifting China's self-sufficiency in memory. Apple has meanwhile accepted Samsung's Q1 2027 quotes of nearly US$2.0/Gb for DRAM and US$0.33/Gb for NAND, up 30%-40% versus Q3 2026.
⑤ YMTC Enters LPDDR5 DRAM; Trial Production Planned for End-2026, with HBM and 3D DRAM on the Roadmap
On September 22, against a backdrop of severe global memory shortages, China's two memory giants YMTC and CXMT shifted from "climbing the same mountain" to direct competition. YMTC officially entered the LPDDR5 DRAM field, with trial production planned by the end of 2026 and an initial capacity of about 25,000 wafers; the company aims to ramp capacity in 2027 and has planned subsequent development of HBM and 3D DRAM. The move marks China's entry into full-product-line competition across NAND, DRAM and HBM.
⑥ TSMC's 2 nm Wafer at US$30,000; UMC and PSMC Prepare a New Round of Price Increases
Supply-chain reports indicate TSMC has set its 2 nm foundry quote at roughly US$30,000 per wafer, about 50% higher than the current ~US$20,000 for 3 nm; 3 nm orders are booked out to 2027, with rush-order premiums of 50%-100%. On the mature-node side, UMC, PSMC and VIS are running at high utilization rates; UMC has signaled a new price hike, while PSMC is reported to be raising quotes by around 40%. TrendForce expects mature-node foundry prices to rise 5%-15% on average in H1 2026, with a third round of increases in the pipeline and pricing pressure set to continue into 2027.
⑦ CSOA 2026 Compound Semiconductor Optoelectronics Forum Held in Beijing
On September 22-23, the 2026 Zhongguancun Forum series event—Compound Semiconductor Optoelectronic Devices and Applications Beijing Forum (CSOA 2026)—was held in Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area under the theme "Material Innovation Driving, Optoelectronic Integration Empowering." Co-hosted by the National Key Laboratory of Wide-Bandgap Semiconductor Materials and Technology for Beyond-Lighting, the Optical Society of China Information Optoelectronic Devices Technical Committee and CSA, it showcased the latest progress in GaN, GaAs and InP for optical communications, Micro LED and CPO, highlighting the strategic value of compound semiconductors in AI computing and optical interconnect.
⑧ IC WORLD 2026 Concludes in Yizhuang; RISC-V Open Computing Forum Debuts
From September 16 to 18, the 2026 Beijing Microelectronics International Symposium & IC WORLD Conference was held in Yizhuang, Beijing. Its RISC-V Open Computing Forum—"Embodied Intelligence · Large Models · Data Centers"—organized by the Beijing Integrated Circuit Society and the RISC-V Digital Infrastructure Alliance (RDI), and hosted by the Beijing RDI Innovation Center, gathered industry progress on RISC-V in data centers, large models and embodied intelligence. The conference also featured more than ten thematic forums on equipment components and materials, 3D IC, optoelectronic integration and more, with nearly 150 industry experts sharing insights.
⑨ AMEC Expects 2026 Order Growth Above 50%; Per-Wafer Equipment Value Continues to Rise
Institutional research indicates AMEC expects 2026 order growth above 50%; per-wafer equipment value continues to rise—from US$200-300 million/10k wafers to US$300-400 million at YMTC, and from ~US$100 million to US$200 million at CXMT—which, combined, supports a possible doubling of AMEC's 2027 orders. Piotech reported 2026 H1 new orders more than doubled YoY, with CX (YMTC) share rising sharply and memory exposure above 60%. Hengyunchang and Jingsheng Mechanical & Electrical saw active trading this week, suggesting domestic semiconductor equipment has reached an inflection point.
⑩ Galaxy Microelectronics to Invest RMB 1.078 billion in High-End Core Device Industrialization Project
On the evening of September 21, Galaxy Microelectronics announced plans to invest RMB 1.078 billion of its own or self-raised funds in a "High-End Core Device Industrialization and Innovation Capability Building Project." With a three-year construction period and a planned start date of January 1, 2027, the project is intended to address the supply gap in domestic high-end products: the company's existing capacity is mainly oriented toward conventional products, and the project will further strengthen its footprint in high-end discrete devices and power semiconductors.
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① https://caifuhao.eastmoney.com/news/20260922141746763344830
② https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1877080073997870833
③ https://caifuhao.eastmoney.com/news/20260921183535668932190
④ https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1877098440811207075
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⑦ https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1877103367191573624
⑧ http://www.wokeji.com/web/gdxw/2026-09/18/content_583831.html
⑨ https://guba.eastmoney.com/news,zshkhsscbi,1774257641.html
⑩ https://k.sina.com.cn/article_7857201856_1d45362c001908ob3w.html
