If you want in on the SK Hynix action on NASDAQ, ADR shares are now trading under SKHY. Rapidus tries to undercut TSMC/Intel on 2nm wafer prices. Relatively hidden plays in Technoprobe and Neosem.
Let’s get into it. — Austin & Vik
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Meta AI Chip Enters Production in September, $10B Canada Data Center Announced
Meta plans to begin production of its in-house AI chip in September as part of an effort to double computing capacity, Reuters reported. The company is also investing $10 billion in a data center in Alberta, Canada — its first in the country — as it continues expanding its global infrastructure fleet. (CNBC, Bloomberg.com)
Vik: The four planned MTIA chips belong to project Iris. Testing the chip took 4 months according to Meta. That is a really quick turnaround, and I know this from my years in the semi industry. Also, the datacenter in Alberta is the biggest one outside the US, of the 33 datacenters Meta has.
Austin: MTIA roadmap is very interesting, would love to talk shop with them sometime:
Apollo’s $35B AI Chip Credit Facility Enters Secondary Market
Apollo Global Management’s $35 billion AI chip credit facility has begun trading in the secondary market. The deal, structured to finance AI chip purchases, represents one of the largest private credit arrangements tied to semiconductor infrastructure. (Bloomberg.com)
Vik: This is the largest private credit deal on record for financing Broadcom and Anthropic AI buildout. Of the planned $35B, about $15B should be available for trading by 2027.
Austin: “The borrower in the transaction is a special purpose vehicle that is buying custom chips developed by Google and Broadcom, and leasing them out to Anthropic.”
Interesting. Anthropic not buying TPUs. Middleman buys TPUs. Anthropic just rents them.
CXMT Sets July 16 Subscription Date for $4.3B Shanghai IPO
ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), China’s leading DRAM maker based in Hefei, has set July 16 as the subscription date for its Shanghai Star Market IPO, which is expected to raise at least 29.5 billion yuan ($4.3 billion). The offering would rank as the second-largest listing on the Star Market and the largest Chinese IPO in four years. CXMT held its initial price consultation Monday ahead of the subscription opening. (South China Morning Post)
Vik: No better time in history for a memory company to IPO.
SK Hynix Prices ADR Offering at $149, Seven Times Oversubscribed
SK Hynix priced its U.S. American depositary receipt offering at $149 per ADR, a level 3.1% above its Korea close, with the deal drawing seven times more demand than available shares. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won traveled to New York for the Nasdaq listing ceremony, where the company presented its AI memory growth strategy to global investors. (Bloomberg Tech, Reuters)
Vik: SK Hynix ADR is now live under the ticker SKHYV, which means these shares are now traded on NASDAQ if case you want to get in on the memory action with SK in the US market.
Austin: Soon will be under SKHY… SKHYV seems to be a temporary ticker.
Rapidus Sets ¥3.5M 2nm Wafer Price to Undercut TSMC
Japan’s Rapidus is targeting a price of ¥3.5 million (approximately $24,000) per 2nm wafer, according to TrendForce — a level designed to undercut TSMC’s comparable node pricing. Rapidus is aiming to begin risk production at its Chitose, Hokkaido fab in 2025 and volume production in 2027, positioning the pricing as a way to attract customers away from TSMC’s leading-edge offerings. (TrendForce)
Vik: Reportedly, TSMC 2nm and Intel 18A have a price of $30,000 per wafer. Rapidus pricing lower to attract customers.
Austin: Makes sense. Have to attract customers somehow. Is a 20% discount enough?
nLIGHT Wins $627M Military Laser Weapon Contract
nLIGHT has been awarded a $627 million contract to develop the Joint Laser Weapon System (JLWS) for the US military. The Vancouver, Washington-based fiber laser maker will supply high-energy laser systems under the program, marking one of the larger directed-energy defense contracts awarded to a commercial semiconductor laser company. (nLIGHT)
Vik: From the press release:
“Under JLWS, nLIGHT will develop, integrate and deliver multiple high-energy laser weapon systems and other directed energy capabilities.”
Austin: Remember that nLIGHT that trades under LASR 0.00%↑ has had quite the run up already.
Nexchip Shares Rise After $891M Hong Kong IPO
Chinese chipmaker Nexchip completed an $891 million IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with shares rising on the first day of trading. The Hefei-based company, which specializes in display driver ICs and other analog chips, is one of China’s largest domestic foundries operating at the 28nm node and below. (Bloomberg Tech)
Vik: Nexchip is China’s 3rd largest pure-play foundry after SMIC and Hua Hong. They make 40nm to 150nm chips which are great for analog chips.
