DIGITIMES: News and Insight of the Global Supply Chain

Commentary: China's robot games offer Taiwan a reality check

DIGITIMES — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 22:40:51 GMT

China's second humanoid robot games, held in Beijing from August 22 to August 26, 2026, sent videos and clips racing across social media and underscored how fast humanoid robotics is advancing. For Taiwan, the spectacle also highlighted both the promise and the risks of robots in policing, firefighting, and even warfare.

China's dexterous-hand makers take center stage as three technology paths vie for humanoid robotics

Scarlett Yu — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 22:40:15 GMT

China's humanoid robot industry is flourishing, and the recently concluded World Robot Conference (WRC) 2026 in Beijing revealed a notable shift in focus. Unlike previous years, when walking and motion capabilities dominated the competition, attention is increasingly moving toward robots' end-effectors.

Qualcomm's HBC play pulls Samsung and SK hynix into a new race beyond HBM

DIGITIMES — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 22:39:59 GMT

The AI infrastructure race has spent the past few years fixated on high-bandwidth memory as one of the most indispensable building blocks of accelerated compute. Yet as model sizes, context windows and inference workloads continue to expand, the bottleneck is increasingly shifting from how much memory can be stacked toward how efficiently data can move between memory and compute.

Research Insight: Humanoid robots near mass production as suppliers face precision, ramp-up test

Scarlett Yu — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 22:39:35 GMT

Research Insight: Humanoid robots near mass production as suppliers face precision and ramp-up test

The Zhang Xue Motorcycle seizure: how one dismantled bike exposed anxieties of Taiwan's motorcycle industry

Yunnie Cheng — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 22:39:21 GMT

The seizure of a Zhang Xue 820RR, a Chinese heavyweight motorcycle smuggled into Taiwan as parts and hand-assembled locally, has expanded far beyond a customs enforcement case. Following public, aggressive pushback from brand founder Zhang Xue, the dispute quickly escalated from a trade violation into a high-profile debate on the structural health of Taiwan's motorcycle industry and the regulatory gray areas surrounding cross-strait commerce.

Inside TSMC's 238-page sustainability report: nine things that matter more than they look

DIGITIMES — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 22:39:03 GMT

Buried in 238 pages of targets and inventories are the things nobody puts in a press release: a formal corporate policy on shoe soles, a fish that lives in a fab, a lizard evacuation in Germany, and a workforce that is quietly out-reproducing the rest of Taiwan by a factor of four. Nine small stories from the world's most important chipmaker.

Exclusive Interview: Turning scale into value — AUO chair's post-LCD ambition

Scarlett Yu — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 22:38:38 GMT

Price wars. Capacity races. Years of losses steep enough to earn a lasting nickname.

ABF substrate maker Unimicron searched in origin-labeling probe

DIGITIMES — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 10:51:50 GMT

Prosecutors and investigators in Taiwan searched IC substrate maker Unimicron Technology (TWSE: 3037) on Aug. 28 in a case involving the labeling of product origin, the company said in exchange filings today.

AI data center 800VDC power architecture takes shape; future hurdles require balancing multiple key factors

DIGITIMES — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 09:11:46 GMT

DIGITIMES believes that 2026 will be a pivotal year in the stabilization of 800VDC power architectures for AI data centers.

Winstar's AI push gains momentum with some orders extending into 2027

Yunnie Cheng — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 08:55:00 GMT

Winstar Display is accelerating its expansion into AI applications, with its products already integrated into data centers, power management systems, controllers, testing equipment, and semiconductor facilities. The company projects AI-related orders to grow by 30% to 40% in 2026, with AI revenue share rising from 3–4% to 5% in the near term.

Humanoid robot demand boosts planetary gear reducers

Lily Hess — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 08:45:00 GMT

Apex Dynamics is optimistic about its business outlook for the second half of 2026, with planetary gear reducers emerging as a key growth driver. The company said its results for the first half of the year posted double-digit profit growth, while the reducer business continued to lead expansion.

