The US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced on October 8, 2025, that it is placing 29 Chinese and Hong Kong entities onto its strengthened Entity List—a move that bans or severely restricts US exports to those organizations without special approval. The decision, BIS said, targets firms suspected of supplying Iran-backed armed groups like Hamas and the Houthis in Yemen with drones built using US electronic components.

To enhance the performance of advanced logic and memory chips required for AI computing, global semiconductor equipment leader Applied Materials has unveiled new semiconductor manufacturing systems. The company announced three major products centered on developing AI chips’ key areas: integrated die-to-wafer hybrid bonding systems, gate-all-around (GAA) transistor-based advanced logic processes, high-bandwidth memory (HBM) DRAM, and cutting-edge packaging technologies that optimize chip performance, power consumption, and cost.

The annual SEMICON West relocated for the first time to Phoenix in 2025, the new hub of US chip manufacturing. Compared to previous years, the event saw a 45% increase in exhibitors, and attendance on the first day doubled compared to that in 2024. Overseas participation also grew significantly, highlighting Phoenix’s rising appeal as America’s emerging semiconductor production base.

China’s development of through glass via (TGV) technology, crucial for advanced semiconductor packaging in AI and high-performance computing chips, encounters significant hurdles, including high process complexity, reliance on imported equipment, cost-yield balance issues, fragmented supply chains, patent barriers dominated by Japan, South Korea, and the US, and long research and development cycles.