Following successive price increases in foundry and packaging/testing, cost pressure is now shifting to the IC design sector, where the first industry‑wide wave of price adjustments is quietly taking shape. Leading players such as MediaTek have explicitly stated they will moderately raise prices, while several power‑management IC makers candidly note they are “waiting for someone to fire the first shot—once a major player acts, we will follow immediately.”
Industry insiders assess that the price‑hike momentum in IC design is likely to become fully clear after the Lunar New Year. Market expectations are that power‑management IC applications will be the first segment within IC design to successfully implement price increases, with key Taiwanese players including MediaTek, Anpec, Global Mixed‑mode Technology, and Silergy poised to lead the adjustment wave.
MediaTek CEO Rick Tsai signaled price increases as early as late October last year, indicating the company would “strategically adjust prices and reasonably allocate capacity” in response to rising manufacturing costs and to protect profitability. For IC design houses, the current push for price hikes is an inevitable response to cost pressures—driven by rising metal prices, packaging/testing price increases of 8%–15% starting February‑March, and price adjustments by some foundries. In the face of multiple cost headwinds, raising prices is a necessary move to maintain gross margins.
Price increases in the packaging and testing segment are particularly pronounced. With surging demand from AI servers and high‑performance computing (HPC), semiconductor packaging and testing capacity has become severely tight. Leading providers such as ASE Holdings and Chipbond have already raised quotes this quarter by as much as 20%, further adding to the cost burden on IC design companies.
Foundry price hikes are also advancing. According to mainland Chinese media, SMIC has already raised quotes for some capacity by about 10%. In Taiwan, foundry players across both advanced and mature nodes have begun adjusting prices. Market rumors suggest Vanguard International Semiconductor has started raising quotes, though the company is currently in a quiet period ahead of its earnings call and declined to comment on the reports on January 26.
Pricing strategies among IC companies are becoming clearer: power‑management IC suppliers are temporarily absorbing costs, ready to follow once competitors act; display‑driver IC firms may either raise prices to pass on costs or hold prices to gain share. Price adjustments are mainly implemented by reducing discounts for additional orders or directly raising quotes for new production, with already‑agreed order prices remaining unchanged.
ICgoodFind : The wave of price increases in IC design is imminent, with power‑management chips expected to lead the adjustment. Cost pressures will gradually pass through to downstream supply chains.
