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The exit of TSMC has triggered a series of events that are actively reshaping and strengthening the power gallium nitride (GaN) market landscape in many ways. It accelerates the ongoing structural transformation, drives the entire ecosystem towards new business models and partnerships, and enhances regional diversification.   The most significant change is evident: power gallium nitride is becoming a market driven by IDM. Infineon is gradually phasing out GaN system products (manufactured by TSMC) and transferring production to an internal factory located in Austria (EU). ROHM is obtaining authorization for TSMC's gallium nitride technology to establish its own internal manufacturing capabilities in Japan. Other industrial enterprises are also adopting this strategy. For example, companies such as Innoscience (China) are expanding their own production capacity while establishing partnerships with companies such as ON Semiconductor and STMicroelectronics. Meanwhile, Texas Instruments and Renesas Electronics are utilizing their 8-inch wafer fabs in Japan to support the research and production of gallium nitride. However, this has not slowed down the development speed of wafer foundries; On the contrary, it has accelerated investment in gallium nitride, with new entrants constantly emerging and geographical distribution changing. Navitas is shifting towards PSMC (Taiwan) and is also collaborating with GlobalFoundries (USA). GlobalFoundries is partnering with Onsemi to position itself as an important alternative solution for the US market, utilizing TSMC authorized GaN technology. VIS (Vanguard) has obtained a technology license from TSMC, and its partners include EPC, Renesas Electronics, Qromis, and Shinetsu Technologies. The OEM also provides a second supplier for Integrated Device Manufacturers (IDMs), enhancing the security of the supply chain and giving system manufacturers more peace of mind. They also contribute to innovation, enabling integrated device manufacturers to quickly produce new product prototypes and validate them before transitioning to large-scale internal production. The addition of new entrants further strengthens this trend: Samsung (South Korea) is launching an 8-inch GaN production line using vertical integration, including in-house wafers. DB HiTek (South Korea) and SK Keyfoundry (South Korea) are also actively expanding their market presence. This is a rebalancing of geographical activities, as ecosystems are gradually shifting from a model centered around Taiwan to regional diversification.   All of this is happening against the backdrop of accelerated adoption of gallium nitride technology in artificial intelligence data centers and the automotive industry, with growth rates of approximately 50% and 70% respectively, driving the market to reach around $3 billion by 2030. In short, TSMC's exit is not a subversion, but an acceleration of the development of existing trends: IDM (Integrated Design Manufacturer) is regaining control of the manufacturing process. The foundry is diversifying its operations and reallocating demand. Production is becoming increasingly geographically balanced.

Although the spot price of DRAM has slightly fallen recently, the surge in price of storage chips has already triggered demand suppression. Ultimately, why did MediaTek and Qualcomm cut tens of millions of smartphone chip production capacity? It is reported that two manufacturers are reducing the production of mobile chips, which are the main focus of mid to low end smartphones, due to the continuously rising prices of storage chips, which have begun to suppress terminal demand. The smartphone industry is facing a dual impact: on the one hand, the price of storage chips has skyrocketed in the past year - the core cause being that under the AI boom, a large amount of global DRAM production capacity has been squeezed by HBM high bandwidth memory; On the other hand, the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East and Iran has had a profound impact on the global logistics supply chain. For example, the situation in Iran has brought about an unexpected chain reaction: a global shortage of helium gas. Helium is a key material used in semiconductor manufacturing for low-temperature refrigeration and high-purity cleaning. The northern gas field in Qatar is a core source of helium gas globally, but due to Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, related supplies are currently unable to circulate normally. In terms of the storage market, the spot price of DDR5 has started to fall from its high point, and the mainstream view is pointing the finger at Google's TurboQuant technology. Industry concerns: This algorithm, which can compress KV cache without loss and greatly improve inference efficiency, will directly weaken the subsequent memory procurement demand as major manufacturers collectively expand production. However, industry analysts still believe that a drop in spot prices does not mean an immediate reversal of the market. Daishin Securities found through channel research that a leading cloud vendor recently purchased DDR4 servers at a transaction price even higher than HBM3e; The fact that old memory can still sell at sky high prices is enough to indicate that the demand driven by AI is still strong. Returning to the core issue: In recent months, the skyrocketing storage prices have clearly suppressed demand, especially impacting the price sensitive domestic smartphone market. Therefore, both MediaTek and Qualcomm have lowered the production pace of 4nm mobile phone chips, which are widely used in mid to low end models. The scale of this round of production reduction is about 20000 to 30000 wafers, equivalent to 15 to 20 million mobile processors. MediaTek's 4nm product line covers the Dimensity 7200, 7300, 8200, 8450, 9000, 9300, 9400 and other series; Qualcomm 4nm models include Snapdragon 4 Gen2, 4s Gen2, Snapdragon 7s Gen2, Snapdragon 8 Gen3, and more.

