Managing Director, Zero One, Zero One

Vincent Fernando, CFA

Managing Director, Zero One

Zero One

Founded in 2015, Zero One produces independent investment research and provides corporate finance advisory services with a focus on both listed and private technology companies. Founder Vincent Fernando has over 20 years of experience in US and Asia capital markets.

Independent Investment Research

Equity Bottom-Up

United Microelectron Sp Adr / Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li><strong>SemiQA is building a new class of analog, neuromorphic AI chips for the edge, with mass production in Taiwan.</strong></li>
<li>SemiQA's analog chip designs enable in-memory computing; doing the AI math inside the memory itself. This cuts power usage by 90% and reduces latency.</li>
<li>
<strong>Analog edge-AI thesis and the case for non-TSMC chip fabs.</strong> Because SemiQA's analog approach does not chase leading-edge transistor density, SemiQA builds on mature, specialty fabs like UMC, Global Foundries.</li>
</ul>


SemiQA is building a new class of analog, neuromorphic AI chips for the edge, with mass production in Taiwan.
SemiQA's analog chip designs enable in-memory computing; doing the AI math inside the memory itself. This cuts power usage by 90% and reduces latency.

Analog edge-AI thesis and the case for non-TSMC chip fabs. Because SemiQA's analog approach does not chase leading-edge transistor density, SemiQA builds on mature, specialty fabs like UMC, Global Foundries.


TechChain Insights: SemiQA's Analog Chips Cut Power Usage by 90% and Use Non-TSMC Mature Node Fabs

Independent research on the U.S. markets, Baptista Research

Baptista Research

Independent research on the U.S. markets

Baptista Research is an independent financial research house focused on the U.S. markets. We provide equity research as well as credit research reports on the top-listed U.S. companies with most of our focus on technology, consumer goods and services, automobiles, industrials, oil and gas, pharma, and healthcare. Our research has served more than 3000 institutional investors including mutual funds, hedge funds, banks, family offices, and various buy-side firms. We operate a research subscription service where institutions, as well as retail investors, can have priority access to all our research. We also have a wide distribution of our research reports across some of the top global financial platforms. Apart from equity research and credit research, we also provide advisory services with respect to mergers & acquisitions (M&A), private equity/ venture capital fundraising, valuation reports, and investment management services for corporates.
Baptista Research is owned and managed by Ishan Majumdar, an ex-Venture Capitalist/ Investment Banker, a Chartered Accountant, and a Masters’ degree holder in Management from HEC Paris. Ishan has nearly a decade of experience in Mergers and Acquisitions, Leveraged Buyouts (LBOs), Venture Capital Investing, Corporate Strategy, and Valuation in front-office roles at the likes of BNP Paribas CIB, Credit Agricole CIB, Groupe Danone, and TIW Private Equity. He has worked on and closed multiple acquisition deals, leveraged buyouts, and start-up investment transactions.

United Microelectronics Corp / Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>United Microelectronics Corporation reported first quarter 2026 consolidated revenues of TWD 61.04 billion, reflecting a 5.5% year-over-year increase but a slight sequential decline of 1.2%.</li>
<li>Gross margin stood at 29.2%, a small dip from 30.7% in the previous quarter, while net income attributable to shareholders rose substantially to TWD 15.7 billion, more than doubling the figure from the same quarter last year.</li>
<li>Earnings per share were TWD 1.29, supported in part by significant growth in non-operating income related to favorable stock market performance.</li>
</ul>


United Microelectronics Corporation reported first quarter 2026 consolidated revenues of TWD 61.04 billion, reflecting a 5.5% year-over-year increase but a slight sequential decline of 1.2%.
Gross margin stood at 29.2%, a small dip from 30.7% in the previous quarter, while net income attributable to shareholders rose substantially to TWD 15.7 billion, more than doubling the figure from the same quarter last year.
Earnings per share were TWD 1.29, supported in part by significant growth in non-operating income related to favorable stock market performance.


