Weekly Top Ten Tech Hardware and Semiconductor - Mar 15, 2026

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. SaaSpocalypse Now. Are We Done Already?

From its all time high of ~$118 back in September 2025, IGV, the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF, is currently down ~26%
Despite the Saaspocalypse, SaaS earnings and outlook have rarely looked better.
The issue isn’t that AI can replace SaaS, it’s the risk that SaaS per seat pricing models will fall apart in an agent-centric world.

Non-China supply chain premium is real and growing: European buyers are willing to pay 30–50% more for Taiwanese drone components, with mandates for zero China-sourced content increasingly common for sensitive applications.
Batteries are the critical bottleneck: Chinese battery cells remain far ahead on price and energy density; this is the single largest obstacle to building a fully non-Chinese drone supply chain.
Low barriers to drone assembly, high barriers to differentiation: A striking number of firms offered complete drone solutions built from off-the-shelf components. Value is shifting toward batteries, software, and edge AI.

Rohm has backed off its March 9 spike high, but is still up 45% year-to-date. Denso’s proposed takeover has been discounted.
Rohm is reportedly talking with Toshiba about combining their power device businesses. This could delay an attempted takeover and make it more expensive.
The Japanese government favors semiconductor industry consolidation, but the three companies could collaborate in automotive power devices without a takeover.

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