Taiwan has strong demand for AI talent in volume and quality, and the supply of AI experts can only rely on domestic cultivation rather than overseas recruitments, according to Kung Hsiang-tsung, president for Taiwan AI Academy.Experts in various industries will have to integrate their experience with AI, and when an AI ecosystem is formed in Taiwan, the industries will take root in the country, said Kung, an Academician of Taiwan's Academia Sinica as well as a William H. Gates Professor for Computer Science & Electric Engineering under Harvard University in the US.AI training schools can succeed in Taiwan where doctors, bankers, electronic engineers and experts from other fields can receive training together in the same classroom, he said.Taiwan AI Academy, during the 20 months since its establishment, has cultivated about 5,000 AI experts with background in various industries to boost industry-oriented application of AI technology, said science and technology minister Chen Liang-gee, describing Kung as Taiwan's AI navigator.They were speaking at a ceremony on December 24 where Chen presented Kung with a First-class Science & Technology Professional Medal on Kung to praise his significant contribution to AI education in Taiwan.Taiwan AI Academy in August 2019 began cooperation with the nine medical centers in Taiwan to provide tailored AI training in smart medical care for medical workers separately in northern, central and southern Taiwan, according to Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST). There have so far been nearly 1,000 trainees of which more than 600 are doctors.Taiwan AI Academy president Kung Hsiang-tsung (third left) and MOST minister Chen Liang-gee (second left)Photo: Bryan Chuang, Digitimes, December 2019

Foxconn Electronics has offered a high-performance computing (HPC) facility for use by National Taiwan University (NTU) Cancer Center, according to Yong Lin Health Care Foundation established by former company chairman Terry Gou.The center, set up in Taipei with donations from Gou via the foundation, uses the HPC facility to detect and locate tumors, simulate treatment methods and processes for choosing optimal treatment strategies, analyze biomolecular mechanism and recognize gene mutations, said the foundation. The center came into trial operation in December 2018 and normal operation in July 2019.The HPC facility is located at Foxconn's operation base in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, and connected with the center in the north via fiber-optic networks, the foundation noted, adding in view of increasing demand for HPC, the center is likely to set up a smaller HPC facility nearby.Foxconn founder Terry GouPhoto: Ninelu Tu, Digitimes, December 2019

MediaTek introduced its super-midrange smartphone market concept in 2017, focusing on competitive midrange pricing for products with high-end specs. It has been adhering to the strategy, and has since improved its profitability. As the 5G era arrives, the Taiwan-based IC designer is still relying on such a strategy, arming its aggressive push into the market in China with 5G chip solutions for the upper midrange smartphone segment. For 5G smartphones, fingerprint sensors are expected to be a mainstream feature. China-based Goodix is making a head start in vloume producing optical in-display fingerprint sensor chips. It is said that Goodix has booked sizeable capacity at TSMC's 8-inch fabs for its sensor chips. Backend service demand for optical in-display fingerprint sensors is also expected to benefit ASE and VisEra.MediaTek to make aggressive 5G push in China: MediaTek is expected to embrace an ambitious strategy to grow its presence in the 5G smartphone SoC sector. It will focus its efforts on 5G chip solutions for the upper midrange smartphone segment, and China will be the chipmaker's major target market.Goodix to be biggest client for TSMC 8-inch fab capacity: China-based fabless chipmaker Goodix has booked considerable 8-inch fab capacity at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) for its optical in-display fingerprint sensor chips, according to industry sources.ASE, VisEra to enjoy robust demand for in-display fingerprint sensors: ASE Technology and VisEra Technologies are both being pinpointed as among the backend houses set to enjoy robust demand for optical in-display fingerprint sensors, according to industry sources.

Medical application of voice recognition has large potential but must be integrated into medical practitioners' work flows, according to Eric Chang, senior director of technology strategy at Microsoft Research Asia.Doctors have to record patients' conditions and search for their medical records while doing diagnoses, and dentists have similar situations, Chang said. Besides, radiological and pathologic technologists have to record results of inspecting medical images.Voice recognition can be developed for smart use in keeping records when the medical staff members' hands are occupied and unable to do the recording manually, Chang explained.Medical application of voice recognition, however, varies from scenario to scenario, Chang noted. In operation rooms, for example, voice recognition should be enhanced to separately recognize each of the surgical team members' speeches to accurately record data, Chang indicated.Eric Chang, senior director of technology strategy at Microsoft Research AsiaPhoto: Company

Global server shipments are forecast to increase 5-6% in 2020 after falling slightly in 2019, as brand vendors are expected to renew shipments pull-in momentum having adjusted their inventories to healthy levels, according to Digitimes Research.Taiwan-based suppliers of server-related products, including motherboards, server cabinets, storage devices and network equipment, will see 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.Digitimes Research expects the combined revenues of Taiwanese suppliers to rise 6-7% on year in 2020, still slightly higher than an estimated on-year expansion of 5-6% for both their and global server unit shipments.In 2019, server shipments to leading US datacenter operators including Facebook and Amazon have shown the most notable growth. Lenovo and Inspur have also registered impressive increases thanks to the US ban on Huawei. In 2020, major shipments pull-in momentum will continue to come from top US datacenter operators.In terms of server shipments in 2019, Inventec and Foxconn remain Taiwan's top-2 suppliers, and Quanta takes the third place, elbowing out Wistron. In 2020, Quanta is expected to advance to second place, Digitimes Research indicates.

