GLOBAL
technology · international · severity 8
AI infrastructure and chip manufacturing scaling dramatically
Major tech companies are significantly ramping up AI infrastructure investment globally. Nvidia is spending $100B-$150B annually on Taiwan supply chain; ByteDance discussing $70B capex for 2026; TSMC offering 30% profit-sharing increases; Samsung investing $1.5B in Vietnam semiconductor plant; and various firms launching new AI chips and models.
Sources
- Jensen Huang says Nvidia is spending $100B-$150B annually on its Taiwan supply chain, up from $10B-$15B four years ago, and will boost its Taiwan staff to 4,000 (Nikkei Asia)
- Sources: ByteDance is discussing capex of up to $70B in 2026 as it builds out data centers and AI infrastructure, underwriting it with its $50B profit from 2025 (Bloomberg)
- Source: at a town hall, TSMC CEO C.C. Wei told staff they will see a 30%+ bump in their profit-sharing payouts in 2026 on average, after some staff had concerns (Bloomberg)
- Samsung's largest union approves a pay deal that would give chip workers an average bonus of ~$340K, with ~74% of members voting in favor, staving off a strike (Yoolim Lee/Bloomberg)
- Document: Samsung plans to invest $1.5B to build a semiconductor testing plant focused on legacy chips in Vietnam; the plant is slated to open in November 2027 (Reuters)
- Nvidia to spend $191 billion a year in Taiwan, ‘epicentre’ of AI revolution, says CEO
- SK Hynix tops $1T in market value after shares jumped 11% on Wednesday, becoming the third Asian company to hit the mark; shares surged 900%+ in the past year (Bloomberg)
- Sources: Fireworks AI, which helps companies run AI models, is in talks to raise funding at a $15B valuation after being valued at $4B in October 2025 (Rebecca Torrence/Bloomberg)