Stellantis and its battery joint venture partner Samsung SDI announced Kokomo, Indiana, as the site for their second battery cell plant in the US.

This will be the second StarPlus Energy gigafactory in Kokomo, and it will be built next to the gigafactory currently under construction. The companies' StarPlus Energy joint venture will invest more than $3.2 billion to co-locate the new battery plant with the first one.

The new site is expected to begin production in early 2027 with an annual capacity of 34 gigawatt-hours. The facility will create 1,400 new jobs in Kokomo and the surrounding areas.

On October 13, 2023, Canon announced today the launch of the FPA-1200NZ2C nanoimprint semiconductor manufacturing equipment, which executes circuit pattern transfer, the most important semiconductor manufacturing process.

By bringing to market semiconductor manufacturing equipment with nanoimprint lithography (NIL) technology, in addition to existing photolithography systems, Canon is expanding its lineup of semiconductor manufacturing equipment to meet the needs of a wide range of users by covering from the most advanced semiconductor devices to the existing devices.

Batu Kawan, Penang, Oct. 13, 2023 – Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU), one of the world’s largest semiconductor companies, today marked a historic day with the opening of its new cutting-edge assembly and test facility in Batu Kawan, Penang, alongside the celebration of Micron’s 45th anniversary. A ceremony officiated by Chief Minister of Penang, Yang Amat Berhormat Tuan Chow Kon Yeow, underscored the regional significance of Micron’s expansion, highlighting the company’s four and a half decades of innovation and excellence.

Qualcomm is cutting about 1,258 jobs in two of its California offices, according to recent filings with the California Employment Development Department. The company had about 51,000 employees as of September 2022, according to its last annual financial filing, so this would represent about 2.5% of that workforce.

Nexchip Semiconductor, a Chinese mature-node IC foundry, has disclosed plans to produce an additional 10,000 wafers each month.

TOKYO, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Taiwan chipmaker TSMC (2330.TW) is planning to start producing 6-nanometer advanced semiconductors in its second Japan plant in Kumamoto in 2027, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Thursday.

SEOUL, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and SK Hynix (000660.KS) will be allowed to supply U.S. chip equipment to their China factories indefinitely without separate U.S. approvals, South Korea's presidential office and the companies said on Monday.

TEMPE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Amkor Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMKR), a leading provider of semiconductor packaging and test services, has scheduled the grand opening of its newest factory in Bac Ninh, Vietnam on October 11, 2023.

TrendForce research indicates that in 1H23, the utilization rate of 8-inch production capacity primarily benefited from sporadic inventory restocking orders for Driver ICs in the second quarter. Additionally, wafer foundries initiated pricing strategies to encourage clients into early orders, offering solid backup. However, in 2H23, persistent macroeconomic and inventory challenges led to the evaporation of an anticipated demand surge.

Tensions and conflicts are intensifying in the “semiconductor war” between the U.S. and China. As the first anniversary approaches of the U.S. government’s decision to restrict exports of semiconductor chips and equipment to China on Oct. 7 of last year, an update on policies regarding “Artificial Intelligence (AI) semiconductors” has been announced. The European Union (EU) is also considering measures to limit exports of advanced technologies, including semiconductors, seemingly targeting China. This comes after China’s IT giant, Huawei, successfully started mass production of 7-nanometer (nm) semiconductors, signaling rapid technological self-reliance, which seems to have heightened concerns. However, Korean companies, mainly focused on memory semiconductors, seem to be currently out of this fray.