Global server shipments, having declined moderately by 1.4% in 2019, will return growth in 2020, thanks to significant demand from the datacenter sector, according to Digitimes Research's latest special report on the server industry.Global server shipments will grow 6.6% in 2020, totaling 16.01 million units, according to figures from the Digitimes Research's special report, Global Server Shipment Forecast and Industry Analysis, 2020.Digitimes Research originally projected a 4%-5% decline in 2019 server shipments, but thanks to better-than-expected fourth-quarter growth, the 2019 whole-year decline narrowed.Although shipments will return to the growth track, traditional brand manufacturers may still exhibit shipment decline. As such, overall shipment growth in 2020 will not reach double digits.The top four US-based datacenter operators have been the major force driving server shipment growth, according to Digitimes Research.Taiwan-based suppliers of server-related products, including motherboards, server cabinets, storage devices and network equipment, saw their combined revenues rise 2.3% on year to NT$887 billion (US$29.41 billion), compared to a 2.5% decline in total server unit shipments. This is due partly to increased shipment ratios for storage and networking devices and overall performance upgrades of their products.

Taiwan's backend service provider ASE reportedly will be packaging mmWave 5G antenna modules for Apple's products to be launched this year. The iPad is said to be in Apple's 5G product roadmap this year, apart from the iPhone. Apple may not be introducing foldable devices anytime soon, but hinge makers are keen to prepare themselves for foldable devices that other vendors will launch this year. In China, specialty foundry house Huahong Group has repoted sales growth for 2019, and is ready to expand capacity to meet local demand.ASE reportedly enters supply chain for mmWave 5G iPads, iPhones: Taiwan's backend leader Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE) has reportedly broken into the supply chain for Apple's mmWave 5G iPhones and 5G iPads with its substrate-based FC_AiP (flip chip antenna-in-package) technology.Hinge makers budget higher capex for 2020: Taiwan-based hinge makers including Shin Zu Shing (SZS) and Jarllytec both will spend more to expand their production capacities this year, according to the companies.Huahong sees specialty foundry biz expand: Huahong Group, which has 8- and 12-inch wafer fabs, has posted revenues of over CNY11 billion (US$1.6 billion) from its specialty foundry business in 2019, up 1.6% on year. The China-based vendor continues to expand and enhance its specialty node offerings to satisfy local demand.Apple reportedly is looking to launch 5G iPadsPhoto: Digitimes file photo

More mobile operators worldwide are enhancing their deployments in the cloud gaming streaming market to highlight the differentiated value that 5G networks will bring forth.Telecom operators in Korea pioneered commercial 5G mobile network services in April 2019, and as a whole they had secured nearly 3.5 million subscribers as of the third quarter of the year and also saw the average data traffic of 5G subscribers increase exponentially as compared to 4G ones. Although ARPU (average revenues per user) of Korea's telecom operators has bottomed out since the first quarter of 2019, their revenues per unit data traffic have kept declining year-on-year.This shows that the business model relying on data traffic in 4G may no longer be vaiable in the 5G era due to factors including rising market competition and network maintenance costs. Digitimes Research believes that the value of 5G services will wane rapidly if mobile operators fail to roll out differentiated applications in the next-generation communication environment.From the perspective of mobile operators, the cloud gaming streaming market is likely to become the best application to highlight the differentiated value of 5G networks. As a result, many first-tier operators in respective markets have teamed up with Nvidia's Geforce Now, Microsoft's xCloud, Tencent's Start, and Ubitus in Taiwan for rolling out cloud gaming streaming services, making them a bright spot for 5G applications in 2020.

Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) has approved the establishment of a biomedical entrepreneurship base at Hsinchu Biomedical Science Park by US-based accelerator SmartLabs to support Taiwan's biomedical startups, according to MOST.The base, under MOST's financial sponsorship and technological support from government-sponsored Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), will be linked to Taiwan's universities, related research organizations, hospitals and biomedical industry, MOST noted.SmartLabs focuses on accelerating startups engaged in R&D of treating cancers and rare diseases and has incubated six of the globally top-10 gene editing startup businesses including Editas Medicine and CRISPR Therapeutics, according to company CEO Amrit Chaudhuri, adding that SmartLabs has helped 10 startup businesses raise US$7 billion via IPO.The base to be set up in Taiwan is SmartLabs' first overseas base, as Taiwan's advanced medical care and high-tech industries can play a portal for SmartLabs' entry into Asia Pacific's biomedical startup market, Chaudhuri explained.MOST and SmartLabs will work together to select Taiwan-based biomedical startups for the SmartLabs Global Launch program, which will provide customized and localized accelerator services focusing on international marketing, compliance with patent and administrative regulations related to biomedicine, financial planning and fundraising, MOST indicated. SmartLabs and enterprises stationed in the biomedical science park are expected to form an international biomedical entrepreneurship community, bringing more innovative elements for Taiwan-based biomedical startup businesses, MOST said.MOST will subsidize outstanding startups for a 3-month practical training at SmartLabs' headquarters in Boston to enhance their international competitiveness.According to Deloitte Taiwan, nearly 300 new pharmaceutical items are under clinical trials in Taiwan's new drug market, 47-50 of them being in phase-three clinical trials.

Exhibitors from the Netherlands, France and South Korea showcased many types of smart rehabilitation devices and smart robots for accompanying elderly people or patients at home at CES 2020, with these products appealing by user experience and user interfaces.Suppliers of smart rehabilitation devices are supposed to offer reliable systems for collecting and analyzing data, and making predictions for use by doctors, rehabilitation specialists and patients.Such devices have to enable patients to choose active or passive rehabilitation methods and understand their body conditions. In addition, such devices have to be able to recommend types and intensity of exercise based on data analysis, according to Liu Fu-an, CFO for medical management consultant Concord Medical.A smart rehabilitation device exhibited at CES 2020Photo: Mark Tsai, Digitimes, January 2020

Intel has yet to fully eased its processor shortages, which is sending notebook vendors adopting more of its competitions from AMD in 2020. AMD's new Zen 3 architecture is expected to have a record-high development projects commenced by PC makers for AMD processors. This year also looks promising for CIS vendor OmniVision, as demand for CIS from handsets, notebooks and other sectors will be strong. OmniVision reportedly is looking to raise CIS prices by 10-40% in 2020. For NAND flash chips, home gaming consoles will be a major growth driver in 2020. Vendors are expected to increase their demand for NAND flash chips to support their new-generation devices featuring SSDs in the second half of 2020.AMD CPU gaining popularity among PCs: The shortage of Intel's PC processors has already prompted OEMs and brand vendors to increasingly adopt AMD's CPUs in their products since 2019, and the trend will likely persist this year, according to industry sources.OmniVision set to raise quotes for diverse CIS devices by 10-40%: OmniVision Technologies will raise its quotes for various CMOS image sensors (CIS) by 10-40% in 2020 to counter ever-expanding demand for application to handsets, notebooks, smart home devices, automotive and security surveillance systems, according to supply chain sources.NAND flash demand for SSD-equipped gaming consoles to grow robustly: NAND flash demand for new-generation gaming consoles featuring 1TB and higher-density SSDs is set to grow robustly in the second half of 2020, according to industry sources.

Taiwan-based AIMobile has developed a mobile streetlight that can be established at road intersections with frequent accidents or during rallies to collect data.AIMobile's mobile streetlight is a metal cabinet equipped with a battery that can supply up to 48 hours of power. The pole of the streetlight can be assembled based on the need of height and can be attached with cameras, different types of lamps or sensors. The cabinet features four wheels for mobility and can be switched into unmovable mode when necessary.AIMobile president Timothy Chang pointed out that edge computing's maturity and 5G's commercialization have enhanced the company's surveillance solution for smart cities, allowing the system to monitor in real-time cities' dynamic data, which will serve as bases for governments' decision-making process.AIMobile has already applied patents for the streetlight.AIMobile mobile streetlightPhoto: Yihan Li, Digitimes, January 2020