On April 17th, International Electronic Business News reported that a distributor revealed to the news outlet that AOS (Austrones System Inc.), a power semiconductor and chip supplier, officially issued a price adjustment notice to its global customers earlier this month. According to the distributor, some AOS products will officially increase in price on April 1, 2026. The following is the main content of the price increase letter from AOS, disclosed to International Electronic Business News by the distributor: AOS stated in the price increase letter that despite continued increasing cost pressures in the industry, the company has made every effort to maintain existing prices for as long as possible. However, given the continued rise in raw material, energy, logistics, and infrastructure costs, a price adjustment is now necessary to ensure sustainable operation and long-term supply reliability. At the same time, the continued growth in demand for power semiconductor products has led to tighter supply in certain product segments. To support future growth and maintain supply continuity, AOS is making targeted investments to increase capacity and further enhance the resilience of its overall supply chain. Starting April 1, 2026, AOS will implement price adjustments for some selected products. The AOS sales team will follow up and provide detailed information on product scope and implementation timeline. Several power semiconductor companies have already raised prices in 2026. Since the beginning of 2026, the power semiconductor industry has seen a new wave of price increases, and AOS's price adjustment is just another microcosm of the industry-wide cost transmission. From international giants like Infineon and ADI, to domestic leaders like CR Microelectronics and New Energy, and now AOS, global power semiconductor manufacturers have formed a coordinated price increase pattern, covering core categories such as MOSFETs, IGBTs, and diodes, with increases generally at 10% or higher. This round of price increases is not a short-term market speculation, but rather an inevitable result of comprehensive pressure on cost-side raw materials, wafer foundry, and packaging and testing, coupled with explosive growth in downstream demand from new energy vehicles, photovoltaic energy storage, and data centers, leading to a continuously widening supply-demand gap. Some industry insiders believe that this round of price increases has clear sustainability, and the industry's high prosperity and upward price trend are expected to continue into the second half of 2027. Going forward, it is crucial to focus on the pace of new domestic capacity release and the realization of downstream demand.

