Europe's most concrete entry in this chip story is small and French. On 28 July 2026, Bull and Kalray, a Grenoble-based hardware and software specialist listed on Euronext Growth Paris (ALKAL), announced a collaboration on networking for AI and high-performance computing. It includes compatibility with Ultra Ethernet, which the announcement calls a new open standard that could define future supercomputer networking.1 This is a collaboration, not a takeover. Kalray's Éric Baissus said the deal “confirme une nouvelle fois la pertinence de notre vision technologique”, meaning it confirms the relevance of Kalray's technology vision.1
The more visible European signal is ASML, the Netherlands-based maker of photolithography machines, which print circuits onto chips. On Friday 4 September 2026 its shares rose by over 4% after research firm Lynx Equity Strategies published a very bullish analysis of the chip sector.2 Lynx rated Micron a clear buy with 33% anticipated upside and Sandisk a clear buy with 49%.2 Two cautions apply. First, those are forecasts, not facts. Second, the outlet that reported them has a measured track record of only 22% of 18 checked claims holding up.2 Our dossier does not say whether ASML sits inside the index funds our readers hold, and we will not guess.
What the filings actually show: Micron is spending far more
The firmest data in this story is not an analyst call. It is Micron's own reporting, checked against SEC filings. Micron's capital expenditure was $7.676 billion in fiscal 2023 and $8.386 billion in fiscal 2024.3 In fiscal 2025 it reached $15.857 billion, about 1.9 times the previous year.3 The first-quarter figures tell the same story: $1.796 billion in Q1 2024, $3.206 billion in Q1 2025 and $5.389 billion in Q1 2026. That makes the latest first quarter about three times the one two years earlier.3 Our dossier has no peer-company figures, so the clearest yardstick for Micron's spending is Micron's own history.
The cash pile grew too. Micron held $10.163 billion at Q3 2025 and $24.995 billion at Q3 2026, roughly two and a half times as much.4 Between those quarters it recorded $13.908 billion at Q2 2026.4
Costs rose more gently. Cost of revenue was $16.956 billion in fiscal 2023, $19.498 billion in fiscal 2024 and $22.505 billion in fiscal 2025.5 Quarterly cost of revenue rose from $5.361 billion in Q1 2025 to $5.997 billion in Q1 2026, and from $5.090 billion in Q2 2025 to $6.105 billion in Q2 2026.5 The dossier contains no revenue or profit figures, so we cannot say how fat the margins are. What the filings do support is that the company is spending and stockpiling cash at a pace well above two years ago. That is consistent with Via News's narrative analysis that AI demand has created a chip shortage analysts expect to last 12 to 18 months.6 The 12-to-18-month window is the analysts' view as summarised in our narrative, not a figure from a filing.
Locking in supply: the Nvidia–SK Hynix signal
Buyers are also securing supply in advance. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung hosted a San Francisco summit on 24 July 2026 with Jensen Huang, Sam Altman and the heads of Samsung, SK Group, Hyundai Motor and Naver. By the end of the day, roughly $950 billion in new AI agreements had been signed.7 The article gives no comparison for that figure, so treat it as a headline total whose breakdown we cannot verify. On the memory side, Raj Mirpuri said the Nvidia–SK Hynix expansion “will include a co-develop opportunity for us on the next-generation SK Hynix AI memory, and this will help us secure a stable supply of HBM memory.”7 HBM is the high-bandwidth memory used in AI accelerators. That source's measured reliability is 57% of 4,956 checked claims, better than the 22% above but far from perfect.7
Consolidation: real deals, loose link to memory
On 28 July 2026 Skyworks and Qorvo announced the expected leadership team for their combined company, pending completion of the previously announced transaction.8 Qorvo's Bob Bruggeworth said: “Today's announcement reflects the strong partnership that has shaped our integration planning efforts from the very beginning.”8
Separately, onsemi and Synaptics amended their 25 June 2026 merger agreement on 1 October 2026 after an unsolicited competing proposal from a third party. onsemi will now acquire Synaptics for $123 per share in cash, an aggregate value of about $5.7 billion, down from about $7 billion in the earlier terms as the event record states it.9 The dossier does not explain the lower price. It also does not tie either deal directly to memory demand. Our narrative groups them as a consolidating chip industry, and readers should treat that grouping as our framing rather than a documented cause.
The search for alternative silicon
Our narrative also lists a push beyond today's chips: Apple's possible entry into enterprise AI servers, Google TPUs, Cerebras wafer-scale chips, and DeepSeek and Huawei's chip software work.6 The dossier holds no verified facts on any of these, so we list them without assessing them.
