Financial
• According to TrendForce, the NAND Flash market has seen a significant improvement in supply-demand balance following production cuts and inventory reduction in H1 2025. On the demand side, increased enterprise investment in AI and mass shipments of NVIDIA’s next-generation Blackwell chips have provided strong support. The average NAND Flash contract prices are projected to rise by 5% to 10% in the third quarter of this year.
• However, the company has had to revise its previous forecast for AI server shipments due to geopolitical tensions and US export restrictions. Major North American CSPs remain the primary drivers of AI server market growth, but steady demand is also being bolstered by tier-2 data centres in the Middle East and Europe. With sustained demand from North American CSPs and OEM customers, global AI server shipments are projected to maintain double-digit growth in 2025 with a revised projection of 24,3% YoY increase.
• The client SSD market is expected to experience strong restocking momentum in the third quarter following increased inventory clearance by OEMs in the first half of the year. This is largely being driven by the impending end of support for Windows 10 OS and the increased demand spurred on by the release of new CPU models. SSD contract prices are expected to increase by 5% to 10% in Q3 2025.
• Texas Instruments has announced major price increases across its inventory covering over 3300 product codes and are being implemented globally. The company has cited rising manufacturing costs and other production expenses contributing to the need for price adjustments. Although the majority of its increases are below 30% for the company’s general-purpose analogue components, a smaller proportion of its high-precision ADC/DAC chips will see price increases exceeding 100%.
• Major Korean and US memory suppliers are expected to significantly reduce or even cease production of LPDDR4X in 2025 and 2026. However, many mobile processors are not yet compatible with LPDDR5X, resulting in a supply-demand mismatch. Smartphone brands have ramped up procurement of LPDDR4X to avoid production disruptions caused by the supply gap and this surge in demand is the main driver behind the recent increase in contract prices. TrendForce forecasts that the upward price trend will persist at least into early 2026, easing only once LPDDR5X adoption gains momentum.
• The US government has announced it will lift restrictions on NVIDIA’s H20 GPU exports to China. This policy reversal is expected to boost demand recovery from local AI and CSPs, with the H20 poised to once again become the primary high-end AI chip in the market. The renewed availability of H20 is also anticipated to drive up demand for HBM. NVIDIA has also announced that it will launch a custom version of the RTX PRO 6000 for the Chinese market to support a broader range of edge AI inference applications.
Companies
• Starting out as the Institute of Printed Circuits in 1957, the company underwent a name change soon after to the Institute for Interconnecting and Packaging Electronic Circuits. In 1999 the name was changed to IPC. The institution has again renamed itself to the Global Electronics Association to reflect its evolution as a company and to better align with its mission, vision, and direction.
• Microchip has entered into a partnership agreement with Delta Electronics on silicon carbide solutions for the future of power management. This agreement leverages Microchip’s mSiC technology and Delta’s smart energy-saving solutions to accelerate the development of sustainable applications.
• Anglia Components recently announced the signing of a franchise agreement with Winslow Adaptics, the UK-based designer and manufacturer of a broad portfolio of IC sockets, adapters, and semiconductor hardware. The product range includes fully customised adapters for obsolescence management, test and development tools, and many industry-standard interconnect devices.
• Three major manufacturers have begun announcing end-of-life plans for PC and server-grade DDR4 and mobile LPDDR4X and are shifting capacity towards high-end products. This move has triggered aggressive restocking pushing the average prices for conventional DRAM. With HBM included, the overall prices for DRAM are expected to rise by 15% to 20% in Q3 2025.
• Farnell has expanded its offering by stocking TE Connectivity’s latest automation solutions. Engineers are now able to access a broad range of TE’s cutting-edge products designed to elevate the intelligence, reliability, and efficiency of modern automation systems.
• Mouser has received 2024 Distributor of the Year award from EDAC Group for its support of all EDAC Group brands including NorComp, EDAC Connectors, MH Connectors, and Northern Technologies. Mouser has also been recognised by Abracon, a global supplier of frequency control, timing, power, magnetics, RF, and antenna solutions. Mouser received this recognition for delivering exceptional performance in 2024.
• Nordic Semiconductor has been honoured by TIME magazine as one of the top 500 of the ‘World’s Most Sustainable Companies’. Building on its achievements and ranking in 2024, Nordic’s increased commitment to sustainability efforts has resulted in the company rising more than 200 places in the 2025 rankings.
• Henkel has acquired the South Africa-based Nordbak, a specialist provider of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) solutions with a strong foothold in mining, infrastructure, and industrial segments. With a broad product portfolio, a proven customer base, and deep application know-how, Nordbak significantly strengthens Henkel’s MRO offering in the southern African region.
• Paratus has announced the launch of Paratus EduLINK, a connectivity solution designed to empower schools in underserved and remote regions with fast, reliable internet. The company leverages Starlink’s low earth orbit (LEO) satellite technology to deliver high-speed internet to qualifying schools in Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Mozambique, Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia. The Standard Starlink Kit, sold separately, is professionally installed and backed by Paratus’ in-country expertise and localised support.
• Blue Label Telecoms, the company in the process of taking control of Cell C, has announced a name change to Blu Label Unlimited, saying it is a more fitting representation of the company’s evolving identity and focus.
Technologies
• After a whirlwind display of the prototype in 2022, Tesla has halted the production of Optimus, the company’s humanoid robot. Senior vice president in charge of the division, Milan Kovac, has departed, leaving the company’s robotic sector driverless. The company stated that production of the robot has been delayed due to a new design, as the current robot has yet to prove useful on Tesla’s production lines. However, it has been reported that Tesla is struggling with two major challenges: limited battery life, and difficulties with hardware-software integration.
• The NIST ion clock recently set a new record for the most accurate clock in the world. Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology improved their atomic clock based on a trapped aluminium ion. Part of the latest wave of optical atomic clocks, it can perform timekeeping with 19 decimal places of accuracy. Not only is this clock 41% more accurate than the previous record, but it is also 2,6 times more stable than any other ion clock.
© Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd | All Rights Reserved
printer friendly version