Wire
SK hynix drops a $15B Solidigm IPO but keeps the US NAND fab plan
SK hynix ended Solidigm's IPO review on 23 October. The reported $15 billion raise is off, the US fab for data center SSDs is still needed, and no site or size has been named.
Sean
Writes Second Order by TKN — a plain-English map of AI infrastructure and semiconductors for non-specialist investors. Focus: who gets paid, where money sticks, and which step is stuck. Not investment advice.
Taiwan
20% Short, 30 Months Out: Who Gets Paid While Taiwan's AI Boards Wait on Glass Cloth
At Taiwan's circuit board show this week, the industry's own chairman said key materials run about 20% short and some tools take 30 months. Glass cloth is the tightest. The weavers are paid first; the board and substrate lines wait on the loom.
Explained
What Are Data Center Tiers? Tier I to IV in AI Data Centers
Data center tiers grade the spare generators, batteries and second paths that keep a hall running. That spare kit is bought but rarely used, and AI builders are now splitting over how much of it a GPU hall needs.
Wire
Nebius takes a $3.5B, 364-day Citi bridge to fund GPUs
Nebius signed a $3.5 billion secured bridge loan from Citi on 17 October to fund GPUs and data centers. It matures in 364 days at a margin that rises every 90 days, and the planned take-out is asset-backed debt on contracts that only finance as capacity is delivered.
Singapore
16% Rent Resets, 28% More Interest: Who Gets Paid in Keppel DC REIT's Quarter
Keppel DC REIT's 23 October update shows renewals repricing about 16% higher and 96% of its power contracted. It also shows interest costs up 28% in nine months. Rent resets when a contract ends. Interest resets now.
Wire
Nvidia and Tesla put $2.8B into Samsung Electro-Mechanics substrates
Nvidia (about ₩2.6tn) and Tesla (about ₩1.1tn) are reported to be funding FC-BGA substrate lines at Samsung Electro-Mechanics' Sejong plant, due in 2H 2028. Customers now pay for the capacity.
Catalyst
TTM data center boards up 115% as orders run 2.5x sales
TTM's circuit board sales to data centre and networking customers rose 115% to $493.6 million while commercial orders ran at 2.5 times sales, and board materials now take 12 to 24 weeks, a sign the board under every AI server is a step where capacity sets the pace into 2028.
Explained
Capex vs Depreciation: Why AI Spending Hits Profit Later
Capex is the cash out today; depreciation is the bill that reaches profit over the next five to six years. The five biggest AI buyers spent about four dollars in cash for every dollar of depreciation they booked in their latest quarters, and the clock only starts when a powered hall switches on.
Malaysia
RM45 Billion Out, RM42 Billion In: Who Gets Paid in Malaysia's Chip Export Record
Malaysia shipped a record RM110.2 billion of electronics in September, up RM45.1 billion on a year earlier. Electronics imports rose RM42.2 billion. Most of the extra money passed through to the chip and memory makers abroad. The slice Malaysia keeps grows only as fast as its own lines can.
Analysis
What Does KLA's Price Assume About the Inspection Stuck Step?
KLA closed at $147.83, about $192.9 billion. It already recognised $2.837 billion of inspection tools. What does the price assume about getting paid on the check while the die still waits on a scanner?
Wire
Google funds a 1 GW virtual power plant for PJM data center power
Google and Voltus added 1,070 MW to a 100 MW virtual power plant in PJM on 22 October, contracted to 2040. Google is buying peak-hour headroom on a grid that is 6,623 MW short.
Semiconductors
What Does KLA Do? The Process-Control Model
KLA sells the inspection and metrology tools that check the wafer: it gets paid when a system is recognised, while the die still waits on an ASML slot.