Zero One Investment Research Daily Intelligence Brief, October 19, 2026

NVIDIA sends Samsung's AI memory to TSMC as Microsoft quits an Nscale site

Top Market Signals

NVIDIA moves all three memory makers onto TSMC 3nm

Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) will use TSMC's (2330 TT) 3nm process to make the base die, the logic chip at the bottom of a high-bandwidth memory (HBM) stack, for NVIDIA's (NVDA US) next custom HBM, Seoul Economic Daily reported on 18 Oct. It is the first time Samsung has worked with TSMC at the HBM manufacturing stage.

NVIDIA has asked Samsung, SK hynix (000660 KS) and Micron (MU US) to build the base dies of its NVHBM on TSMC 3nm and the memory dies on sixth-generation 10nm-class DRAM (1c), Commercial Times reported citing Korean media. NVHBM, announced in August on the HBM4E generation, puts NVIDIA's own memory controller into the base die. One shared process is meant to make parts from different suppliers perform the same and cut the work of qualifying each supplier separately; Economic Daily News reported that TSMC's yield above 90% was one reason for the choice.

Samsung accepted after an internal review, giving up its practice of making both dies itself for these parts. It will keep making standard HBM and other customers' custom HBM in-house, and is weighing whether its own foundry could make NVHBM base dies if demand runs past TSMC's capacity. SK hynix plans to move its HBM4E base die to 3nm from the TSMC 12nm process it uses for HBM4.

The orders land on TSMC's fullest node. 3nm was 33% of TSMC's wafer revenue in 3Q26, the largest share of any process, and Commercial Times said the lines are running full on AI and high-end phone demand. Our 16 Oct Blade covered TSMC's decision to add another 3nm fab in Tainan for 1H28 volume production; the Fab 18 P9 and P10 phases start operating in 2027 and 2028.

Linked stocks: 2330 TT, 005930 KS, 000660 KS, NVDA US

MediaTek's Google chip design pushed to January

The design of Google's TPU v9 AI chip, on which MediaTek (2454 TT) is a partner, has been reworked, and its tape-out (the point when the finished design goes to the foundry) may slip to January 2027, with shipments possibly moving to 1Q28, Commercial Times reported citing institutional investors.

The Core A design, codenamed Humufish, was changed and its development delayed by about three weeks, which also holds up the Core B and input/output design that MediaTek is responsible for. The November sampling target is unchanged, and the production version's design is now due to be finalized in 2Q27.

MediaTek is adding customers alongside Google. Our 16 Oct Blade reported that ByteDance is in final-stage talks to buy custom data center chips from MediaTek; Commercial Times adds that Qualcomm (QCOM US) is the first supplier on that project and that MediaTek still needs US Commerce Department approval.

Taiwan's other custom chip designers are already booking the growth. Global Unichip (3443 TT) reported record September revenue of NT$7.15bn, up 97.8% YoY, and Alchip (3661 TT) reported NT$9.98bn, up 496% YoY on 3nm AI accelerators. Institutional investors estimate global shipments of custom AI accelerators at 14.1m units in 2027, up about 69% YoY. The November samples are the next check on whether the January tape-out date holds.

Linked stocks: 2454 TT, 3443 TT, 3661 TT, GOOGL US

Lite-On pulls 800-volt rack power forward

Lite-On Technology (2301 TT) has moved its 800VDC (800-volt direct current) data center power products forward by one to two quarters, Uanalyze reported via cnYES: samples passed validation in August, small shipments start in November and volume follows in 1Q27. Customers building custom AI chips are adopting it ahead of GPU customers, whose platforms start in 2Q27 at the earliest.

3Q26 revenue reached NT$57.4bn, up 9% QoQ and 28% YoY and the highest in 39 quarters. The growth comes from higher power per unit more than from more units: power supplies have gone from 3-5kW to 8kW with 18.3kW next, and rack power shelves from 33kW to 110kW. AI was more than 25% of revenue in 2Q26, against a full-year target of 30%.

Two US cloud providers are already taking Lite-On power supplies and racks. The company targets US$1bn of revenue from a single key customer and aims to add two more large cloud customers within 12 to 18 months. It has raised 2026 capex three times, most recently adding NT$8.85bn for Kaohsiung, but its Texas plant reaches volume production only in 1H27.

Management called 1H26 gross margin of 24.7% the reasonable base, because 2Q26's 27.2% included a reversal of inventory write-downs and delayed high-end shipments. Rising memory and processor costs could also weigh on margins outside AI.

Linked stocks: 2301 TT, 2308 TT, NVDA US

Microsoft quits Nscale site; investors cut IPO value

Microsoft (MSFT US) said on 18 Oct that it has withdrawn from a UK data center project with Nscale, the NVIDIA-backed (NVDA US) data center developer based in London; the project had already been delayed by limited power supply, Economic Daily News reported citing Bloomberg. Nscale is seeking an IPO valuation of about US$30bn, but some investors have suggested US$16-19bn is more likely to find buyers.