GigaDevice H1 Net Profit Surges 1,099% on Memory Shortage
GigaDevice Semiconductor reported preliminary H1 2026 net profit of CNY 6.9 billion, up 1,099% year-on-year, reflecting a broader memory stock rally driven by chip shortages and higher average selling prices. The Beijing-based company, which designs NOR flash and DRAM products, saw shares rise on both its A-share and H-share listings following the announcement. GigaDevice did not provide a revenue figure in the preliminary disclosure. (Moomoo, digitimes, finance.biggo.com)
Austin: Gigaprofits.
Technoprobe Stock Surges 330% on AI Packaging Demand
European probe card supplier Technoprobe has seen its stock surge 330%, driven by its role in the supply chain for Nvidia’s AI chips. The company provides probe cards and handling systems for advanced packaging and wafer-level testing. The stock’s performance highlights a market shift toward valuing backend packaging and test equipment, which are critical bottlenecks for AI accelerator production. (Bloomberg Tech)
Vik: Multibaggers everywhere you look these days. Anyone know what is special about Technoprobe probecards?
Austin: Technoprobe? Technologic.
Buy it, use it, break it, fix it, trash it, change it, mail, upgrade it Charge it, point it, zoom it, press it, snap it, work it, quick, erase it Write it, cut it, paste it, save it, load it, check it, quick, rewrite it Plug it, play it, burn it, rip it, drag it, drop it, zip, unzip it
Lock it, fill it, call it, find it, view it, code it, jam, unlock it Surf it, scroll it, pause it, click it, cross it, crack it, switch, update it Name it, read it, tune it, print it, scan it, send it, fax, rename it Touch it, bring it, pay it, watch it, turn it, leave it, stop, format it
Neosem signed a contract with Samsung Electronics on July 8 to supply its CLT memory tester, marking the company’s first large-scale delivery of next-generation memory testing equipment to the chipmaker. The deal is valued at ₩8.6 billion ($6.2M), representing 13.5% of Neosem’s revenue. (The Elec)
Vik: AI overview, because I didn’t know what a CLT tester was.
Sector Watch
Memory
TrendForce forecasts server DRAM contract prices rising 13-18% QoQ in 3Q26 as long-term agreements cap further gains. (TrendForce)
Micron to invest up to $3 billion in its US semiconductor supply chain, anchored by a GlobalWafers wafer supply deal. (DigiTimes)
Kioxia, SanDisk ship BiCS10 NAND samples as the NAND market comeback takes shape. (DigiTimes)
AI & Compute
Anthropic names former Fed Chair Ben Bernanke to its Long-Term Benefit Trust. (The Information)
Foundry & Logic
Intel analysis argues its long-term earnings power remains underestimated amid 18A ramp and foundry execution scrutiny. (substack.com)
KAIST automates the search for “Dream Semiconductor” 2D semiconductor materials. (Semiconductor Digest)
Power
Lancium, the power developer behind OpenAI and Oracle’s Stargate campus, is in talks to sell a minority stake to Nvidia and others. (The Information)
onsemi‘s two divested manufacturing fabs are identified as facilities in Tarlac, Philippines and Mountain Top, Pennsylvania, adding geographic detail to Tuesday’s divestiture announcement. (The Elec)
US power companies are scrambling to procure transformers and electrical gear as surging data center demand strains the electrical equipment supply chain. (Reuters)
Policy
US Government reportedly weighing an equity stake in OpenAI as sovereign AI policy shifts toward state-backed models. (Bloomberg Tech)
Computing
Nvidia expands GeForce NOW cloud gaming to Toronto with RTX 5080 servers; next-generation Rosa server CPUs reportedly target TSMC 2nm or A16 with backside power delivery. (Nvidia News)
Infrastructure
Microsoft opens a new AI data center as hyperscaler buildout accelerates; simultaneously faces a noise pollution lawsuit from Wisconsin residents near its Dane County expansion. (EE News Europe)
Data center construction timelines face mounting delays as skilled labor shortages intensify across the US amid unprecedented AI infrastructure buildout demand. (Bloomberg Tech)
Networking
DriveNets deploys an AI supercluster connecting two WhiteFiber data centers 52 miles apart, delivering 111 Tbps aggregate capacity across the distributed sites. (Light Reading)
Automotive
Vishay launches an AEC-Q102-qualified automotive optocoupler in SOP-5 package with industry-best 40 kV/µs CMTI and 707V peak isolation voltage. (Vishay)
Storage
Sandisk sets its fiscal Q4 2026 earnings release for August 5 and announces an investor day event for August 13. (Sandisk)
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