The 2026 Global Automotive and Technology Expo (GATE 2026), held August 26-28 at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC) in Kuala Lumpur, was ostensibly about the future of mobility. But the stronger message from the three-day event was about something more fundamental: Malaysia wants foreign automakers to build an industrial ecosystem, not simply sell cars.

China-based ICY Tech has introduced its uHBM and uLPU AI inference architectures, extending persistent MRAM computing from validation silicon into a product roadmap spanning compute-memory dies, chips, modules, 2U trays, and racks.

In the summer of 2026, the term "Chinamaxxing" has gone viral on overseas social media, reflecting a trend among young people, especially Gen Z in the West, who openly praise China and a China-style way of life. The trend is drawing foreign visitors to sites such as Xiaomi's EV superfactory, Wenchang Beach rocket launches, and Shenzhen's Huaqiangbei, where they shop for "Made in China" tech.

More than 90% of Taiwan's external communications rely on subsea cables, raising concerns over resilience and pushing policymakers and experts to call for satellite communications to be brought onshore as a backup. At a forum on July 31, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said the island's 4G and 5G networks together cover 99% of the population, but its international connectivity remains vulnerable to cable cuts.

As quantum commercialization gathers pace worldwide, Taiwan is linking up with multiple countries to push for an Asia hub for quantum technology, industrial applications, international cooperation, and capital. On August 31, the Taiwan Association of Quantum Computing and Information Technology (TAQCIT), SEMI, and the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research invited representatives from eight countries based in Taiwan to share details of the upcoming "2026 Taiwan Quantum Forum" and discuss whether Taiwan can become such a hub.

Samsung Electronics is targeting mass production of its LPDDR5X processing-in-memory (PIM) solution in late 2026 or early 2027, moving the technology closer to commercialization as the memory giant broadens its portfolio beyond HBM.

Hard hats and fire extinguishers will certainly have their place at K-Safety Expo 2026, but visitors arriving at BEXCO in Busan from September 2–4 may find that the modern safety industry increasingly speaks the language of AI, robots, sensors and connected infrastructure.

Japanese semiconductor materials suppliers Ajinomoto and Daikin Industries are expanding their presence in Taiwan as the AI boom fuels demand for advanced chip materials and encourages closer cooperation between suppliers and manufacturers.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics disclosed on September 1 that it has concluded a single sales and supply contract worth KRW1.072 trillion (about US$778.9 million) for MLCCs, equal to 9.5% of the company's most recent annual revenue.

K-Safety Expo 2026, South Korea's leading dedicated safety-industry exhibition, will open September 2 at BEXCO in Busan, bringing together companies, government agencies, research institutions and overseas buyers across disaster prevention, industrial safety, public security, fire and rescue, and transportation and maritime safety.

Foxlink and Yongwei Investment Holdings each held board meetings on the 31st and decided to participate in the tender offer for Shinfox Energy, planning to dispose of their Shinfox shares at NT$0.05 per share. The move would strip the Foxlink Group of control over Shinfox and reduce the financial drag from the renewable energy company's losses.

As AI packages grow larger, the next substrate battleground is rapidly extending from traditional organic materials to glass. Samsung Electro-Mechanics (SEMCO) will make its first appearance at Semicon Taiwan 2026, with advanced packaging and glass substrate expert Gang Duan traveling to Taiwan to unveil the company's roadmap for next-generation advanced packaging substrates aimed at AI infrastructure.

BYD sold more abroad than at home in the first half of 2026, a threshold the company crossed for the first time and the clearest signal yet that the center of gravity of its car business has moved offshore. Overseas revenue reached CNY181.3 billion (US$26.88 billion), compared with CNY163.5 billion in China, according to the geographic breakdown in the interim report released on 28 August. A year earlier, the split ran the other way, by a wide margin.

BYD and Geely Auto were nearly neck and neck in vehicle sales in the first quarter of 2026, raising expectations of a close contest between China's two leading new-energy vehicle makers. The gap widened sharply in the second quarter, however, largely because BYD sold more vehicles overseas. Even so, stronger international sales have yet to reverse the company's profit decline.

Chinese large-model developer Z.ai says it can now support large-scale inference using roughly 100,000 domestically produced AI chips, while its GLM models are also moving closer to overseas cloud deployment.