Apple CEO Tim Cook has officially kicked off his 2026 Asia tour with a visit to China, attending the company's 50th anniversary celebration at the Chengdu Taikoo Li Apple Store. The event featured concerts and consumer interactions aimed at reinforcing brand loyalty as part of the ongoing efforts to solidify Apple's supply chain in the region.

The next front in the global AI race may not be a data center. It could be a robot. Taiwan has quietly staked its claim — and it's building the industrial machinery to back it up.

Despite lacking the industrial legacy of Japan and Germany, China has rapidly built its AI robotics sector into a formidable force, posing as a subtle challenge to US technological dominance. Tien-Chong Cheng, chairman of Aurotek, attributes this swift growth to two key drivers: maintaining high market competition and freedom, and allowing the industry itself to shape development strategies.

Recent shifts in the memory market are putting significant pressure on the e-reader supply chain, from upstream manufacturers to midstream module makers and downstream brand companies.

Nvidia's GTC 2026 is well underway, with the event reaching a record scale as among the major annual events in the AI landscape. Despite a packed schedule, CEO Jensen Huang attended the conference's "Taiwan Night" on March 18 (local time) to engage with Taiwanese partners and express his appreciation for their work.

The 2026 Nvidia GTC keynote signaled a clear industry shift toward inference. CEO Jensen Huang declared that "training is just the beginning — inference is the core battleground for AI commercialization." Attendees expected AI agents to dominate the event's agenda.

Foxconn (Hon Hai) plans to build an AI data center in Taiwan by 2027 with over 10,000 GPUs. That figure dwarfs the Ministry of Digital Affairs' (MODA) target of just 140 GPUs by the end of 2026. MODA minister Yi-Jing Lin has acknowledged the gap is real. Taiwan's answer, she says, is to follow the US Stargate playbook — mobilizing private investment through government tax incentives rather than direct public spending.

Foxconn Interconnect Technology (FIT) showcased connectivity, power, and cooling solutions at multiple 2026 industry events as it seeks a larger role in the AI computing supply chain. The company presented products and collaborations at DesignCon 2026, OFC 2026, and GTC 2026.

Intel's Xeon 6 processors have been selected as the host CPU for Nvidia's DGX Rubin NVL8 system — a move announced at GTC 2026 that gives concrete form to the two companies' strategic alliance. The partnership's significance can be gauged through its product rollout timing and the revenue opportunities it unlocks.

Nvidia plans to launch its next-generation AI server architecture, Vera Rubin, in the second half of 2026, with liquid cooling set to become standard. The company will centralize procurement of cold plates and, at GTC, named four suppliers: Asia Vital Components (AVC), Cooler Master, Jentech, and Delta Electronics.