city

TrendForce's latest research on the memory industry indicates that the NOR Flash market is experiencing the most significant supply-demand structural change in nearly a decade. AI-related products are absorbing a large amount of capacity, and suppliers find it difficult to significantly increase NOR Flash bit output despite the continuous growth in high-end application demand. Therefore, the supply-demand imbalance is expected to persist in the second half of 2026, with overall contract prices remaining high.Although suppliers in Taiwan and China have increased capital expenditures and expanded production, the new capacity cannot be immediately converted into market supply. New output must first go through process migration, yield ramp-up, product certification, and customer design integration, making it difficult to alleviate the supply shortage in the mid-to-high capacity segment in the short term. Winbond expects the strongest bit growth in 2026, driven by the full-scale production of 45nm NOR and the migration to 25nm and 20nm. GigaDevice is upgrading the process for products of 32Mb and above, with effective output limited in the first half of the year. MXIC will prioritize additional 12-inch capacity for NAND and eMMC, limiting the growth of NOR wafer input.In 2026, AI and aerospace communications will become the main sources of new demand. The NOR usage in AI servers is 3-5 times that of traditional servers, with high-density demand driven by edge AI, AI PCs, robotics, and low-orbit satellites. In the first half of 2026, the average cumulative contract price increased by 100-120%. In the second half, the average price of products of 256Mb and above may rise by another 90-110%, while prices for products of 128Mb and below are expected to increase by 10-20% in Q4 2026.

According to foreign media reports, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rejected a prepayment proposal for electricity bills put forward by the Korea Electric Power Corporation. The proposal originally required the two companies to pay electricity bills in advance to fund the construction of the power grid for a new technology cluster. Utility companies across Asia are struggling to keep up with the growing demand from the semiconductor and artificial intelligence industries due to tight funding.The Korea Electric Power Corporation's proposal is estimated by local media to total 250 trillion won, equivalent to five years' worth of electricity bills. A spokesperson for the Korea Electric Power Corporation stated via text message, "The two companies ultimately rejected the proposal from the Korea Electric Power Corporation." According to local media reports, the two chip manufacturers are concerned about the uncertainty of whether the current semiconductor boom can be sustained over the next five years.

The supply chain reveals that TSMC has disclosed its expansion targets for 2/3 nanometers for the first time next year. The 2-nanometer production is expected to increase from 90,000 wafers at the end of this year to 110,000 wafers by mid-next year, an increase of 22%; the 3-nanometer production is expected to rise from over 180,000 wafers at the end of this year to 210,000 wafers by mid-next year, an increase of over 16%. TSMC did not comment on market rumors yesterday and emphasized that capacity-related statements are based on the company's announcements.It is reported that TSMC's monthly capacity for 3 nanometers reached 120,000 to 130,000 wafers at the end of last year and is expected to expand to 180,000 wafers by the end of this year, with a target of over 210,000 wafers by mid-next year. The monthly capacity for 2 nanometers is expected to reach 90,000 wafers by the end of this year. TSMC previously stated that capital expenditures in 2026 will range from $60 billion to $64 billion, with approximately 70% to 80% allocated for advanced processes, and plans to add three 3-nanometer fabs located in Taiwan, Arizona in the United States, and Japan, while converting 5-nanometer equipment in Taiwan to support 3-nanometer capacity.

According to Reuters, Mexican authorities discovered an illegal cryptocurrency mining operation in a remote mountainous building in Tehuacán, Puebla, where 300 GPUs, 80 medium-voltage terminals, and 8 satellite antennas were found on-site. Authorities are investigating whether the operation is stealing electricity from a nearby hydroelectric power station.This is the fourth similar crypto farm discovered in the area since early last year, with three others found near a hydroelectric power station in northern Puebla last year. Local residents reported that the noise from the equipment can be heard from a kilometer away. Mexican security analyst David Saucedo stated that drug trafficking groups seem to have reached a new level of sophistication, as establishing such operations requires technical expertise and support from well-funded groups.Chainalysis Latin America expert Caio Motta pointed out that such operations are usually located in areas with extremely low electricity prices or within the reach of organized crime to steal electricity and establish large-scale mining infrastructure.