Nscale filed publicly for a US listing on 18 Sep and has not started marketing the deal while it answers SEC comments on the filing. It raised US$3.36bn before the IPO last month from investors including NVIDIA, Apollo, Citadel and the Abu Dhabi Investment Council. Its flagship Norway data center is six months behind schedule after a cooling-system leak, local regulation, construction delays and a fire.

Investors also pointed to the collapse of Australian AI data center operator Firmus's IPO plan. At CoreWeave (CRWV US), filings show CEO Michael Intrator and related entities have sold more than 10m shares for close to US$1bn since the March 2025 listing, mostly under a pre-set 10b5-1 plan. CoreWeave has more than US$129bn of contracted orders and guided 2026 capex to US$35-39bn.

Anthropic could list as early as next month, Economic Daily News reported, and Bloomberg said its fundraising is already crowding other IPO plans; Oura and Bamboo Insurance have delayed their listings.

Linked stocks: MSFT US, NVDA US, CRWV US

ASML patents point toward Besi's bonding market

ASML (ASML NA) is developing hybrid bonding equipment, according to research firm SemiAnalysis's review of 27 ASML patent applications, Reuters reported as carried by MoneyDJ. Hybrid bonding joins chips directly to each other for denser, faster connections, and it is the main growth market of BE Semiconductor (BESI NA), Europe's largest chip packaging equipment maker. ASML has not confirmed the work and declined to comment.

ASML launched its first advanced packaging tool in 2025, and CTO Marco Pieters told Reuters in March that more packaging tools were planned. Besi shares fell 4.8% on 16 Oct and are half their June high; UBS and BofA had already downgraded the stock, citing slower hybrid bonding adoption and the risk of ASML entering.

The report came days after ASML reported record 3Q26 revenue and said some customers want to order tools for 2030. A product announcement, or a chipmaker naming ASML as a bonding supplier, would turn the patent filings into competition Besi has to price against.

Linked stocks: ASML NA, BESI NA, AMAT US

DISCO set to beat its own profit guidance

DISCO (6146 JT), the Japanese maker of wafer dicing and grinding tools, is on track for record 1H FY26 (April to September) operating profit of about JPY110bn, up about 40% YoY, Nikkei reported on 16 Oct. Revenue is expected to rise about 30% to about JPY250bn, against the company's July guidance of JPY104.9bn operating profit and JPY242.8bn revenue.

Nikkei attributed the beat to AI chip demand lifting sales of both equipment and consumables, and July to September is also set to be a record quarter. DISCO books revenue only after a customer accepts a tool, so its shipment figures track demand more closely than revenue does.

The shares fell 3.42% to JPY52,010 in early trading on 19 Oct. DISCO reports on 22 Oct, and the shipment figure in that release will show whether AI orders are still rising into the second half.

Linked stocks: 6146 JT, ASML NA, AMAT US

先聲 First Word: Exclusives from Chinese-Language Sources

MiTAC to spend NT$12.6bn on a new Taoyuan server plant

MiTAC Computing, a unit of MiTAC Holdings (3706 TT), won approval on 16 Oct to invest NT$12.62bn in a new plant in Yangmei, Taoyuan, and to expand its Zhunan and Linkou lines for high-end servers and full racks, adding 300 local jobs. Another Taiwan server maker is building rack-level capacity at home under the government's program for returning Taiwanese investment. (16 Oct 2026) Source: 神雲科技投資126億元桃園建新廠 擴大高階伺服器產能

Samsung cuts 4Q26 output of cheaper phones

Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) plans to cut its 4Q26 production of low and mid-range smartphones because of higher memory prices and short supply of PCB (printed circuit board) materials including copper foil, ZDNet Korea reported as carried by DigiTimes. The memory cost squeeze on phones covered in our 14 Oct Blade has now reached Samsung's own build plan for the quarter. (19 Oct 2026) Source: 三星手機賣愈多虧愈多？ 因記憶體、PCB原料雙漲再傳減產

Faraday lines up Samsung 2nm and Intel 18A-P design work

Faraday Technology (3035 TT) has obtained Samsung's 2nm process design kit, as Samsung's 4nm capacity is full and AI custom chip customers evaluate 2nm, and completed its Intel 18A-P design setup in July, Commercial Times reported. It is also developing IP for the US 12nm line UMC (2303 TT) is building with Intel, with orders from 2H27. That gives Taiwan custom chip customers design support on foundries other than TSMC. (19 Oct 2026) Source: AI ASIC夯 供應鏈掀搶單戰