Samsung Electronics officially began chip production using its latest 3nm Gate-All-Around (GAA) process node on June 30, and went on to celebrate the first shipment of GAA-based chips in July. Now, rumors have surfaced that Samsung’s second-generation GAA process, 3GAP (3nm Gate-All-Around Plus), will begin volume production in 2023-2024.

Key observation factors for the Asia Enterprise special report of the week of July 23-29 mainly focus on the passing of the CHIPS and Science Act; Kioxia’s investment in the volume production of the 162-layer 3D NAND flash and the fact that the company remains seriously behind Micron and Samsung Electronics despite the Japanese government’s JPY92.9 billion (US$710 million) subsidies; and Baidu’s announcement to begin volume producing Apollo RT6 unmanned vehicle, which costs only CNY250,000 (US$37,500) and will accelerate the commercialization of Robotaxi.

Global DRAM bit production is forecast to rise 14.1% in 2023, but growth on the demand side will grow only 8.3%, according to TrendForce. It may be the first time DRAM demand bit growth will come below 10%, said the market research firm.