TSMC is clearly the leader in the pureplay foundry sector, but its Chinese competitor SMIC may be able to make some gains in the 14nm FinFET segment, as it is expected to obtain orders from Huawei's chipmaking arm, HiSilicon, which has been among major clients of TSMC's fab in Nanjing, China. And SMIC co-CEO Zhao Haijun has noted that China's foundry sector is set to recover n 2020 driven by demand from the 5G sector. In the IT sector, the truce in the US-China trade war is not stopping notebook ODMs from moving production lines out of China. The top destinations for the relocated facilities are Taiwan and Vietnam.SMIC reportedly snatches HiSilicon chip orders from TSMC: China's Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC) with its 14nm FinFET process manufacturing has reportedly obtained orders from HiSilicon, which has been among the major clients of TSMC's Nanjing fab that was opened in late 2018 and entered directly 16nm FinFET chip production.China foundry sector on path to recovery, says SMIC co-CEO: Speaking at a high-tech forum held in Shanghai, Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC) co-CEO Zhao Haijun remarked that China's IC foundry sector will stage a recovery in 2020 driven by chip demand for 5G related devices.Taiwan, Vietnam to be major production bases for notebook ODMs: Despite a truce in the US-China trade war, notebook ODMs will continue their capacity relocation to Taiwan and Vietnam, with the two becoming their major production bases outside China.

NTPC-AWS Joint Innovation Center recently held a demo day for 13 startup businesses to showcase their products and services.The center, jointly established by the New Taipei City government, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and FCC Partners, aims to integrate government, industrial and academic resources to create an innovation ecosystem to help startup businesses.Among the 13 startups, How Investech has developed FundSwap, a P2P management platform to simplify trading for individual investors of mutual funds; and IGcar plays the role of a bridge between car users and after-market maintenance service providers and helps the latter manage business; AdLocus uses software methods to collect smartphone users' online data and offline tacking data and then sets labeling as basis to predict their consumption behavior for use in precision marketing.CRIS and Heroic-Faith Medical Science won the best IoT and Technology Awards respectively. CRIS has developed a cloud-based smart dynamic scheduling algorithm to solve complicated scheduling problems for manufacturers, while Heroic-Faith has developed AI-based respiratory monitoring devices and chest sound monitoring devices which have been adopted by several large hospitals in Taiwan.Since operation beginning in August 2018, the center has cultivated 36 startup businesses - 23 in the first term and 13 in the second; and 11 of them have finished fund raising, including five invested by National Development Fund.NTPC-AWS Joint Innovation Center showcases startupsPhoto: AWS

Intel CPU shortages continued troubling the notebook market in fourth-quater 2019, with notebook makers seeing weaker-than-expected shipments in the period. Their notebook shipments are expecte to slide 10-15% in the first quarter of 2020. ODMs may be seeing stagnant growth in notebook shipments, but the smart speaker maket is promising. Inventec has obtained orders for smart speakers from Google, and Wistron has landed its first oders for smart speakers. In the semiconductor back-end sector, ASE Technology expects flat growth in first-quarter 2020, thanks to SiP orders reportedly from Apple. At CES 2020, Taiwanese startups have demonstrated much progress. And the Korean tech giant Samsung has demonstrated its advantage in 8K TVs at the annual show in Las Vegas.Notebook ODMs to see shipments drop 10-15% in 1Q20: Notebook ODMs saw weaker-than-expected shipments in fourth-quarter 2020 due to Intel CPU shortages and clients' high inventory levels as a result of their early inventory build-ups to avoid the US tariffs. For the first quarter of 2020, their shipments are expected to slide 10-15% sequentially.Inventec, Wistron land new orders for smart speakers: Inventec has obtained orders for smart speakers from Google, with shipments set to kick off later in 2020, while Wistron has landed its first orders for smart speakers, according to industry sources.ASE Technology to see core backend biz post flat sales growth in 1Q20: ASE Technology Holding is expected to see its core IC assembly, testing and material (ATM) business register flat sequential revenue growth in the first quarter of 2020, thanks to robust SiP orders for Apple devices, according to industry sources.Taiwanese startups show progresses at CES 2020: Taiwanese startups have shown significant progresses in technologies, presentations, and development directions, judging from their showings at CES, according to deputy science and technology minister Hsu Yu-chin.Samsung likely to spearhead in 8K TV segment: Quite a few of TV vendors are showcasing their latest 8K models at CES 2020, and Samsung Electronics is likely to spearhead in the segment leveraging its ability to integrate AI and smart home applications to optimize viewing experience.