IT Home News, March 8th – According to South Korea's *Chosun*, the Samsung Electronics Union Joint Struggle Headquarters will hold a strike vote among all union members from March 9th to 18th. The final result will determine whether a large-scale strike will be launched, a move that has already raised concerns in the market about the production of Samsung's core semiconductor products. Notably, even before the strike decision is finalized, the union has already announced its policy, explicitly stating that it will "impose unfavorable treatment on employees who do not participate in the strike." This move has directly sparked heated debate in the industry regarding a "blacklist," highlighting the intensity of this labor-management struggle. It is understood that the union headquarters consists of three main entities: the Samsung Electronics branch of the non-corporate union, the All-Samsung Electronics Labor Union (All-Samsung Labor), and the Samsung Electronics Labor Union Association. Currently, it has approximately 89,000 members, accounting for more than 60% of all Samsung Electronics employees. This large membership base means that if a strike is launched, it will have a significant impact on the company's operations. Market analysts point out that Samsung's Pyeongtaek plant is a major production base for its core semiconductor products such as high-bandwidth memory (HBM). Currently, the AI ​​boom is causing strong demand and tight capacity in the HBM market. If the strike goes ahead, it will likely affect the production schedule and delivery time of related products. The union headquarters has clearly stated that if the strike vote receives majority support and the right to strike is successfully obtained, subsequent actions will proceed as planned: a first rally will be held in Pyeongtaek on April 23, followed by an 18-day general strike from May 21 to June 7. The core issue of this labor dispute is the rules for distributing excess profit incentives (OPI)—currently, Samsung Electronics distributes OPIs to employees up to 50% of their annual salary, and the total bonuses for each department cannot exceed 20% of its excess profits. The union is explicitly demanding that Samsung follow the example of its competitor SK Hynix and completely eliminate this incentive cap, allowing employees to more fully share in the company's performance bonuses. To ensure the strike proceeds smoothly, the union is taking strong measures to pressure employees to participate. On March 5, Choi Seung-ho, president of the non-corporate union, publicly stated that during the strike, the union's executive committee planned to occupy the Pyeongtaek office building and hold rallies to put pressure on the company's management. He further clarified, "If any employees continue to work for the company during the strike, the union will compile a special list and prioritize these employees in future union-negotiated matters such as forced job transfers and layoffs." In addition, the union announced that it would officially operate a whistleblower reporting center during the strike, offering rewards to whistleblowers who report and support company management, thereby strengthening the constraints and guidance on employees. Background information indicates that Samsung Electronics' performance in 2025 is impressive, particularly in its semiconductor business (DS division), which benefits from strong demand in the HBM and general DRAM markets, leading to a significant increase in employee OPI (Optical Performance Income) payouts. The Mobile Experience (MX) division even reached the 50% cap. Meanwhile, its competitor SK Hynix introduced more attractive incentive policies in 2025, not only removing bonus caps but also including 10% of annual operating profit in the bonus pool and introducing a combined cash and stock incentive model. This has become a key factor in the current pressure exerted by the Samsung union. Currently, Samsung Electronics has not publicly responded to the union's demands or strike plans. The subsequent power struggle between labor and management and the voting results warrant continued attention.

According to reports, Samsung Electronics' semiconductor division (DS) offered Apple a 100% price increase, which was unexpectedly accepted immediately. Semiconductor industry insiders revealed that Samsung's DS division originally aimed to raise Apple's supply price by about 60%, and used a 100% increase as the starting price in the first round of negotiations, intending to leave room for negotiation on the final outcome. Unexpectedly, Apple accepted on the spot. Sources familiar with the matter indicated that this sufficiently illustrates the extent of the competition among mobile phone manufacturers for memory inventory, and has also created a chain reaction. Samsung's semiconductor division subsequently abandoned its long-term supply agreement (LTA) with the Mobile Experience (MX) division, replacing it with quarterly contracts to maximize profits. Against the backdrop of a global shortage of general-purpose memory, to ensure shipments of the Galaxy S26 series, Samsung Electronics' MX division will share the initial mass production of LPDDR5X memory between its own DS division and Micron Technology. Both Samsung's semiconductor division and Micron plan to significantly increase the LPDDR5X supply price in negotiations after the initial mass production, which will have a significant impact on the profitability of Samsung Electronics' Mobile Experience division. Samsung launched its new Galaxy S series flagship models in San Francisco on Wednesday. The base model S26 is priced at $899, and the S26+ at $1099, both higher than their predecessors.

