Global Semiconductor Sales Surge
Global chip sales hit $64.9 billion in August 2025, up 21.7% year-on-year, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).
Growth is strongest across Asia Pacific and the Americas, fuelled by high demand for AI, automotive, and industrial applications.
Qualcomm Wins Final Court Battle with Arm
A U.S. court has ruled fully in Qualcomm’s favour in its long-running dispute with Arm, confirming that Qualcomm’s CPU development remains fully compliant with its architecture license.
This outcome gives Qualcomm a clear legal foundation to continue developing its custom CPU architectures for advanced computing.
Axcelis and Veeco Merge in $4.4B Deal
Axcelis Technologies and Veeco Instruments have announced a $4.4 billion all-stock merger, creating the fourth-largest U.S. wafer fabrication equipment supplier.
The combined company will be based in Beverly, Massachusetts, with plans to expand across ion implantation, laser annealing, and advanced packaging technologies.
Photon Bridge Unveils Tunable Laser PIC
Eindhoven-based Photon Bridge has launched a tunable laser photonic integrated circuit (PIC) designed for AI and telecom systems.
The innovation supports high-volume, energy-efficient optical interconnects, paving the way for next-generation AI datacentres and coherent communication networks.
Samsung and SK Partner with OpenAI
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have joined OpenAI’s $500 billion Stargate initiative to expand global AI infrastructure.
The partnership will establish new AI datacentres in South Korea and scale production of high-performance memory chips, reinforcing Korea’s role as a leading AI and semiconductor hub.
Cerebras Systems Raises $1.1B Funding
AI processor company Cerebras Systems has raised $1.1 billion in Series G funding, valuing the company at $8.1 billion.
The new investment will help scale U.S. manufacturing and R&D, further strengthening Cerebras’ position as a key player in AI compute infrastructure.
IBM, AMD, and Zyphra Join Forces
IBM and AMD are partnering with Zyphra to build one of the largest AI training infrastructures to date, powered by AMD’s Instinct MI300X GPUs on IBM Cloud.
The project supports open-source AI model development and aims to deliver scalable, energy-efficient AI training for global enterprises.
Europe Forms Unified Semiconductor Coalition
All 27 EU member states have signed the Semicon Coalition declaration, committing to greater collaboration under a proposed EU Chips Act 2.0.
The initiative focuses on investment, skills, sustainability, and innovation, aiming to boost Europe’s competitiveness in the global semiconductor supply chain.
