Chinese analogue chipmakers join wave of global price rises as mature-node firms eye gains

A broader pricing wave has swept across the semiconductor supply chain.

Photo: AFP A string of Chinese analogue chipmakers have announced price increases in step with their international peers, as a broader pricing wave sweeps across the semiconductor supply chain – a shift that analysts say could hand China’s mature-node producers a rare window to gain ground.

Novosense Microelectronics, SG Micro, Fortior Technology, Halo Microelectronics, Silan Micro and Kiwi Instruments are among the domestic firms recently raising prices, in line with global leaders including Texas Instruments (TI), Analog Devices, NXP, Infineon, Onsemi and STMicroelectronics.

TI’s latest round, set to take effect in April, will lift prices on selected products by as much as 85 per cent.

Novosense, which makes sensors, signal-chain and power-management chips, had recently told customers about the adjustment, citing “continued volatility in global semiconductor markets and sharply rising costs of core materials including wafers and packaging inputs”.

The repricing wave in analogue chips – which process continuous real-world signals such as sound, temperature and light – comes as surging upstream costs and explosive artificial intelligence-driven demand push price pressures through the entire semiconductor supply chain.

Wafer samples are on display at a semiconductor exhibition in Shanghai on March 25.

Photo: AFP Memory chips had been the most visible example, but the tightly interconnected nature of the industry meant the effect was spreading, analysts said. “China could emerge as a key beneficiary in this environment,” said Clifford Kurz, director at S&P Global Ratings, pointing to the country’s ramp-up of mature-node capacity.

Unlike advanced AI chips, which demand cutting-edge process nodes, analogue chips are manufactured predominantly on mature nodes, where precision matters more than transistor density.

Long tied to 8-inch lines, analogue chip production is gradually shifting to 12-inch mature-node fabs, led by top integrated device manufacturers such as TI.

Although China has long lagged in leading-edge fabrication – constrained by structural industrial gaps and US export restrictions – it has been steadily closing the gap in mature-node capacity.

According to industry institution Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International, China’s share of global capacity at mainstream nodes between 22 nanometres and 40nm was projected to rise from 25 per cent in 2024 to 42 p

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