CoinDesk reported that Robinhood Chain's daily revenue dropped 87% from its peak on September 4, to $1.06 million. The decline was not due to a decrease in activity, but rather higher capacity reduced congestion fees.During the same period, DEX trading volume approached $2 billion, and active addresses increased by 16.5%.

The wealthiest state in India, Maharashtra, is formulating policies to tokenize state government assets (including power transmission infrastructure), with the funds raised to be used for constructing new transmission lines and energy storage facilities. The Chief Minister's Chief Economic Advisor and CEO of the Maharashtra Transformation Institute (MITRA), Praveen Pardeshi, introduced this plan at an invitation-only event called "The Box Launch," hosted by the real estate tokenization company RealX and MST Blockchain at the Mumbai World Trade Center.Pardeshi stated that transmission lines could be partially tokenized, for example, 40% to 50%, allowing investors holding tokens to receive a portion of the revenue from Maharashtra Transco. The new funds generated from token sales could be used to build more transmission lines and solar energy storage centers. He pointed out that the state currently has a significant surplus of solar power but lacks the grid capacity to deliver it to where it is needed; distribution companies must pay high prices of 16 to 18 rupees per unit during peak hours, while the price during surplus periods on the power exchange is only 2 paise per unit.He also illustrated the practice of real estate tokenization with the example of the Mumbai Express Towers commercial building tokenized under a REIT structure, emphasizing that tokenization does not equate to privatization but rather allows more citizens to participate in the development activities of public asset creation. Additionally, the state is drafting the Maharashtra Digital and Land Token Asset Trading Act (DELTA Act), which, if passed, will make it the first state in India to legislate for blockchain-based property tokenization.

The founder and CEO of the Hong Kong-listed company Mech-Mind, Shao Tianlan, posted on social media, questioning some embodied intelligence companies that create false and unsustainable revenue through data collection centers and related transactions with local governments, investors, and suppliers to promote their listings. Mech-Mind mainly provides products such as robotic 3D vision and AI software, applied in industrial manufacturing, logistics, and other scenarios. He referred to these companies as "gathering-type" embodied intelligence companies, mentioning that they include some well-known and highly valued companies from Beijing and Shanghai that have appeared on the Spring Festival Gala, and criticized this practice as illegal, unethical, and unwise.Shao Tianlan stated that generating revenue in this way could harm investors and place an increasingly heavy growth burden on the companies. After achieving such revenue this year, they would need to continue to do so next year and do even more, potentially falling into a vortex of continuous fraud and bleeding. He specifically named Galaxy Universal in the comments section and inquired whether there was support from Beijing city leaders for the company's listing.

According to the official announcement from Zhipu, the "Citywide Coding Program" launched on September 10, providing coding package subsidies for employees in Hangzhou, students from universities in Hangzhou, and companies in Shangcheng District.The subsidy for individual quarterly and annual cards is 44% and 51%, respectively, while the subsidy for corporate annual cards is 55% (with a maximum limit of 1 million yuan per company). Each individual is limited to one use, and must choose between a quarterly or annual card, with a requirement to submit proof of social insurance participation or a student status verification report for application.

The supply chain reports that the capacity for high-end testing interfaces for AI chips is tight. NVIDIA has significantly raised prices to secure the capacity of mainstream testing interface vendors' probe cards and test sockets, causing some R&D and engineering validation demands to be squeezed out.Including wafer foundry TSMC and chip manufacturers, multiple supplier validations have been initiated to cope with the supply pressure after capacity has been locked.

According to Decrypt, the Mexican federal prosecutor, in conjunction with the Navy and Puebla state police, conducted a raid on a property in the remote mountainous area of Tlaola, Puebla, seizing approximately 300 cryptocurrency mining machines, as well as transformers, medium-voltage terminals, and satellite internet antennas.The investigation revealed that the mining operation illegally tapped into the grid of the Nuevo Necaxa hydroelectric power station, and authorities have filed charges for "theft of electricity." Currently, forensic accountants are tracing the source of the hardware funding, and money laundering suspicions have not been ruled out. Data from the Mexican Federal Electricity Commission shows that from January to July 2024, non-technical electricity losses reached up to 6,346 gigawatt-hours, valued at approximately 13.8 billion pesos (about 817 million USD).

