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Sep 4, 17:06
Commentary: Apple shifts to smart vehicle software layer as Ternus era arrives
When Apple abandoned Project Titan, automotive supply chain insiders predicted the tech giant wouldn't bow out of the smart vehicle market entirely; it would simply approach the market from a different angle. Judging by its recent collaboration with Ford Motor, Apple is pivoting toward software-layer integration and vehicle systems, a move that may represent a preview of the playbook CEO John Ternus will execute.
Trustworthy supply chain concerns are extending beyond semiconductors to drones and other autonomous systems, now emerging as national strategic industries. At a Semicon Taiwan 2026 side forum, defense and industry experts from Taiwan and the US called for stronger production capacity, standardized interfaces, testing infrastructure and predictable government procurement to turn Taiwan's supply chain strengths into a globally trusted base for unmanned systems.
MSScorps saw August 2026 revenue post a new single-month high, as global artificial intelligence (AI) computing power continues to expand, driving demand for advanced process technologies, high-performance computing (HPC), advanced packaging, and high-speed optical interconnects, further raising the importance of semiconductor analysis services.
Trusval Technology is riding AI- and high-performance computing-driven semiconductor expansion overseas, but Taiwan's fab engineering firms face tougher labor shortages, regulations, materials constraints and rising costs abroad. Co-CEO Chu-chiao Kung said the company is turning years of high-spec project execution for leading advanced-process customers into global competitiveness.
Lite-On Technology announced a strategic investment in Polish liquid cooling solutions provider DCX Polska, also known as DCX Liquid Cooling Systems. The deal will give Lite-On approximately a 25% stake in DCX upon completion, with a total transaction value of roughly US$176 million.
India's tablet market posted modest growth in the second quarter of 2026, a sign that enterprise demand and higher-spec devices are gaining importance for buyers worldwide. The shift toward detachable and productivity-focused tablets suggests vendors are adapting to rising costs, changing purchase patterns, and broader demand for more versatile computing options.
Taiwan is racing to expand its AI compute capacity as demand for AI chips, GPUs and AI servers surges, with compute infrastructure now central to national competitiveness. According to data provided by the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), the government-backed mainframe Nano 5 is already fully loaded, while the National Institutes of Applied Research (NIAR) will launch three major investment projects.
Ennostar is pushing into AI high-speed optical communications and says Taiwan's full supply-chain ecosystem could bring micro LED into commercial use sooner than expected. Andrew Tsai, associate vice president of the company's Advanced R&D Center, said micro LED's short-distance optical transmission advantages have already been proven, with mass production now the main hurdle.
For years the quantum industry has worked on a discouraging assumption: that a machine capable of doing anything commercially useful would need a million qubits or more. Fujitsu told a Taipei audience that the number is coming down sharply, and that its own work is part of the reason.
As end-to-end (E2E) autonomous driving architectures gradually become mainstream, the inference demands of physical AI are driving radical transformations in automotive system-on-chip (SoC) design. DIGITIMES Intelligence analyst Jasper Jiang notes that neural processing units (NPUs), or dedicated AI accelerators, are becoming the core processing engines of next-generation automotive SoCs to satisfy three stringent demands of AI inference in autonomous driving: ultra-low latency, reduced system power consumption, and minimized memory bottlenecks.
Chinese AI startup Moonshot AI has reportedly filed confidentially for an initial public offering in Hong Kong, potentially setting up one of the city's most closely watched technology listings and one of the largest Chinese AI IPOs in recent years.
Acer used its next@acer global press conference at IFA 2026 in Berlin, Germany, to unveil non-PC products as part of its strategy to enhance resilience. At the event, the company introduced an e-paper display, a foldable screen, an e-scooter, and its latest gaming handheld, with chairman and CEO Jason Chen noting that Acer will continue making new products to wow consumers.