According to South Korean media reports, Samsung Electronics plans to increase prices for process nodes such as 4nm and 8nm, with industry estimates suggesting a price increase of around 10%. On the one hand, the production capacity of mature and sub advanced processes remains tight, with high market demand and limited resources available for expansion. On the other hand, the 4nm and 8nm processes have successfully passed the stage of yield ramp up and process stability, entering the mature mass production cycle. By adjusting prices, the overall profit of mature and high-yield processes is higher.   In terms of specific positioning, Samsung's 4nm process is mainly aimed at customers who have higher requirements for performance and energy efficiency, while the 8nm process focuses more on large-scale production and cost control, suitable for products that are price sensitive but have a large shipment scale. By distinguishing the application scenarios of different nodes and synchronously raising prices, Samsung Electronics hopes to further improve long-term profitability while ensuring stable customer structure. Since entering 2026, multiple global wafer foundries have successively initiated price increases. TSMC has previously stated that it plans to launch a four-year continuous price increase for advanced processes of 5nm and below starting from January 2026, with an average annual increase of about 3% to 5%.   SMIC will increase the price of 8-inch BCD process outsourcing by about 10% in December 2025, and multiple customers have confirmed the relevant adjustments; Huahong Semiconductor, on the other hand, raised the prices of mature processes as early as the second quarter of 2025 and gradually reflected it in subsequent performance. The current increase in wafer foundry prices is still due to the continued surge in demand for artificial intelligence. The demand for AI chips and related accelerators is driving the overall order scale to continuously increase, while advanced processes such as HBM and advanced packaging capacity are being prioritized, further squeezing the available resources of mature and sub advanced processes. In addition, the continuous increase in labor costs, raw material prices, and energy costs has also raised the overall cost of wafer manufacturing.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently retweeted a job posting from Tesla's South Korean division, officially announcing the company's efforts to recruit key semiconductor talent in South Korea. In the increasingly fierce global AI chip market, this move is widely interpreted by the industry as a significant strategic move by Tesla to strengthen its semiconductor design and manufacturing capabilities and solidify its competitiveness in the AI ​​chip field. On February 17th local time, Musk retweeted Tesla South Korea's job posting for AI chip design engineers on his social media platform X, actively seeking talent. He stated, "If you want to work in chip design, wafer manufacturing, and AI software related fields in South Korea, you are welcome to apply to Tesla." This talent recruitment plan aligns closely with Tesla's long-term strategy of developing its own chips. Currently, Musk's AI company xAI is fully engaged in developing the Grok large-scale model, directly competing with OpenAI's ChatGPT. High-performance AI chips are the core foundation for supporting the development of large-scale models and achieving efficient processing of massive amounts of data, making Tesla's need for such chips extremely urgent. It is widely believed that Tesla's targeted recruitment drive in South Korea aims to tap into the country's top semiconductor design and process engineers. South Korea boasts a strong foundation in the semiconductor field, particularly in high-bandwidth memory (HBM), a core component of AI chips, where it holds a leading global position. With the explosive growth in global demand for AI computing power, the market demand for HBM is also soaring, making it a key reason for Tesla's focus on the South Korean talent market. Currently, Tesla is collaborating deeply with Samsung Electronics and TSMC to advance the production of AI chips. Samsung Electronics will supply Tesla with the AI5 autopilot chip, which boasts 40 times the performance of its predecessor, designed for the fully autonomous driving system. Reportedly, Tesla initially planned for TSMC to exclusively manufacture this chip, but later adjusted to a joint production model with Samsung Electronics (using a 2nm process), further deepening its ties with South Korean semiconductor companies.