According to Catcher Predict monitoring, in the market prediction on Polymarket for the event "Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Kansas City Royals," the option "Arizona Diamondbacks" in the sub-market "1st 5 Innings Spread -1.5" has experienced a dramatic fluctuation in winning probability, soaring from 31.5% an hour ago to the current 49.5% (a fluctuation of 18%). Please note the impact of relevant breaking news.

Licheng, Jingyuan Electronics, and Silergy all reported year-on-year and month-on-month revenue growth in August, with Licheng and Silergy setting new historical highs for two consecutive months. Licheng's consolidated revenue in August was 8.558 billion New Taiwan Dollars, a month-on-month increase of 3.48% and a year-on-year increase of 24.46%. After breaking the 8 billion mark for the first time in July and setting a historical high, August saw another record. The cumulative revenue for the first eight months reached 61.258 billion New Taiwan Dollars, a year-on-year increase of 30.83%. Jingyuan Electronics reported revenue of 4.08 billion New Taiwan Dollars in August, a month-on-month increase of 2.23% and a year-on-year increase of 31.58%. The cumulative revenue for the first eight months was 29.404 billion New Taiwan Dollars, a year-on-year increase of 35.53%. Silergy's revenue in August was 2.07 billion New Taiwan Dollars, with a month-on-month increase of nearly 3% and a year-on-year increase of nearly 29%. The cumulative revenue for the first eight months reached 15.26 billion New Taiwan Dollars, a year-on-year increase of over 20%.Licheng's main source of growth this year remains the rebound in demand for memory packaging and testing. Licheng previously anticipated that revenue in the third quarter would show single-digit quarter-on-quarter growth, with the fourth quarter having the potential to exceed the third quarter. The momentum for memory orders is expected to continue until the end of the year, with a positive market outlook at the beginning of next year. In addition to its core memory business, advanced packaging has become a key focus for the next phase of development. The panel-level packaging has already been adopted by American clients, and the production capacity of the P11 plant has been secured by clients, with plans to enter the mass production phase of integrated ASIC and HBM AI chips by mid-2027.Jingyuan Electronics has been actively expanding its high-end testing capacity in recent years, with AI-related products becoming an important driving force for its operations. The testing demand for AI GPUs, ASICs, and high-performance computing chips remains its main source of growth. Silergy pointed out that the demand for AI and high-speed interconnects is strong, including an increase in demand for high-performance computing chips such as CPUs, GPUs, ASICs, and AI accelerators. After completing the cleanroom construction at the newly acquired Hukou plant in February, Silergy began mass production in July, currently achieving 40% of the total capacity of the plant and gradually taking on new demand from overseas clients.

According to Catcher Predict monitoring, in the market prediction event "Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Kansas City Royals" on Polymarket, the option "Arizona Diamondbacks" in the sub-market "Spread -1.5" has experienced a sharp fluctuation in winning probability, dropping from 33% an hour ago to the current 16.5% (a fluctuation of 16.5%). Please note the impact of related breaking news.

According to CoinDesk, Solana plans to activate Transaction v1 this Wednesday, increasing the maximum capacity of a single transaction from 1232 bytes to 4096 bytes, more than tripling it. After the upgrade, complex operations that previously required splitting into multiple transactions are expected to be consolidated into a single transaction, including large cryptographic proofs, multi-signature payments, and certain privacy transfers.Transaction v1 has been running on the Solana testnet and development network, and the existing transaction format can still be used. Wallets and applications will only need to upgrade when larger transaction space is required. However, on-chain data services relied upon by block explorers, wallets, and trading applications need to adapt to the new format; otherwise, they may not be able to correctly read transaction and priority fee information.This upgrade aims to alleviate the structural limitations imposed by Solana's long-standing 1232-byte transaction cap, further enhancing its ability to handle complex applications. The 4096-byte limit references the common 4KB memory page size of validator hardware to avoid excessively large single transactions that increase network and validation node processing costs.

