This weekly newsletter pulls together summaries of the top ten most-read Insights across Tech Hardware and Semiconductor on Smartkarma.
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1. Taiwan Dual-Listings Monitor: TSMC, UMC, ASE and ChipMOS All Signal Long the ADR Spread
- TSMC: +10.2% Premium; Below -1 SD Band; Long the ADR Spread
- UMC: -8.3% Discount; Below -1 SD Band; Long the ADR Spread
- ASE: -11.3% Discount; Below -1 SD Band; Long the ADR Spread
2. Huawei’s “Tau Scaling Law” and “LogicFolding”. Desperation, A Genuine Breakthrough Or Both?
- Huawei introduced the “Tau Scaling Law” under which chip designers optimise for the time taken for elements of a chip to communicate, rather than for the space between transistors.
- Huawei’s next-generation Kirin SoC, due autumn 2026, will be the first commercial chip to fully adopt the resulting architecture, which Huawei is calling “LogicFolding.”
- Huawei chips designed under this framework will deliver transistor density equivalent to a 1.4nm process by 2031, three years after TSMC’s publicly stated 2028 timeline for its A14 (1.4nm) node.
3. Micron. Beware The Wrath Of YMTC
- YMTC currently has patent infringement lawsuits filed against Micron in California, Texas, Beijing, Shanghai, London, Dusseldorf & Munich.
- YMTC has also filed a complaint against Micron for false advertising, product disparagement, and unfair competition. They claim that anti-YMTC content on the chinatechthreat.com website was funded by Micron
- The US patent litigation is currently in a stalemate. The UK and German litigation could proceed much faster compared to the US, and be much more problematic for Micron…
4. Taiwan Dual-Listings Monitor: Taiwan Domestic Investors’ Relative Bullishness Is an Opportunity
- TSMC: +11.5% Premium; Taiwan Relative Bullishness is Opportunity to Long the ADR Spread
- UMC: -3.7% Discount; Persisting Discount = Opportunity to Long the ADR Spread
- ASE: -1.6% Discount; Persisting Below Zero… Another Opportunity Long the ADR Spread
5. KHI (7012 JP): Progress with Physical AI
- KHI has opened a Physical AI Center in Silicon Valley, where it will collaborate with Nvidia, Analog Devices, Microsoft and Fujitsu
- The Kawasaki Physical AI Center will first work on robotic surgery and hospital process management, then move on to semiconductors, mobility and other applications.
- This should high standards of accuracy and reliability for all KHI robotics and other AI-enabled products.
6. Salesforce Q1 FY2027. Raising Debt For Massive Buybacks: Confidence Or Delusion?
- First quarter revenue of $11.1 billion, up 13% Y/Y and 12% in CC, including $444 million Informatica contribution
- Second quarter FY27 revenue guidance of $11.27 billion to $11.35 billion, up 10% – 11% Y/Y and 10% in CC, including slightly above 4pts Informatica contribution
- Announced $25 billion accelerated share repurchase (“ASR”), with upfront share delivery of 103 million shares representing approximately 80% of total shares expected to be repurchased, final settlement in Q3 FY27
7. SanDisk @ JPM 54th Annual TMT. Key Takeaways & Full Transcript
- Three KPIs run the business, Get a fair return on the technology, dampen cyclicality via NBMs with financial guarantees, limiting to mid-to-high-teens bit growth
- First three NBM agreements (signed March quarter): $42 billion total lifetime contracted value. Five NBM agreements now signed
- SanDisk’s February 2025 Analyst Day call was that NAND would inflect in 2H25 and remain undersupplied through end 2026. Goeckeler is now extending the same conviction level through end 2027.
8. Dell’s Q127. Soaring After Hours On Massive AI Server Driven Beat & Raise
- Dell reported Q1 FY27 revenue of $43.84 billion, +88% YoY, -31% QoQ, in line with normal Q4-to-Q1 seasonality. Oh and it was also $8.6 billion above Dell’s guided midpoint
- Q2FY27 revenue guided for $44.5 billion at the midpoint, +49% YoY. Full-year FY27 revenue expected midpoint of $167.0 billion, +47% YoY
- Full-Year AI-Optimized Servers revenue expected to be roughly $60 billion, up 144% year over year
9. TechChain Insights Q&A: Where Mediatek Partner Neuralspike Sees Edge AI Demand Right Now
- NeuralSpike, an independent edge-AI partner whose optimization tools are chip-agnostic, still defaults to MediaTek’s Genio because of its edge AI ecosystem partnership and faster Mediatek engineer access shortens development.
- MediaTek investing in its ecosystem: NeuralSpike built Genio reference work for MediaTek itself, including 80+ FPS visual data segmentation on Genio 500 and a barcode-free checkout PoC on AIoT i500.
- MediaTek’s Smart Edge segment — which houses Genio — its fastest-growing in 1Q26 (+23% QoQ). Expect edge-to-cloud agentic AI headlines for Mediatek at Computex in Taipei next week.
10. Lenovo’s Q4 FY25/26. Record Quarter, Record Year, ISG Inflection Point
- Lenovo (0992.HK) reported full-year FY2025/26 revenues of a record US$83.1 billion, up 20% YoY, with net profit attributable to shareholders of US$1.9 billion, up 38%.
- Lenovo reported Q4 revenues of US$21.6 billion, +27% YoY, its fastest growth in five years. AI-related revenue hit 38% of group revenue in the quarter and grew 84% YoY.
- Lenovo’s Infrastructure Solutions Group turned full-year profitable, delivering record revenue of US$19.2 billion, up 32%, and an operating profit of US$73 million, a roughly US$140 million year-on-year swing