On February 10, 2026, STMicroelectronics (ST) officially announced the completion of its acquisition of NXP's MEMS sensor business. This transaction was first announced in July 2025 and has now received full approval from global regulatory agencies, marking a crucial step in ST's strategic layout in the global sensor field. It is reported that the acquisition transaction amount is as high as 950 million US dollars in cash, including 900 million US dollars in advance payment and 50 million US dollars to be paid after specific technological milestones are achieved. NXP's MEMS sensor business generated approximately $300 million in revenue in 2024, primarily focused on automotive safety products, non safety automotive applications, and industrial applications. ST acquires NXP MEMS sensor business to form technological complementarity According to the "MEMS Industry Status -2025 Edition" report released by Yole, ST ranks 6th and NXP ranks 13th among the top 30 MEMS manufacturers worldwide. NXP has long been recognized as a leading supplier of automotive MEMS inertial sensors and pressure sensors in the industry. Marco Cassis, President of STMicroelectronics' Analog Devices, Power Devices, Discrete Devices, and MEMS Sensors Division, stated that this acquisition will form a strong technological complement to the company's existing MEMS product line, particularly in the areas of automotive safety and industrial technology. By integrating the advantageous resources and customer networks of both parties, we will further consolidate our sensor market position in key application areas such as automotive, industrial, and consumer electronics. ” According to preliminary assessment, this acquisition is expected to bring approximately $45 million in revenue contribution to ST in the first quarter of 2026. And it will bring significant gross profit and operating profit growth to the company. This acquisition not only strengthens ST's position in the automotive safety field, but also consolidates its comprehensive advantages in the MEMS sensor field of the automotive and industrial end markets. As a global vertically integrated semiconductor manufacturer (IDM), ST has 48000 creators and innovators of semiconductor technology, with expertise in semiconductor supply chains and advanced manufacturing equipment. The company collaborates with over 200000 customers and thousands of partners to develop products and solutions. Its technology makes people's travel smarter, power and energy management more efficient, and cloud connected autonomous devices more widely used. ST 2025 Q4 has resumed year-on-year growth momentum In terms of financial performance, ST announced its fourth quarter and full year financial results for the fiscal year 2025 on January 29, 2026. According to the company's official financial report and Reuters, ST achieved a net revenue of $11.8 billion for the full year of 2025, a decrease of 11.1% from 2024 due to the weak automotive sector and slowing industrial market demand. The annual gross profit margin was 33.9%, with an operating profit of $175 million (including $376 million in impairment, restructuring expenses, and other related business exit costs). According to non GAAP accounting standards, the annual operating profit margin was 4.7%, net profit was $486 million, and diluted earnings per share were $0.53. It is worth noting that despite facing challenges throughout the year, ST achieved a net revenue of $3.33 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 0.2%, successfully restoring its year-on-year growth momentum. The gross profit margin for the fourth quarter reached 35.2%, with a non GAAP operating profit margin of 8.0%. The company maintained a stable cash flow performance throughout the year, achieving a free cash flow of $265 million, which was the result of investing $1.79 billion in net capital expenditures. As of the end of 2025, the company's net financial position is $2.79 billion, total liquidity is $4.92 billion, and it has received investment grade credit ratings of BBB+(negative outlook) from Standard&Poor's and Baa1 (stable outlook) from Moody's. Jean Marc Chery, President and CEO of STMicroelectronics, stated, "2025 has been a challenging year, but we have resumed year-on-year growth in the fourth quarter. Our strategic focus remains on accelerating innovation, executing a company wide manufacturing restructuring and global cost structure optimization plan, and strengthening the generation of free cash flow." Looking ahead to the first quarter of 2026, the company expects a midpoint net revenue of $3.04 billion and a gross profit margin of approximately 33.7%. Summary: Industry analysts point out that the acquisition of NXP MEMS business will help ST further expand its sensor product line in high growth areas, especially in key markets such as automotive safety and industrial automation. With the continuous development of global electric vehicles and intelligent driving technology, the demand for MEMS sensors is expected to maintain strong growth, which will provide strong support for ST's medium - and long-term development.