United Microelectronics: The 22-Nanometer Node At 14% Of Sales Is The Growth Engine Investors Miss!

Semiconductor & Technology Specialist, Ingenuity

William Keating

Semiconductor & Technology Specialist

Ingenuity

Our focus is exclusively on in-depth research & consulting in the broader semiconductor industry. We focus on the key players, namely Intel, Micron, Qualcomm, Apple, Samsung, NVIDIA, AMD, TSMC & Global Foundries - as well as some of the lesser known, but nonetheless critical, companies such as ASML (for EUV), Mellanox, Cavium, Xilinx etc. We specialise in their products, roadmaps, process technologies, competitive advantages & threats etc. We also help our clients understand the implications of new and emerging technologies, e.g. 3D X-Point, 3D NAND, Carbon Nanotubes, Autonomous Driving, Graphene, Silicon Photonics, Wafer-Level Optics, Artificial Intelligence, FPGA, GPU, ASIC etc. 

Semiconductor Analysis & Research

<ul>
<li>On April 29, 2026, UMC reported Q1 2026 revenue of NT$61.04 billion, down 1.2% QoQ, up 5.5% YoY. This was in line with guidance.</li>
<li>Specialty 22nm process comprised a record 14% of revenue in Q1 2026, up from ~13% in Q4 2025 and up from sub-10% one year ago.</li>
<li>Gross margin will remain under pressure through mid 2027 at least, a result of increasing depreciation and rising input costs. Yet the share price has doubled in six weeks. Yikes!</li>
</ul>


On April 29, 2026, UMC reported Q1 2026 revenue of NT$61.04 billion, down 1.2% QoQ, up 5.5% YoY. This was in line with guidance.
Specialty 22nm process comprised a record 14% of revenue in Q1 2026, up from ~13% in Q4 2025 and up from sub-10% one year ago.
Gross margin will remain under pressure through mid 2027 at least, a result of increasing depreciation and rising input costs. Yet the share price has doubled in six weeks. Yikes!


UMC Q126. A Delicate Balance Between Surging 22nm Demand & Rapidly Rising Depreciation, Input Costs

Taiwan Tech Focused Senior Analyst

Patrick Liao

<ul>
<li>United Microelectron Sp Adr (UMC US) anticipates a solid improvement in its second quarter of 2026 (2Q26), potentially outperforming 1Q26 by 5-10%.  </li>
<li>UMC expects its 8-inch wafer production to rise by about a couple percentage points QoQ, supporting mature node demand.</li>
<li>The ongoing US-China trade war is now manifesting clear pricing effects in the foundry industry, benefiting 8-inch wafer makers in particular.  </li>
</ul>


United Microelectron Sp Adr (UMC US) anticipates a solid improvement in its second quarter of 2026 (2Q26), potentially outperforming 1Q26 by 5-10%.  
UMC expects its 8-inch wafer production to rise by about a couple percentage points QoQ, supporting mature node demand.
The ongoing US-China trade war is now manifesting clear pricing effects in the foundry industry, benefiting 8-inch wafer makers in particular.  


UMC (2303.TT; UMC.US): 2Q26 Could Reach To 5%-10% QoQ Growth; 8" Wafer Price Increase.

Asia and Global Semiconductor and Tech Research

Andrew Lu

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>Like other automotive/industrial semi vendors, Diodes guides 4Q23 sales of 20% q/q and 35% y/y decline (miss by 21%) and weaker gross margin/operating margin of 35%/7% (miss by 5ppts).</li>
<li>The company sees 4Q23 sales decline of 20% mainly from 19% of automotive and 26% of industrial customers due to customer inventory cut coupled with year-end distributor inventory management. </li>
<li>We expect this adjustment for automotive/industrial IDMs to last for at least 6 months and suggest our clients to avoid these names unless valuation becoming attractive.  </li>
</ul>


Like other automotive/industrial semi vendors, Diodes guides 4Q23 sales of 20% q/q and 35% y/y decline (miss by 21%) and weaker gross margin/operating margin of 35%/7% (miss by 5ppts).
The company sees 4Q23 sales decline of 20% mainly from 19% of automotive and 26% of industrial customers due to customer inventory cut coupled with year-end distributor inventory management. 
We expect this adjustment for automotive/industrial IDMs to last for at least 6 months and suggest our clients to avoid these names unless valuation becoming attractive.  