Samsung Electronics' wafer foundry division has recently surpassed 50% in the allocation of production capacity for the sixth-generation high bandwidth memory HBM4 substrate chips in the 4-nanometer process. The industry states that this division will invest more than half of its 4-nanometer wafers into HBM4 substrate chip manufacturing in the second half of this year to expand supply to companies like NVIDIA, Broadcom, and AMD.Samsung initiated mass production and shipment of HBM4 in February this year and plans to increase supply starting from the third quarter, significantly increasing the related wafer input since mid-year. This chip is based on Samsung's wafer foundry 4-nanometer (SF4) process. As of last month, over 50% of its total 4-nanometer capacity has been allocated to HBM4 substrate chips. According to insiders, Samsung's 4-nanometer process is currently at full capacity, with HBM4 substrate chips accounting for about 50% to 60%, and this high proportion will be maintained in the second half of the year.Samsung's wafer foundry production lines at Pyeongtaek Plant 2 and Plant 3 are mass-producing processes ranging from 4 to 7 nanometers, with a monthly capacity of about 30,000 wafers for the 4-nanometer process. Based on this, the wafer input related to HBM4 substrate chips is estimated to be about 15,000 wafers per month. During the second quarter earnings call, Samsung stated that it expects HBM4 revenue to increase more than threefold quarter-over-quarter in the third quarter, with HBM4 revenue in the second half expected to exceed 60% of the company's overall HBM revenue.

On September 7, China's leading packaging and testing company Changdian Technology announced plans to raise no more than 6.5 billion yuan (approximately 968 million USD) through a private placement of shares, aimed at expanding advanced packaging capacity for AI chips and related technology research and development.The funds raised will primarily be directed towards the construction of production lines for high-density system-in-package and wafer-level packaging aimed at AI computing chips, in response to order demands from clients such as NVIDIA and AMD. Changdian Technology stated that the bandwidth and heat dissipation requirements for packaging technology have significantly increased for AI chips, and existing capacity is nearing full operation. This fundraising plan still requires approval from the shareholders' meeting and regulatory authorities.

According to Catcher Predict monitoring, in the market prediction on Polymarket for the event "Toronto Blue Jays vs. Kansas City Royals," the option "Toronto Blue Jays" in the sub-market "Toronto Blue Jays vs. Kansas City Royals" experienced a dramatic fluctuation in winning probability, soaring from 45.5% an hour ago to the current 93% (a fluctuation of 47.5%). Please note the impact of related breaking news.

According to Catcher Predict monitoring, in the Polymarket event "Manchester City vs Coventry," the "Over" option for the sub-market "Second Half O/U 0.5" experienced a sharp fluctuation in winning probability, soaring from 68% an hour ago to the current 88.5% (a fluctuation of 20.5%). Please note the impact of related breaking news.

The Bank of Korea stated that thanks to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix actively expanding domestic production facilities, South Korea's leading advantage in memory chip capacity is expected to further expand.The Bank of Korea expects that new chip factories to be put into production by 2028 will increase South Korea's monthly wafer capacity by approximately 600,000 wafers.

According to Electronic News on September 3, Micron plans to double its high bandwidth memory (HBM) production capacity compared to last year, with a maximum addition of 60,000 wafers per month by the end of this year. Insiders say that Micron's HBM output was about 40,000 to 50,000 wafers per month last year, and it is expected to reach about 100,000 wafers per month by the end of the year, narrowing the gap with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.Micron is increasing procurement orders from multiple HBM equipment suppliers, with production bases mainly in Taiwan and Singapore, continuously introducing equipment. Currently, the output is mainly HBM3E 12-layer, with HBM4 12-layer accounting for about 20% to 30% at the beginning of this year, which may rise to as high as 50% by the end of the year. HBM4 12-layer will be used in NVIDIA's latest AI accelerator, Vera Rubin, and Micron has started mass production of this product since the second quarter of this year.Micron CEO Mehrotra stated in the Q3 earnings call for fiscal year 2026 in June this year that the ramp-up speed of HBM4 12-layer mass production is about twice that of HBM3E 12-layer, and cumulative revenue from HBM4 shipments has exceeded $1 billion. The industry believes that Samsung and SK Hynix each have HBM production capacities of about 150,000 to 200,000 wafers per month. Counterpoint data shows that in Q2 of this year, the global HBM market shares were SK Hynix 50%, Samsung 32%, and Micron 18%. Micron is also preparing related investments in Hiroshima, Japan.