On February 5th, Infineon issued a price increase notice to its customers, stating that demand for its power switches and integrated circuit products has surged, leading to shortages, driven by the deployment of AI data centers. Due to the need for significant additional investment in wafer fabs for capacity expansion, coupled with the continued rise in raw material and infrastructure costs, the company will adjust the prices of some products starting April 1, 2026. Infineon pointed out that in the past, the company has always responded to increased input costs through internal efficiency improvements, but it has now reached a stage where it can no longer fully absorb these costs. Therefore, it must share this cost increase with its valuable customers and partners. Infineon stated that for power switches and IC products affected by the earlier investment and increased manufacturing costs, the company has taken all feasible measures to keep the price adjustment to a minimum. The new prices will take effect on April 1, 2026, and all new orders placed on or after that date, as well as existing orders shipped on or after that date, will be subject to the adjusted prices. In its price increase letter, Infineon stated that to meet the continuously rising market demand, it needs to make substantial additional investments to increase wafer fab capacity. According to the company's investment plan, capital expenditure for fiscal year 2026 will be increased to €2.7 billion to expand data center chip production capacity. The company expects its AI business revenue to reach €1.5 billion this fiscal year and €2.5 billion in the next fiscal year. Infineon CEO Jochen Hanebeck stated, "Amid relatively sluggish markets elsewhere, strong demand for artificial intelligence has provided a significant boost to Infineon. Currently, power solutions for AI data centers remain our focus; in the coming years, the expansion of grid infrastructure will also be a new key area. To better serve our customers, we are adjusting manufacturing capacity to meet the continued growth in demand in this area and investing in related fields in advance. A large portion of this will be used to accelerate the mass production process of our new Smart Power Fab in Dresden. This Fab will officially open this summer, perfectly aligned with market developments." Infineon's revenue last quarter was €3.66 billion, slightly higher than analysts' forecast of €3.62 billion. Its segment profit margin (Infineon's preferred metric for measuring operating profitability) also exceeded expectations, reaching 17.9% in the first fiscal quarter ending in December.

STMicroelectronics announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2025. Net revenue for the fourth quarter of 2025 was $3.33 billion, a 0.2% increase year-over-year; gross margin was 35.2%; and operating profit was $125 million. By segment, the Analog, Power & Discrete, MEMS & Sensors (APMS) products segment generated $1.861 billion in revenue, a 4.6% decrease year-over-year; while the MCU, Analog-Digital Integrated Circuits & Radio Frequency (MDRF) products segment generated $1.464 billion in revenue, a 7.0% increase year-over-year. STMicroelectronics' sales growth was driven by customers seeking chips for personal electronics, communication equipment, computer peripherals, and industrial machinery. However, it's worth noting that semiconductor demand in the automotive industry is still struggling to recover. CEO Jean-Marc Chery stated that demand in the automotive industry remains below expectations. For the full year 2025, STMicroelectronics' revenue was $11.8 billion, an 11.1% decrease; gross margin was 33.9%; operating profit was $175 million; and net profit was $166 million. The company expects net revenue of $3.04 billion for the first quarter of 2026, a decrease of 8.7% sequentially, plus or minus 350 basis points; gross margin is expected to be 33.7%, plus or minus 200 basis points. Revenue for the next quarter is expected to be approximately $3.04 billion, higher than $2.52 billion in the same period last year. The strong performance outlook from Texas Instruments, another analog chip giant, echoes the better-than-expected outlook from STMicroelectronics, indicating that the analog chip market appears to be recovering. Texas Instruments expects revenue of $4.32 billion to $4.68 billion for the first quarter of 2026, with the midpoint of the forecast slightly higher than the market expectation of $4.42 billion; earnings per share are expected to be $1.22 to $1.48, with the midpoint of the forecast better than the market expectation of $1.26. Analog chip prices have also entered a period of intensive price increases. At the end of last year, Texas Instruments and Analog Devices (ADI) mainly announced price increases. After January, domestic companies such as Ingenic Semiconductor, Microchip Technology, and Bi-Micro Technology successively issued price increase notices. The overall consensus on price increases has been basically established, and it is expected that a recovery cycle with both volume and price increases will be entered in the later period.

