Strong memory demand propelled Nanya's profits to soar in the fourth quarter of 2025, with president Pei-Ing Lee highlighting sustained AI and general server needs driving a robust DRAM market into 2026. Customers are overbooking and seeking long-term agreements (LTAs), eyeing to secure sufficient supply.
AI has sparked a significant boom in the server industry, turning system manufacturing into a supply chain battle. For ODMs, success now hinges on deep collaboration with chip partners to integrate hardware, systems, and customer requirements effectively.
Apple and Google have entered into a multi-year strategic agreement under which Apple's next-generation foundation models will be built using Google's Gemini models and cloud infrastructure. The partnership will provide core technical support for a more personalized version of Siri that Apple plans to roll out in 2026.
To strengthen computing power reserves, the capexs of the four major cloud service providers (CSPs) are expected to remain strong in 2026 and support industry development. These investments are cascading downstream, creating large-scale AI server deployment projects that not only boost the performance of upstream and downstream electronic components and system assembly factories, but also drive pre-shipment electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) verification demand as product power design moves toward a megawatt-level high-power trend. This has accelerated the influx of professional electronic testing firms.
The Taiwan Machine Tool & Accessory Builders' Association (TMBA) held its annual outlook press conference on January 20, 2026, highlighting the impact of the recent US-Taiwan tariff agreement on the sector. The agreement, which prevents tariff stacking at a 15% rate, is expected to enhance the competitiveness of Taiwan's machine tool industry, aligning it with major players such as Japan and South Korea.
Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) reported on January 20, 2026, that strong demand for IC manufacturing and AI servers propelled export orders to new heights in December 2025. With most IC manufacturing and AI server shipments originating from Taiwan, overseas production by Taiwanese firms—in China, Vietnam, Mexico, and elsewhere—has declined to 46.5%.
Following the easing of US reciprocal tariffs to 15%, Taiwan's Fortune Electric is seeing meaningful relief in cost pressures while accelerating growth driven by robust demand from AI data centers and US infrastructure investment.
Sequoia Capital is reportedly set to participate in a major funding round for AI startup Anthropic, marking a departure from its traditional practice of avoiding investments in direct competitors.
Asus announced on January 2, 2026, that it will not launch new smartphones in 2026, marking a strategic retreat from the mobile phone segment after more than two decades. Chairman Jonney Shih emphasized that Asus will continue to support existing smartphone users while reallocating resources toward longer-term strategic areas.
The US urgently needs to upgrade its aging grid infrastructure amid surging demand from large-scale AI computing, yet its domestic production capacity for heavy electrical equipment has struggled to keep up with demand, and imports still account for the vast majority of the supply for transformers and switchgear. Under this backdrop, market sources suggest that US customers may award bonuses if Taiwanese heavy electrical equipment suppliers can deliver ahead of schedule.
AI technology company Bravo iDeas announced on January 20 that it is entering the AI toy market with an emotional AI toy that combines AI chips with large language models (LLMs). The toy features a character-driven AI architecture that enhances interaction by delivering intelligent conversations and emotional engagement aligned with each character's persona.
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