Top Of The Week Nvidia ‘s board of directors issued a statement that it was investigating CEO Jensen Huang, following his admission that he had an intimate relationship with a purported Chinese spy. The affair surfaced as part of investigation by the U.S. government into illegal sales of Nvidia AI chips to China, according to the New York Times. Meanwhile, approximately 600,000 Nvidia H200 AI chips are being held in Hong Kong awaiting approval for shipment to mainland China, according to Reuters. Beijing has limited imports in an effort to reduce reliance on U.S. technology and encourage adoption of domestically developed processors. HBM from Samsung and SK hynix is reportedly reaching Chinese AI chip developers through smuggling operations that exploit U.S. export-control loopholes . According to The Information, intermediaries package HBM with low-performance server processors, ship the combined components to China, and then remove the memory for resale, including to customers of Huawei . Micron reportedly paused construction of a $4.5B memory-chip plant in Taiwan due to a prolonged labor dispute, according to Bloomberg. Micron has not confirmed the suspension, and the effect on its longer-term Taiwan manufacturing plans remains unclear. Samsung Electronics is reportedly planning to expand advanced foundry capacity for HBM base dies at two locations. In South Korea, the company reportedly plans a new foundry facility at Giheung , with 2nm and 4nm production lines and an estimated ~US$17B investment, along with a possible advanced packaging expansion. Separately, Samsung reportedly secured orders from AMD and Nvidia for 2nm HBM base dies to be produced at a proposed second foundry in Taylor, Texas, with mass production targeted for 2030. Note: Samsung has not confirmed the reported Giheung investment or Taylor customer orders. Oracle canceled a 5-year agreement worth an estimated $7B to provide Tencent access to up to 100,000 advanced AI chips through data centers in Southeast Asia, following pressure from the Trump administration, according to the Financial Times. U.S. officials raised concerns about Chinese companies accessing advanced processors through overseas cloud services, while officials in China’s Guangdong province urged Tencent to use domestically developed chips. Bosch plans to establish a dedicated semiconductor division in January 2028, expanding its foundry business and opening more manufacturing capacity to external customers. The company is targeting €5B in semiconductor sales by 2030 and plans to expand its semiconductor test center in Penang, Malaysia, by the mid-2030s. Marvell ‘s pending acquisition of Lumentum, initially valued at $115B , is drawing mixed reactions, with analysts seeing opportunities to challenge Broadcom in AI optical interconnects, but also raising concerns about supplier concentration and customer relationships. Questions about the purchase price and regulatory approval have added to investor concerns. U.S. election results raised concerns about tighter restrictions on data center development , particularly in major markets such as Texas and Ohio , as well as increased congressional oversight of AI , including AI safety, cybersecurity, and industry practices. Restrictions that delay or reduce data center construction could weaken demand for AI accelerators, HBM, and networking chips, and increased regulatory scrutiny could create additional uncertainty for AI infrastructure investment. (See chip stock impacts here .) More acquisitions and deals Onsemi confirmed it plans to acquire Ferric, developer of integrated voltage regulators, for $600M in cash, plus up to $175M in milestone payments. Entegris acquired Advanced Abrasives and announced plans for a new SiC materials manufacturing line in Taiwan. The company also partnered with Element Six to develop diamond-based thermal-management materials for advanced packaging and expanded its deal with Kioxia on BiCS Flash 3D flash memory . Su