Taiwan is accelerating its drive for semiconductor materials self-reliance by starting with consumables and building toward higher-value physical materials, Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) said on August 21. Kuo-chan Chiou, director of ITRI's Material and Chemical Research Laboratories, said the island's materials supply chain is strengthening its capabilities as competition intensifies among Taiwan, Japan, and the US.

As chip processes move to 2nm and advanced packaging accelerates heterogeneous integration, semiconductor materials are shifting from a supporting role in the supply chain to a critical factor in technological breakthroughs. SEMI has announced the formation of the "SEMI Semiconductor Materials Alliance," bringing together 35 materials, equipment, wafer fabrication, packaging, and testing companies, as well as industry, government, academia, and research organizations, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), ASE, and Micron Technology, to speed material validation for emerging technologies such as co-packaged optics (CPO) and panel-level packaging (PLP), with the goal of accelerating mass production.

Taiwan's semiconductor materials industry is entering a new window of opportunity as advanced semiconductor process and packaging technologies continue to evolve. Despite geopolitical headwinds, stronger local supply-chain resilience is accelerating the push toward materials self-sufficiency.

Xiaomi unveiled its second-generation humanoid robot at the 2026 World Robot Conference in Beijing, where the machine made its first public appearance and performed gestures for attendees. The demonstration highlighted the company's latest push into humanoid robotics, with the robot able to follow live commands and recognize scenes through a large model.