Since 2026, the global semiconductor price hike wave has continued to propagate downstream from upstream wafer foundry and packaging/testing segments to various chip products. Following the successive price surges in memory chips, analog chips, and power devices, Power Management ICs (PMICs) have now been drawn into the fray, becoming the new focal point of this round of price increases.

As a core sub-category within the semiconductor industry, PMICs are responsible for the conversion, distribution, and management of electrical energy in electronic devices. They are widely deployed across AI servers, new energy vehicles, consumer electronics, and industrial control applications, and their price fluctuations directly impact the cost structure of the entire electronics supply chain. Entering the second quarter of 2026, pricing signals in this sector have grown increasingly pronounced, with both international and domestic manufacturers initiating price adjustment plans.

TI's Price Adjustments: Four Hikes in One Year

Global analog chip leader Texas Instruments (TI) has formally announced plans to raise prices on PMICs and other core products effective July 1, 2026, marking the company's fourth price adjustment within a single year. Previously, TI had launched a large-scale price increase on April 1, 2026, during which its PMICs and other core products saw price hikes ranging from 15% to 85%. This latest move underscores TI's clear intent to pass on costs and capitalize on its supply-demand leverage.

Other international heavyweights have followed suit. Power management chip giant MPS issued a price increase letter in March 2026, implemented partial product price adjustments on May 1, and plans to further expand the scope and magnitude of price hikes in July. MediaTek's subsidiary Richtek has also confirmed price increases on related products during the June-July period. Additionally, STMicroelectronics and ON Semiconductor have included PMICs in their recent pricing adjustments, with ON Semiconductor's April 1 price hike on power application chips indirectly driving PMIC prices upward.

Dual Drivers: Cost Pressure and Demand Surge

Behind this round of price increases lies a dual force of cost-side pressure and demand-side explosion. On the cost side, wafer foundry and packaging/testing segments have raised prices across the board since early 2026, with mature 8-inch process nodes seeing increases of 5% to 20%, and packaging/testing costs surging by nearly 30%, directly elevating PMIC manufacturing costs. According to TrendForce data, global 8-inch wafer foundry average capacity utilization rates climbed to 85%–90% in 2026, with some foundry prices rising 5% to 20%.

On the demand side, explosive growth in AI servers and intelligent electric vehicles has driven a 5- to 10-fold increase in PMIC usage and value per unit, creating a structural capacity siphon effect. AI server power consumption has leaped from the traditional 5–15 kW to 30–100 kW per unit, and new PMIC wafer starts for AI servers alone in 2026 are projected to consume 3%–4% of global 8-inch capacity, further squeezing supply allocations for general-purpose chips.

Domestic Manufacturers Follow Suit

While domestic manufacturers have moved somewhat more slowly, they have also entered the price adjustment preparation phase. According to Anpec Chairman Wang Zhixin, cost pressures from upstream wafer foundry and packaging/testing price increases will become fully apparent by July, and the company is currently negotiating with customers for price adjustments, with estimated increases of 0% to 15% and differentiated implementation. Taiwan-based manufacturer Silergy has also initiated price increase negotiations to alleviate gross margin pressure. Companies such as Injoinic and Maxic had already led the way with price hikes in the first quarter, with certain PMIC products rising 10% to 20%.

CONEVO Chip Components Distributor

CONEVO is a global independent electronic component distributor. It specializes in high-performance chips such as PMICs, FPGAs, MCUs, and memory chips, providing selection, procurement, and delivery services to global industrial, automotive, and communication customers. The following are several selected IC models.

1. ISL99380FRZ-TR5935: A Renesas intelligent power MOSFET chip that supports multi-phase high-current power supply architecture.

2. LM4040AIM3X-2.5: A TI precise low-power parallel voltage reference with an output of 2.5V at a fixed voltage and an accuracy of ±0.1%, with a temperature drift of only 100 ppm/°C.

3. PIC18F46K22-I/PT: A Microchip industrial-grade 8-bit enhanced MCU with 64KB Flash and a 64MHz main frequency, supporting wide voltage and low-power operation.

Website: www.conevoelec.com

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