Chinese IT firms have been stepping up efforts developing its own CPUs in line with the country's goal of replacing all foreign firms-made computers in use in government and military sectors with locally-made ones. Chinese chipmakers are also developing HPC chips for AI and deep learning applications with the goal of volume producing them in 2021. The development in China is promising big challenges to the US vendors, such as Intel, who have been dominanting forces in the IT hardware market. But one thing seems to remain unchanged: the hardware manufacturing sector in Taiwan is as important as always, with the Chinese ASIC developers already trying to secure capacity from Taiwan's semiconductor backend service providers. Meanwhile, Corning is also seeking inspiration from Taiwan's startups. Corning Taiwan has set up an accelerator helping startup businesses develop innovative applications of its technologies and materials.China keen on developing AI-based ASICs: Chinese chipmakers are revving up development of HPC (high performance computing) chips for AI and deep learning applications, which are expected to become available for volume production in 2021, and they are already asking backend firms from Taiwan for support, according to industry sources.Corning Taiwan partners with university to set up startup accelerator: Corning Display Technologies Taiwan has partnered with Taidah Entrepreneurship Center under National Taiwan University (TEC NTU) to set up an accelerator to help startups develop innovative applications using the company's materials and technologies.

Blockchain-based decentralized finance (DeFi) is gaining significant momentum, promising to be one of the most eye-catching FinTech solutions in 2020, according to Thomas Hu, founder and CEO of Kyber Capital.DeFi can address the deficiencies in conventional financial systems, reduce operating costs, and simplify complicated banking procedures, said Hu, whose company is dedicated to venture investments in companies focusing on blockchain applications and innovative financial technologies and services.He said blockchain is joining forces with Internet technology and open-source social media to create a new financial system.Among major e-commerce operators with big data platforms, Amazon is now the most capable of creating a new financial system on its own, with blockchain mainly serving as a means for the company to achieve the end, according to Hu.He said that DeFi-induced innovations will not only inspire traditional banks to upgrade their operations but also encourage blockchain talent to challenge traditional financial elites.Three pure-play Internet banks have been approved by Taiwan's financial authorities to kick off commercial runs in 2020 - Line Bank, Next Bank and Rakuten Bank. Their business scales and bargaining capabilities will determine their impacts on the existing banking institutions, Hu said, adding that their actual performance will hinge on what services they will provide.Hu said OneConnect Smart Technollogy, a FinTech cloud service platform under China's Ping An Insurance Group, is drawing great attention from the financial industry across the Taiwan Straits. The company has incorporated blockchain, AI, cloud platform and facial identification solutions to provide banks, insurance firms, and financial investment companies with data management, smart operations and cloud services, and now maintains up to 3,700 financial institutions, insurance firms and shopping malls as its clients in China.Kyber Capital founder and CEO Thomas HuPhoto: Shihmin Fu, Digitimes, December 2019

Corning Display Technologies Taiwan has partnered with Taidah Entrepreneurship Center under National Taiwan University (TEC NTU) to set up an accelerator to help startups develop innovative applications using the company's materials and technologies.The initial challenges for its startups invovle Corning's Gorilla Glass and its Air Purification System that has won the EU's Horizon 2020 Material for Clean Air Award.Corning Gorilla Glass has been widely used as cover glass of smartphones, but the company hopes startups can develop more innovative applications for the glass, such as those for medical care or automotive displays.Corning also callenges startups to use its Air Purification System, based on Corning's cellular ceramic particulate filters, to develop demonstrative engineering projects specifically for large-scale indoor or outdoor air purification.Daniel Tseng, president for Corning Taiwan, noted that his company is eager to work with startups to jointly create opporunities.Corning Taiwan has hosted the annual "Corning Future Innovators: Innovative Application Competition" for university students to develop innovative application using Corning-developed glass, ceramic and optic fiber since 2015, Tseng said.There were 389 teams from 51 universities or colleges in the 2019 competition, with students developing innovative applications based on 5G, big data, IoT and AI concepts.Corning has two labs in Taiwan, one dedicated to R&D and the other a technology center that helps clients design and test products, Corning Taiwan noted, adding the two labs can help startups test prototype products.

TSMC is clearly the leader in the semiconductor foundry service sector, and Samsung is striving to catch up. The Korean giant reportedly has lowered foundry quotes in order to win clients from the Taiwan-based competitor, who sees tight capacity at its advanced nodes because of strong demand. Meanwhile, the world remains curious about what Apple's 5G iPhone series - expected to debut in the third-quarter of 2020 - will be like. Some obsevers say some of the 5G iPhone models will adopt sensor-shift stabilization technology.Samsung offers discounts to compete against TSMC, sources say: Samsung Electronics has offered discounts fo its foundry services aiming to win customers from TSMC, according to industry sources.5G iPhones reportedly to feature sensor-shift stabilization technology, say sources: Some models of Apple's 5G iPhone lineup to be released in 2020 reportedly will come with sensor-shift stabilization technology, according to industry observers.

Efforts by the blockchain industry will accelerate the development of the existing foundries, according to Thomas Hu, CEO of blockchain technology developer Kyber Capital.Hu pointed out at a conference on December 19 that many cryptocurrency miners are investing heavily to acquire products manufactured using the most advanced process and their demand is also part of the reason for foundries such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and Samsung Electronics to advance manufacturing process.For 2020, Hu believes the important task for blockchain startups is to accelerate their paces in commercialization instead of seeking higher values or more innovations.At the event, CoolBitX CEO Micheal Ou believes the development of cryptocurrency requires a market to become more open, and government monitoring may not necessarily be negative as it can give investors more confidence and protection.Kyber Capital CEO Thomas HuPhoto: Michael Lee, Digitimes, December 2019