SEMI's latest 12-inch fab outlook projects double-digit annual growth in equipment spending from 2026 through 2029, with forecasts revised upward from its previous edition. However, Clark Tseng, senior director of market intelligence at SEMI, said external constraints involving funding, electricity, and politics are emerging as potential downside risks. He added that this could prevent the AI-driven expansion from overheating.

Lite-On Technology was invited to participate in the Nvidia MGX Ecosystem Ceremony at the 2026 Open Compute Project (OCP) Global Summit, joining Nvidia and global ecosystem partners to highlight advances in AI infrastructure. During the OCP exhibition, Lite-On showcased its 800VDC Power Rack and 800V-to-50V Power Brick, underscoring its capabilities in next-generation AI power infrastructure.

ByteDance's AI research unit Seed has established an Alignment & Preparedness department and is recruiting 10 researchers in Beijing, Shanghai, and San Jose, California, to focus on advanced-model safety, AI alignment, and emerging risks. The move underscores the growing importance of AI safety as competition expands beyond model capabilities, computing power, and product applications to governance and reliable large-scale deployment.

South Korean space AI solutions provider TelePIX is accelerating the development of high-resolution optical payloads and onboard AI technologies, with plans to launch its next-generation system into space for validation in 2027.

Taiwan's National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) has opened applications for the country's second five-year quantum technology program lasting from 2027 to 2031, with international collaboration being a main focus.

Singapore is moving its AI strategy beyond pilot-heavy experimentation toward a more deployment-focused model centered on enterprise adoption, sector transformation and resilient access to compute.

On October 15, network equipment maker Gemtek Technology announced a strategic partnership with Starman New Photonics, a subsidiary of Starman Holdings, to form a joint venture in the US. The new entity will manufacture advanced optical transceivers to capture demand for optical interconnects driven by hyperscale AI data centers.

Chunghwa Telecom president Rong-shy Lin said the shift from conversational AI to autonomous AI agents is reshaping enterprise adoption, making data governance, access controls and accountability critical to deployment at scale.

Delta Electronics chairman Ping Cheng said at the 2026 Global Views Leaders Forum on October 15, 2026, that the world is entering an era of electrification, with AI data centers and EVs driving electricity demand beyond available supply. Delta is expanding its focus from power consumption to an integrated microgrid architecture spanning generation, transmission, distribution, energy storage and consumption, with solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and solid-state transformers (SSTs) as its key products.

Taiwan's economy is projected to grow 6.04% in 2027 as expanding global AI-related capital spending boosts the island's exports, despite geopolitical conflicts and trade barriers weighing on global growth, Taiwan's National Development Council (NDC) Minister Yeh Chun-hsien said on October 15.

FICG is aggressively expanding optical communications production in Malaysia and China to meet surging AI-driven demand, which the company estimates is 3-4x current supply capacity. Chairman Leo Chien described the next three years as a "frenzied expansion period," with the company's Johor, Malaysia, facility set to increase capacity 4x by the end of 2027.