🎯 Today's Hardware Pulse
AMD pivots to CPUs as AI boom fuels $10B Taiwan investment
AMD’s CEO says the rapid growth of AI is refocusing the industry on CPUs, and the company announced more than $10 billion in investments across Taiwan to accelerate AI infrastructure. The funding aims to strengthen the local ecosystem and support next‑generation compute needs.
Also developing:
By the numbers: SMIC acquires SMNC in $5.97B deal
🚀 Top Hardware Headlines
Amkor Expands Arizona Packaging Plans as AMD Joins Advanced Packaging Customers
May 22, 2026 /SemiMedia/ — Amkor Technology said it is working with AMD to provide chip packaging services, further expanding its position in the growing advanced packaging market tied to AI and high-performance computing semiconductors. Earlier this week, Amkor announced it had acquired an additional 67 acres of land in Arizona adjacent to its existing […]
SemiMedia Global
Imec Says AI Scaling Needs More Orchestration Across Research, Design, Manufacturing
Co-optimization and collaboration were key themes at ITF World 2026, alongside imec’s Neuropixels 3.0 research and imec.ventures’ work with startups. The post Imec Says AI Scaling Needs More Orchestration Across Research, Design, Manufacturing appeared first on EE Times.
EE Times – Designlines/AI & ML
Beijing Bans Nvidia’s Top Graphics Card to Back Domestic Rivals
Chinese online gamers and hobbyist artificial intelligence (AI) developers have been dealt a setback as Beijing banned the import of Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 5090D V2, a graphics card specifically engineered for the Chinese market to comply with United States export rules, dealing another blow to the country’s technology community already caught in escalating chip-war tensions. […] The post Beijing bans Nvidia’s top graphics card to back domestic rivals appeared first on Asia Times.
Asia Times – Defense
EC Approves €66m for German SiC Facility
[](https://compoundsemiconductor.net/article/124270/EC_approves_€66m_for_German_SiC_facility)
Compound Semiconductor
Meta, Broadcom and Others to Launch $125 Million Semiconductor Research Hub at UCLA
Broadcom, Meta, Applied Materials, GlobalFoundries and Synopsys are joining forces to launch a $125 million "Semiconductor Hub" at UCLA.
CNBC – US Top News & Analysis
💬 Top Hardware Social Posts
Tweet by @Dunkhippo33
One of Lenny's most impressive podcasts on hardware just dropped. The AI frontier is shifting from digital to physical because "what you can do behind a keyboard with AI is going to saturate." Key insights from Caitlin Kalinowski on why hardware is the next battleground. More >>
Anthropic Mulls Renting Microsoft AI Chips
Anthropic is reportedly in early talks to rent Microsoft’s custom AI chips, as the Claude maker looks to expand its computing capacity to keep pace with rivals and growing demand. *The Information* reported winning Anthropic as a customer will mark a major win for Microsoft, but noted the talks are in an early stage and may not lead to a deal. *Bloomberg* stated Microsoft’s Maia AI accelerator chips would give Anthropic another option for running its Claude models beyond its existing infrastructure partnerships. Rivals [Google](https://www.mobileworldlive.com/google/google-secures-5b-chip-backing-from-blackstone/) and [Amazon](https://www.mobileworldlive.com/big-tech/meta-inks-aws-chip-deal-to-bolster-ai-effort/) are also designing their own chips as all three hyperscalers look to reduce their reliance on Nvidia. The potential arrangement will deepen an already substantial relationship between the two companies. In November 2025, Anthropic committed to spending $30 billion for compute capacity from Microsoft Azure cloud. Also last year, Microsoft and Nvidia together agreed to invest [$15 billion](https://www.mobileworldlive.com/big-tech/anthropic-wraps-30b-funding-round/) in the AI startup. Microsoft has also made Anthropic’s models available to its [enterprise customers](https://www.mobileworldlive.com/north-america/microsoft-teams-with-anthropic-to-improve-copilot/). **Profitability** Separately, the *Financial Times* (*FT*) reported Anthropic is set to post its first profitable quarter, with revenue for Q2 2026 projected at $10.9 billion, more than double the $4.8 billion it recorded in the first three months of the year. The AI startup has told investors the period will yield an operating profit of $559 million, a milestone which puts it ahead of rivals OpenAI and Elon Musk’s xAI in a race toward financial sustainability. The news site noted the financial result comes as Anthropic nears the close of a $30 billion funding round valuing it at $900 billion, and as all three AI companies plan to go public. The post [Anthropic mulls renting Microsoft AI chips](https://www.mobileworldlive.com/microsoft/anthropic-mulls-renting-microsoft-ai-chips/) appeared first on [Mobile World Live](https://www.mobileworldlive.com).
Thread by @Thegalox_
Lenovo just made not one, but two laptops with a 10/10 repairability score Two screws to pop the keyboard out, no glue on the batteries or trackpad and upgradable ram & storage Incredible to see the biggest laptop manufacturer in the world have super repairable laptops