On January 20th, PSMC officially announced that it would sell the entire P5 factory in Taiwan's Tongluo factory to Micron for $1.8 billion (currently about 12.601 billion RMB). The Tongluo factory has been in operation for less than 2 years, with an investment of over 300 billion New Taiwan dollars (approximately 66.06 billion yuan), and has the ability to produce 50000 12 inch wafers per month, supporting three process nodes: 55nm, 40nm, and 28nm. It is also equipped with a 300mm wafer fab cleanroom with an area of approximately 300000 square feet, which is a highly controllable production environment required for high-end chip production. Source: Economic Daily According to the information disclosed by both parties, the transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of 2026. At that time, Micron will gradually introduce DRAM production lines. The first phase of the project is expected to be officially put into operation in the second half of 2027, and its production capacity contribution will be equivalent to more than 10% of Micron's global production capacity in the fourth quarter of 2026. Meanwhile, PSMC will transfer its production line from the Tongluo factory to another factory located in Hsinchu City, and Samsung will also assist PSMC in improving its existing niche DRAM process technology at the Hsinchu P3 factory.   PSMC assures its OEM customers that selling factories will not affect their normal operations, and also states that it will gradually phase out low profit products in the future, reduce its dependence on mature process outsourcing business, and accelerate the development of new products for artificial intelligence applications.   PSMC hopes to build a more robust financial foundation in the semiconductor industry with significant cyclical fluctuations. Seize the window period of global memory market recovery, combine advanced packaging technologies such as 3D wafer stacking and intermediate layers with new material solutions, and gradually enter the key links of AI related supply chains. In addition, last Friday, Micron officially broke ground in central New York State, preparing to build a $100 billion wafer fab.

Texas Instruments (TI) has laid off its MCU team in China (marketing and applications were retained, while R&D was abandoned) and moved its entire MCU product line to India.   It is said that all team members have been reassigned to other product lines, nominally with their positions and salaries remaining unchanged.   The company gave employees two choices: accept the reassignment to other product lines or voluntarily resign. This move is rather cunning, indicating that the company had no intention of going through a layoff process and would not offer any compensation to employees who voluntarily resign.   Reports indicate that TI's MCU R&D team in China mainly focused on the MSP430 product line, a series of 16-bit ultra-low-power, low-cost MCUs that TI launched to the market in 1996. Now, some team members have been laid off, while others have been merged into the LED DRIVER chip team. The domestic MCU industry is now engaged in a fierce "talent war." Fang Jing, chief electronics analyst at Minsheng Securities, stated that TI's MCU team was once one of the best-performing localized product lines, based in the Chinese market, specializing in localized customized development, and with very fast customer response. However, starting in early 2018, TI's MCU business began to decline, with the market gradually being taken over by emerging domestic MCU manufacturers, squeezing its survival space. "This team was mainly based in Shanghai, and the pandemic made operations even more difficult, so they simply withdrew," he said. He believes that although some employees could choose to transfer to other teams, the transition from digital to analog is significant, so "it was more of a stopgap measure for TI, as they didn't want to pay severance." He added, "The rise of domestic MCUs is accelerating, putting pressure on overseas leaders. This comprehensive layoff will likely further promote the substitution of domestic MCUs." Data shows that in 2020, Texas Instruments' general-purpose MCU market share was around 7%, far less than the top five companies such as Renesas Electronics, NXP, Infineon, STMicroelectronics, and Microchip Technology, while domestic MCU manufacturers have made rapid progress in this field in recent years.   Fang Jing, chief electronics analyst at Minsheng Securities, stated that TI's MCU team used to be one of the best-performing localized product lines, based in the Chinese market, specializing in localized customized development, and responding very quickly to customers. However, starting in early 2018, its business began to decline, with the market gradually being taken over by emerging domestic MCU manufacturers, squeezing its survival space. Furthermore, this team is primarily based in Shanghai, making operations even more difficult during the pandemic.   He believes that this complete layoff will further promote the substitution of domestically produced MCUs, and TI's withdrawal is just a trend; he expects more similar events to follow.