It does hold two better-sourced threads. One is data movement. Mark Papermaster, speaking about GlobalFoundries' letter of intent with the U.S. Department of Commerce, said: “As AI systems scale, moving data efficiently is as critical as increasing compute performance.”10 Under that letter of intent, the Commerce Department's CHIPS Research and Development Office is expected to award GlobalFoundries $300 million for silicon photonics, which moves data as light.10 It is a letter of intent, not a completed award. AMD, which our entity graph lists as a competitor of Nvidia, welcomed the investment.10
The other thread is reversible computing. Hannah Earley, 31, cofounder and chief technology officer of Vaire Computing, argues that waste heat is “a design choice” rather than an inevitable cost. She is building chips that recycle energy normally lost as heat.11 She compares conventional computing to racing through a city and braking at every junction, so the car loses momentum and burns more fuel to speed up again.11 Of the resonator at the heart of the idea, she says: “It's really a glorified pendulum.”11 She adds: “I want to tackle every part of how computers are built, and rethink it in these terms.”11 The source is MIT Technology Review, but our measured reliability for it is 0% of 11 checked claims holding up. That is a small sample and not proof the account is wrong, but we could not verify its claims, so read it as one founder's vision.11
Friction, and what the dossier cannot tell Europeans
On 1 October 2026 OpenAI accused China's Moonshot AI of copying its models.12 Our narrative also flags Chinese espionage targeting AI experts, an FTC probe of AI agents and Pentagon AI programs as risks.6 The dossier carries no detail on any of them. It also contains no EU regulation, no European Commission action and no data on European chip demand. The honest summary is that this story is mostly American and Asian, with Europe present through ASML, Kalray and Bull.
The peripheral player: Solitron
Solitron Devices, a defense-chip firm on the OTC Pink market, is mostly peripheral. It reported fiscal 2027 first-quarter net sales up 101% to about $5.44 million. Net bookings fell 48% to $1.45 million, and backlog rose 28% to $23.34 million.13 The company expects sales at the Q1 level or greater for the rest of the fiscal year.13 The numbers are tiny next to Micron's, and they are the company's own statements, not independent checks.
What to watch
- Whether Micron's spending and cash keep climbing. Under CHIPS Act restrictions, the dossier notes the company could technically restart share buybacks from 9 December, though analysts are not necessarily expecting an announcement.14
- Whether another bidder emerges for Synaptics after the amended onsemi terms.9
- Whether the GlobalFoundries letter of intent becomes a final award.10
- Whether Kalray and Bull's Ultra Ethernet work turns into products.1
- Whether the 12-to-18-month shortage window holds. That depends on the filings, not on the forecasts.6
Sources:
1 NewsEOD, "BULL ET KALRAY S'ASSOCIENT POUR DÉVELOPPER LA PROCHAINE GÉNÉRATION DE RÉSEAUX À HAUTE VITESSE POUR L'ÈRE DE L'IA" (2026-07-28)
2 Motley Fool, "Why ASML Holding Stock Bumped 4% Higher Today" (undated)
3 Via News verified data — Micron Technology Inc. capital expenditure, SEC filing (FY 2023–FY 2025; Q1 2024, Q1 2025, Q1 2026)
4 Via News verified data — Micron Technology Inc. cash, SEC filing (Q3 2025, Q2 2026, Q3 2026)
5 Via News verified data — Micron Technology Inc. cost of revenue, SEC filing (FY 2023–FY 2025; Q1 and Q2 2025 and 2026)
6 Via News narrative analysis, "AI Demand Fuels Memory Supercycle, Chip Consolidation and a Race for Alternative Silicon" (undated)
7 NewsEOD, "Nvidia just locked down deal that changes AI race" (2026-07-26)
8 NewsEOD, "Skyworks and Qorvo Announce Expected Leadership Team for Combined Company" (2026-07-28)
9 Via News event record, onsemi and Synaptics amended merger agreement (2026-10-01)
10 NewsEOD, "GlobalFoundries signs letter of intent with the U.S. Department of Commerce for a $300 million award to accelerate U.S. silicon photonics leadership" (2026-07-29)
11 MIT Technology Review, "This founder is teaching chips how to recycle (their energy)" (undated)
12 Via News event record, OpenAI accuses Moonshot AI of copying its models (2026-10-01)
13 NewsEOD, "Solitron Devices, Inc. Announces Fiscal 2027 First Quarter Results" (2026-07-13)
14 Via News event record, Micron eligible to restart buybacks (2026-12-09)
