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May 11
Memory bottlenecks threaten data-center GPU efficiency as AI inference scales, says Micron SVP
Micron's senior vice president, Jeremy Werner, told The Circuit Podcast that memory has become a strategic bottleneck for data-center inference, warning that insufficient memory can sharply cut GPU utilization while faster, larger memory can theoretically multiply the compute extracted from GPUs. The remarks underscore how storage and memory design could limit AI deployment.
SK Hynix has reportedly acquired a building in San Jose, California, as the memory chip maker moves to establish a new production and R&D base in Silicon Valley, a key battleground for AI semiconductors. Industry observers said the move is part of a broader push to expand its global footprint and strengthen its position in the AI semiconductor supply chain.
Aurotek Corp. reported record results for the first quarter of 2026 as rising demand for smart manufacturing robots drove consolidated revenue and profit higher. The company said the results reflect its transition from an equipment and component supplier into an AI smart robot integrated solutions provider.
Samsung Electronics' escalating labor dispute has sparked global supply-chain concerns, with Apple and HP said to be warning they could exit the company's ecosystem. Suppliers, industry groups, and clients are now assessing contingency measures as mediation resumes, with potentially wide-ranging implications for production schedules, procurement stability, investor confidence, and the wider technology hardware market at large.

China's generative AI sector is seeing another wave of aggressive fundraising, with leading large language model (LLM) developers rapidly securing capital while expanding ties with consumer electronics and device ecosystems.

E Ink eyes 25% growth in 2026 on surface push
May 12, 14:43
E Ink expects its operations to keep growing in 2026, with chairman Johnson Lee saying the e-paper maker sees revenue growth of 20-25% as applications expand across e-readers, e-notebooks, electronic shelf labels (ESLs), and digital signage. He said retail digitization and outdoor surface applications will be the next major growth drivers.
Taiwan AI server sales show gains spreading beyond TSMC
May 12, 14:29

Taiwan's AI server supply chain delivered another month of strong April sales, with growth extending from TSMC's chipmaking base to server assemblers and suppliers of cooling, board materials, rail kits, and server-management chips.

VSO Electronics said at its annual shareholders meeting on May 12 that it approved its 2025 financial statements and will pay a cash dividend of NT$2.5 per share. Executives reported that orders for the second quarter of 2026 were fully booked, that April 2026 consolidated revenue topped NT$300 million (US$9.7 million), and that cumulative revenue for January through April 2026 rose more than 20% year on year, as AI-related products offset declines in the PC business.

Taiwan's thermal management sector continued to diverge sharply in early 2026, with AI server demand increasingly separating high-growth liquid cooling and advanced server thermal suppliers from more traditional cooling players.

Kuaishou is holding talks with potential investors to spin off its Kling AI video unit in a pre-IPO funding round valuing it at US$20 billion, according to The Information. The Chinese social media company aims to capture investors' growing interest in AI stocks as video generation platforms reshape the face of social media and entertainment.
Viking, a major maker of automotive thin-film resistors, said AI-related revenue rose quickly to 12% in the first quarter of 2026 from less than 5%, helped by stronger shipments for data centers, server power supplies, and other applications. The company also said resistor lead times have stretched from five weeks to about 15 weeks as AI demand tightens capacity.
Unlike AUO, which remained in the red in the first quarter of 2026, Innolux returned to operating profitability, posting net income of NT$1.79 billion (approx. US$56.9 million) for the quarter.