Entering the fourth quarter of 2026, panel makers face pressure from rising component costs and weakening demand. However, price hikes and production cuts led by Chinese panel manufacturers are expected to prevent panel prices from falling further, while weak third-quarter revenue at AUO and Innolux highlights the need for Taiwanese manufacturers to accelerate their transformation.

Formosa Smart Energy, an energy affiliate of Taiwan's Formosa Plastics Group, said global cloud service providers have approached it about building AI data centers at the group's industrial sites, seeking to leverage existing power infrastructure, surplus electricity and available land.

Rising capital expenditures by global cloud service providers (CSPs) are accelerating orders for AI computing infrastructure, boosting both the specifications and volumes of passive components and driving strong third-quarter 2026 results for Taiwan suppliers including Yageo, Walsin Technology, Holystone Enterprise, Lelon Electronics, Tai-Tech, Apaq, Ta-I Technology, Viking, and Thinking. The capacity crunch is extending lead times for capacitors and resistors, while suppliers are preparing for another round of price increases as demand visibility stretches beyond 2027.

Japan's Omron has agreed to acquire US industrial computer (IPC) maker OnLogic and its parent company, Interlogic, at an enterprise value of US$675 million, seeking to expand its presence in Western markets and combine rugged edge computing with its factory automation and control technologies.

Nvidia and Cisco have introduced a new pluggable optics form factor to expand AI infrastructure without sharply increasing power use or network complexity. For global cloud operators, enterprises, and sovereign AI projects, the design could support denser, more efficient data center builds as demand for AI computing continues to rise.

Fukang Technology, a northern Vietnam subsidiary of Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry (Foxconn), has raised its registered capital by more than 109% to nearly VND17.47 trillion (US$710.4 million), according to business registration records reported by The Investor on October 12, 2026. The update, issued in late September, lifts the capital base from VND8.35 trillion and brings the registration in line with a capital injection Hon Hai disclosed in Taiwan in August.

Global PC shipments, including desktops, notebooks, and workstations, fell more than 20% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2026 as inventory pressure and weak demand hit the market. The decline reflects how the AI infrastructure boom is squeezing component supplies for consumer electronics while driving up prices.

Taiwan-based server management chip supplier Aspeed Technology reported consolidated revenue of NT$1.636 billion (approx. US$51.16 million) for September 2026, up 100.93% year-over-year and 0.64% from August. It was the company's 11th consecutive month of record revenue.

Taiwan's National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) has abolished its research KPI system, noting that failed projects will not affect professors' future applications for funding. The aim is to encourage academic researchers to pursue research with lower success rates and greater potential impact.

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan warned in Singapore that demand for AI infrastructure continues to outpace supply, with hardware shortages unlikely to ease significantly over the next 2–3 years as capacity constraints persist across memory, wafers and advanced packaging.

Sora, the AI video generation model created by OpenAI, may someday be revived after its services were shut down this year. A startup is reportedly in talks with OpenAI over access to the tool, with the aim of possibly modifying it and selling software or other services based on it.