Light Reading’s semiconductors page curates a run of short and long reports that collectively map how chip supply, geopolitics and telecom vendor strategy are converging. The landing view mixes pure semiconductor items with closely related coverage in 5G, 6G, open RAN and Artificial Intelligence, reflecting how tightly coupled those domains have become. Headlines rather than full articles are presented, but they sketch out the main pressure points: rare earth access, radio silicon roadmaps, strategic stakes and surging demand from Artificial Intelligence infrastructure builders.
On the geopolitical side, the section flags a regulatory and politics piece titled “China ready to wield rare earths weapon against Japan,” which reports that China has threatened to bar rare earth sales to Japan and is expected to keep using its dominance of heavy rare earths against the US. Another regulatory story, “Qualcomm defies US-China trade tensions,” suggests the vendor is still navigating cross border constraints. These items sit alongside “Eurobites: Which?’s £480M claim against Qualcomm has its day in court,” underlining that legal and trade disputes are now a structural part of the semiconductor landscape.
Telecom network silicon and vendor strategy form a second pillar. Multiple 5G and open RAN headlines follow Intel’s network business upheaval, including “What Intel crisis means for Samsung and Nokia in 5G,” “What’s the Story? Intel to spin off network biz,” and “Eurobites: Ericsson considering major investment in Intel’s networking unit – report.” Separate stories ask whether “An Ericsson takeover of the Intel network biz wouldn’t work” and report that “Intel networks U-turn is a relief for Ericsson and Samsung.” Chip-specific pieces such as “Fragile Samsung deal with Marvell shows challenge for RAN chipmakers,” “Slow death of custom RAN silicon opens doors for AMD,” and “NXP to exit 5G with closure of radio power fab in Arizona” highlight how radio access network silicon is in flux.
Artificial Intelligence and advanced compute demand provide a third theme. “Nvidia won’t expect an AI-RAN challenge from Google,” “Nokia and Nvidia’s AI-RAN plan hits telco resistance,” “Orange targets ‘full decoupling’ in open RAN, not sold on AI-RAN,” and “Nvidia still seems to be going nowhere fast in AI-RAN” all focus on efforts to blend Artificial Intelligence with radio networks and the skepticism those plans face. Separate Artificial Intelligence and machine learning items show demand pulling on the memory and GPU supply chain: “OpenAI orders $71B in Korean memory chips” describes a single customer placing an order valued at $71B in Korean memory chips, while “China slaps ban on Nvidia AI chips – report” signals that Chinese restrictions on Nvidia AI chips are intensifying. Another item, “Nvidia takes $1B stake in Nokia, which promises 5G and 6G overhaul,” reports that Nvidia takes ?B stake in Nokia, which promises 5G and 6G overhaul, and is paired with “Nokia got an Nvidia offer it couldn’t refuse in AI-RAN rescue bid,” suggesting that strategic equity and Artificial Intelligence roadmaps are now intertwined.
The feed also surfaces regional and market specific developments that touch semiconductors. “Samsung sees recovery ahead after Q2 profit plunge” indicates volatility in the memory and handset linked chip market. A separate smartphones and devices story, “Telcos face drop in handset sales as memory prices soar,” implies that rising component costs are feeding through to operators. Another semiconductor tagged item, “India’s PC market surges in Q3 – Omdia,” contrasts with a later note that “Global PC shipments grew 9% in 2025, but memory and storage supply issues threaten 2026 outlook – Omdia,” pointing to uneven performance across geographies. At the same time, “SoftBank backs Intel with ?B stake in US chip innovation” shows large scale financial bets on US chip development, while “GSA honors Dr. Tsu-Jae King Liu” highlights individual recognition within the ecosystem. Finally, pieces on 6G such as “Intel-backed Cohere launches Pulsone in bid to disrupt 6G” and “NTT Docomo doubles 6G throughput in AI trials” round out a snapshot of how next generation networks and Artificial Intelligence research are shaping future semiconductor requirements.