With No Surprise, Diodes Guides Automotive/Industrial Semi Demand to Fall over 20% Q/Q

Taiwan

United Microelectronics Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets integrated circuits (ICs) and related electronic products.  The Company's main products are consumer electronic ICs, memory ICs, personal computer peripheral ICs, and communication ICs.

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United Microelectronics Corp (2303 TT)

TechChain Insights: SemiQA's Analog Chips Cut Power Usage by 90% and Use Non-TSMC Mature Node Fabs

SemiQA is revolutionizing AI chips for the edge with analog designs, reducing power usage by 90% and latency, while utilizing non-TSMC mature node...

Vincent Fernando, CFA

United Microelectronics: The 22-Nanometer Node At 14% Of Sales Is The Growth Engine Investors Miss!

United Microelectronics Corporation reported first quarter 2026 consolidated revenues of TWD 61.04 billion, reflecting a 5.5% year-over-year...

Baptista Research

UMC Q126. A Delicate Balance Between Surging 22nm Demand & Rapidly Rising Depreciation, Input Costs

UMC's gross margin will remain under pressure through mid 2027 at least, a result of increasing depreciation and rising input costs. Yet the share...

William Keating

UMC (2303.TT; UMC.US): 2Q26 Could Reach To 5%-10% QoQ Growth; 8" Wafer Price Increase.

UMC anticipates strong 2Q26 performance, with 8-inch wafer production increase and benefits from US-China trade war pricing effects.

Patrick Liao

With No Surprise, Diodes Guides Automotive/Industrial Semi Demand to Fall over 20% Q/Q

With No Surprise, Diodes Guides Automotive/Industrial Semi Demand to Fall over 20% Q/Q, margin contraction, and rising months of inventory. We see...

Andrew Lu

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TechChain Insights: SemiQA's Analog Chips Cut Power Usage by 90% and Use Non-TSMC Mature Node Fabs

​SemiQA is revolutionizing AI chips for the edge with analog designs, reducing power usage by 90% and latency, while utilizing non-TSMC mature node...

Vincent Fernando, CFA

United Microelectronics: The 22-Nanometer Node At 14% Of Sales Is The Growth Engine Investors Miss!

United Microelectronics Corporation reported first quarter 2026 consolidated revenues of TWD 61.04 billion, reflecting a 5.5% year-over-year...

Baptista Research

UMC Q126. A Delicate Balance Between Surging 22nm Demand & Rapidly Rising Depreciation, Input Costs

UMC's gross margin will remain under pressure through mid 2027 at least, a result of increasing depreciation and rising input costs. Yet the share...

William Keating

UMC (2303.TT; UMC.US): 2Q26 Could Reach To 5%-10% QoQ Growth; 8" Wafer Price Increase.

​UMC anticipates strong 2Q26 performance, with 8-inch wafer production increase and benefits from US-China trade war pricing effects.

Patrick Liao

With No Surprise, Diodes Guides Automotive/Industrial Semi Demand to Fall over 20% Q/Q

With No Surprise, Diodes Guides Automotive/Industrial Semi Demand to Fall over 20% Q/Q, margin contraction, and rising months of inventory. We see...

Andrew Lu

SemiQA is revolutionizing AI chips for the edge with analog designs, reducing power usage by 90% and latency, while utilizing non-TSMC mature node...

UMC anticipates strong 2Q26 performance, with 8-inch wafer production increase and benefits from US-China trade war pricing effects.