semiconductor

Park Chang-min from Samsung Electronics Semiconductor Research Institute's Foundry Process Development Team stated at the "2026 Next Generation Lithography + Patterning Academic Conference" that the company plans to apply High-NA EUV technology starting from the 1-nanometer (A10) process, aiming for mass production around 2030. Samsung is currently still using the existing 0.33 NA EUV multiple patterning scheme for processes at 2 nanometers and below, with plans to achieve mass production of 1.4 nanometers by 2029, and then advance to 1 nanometer.High-NA EUV will increase the lens numerical aperture (NA) from 0.33 to 0.55, providing higher resolution, which can simplify ultra-fine processes that originally required multiple patterning into single patterning, helping to reduce manufacturing costs, improve production efficiency, and enhance design flexibility. However, this technology is highly challenging, equipment is expensive, and it requires simultaneous upgrades in supporting material technologies. Park Chang-min expects that the 1.4 nanometer and 1 nanometer processes will still primarily use 0.33 NA EUV multiple patterning, after which High-NA patterning will become the core technology of the new generation processes.

According to Bloomberg, former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner's AI fund Situational Awareness has splurged $400 million this week to support a private company, which is the semiconductor manufacturing startup Source Foundry. It is reported that VC giant Sequoia Capital has also provided support for this startup. So far, representatives from Situational Awareness and Source Foundry have not responded to requests for comments, while Sequoia Capital has declined to confirm the hedge fund's investment situation.It is reported that Source Foundry is dedicated to developing a semiconductor manufacturing process that is simpler, cheaper, and faster than existing methods, aiming to bridge the widening gap between the demand for AI computing power and the capacity expansion of chip manufacturing. Analysts believe that Leopold Aschenbrenner's large-scale investment reflects the ongoing strong demand in the market for new chip manufacturing technologies, as AI developers' demand for computing power is increasing day by day. However, this investment also reveals that Situational Awareness has formed a highly concentrated risk exposure before facing significant financial pressure due to severe fluctuations in its publicly held technology positions.

On July 29, the U.S. Department of Commerce signed letters of intent with seven companies, totaling up to $874 million, to support seven "post-GPU era" underlying technology routes such as CPO, ferroelectric memory, and 3D packaging in the form of equity investments. This marks a shift in the U.S. chip strategy from "capacity reshoring" to "technology route selection."The seven companies and their technology directions include: GlobalFoundries (CPO silicon photonic integration, $300 million), Kepler Computing (ferroelectric 3D memory, $245 million), Multibeam (multi-electron beam direct-write lithography and advanced packaging, $140 million), Extropic (thermodynamic sampling unit TSU, $75 million), Thintronics (ultra-low loss dielectric materials, $50 million), Aeluma (large-size phosphorus-free optoelectronic device substrates, $30 million), and OBSIDIA (hardware zero-trust chip anti-counterfeiting, $34 million). All companies are required to provide non-controlling minority equity to the U.S. government.This move shows that the funding usage of the CHIPS Act is shifting from subsidizing wafer fabs to directly holding equity in cutting-edge technology companies with national capital, in order to secure rule-making authority in the post-Moore era.

According to Gate market data, as of the close, the China-Korea Semiconductor ETF (513310) had a total trading volume of 23.7 billion, marking the third highest record in history. The highest record was 25.9 billion on July 29, 2026, and the second highest was 24 billion on July 21, 2026. This ETF tracks the China Securities Korea Exchange China-Korea Semiconductor Index, with the top two holdings being Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.Today, the South Korean KOSPI index closed up 3.76%, with SK Hynix rising 5.8% and Samsung Electronics rising 2.5%.

According to Gate market data, Intel (INTC.O) has increased by 10%, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index is currently up by 6.2%.

According to Gate market data, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose more than 5% during the day. Among them, Arm (ARM.O) increased by 11.5%, Marvell Technology Group (MRVL.O) rose by 11%, Intel (INTC.O) increased by more than 7%, and Micron Technology (MU.O) rose by 6.7%.

According to Reuters, informed sources say that Changxin Storage is considering building a second 12-inch DRAM wafer fab in Beijing's Yizhuang and is negotiating financing with the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone and several state-owned technology companies. The company is seeking at least 60 million yuan (approximately 8.9 million USD) in support, but negotiations are still in the early stages, and the scale and structure of the financing may be adjusted.The proposed factory will be located at the site of Changxin Storage's existing DRAM wafer fab in Beijing. The planned production capacity and total investment for the project have not yet been determined, while building a fab capable of producing advanced DRAM typically requires over 10 billion USD. Currently, Changxin Storage operates two 12-inch DRAM wafer fabs in Hefei and one in Beijing, each with a monthly production capacity of about 100,000 wafers. Changxin Storage is also building new factories in Shanghai and Hefei, and once the related projects are fully operational, the company's monthly production capacity could double to over 600,000 wafers.This expansion comes as demand for storage chips is driven by AI infrastructure, data centers, and consumer electronics entering an upward cycle. The company completed an 8.6 billion USD IPO last month, marking the largest fundraising for a semiconductor company listed in mainland China, and its stock price has risen by 13% since going public. Changxin Storage is currently the fourth largest DRAM manufacturer in the world, but Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron together still account for nearly 90% of the global market share in the first quarter. Beijing and Shanghai are also providing funding and other support to Changxin Storage to gain economic and strategic benefits from its expansion.

