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May 5
Another Qualcomm exec joins Intel to lead PC and physical AI unit
Intel has announced that it has appointed Alex Katouzian as head of its Client Computing and Physical AI Division. With this hire, Intel seeks to align its consumer PC business with physical AI applications spanning robotics and AI -enabled devices.
Chicony Power's first-quarter performance signals supply-chain resilience and potential upside for global notebook, server, and satellite power markets, as the company forecasts second-quarter revenue growth driven by inventory pull-ins, rising average selling prices, and expanding satellite and AI power-supply businesses serving international customers.
Weblink International Inc. reported record consolidated revenue of NT$7.78 billion (US$247 million) for the first quarter of 2026, up 19.8% year on year, and net profit after tax of NT$104 million, rising 26.9%, executives said. The firm attributed the results to a business PC refresh cycle, inventory stocking ahead of demand, and stronger pricing in memory components.
Acer E-Enabling Service Business reported first-quarter 2026 revenue of NT$2.96 billion (US$93.9 million), up nearly 15% year on year, and net profit after tax of NT$199 million, delivering earnings per share of NT$4.8 and record revenue and profit for the period. The firm said cloud AI project services expanded rapidly, with project volume increasing nearly 40% year on year as many engagements moved from proof-of-concept into production.
Supermicro CEO Charles Liang used the opening of his fiscal third quarter of 2026 earnings call to address a topic unrelated to revenue or margins: the DOJ indictment of former employees for allegedly smuggling AI servers equipped with Nvidia GPUs to China through Southeast Asian transshipment networks.
Lumentum reported record third-quarter fiscal 2026 results, with revenue rising to US$808 million, reflecting strong year-over-year growth driven by demand for optical components used in AI infrastructure, according to the company.
The LCD TV panel market has shifted sharply from aggressive stocking to defensive procurement as global sports-event demand fades, pre-stocking cycles for China's 618 shopping festival wind down, and end-market demand loses momentum. TV brands are now focusing on inventory control and buying only as needed, while Chinese panel makers are trimming production to support prices.
DeepSeek briefly released, then removed, a multimodal research paper that offers rare insight into its evolving AI strategy, drawing attention across the developer community.
Supermicro reported fiscal third-quarter revenue of US$10.24 billion, up 123% year-over-year but down 19% sequentially and well below both the company's own guidance of at least US$12.3 billion and the analyst consensus of US$12.33 billion. Management attributed the shortfall to customer data center readiness delays and industrywide supply constraints, saying it expects to capture the deferred revenue in the coming quarters.
Taiwan's decades-long tilt toward China is giving way to a sharper, US-focused strategy. Semiconductor expansion and surging demand for AI infrastructure are redrawing the island's trade flows — and its industrial ambitions.
Driven by sustained growth in AI server demand, Foxconn reported consolidated revenue of NT$832.1 billion (US$26 billion) for April 2026, marking a record high for the month.
For much of the past decade, Taiwan watched from the sidelines as global venture capital poured into software. The island's world-class manufacturers, semiconductor giants, and precision hardware suppliers were celebrated — but they weren't what investors were chasing. That window has now closed. Plug and Play, one of the world's largest startup accelerators, has decided the time is ripe for it to make a move into Taiwan.