Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) released industrial production statistics for May 2026 on June 24, reporting that Taiwan's computer, electronic products, and optical products sector—led by servers, switches, semiconductor testing equipment and components, and solid-state drives—saw production increase 36.62% year over year. This was attributed to the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) applications, continued strong demand for computing power, and aggressive capacity expansion in the semiconductor industry. Cumulatively, from January to May, production increased 93.17% compared with the same period in 2025, ranking first among all industrial sectors.
Compound semiconductor epitaxial wafer maker IntelliEPI said AI-driven high-speed transmission demand continues to lift the indium phosphide (InP) market, and it expects revenue to keep rising in 2026 and set another record. The company's biggest challenge remains a shortage of InP substrates, prompting it to rely mainly on Japanese suppliers while helping German manufacturers accelerate mass production of InP substrates.
The EU currently hosts roughly 5% of the world's AI compute capacity. The US holds close to 75%. McKinsey projects European data center demand will grow from 10 GW of IT load in 2024 to 35 GW by 2030 — a tripling driven almost entirely by AI. The infrastructure to close that gap does not yet exist, and building it in Europe costs substantially more than building the equivalent in the US.
US humanoid robot startup Agility Robotics announced on June 24 ET that it will go public on Nasdaq via a SPAC, aiming for a listing as early as September 2026. If completed, it will become the first publicly traded humanoid robot company in the US. Agility Robotics is currently valued at about US$11 billion.
AI chipmaker SambaNova could raise between US$800 million and US$1 billion in a new funding round, according to its executive chairman and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan. This would raise SambaNova's value to US$10 billion as increasing inferential AI workloads spur a search for alternatives to Nvidia's expensive GPUs.
ADATA Technology is stepping up discussions in Thailand amid rising global demand for AI computing centers. Chairman Simon Chen's visit highlights how Southeast Asia could benefit from expanding AI infrastructure, supporting industrial policy, and strengthening regional cooperation. The company sees Thailand as a possible hub for future growth and technology investment.
China's Commerce Ministry has expanded oversight of strategic minerals and dual-use goods, adding whistleblower channels, reporting rules, and penalties for evasion. The move could affect global supply chains, especially for companies relying on Chinese-sourced inputs, by increasing compliance demands, due diligence costs, and exposure to enforcement risks.
Ability Enterprises said it plans to increase its exposure to Agility Robotics after the robot maker disclosed plans for a Nasdaq listing via a SPAC. The move underscores rising demand for robot perception hardware, a market with implications for logistics, manufacturing, drones, and AI systems globally.
Texas is emerging as a logistics hub for hardware manufacturing as Taiwan's electronics makers expand into Dallas and Houston, according to Jeter. The company said a new Dallas warehouse is expected to open in July 2026, supporting material imports and finished-goods exports tied to the local AI market.
Coplus took a cautiously optimistic view of the second half of 2026 during an investors conference on June 24. The Taiwan-based auto parts supplier said it has lined up countermeasures after its first-quarter 2026 operations were hit by US tariffs and geopolitical tensions, and is moving from traditional automotive lighting into AIoT.
Founder and chairman of Chinese e-commerce platform JD.com Qiangdong Liu said at the 2026 APEC Business Leaders China Forum that logistics and delivery work will gradually be handled by robots, with many courier jobs likely to be replaced by automation. He added that JD.com has launched an internal program called the "Nirvana Plan" to help about 700,000 logistics and blue-collar employees retrain and transition as AI reshapes the industry.
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