According to Gate market data, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index nearly erased its intraday gains, which had previously risen by about 5%. SanDisk (SNDK.O) fell by about 7%, Micron Technology (MU.O) dropped over 4%, and SK Hynix (SKHY.O) declined over 2%. The Nasdaq Composite Index is currently down about 0.2%.

According to South Korean media reports, Doosan Group has signed an agreement with SK Group to acquire semiconductor wafer manufacturer SK Siltron. With the completion of this transaction, Doosan is expected to further enhance its competitiveness in the semiconductor industry based on its core businesses in energy, machinery, and more.Doosan Group's holding company "Doosan" disclosed on the 31st that it has signed a share purchase agreement with SK Group to acquire 70.6% of the shares held by SK in SK Siltron, with a transaction amount of 2.3 trillion won.However, the 29.4% stake personally held by SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won is not included in this acquisition. SK Siltron is the only semiconductor silicon wafer manufacturer in South Korea, ranking third in the global market share based on 12-inch wafers. Last year, SK Siltron's corporate valuation exceeded 5 trillion won.

The trading of technology and semiconductor-related assets is active, with multiple semiconductor-themed tokens on Gate gStocks experiencing significant price increases. According to the latest data from Gate, the SanDisk 2x Long ETF token (SNXXG/USDT) has risen by 63.71% in the last 24 hours, currently priced at $11.368, making it the leading gStocks asset in terms of price increase. Meanwhile, the AXT Semiconductor token (AXTIG/USDT) has performed well, rising by 52.97% in the last 24 hours, currently priced at $58.13; the Micron Technology 2x Long ETF token (MUUG/USDT) is currently priced at $27.91, with a 24-hour increase of 41.46%. As the market attention on the semiconductor industry continues to heat up, Gate gStocks is expanding its global stock tokenization asset ecosystem, providing users with more diversified market participation opportunities.

According to Gate market data, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index is currently up over 6%, expected to achieve the largest single-day increase in more than a month.At the same time, the Nasdaq Composite Index's increase has expanded to 2%.

According to Jinshi reports, Samsung Electronics' semiconductor division reported that its profits have increased by more than 250 times due to the reliance of artificial intelligence on memory. The division's operating profit for the second quarter was 89.2 trillion won (approximately 62 billion USD), exceeding analysts' average expectation of 79.3 trillion won.The group's overall net profit was 71.3 trillion won, also surpassing market expectations.

According to Jinshi reports, the China-Korea semiconductor ETF Huatai-PB (513310) saw a record high trading volume today, with a total transaction amount reaching 25.98 billion yuan, setting a new record and increasing by 121.1% compared to the previous trading day. The top two holdings of this ETF are Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

On July 29, according to WEEX TradFi market data, funds continue to gather in the technology and consumer sectors. Among them, the semiconductor and software sectors performed actively, with SOXS rising over 13.02% in 24 hours, FIGMA rising 6.21%, ADBE rising 5.40%, and CRM rising 4.46%; in the large consumer sector, KO rose 6.08% and PEP rose 3.74%; in the financial payment sector, PYPL rose 4.07% and MA rose 3.71%. WEEX Labs believes that after a significant pullback in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index on the previous trading day, a recovery has occurred, combined with the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision and the concentrated release of large tech company earnings reports, funds have begun to reposition around performance expectations and event-driven strategies. Currently, WEEX's "TradFi Trading Carnival Season" is underway.

According to Gate market data, the US Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell more than 5% during the day, reaching a new low in two months.Micron Technology fell nearly 9%, while SanDisk and Western Digital both fell more than 12%. NVIDIA fell more than 1%, AMD fell more than 8%, Intel fell more than 6%, and Broadcom fell 2.8%.

According to Jinshi reports, as the South Korean stock market continues to be sluggish, domestic investors in South Korea have once again turned to U.S. stocks, with net purchases exceeding 5 trillion won this month. According to data from the South Korean securities depository and settlement agency, from the 1st to the 27th of this month, the total net purchase amount of U.S. stocks by domestic investors reached 3.58999 billion dollars, approximately 5.5 times the net purchase amount for the entire month of June.Retail funds are mainly concentrated in the semiconductor and technology stock sectors, with the product that saw the highest net purchases being the Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X ETF, which tracked the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, with a net purchase amount reaching 1.75919 billion dollars.

Citrini analyst Jukan posted on social media that the news of China's progress in DUV lithography technology is not particularly surprising, as the market had already formed certain expectations. He pointed out that The Information's related report only cited a professor from a transportation university in China speaking at an internal meeting in June and did not disclose more substantial information. Jukan believes that the sell-off reaction seen in semiconductor equipment stocks like ASML is an overreaction to this news.According to previous reports, The Information cited sources saying that a state-owned enterprise supported by Chinese state capital has begun mass production of domestically developed DUV (Deep Ultraviolet) lithography manufacturing equipment, marking a key progress in the localization of China's semiconductor industry.Insiders stated that the enterprise plans to produce about 5 domestically made DUV lithography machines by 2026 and expand to about 20 machines by 2027. Although there is still a gap compared to the 131 immersion DUV lithography systems delivered by Dutch lithography giant ASML last year, the entry of domestic equipment into mass production is seen by the market as an important breakthrough in the localization of China's chip supply chain.