United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) announced on December 17 that it will participate in the capital increase of its affiliate, IC substrate manufacturer Unimicron Technology, as part of a strategic investment plan.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has confirmed plans to launch its initial public offering (IPO) in 2026. Abhi Tripathi, a longtime SpaceX veteran and current mission operations director at the University of California, Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory, believes that once Musk realized Starlink satellites could be built as a distributed data center network, taking SpaceX public became inevitable.

Rapidus, Japan’s state-backed chipmaker, has developed a prototype glass interposer for artificial intelligence chips. The company says the technology could lower production costs and strengthen its challenge to industry leader TSMC as Japan pushes to rebuild its advanced semiconductor base.

South Korean IC design house Sapien Semiconductor is emerging as a disruptor in the global smart glasses supply chain, after reports that it will supply display backplanes for Meta’s next-generation augmented reality (AR) glasses, a development that could loosen China’s long-standing grip on key micro-display components.

MetaX, a Chinese graphics processor startup founded by former Advanced Micro Devices engineers, soared in its trading debut on Shanghai’s STAR Market on December 17, 2025. The rally highlights the premium investors are placing on Beijing’s semiconductor self-sufficiency drive even as the company grapples with widening losses and intense geopolitical headwinds.

Edge AI drives revenue growth for Taiwanese IPC firms as operators actively seek software partners in the AI field.