chipmakers

Dutch chip equipment maker ASML says it is not selling its chipmaking machines to customers in Europe, and has warned that the region risks falling behind the United States, China and India in the semiconductor industry. The statement is drawing attention among business and technology watchers, who see it as a stark signal of Europe's weakening position in advanced chip production despite ongoing efforts to build domestic capacity.

Dutch chip equipment maker ASML says it is not selling its chipmaking machines in Europe, warning that the region risks falling behind the US, China and India in semiconductors. The remarks are drawing attention to Europe's limited role in advanced chip manufacturing despite hosting ASML itself, and are fueling debate about industrial policy and investment in the region.

Nvidia has added $150 billion to its stock buyback program, which the company describes as the largest ever undertaken. The announcement underscores Nvidia's extraordinary cash generation during the artificial intelligence boom, as the chipmaker returns record sums to shareholders. Investors and analysts are weighing what the move signals about the company's confidence in future growth and the broader market.

Reports indicate China is considering relaxing restrictions on NVIDIA's AI chips, a potential shift in its stance on foreign semiconductors amid the ongoing US-China technology standoff. Any easing would affect Chinese companies seeking high-end AI hardware and could reshape the competitive landscape for global chipmakers.

ASML, the Dutch maker of advanced lithography equipment, has said it currently sells no chipmaking machines within Europe, according to an executive. The statement highlights how the continent, despite hosting one of the world's most critical semiconductor suppliers, lacks major chip manufacturing customers of its own, fueling discussion about Europe's limited position in global chip production.

The Trump administration is moving to redirect unallocated CHIPS Act funds while relying on tariff threats rather than subsidies to push chipmaking onshore. TSMC retained its $6.6 billion federal grant, but pressure from tariff threats led it to raise its total US investment pledge from $65 billion to more than $165 billion. Commentators note this shifts reshoring costs onto private capital, though tariffs are seen as a far slower route to building semiconductor capacity than direct subsidies.

Investors are watching Dow Jones futures as comments from Donald Trump on Iran add uncertainty to markets at the start of trading. Attention is also on individual stocks, with Micron, SpaceX and Tesla seen as approaching technical buy points. Traders are weighing geopolitical headlines against stock-specific opportunities, with chipmaker Micron and Tesla among the names drawing interest from growth investors tracking market conditions.

Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang has dismissed warnings from Anthropic that artificial intelligence could pose catastrophic risks, saying there is a '0% chance' AI destroys the world by 2030. His comments put him directly at odds with leading AI lab executives pushing for stronger safety precautions. The remarks are drawing attention given Nvidia's central role in supplying the chips powering the AI boom, and critics may see a commercial interest in his optimism.

A new report says China is planning to allow ByteDance and Alibaba to purchase Nvidia chips, signalling a possible easing of restrictions on US semiconductor access for major Chinese tech firms. China was once one of Nvidia's largest markets before export controls sharply limited such sales, so any reopening would be a significant development for both the chipmaker and Chinese AI companies.

AT&S, the Austrian circuit board maker, is drawing attention for its role in producing substrates — the critical layers that connect advanced AI chips to the rest of a system. With demand for AI hardware surging, substrate supply has become a bottleneck, and companies like AT&S are racing to expand capacity to serve chipmakers and data centre builders.

Barron's reports that Nvidia's stock is holding up despite a broad downturn across the semiconductor sector, attributing its resilience to three key reasons. Investors are watching the chipmaker closely as peers slide, debating whether Nvidia's strength reflects durable fundamentals such as AI demand or a temporary divergence from wider industry weakness.

SK hynix is considering producing memory chips in the United States, according to the Korea Herald. The South Korean chipmaker, a leading supplier of HBM and DRAM to companies like Nvidia, has so far concentrated manufacturing in Korea and China. A US move would align with Washington's push to bring advanced semiconductor production onshore through incentives and tariffs, though the company has reportedly not made a final decision.

Nvidia has approved the biggest share buyback ever seen in the stock market, according to Business Insider. The move signals the chipmaker's confidence in its long-term outlook despite its already enormous valuation, and comes as the company sits at the centre of the global AI boom. Investors and analysts are weighing what the unprecedented capital return means for the broader tech sector.

Nvidia has announced a set of AI security tools aimed at preventing breaches involving autonomous AI agents. The announcement, covered by Yahoo Finance Canada, positions the chipmaker to address growing concerns that AI agents acting on users' behalf could be exploited or hijacked by attackers.

AMD and Broadcom are drawing divided views from Wall Street analysts over which company is better positioned to win the next phase of the AI chip market. The two semiconductor firms are racing to supply custom and accelerative computing hardware as demand for AI infrastructure surges, and investors are split on which strategy will pay off.

Qualcomm announced two new smartphone chips, strengthening its push into on-device artificial intelligence as competition among chipmakers intensifies. The announcement came alongside the company's earnings update, but investors were unmoved: Qualcomm shares slipped modestly in after-hours trading despite the new product launches. Attention is on how the company's AI-capable silicon will fare against rivals in the premium smartphone market.

Europe is pushing to become a serious player in artificial intelligence, but its plans depend heavily on foreign-controlled supply chains for semiconductors and other critical components. The continent lacks domestic chip manufacturing capacity at the scale needed for AI development, leaving it reliant on suppliers in the US and Asia. Commentators question whether Europe can build genuine tech sovereignty without securing its own hardware foundations.

Nvidia is buying back $150 billion of its own stock, the largest share repurchase ever announced by a public company. The move signals the chipmaker's confidence in its cash flow after explosive AI-driven growth, and gives it room to offset dilution from employee stock compensation while returning capital to shareholders at a historic scale.

ASML, the Dutch maker of chipmaking equipment, says it sold 'absolutely nothing' in Europe in 2026, pointing out that demand for its machines comes overwhelmingly from Asia. The company is calling on the European Union to help create demand for advanced chip manufacturing within Europe. The remark has drawn attention to Europe's limited role in the semiconductor supply chain despite hosting the company itself.