Foxconn eyes higher margins with push beyond contract manufacturing

Sherri Wang — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 08:25:00 GMT

AI adoption continues to expand, but putting the technology to work and integrating it into everyday operations remain key hurdles. Speaking at the 2026 Taiwan Sustainability Summit, Yung-Hui Li, director of the Artificial Intelligence Research Center at the Hon Hai Research Institute, outlined Foxconn's approach to the generative AI era, covering the group's strategic direction, the technical path behind its in-house large language model FoxBrain, and the application of AI in smart manufacturing, energy conservation and carbon reduction.

ASIC makers see CSP orders stay strong through 2028

Lily Hess — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 08:18:38 GMT

The four major US cloud service providers (CSPs) have already rewritten their 2026 capital expenditure records, and ASIC vendors are increasingly confident that demand will remain strong through 2028 as customer spending and supply-chain visibility both extend farther out.

Apple's M6 marks a transitional step before wider 2nm adoption

Lily Hess — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 08:06:51 GMT

Apple on August 25 unveiled the M6 and M5 Ultra chips without holding a launch event, with the M6 becoming the company's first processor built on TSMC's 2nm process and debuting in the new Mac mini. But industry watchers say the M6's short-term significance lies mainly in showcasing 2nm design technology, not in delivering immediate commercial gains.

Huawei targets 100 million HarmonyOS 6 devices, paving way for global expansion next

Levi Li — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 08:05:00 GMT

Huawei rotating chairman Eric Xu said at the HarmonyOS Ecosystem Conference 2026 in Shenzhen on August 28 that the HarmonyOS ecosystem now has more than 100,000 native applications, while HarmonyOS smartphones can access more than 400,000 apps. As of August 20, the number of devices running HarmonyOS 6 had exceeded 80 million and is expected to surpass 100 million in the fourth quarter of 2026.

China chip profits jump 18.5-fold on AI demand; advanced-node self-sufficiency seen at 66% by 2035

DIGITIMES — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 07:55:00 GMT

China's AI investment boom is translating into sharply higher semiconductor profits while accelerating a longer-term expansion of domestic advanced-node capacity, memory production and chipmaking equipment.

Jingwei Hirain targets Malaysia, ASEAN smart mobility supply chains

Charlene Chen — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 07:45:00 GMT

China's largest domestic Tier 1 auto parts supplier, Jingwei Hirain, is stepping up its push into Malaysia and the ASEAN market, with President Chengjian Fan saying the region will become an important window for auto supply chain planning over the next 3-5 years.

KKCompany taps PressPlay to expand into knowledge learning, creator economy

Willis Ke — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 07:30:00 GMT

KKCompany Technologies, parent of KKBOX, will officially list on the Taipei Exchange's Emerging Stock Board on August 31, with chairman and CEO Steve Wang detailing, for the first time, the group's integration of PressPlay during a pre-listing investor briefing. The transaction, completed in the second quarter of 2026, is designed to expand KKCompany beyond music and AI multimedia into knowledge learning and the creator economy.

Anthropic sets sights on custom hardware to fuel AI ambitions, reportedly eyed $7B MatX deal

DIGITIMES — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 07:19:49 GMT

In an effort to accelerate its custom silicon initiative and curb reliance on external hardware suppliers, artificial intelligence developer Anthropic held discussions to acquire AI chip startup MatX for roughly US$7 billion, according to Reuters. While the acquisition talks have since evolved into potential partnership discussions, the move underscores Anthropic's ambition to expand its proprietary hardware capabilities.

Anthropic wins key ruling as judge voids Pentagon blacklist

DIGITIMES — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 07:11:50 GMT

A federal judge in San Francisco has blocked the US Department of Defense from placing Anthropic on a supply-chain risk blacklist and ordered the Trump administration to lift restrictions on the company's technology. Bloomberg and Reuters reported that the Pentagon moved to designate Anthropic as a supply-chain threat after negotiations collapsed over the company's refusal to let the military use Claude for domestic mass surveillance or autonomous weapons deployment.

AI packaging race heats up: Taiwan OSATs plan US$14.6 billion capex

Levi Li — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 06:47:40 GMT

The AI investment cycle is spreading from leading-edge wafer fabrication into semiconductor packaging and testing, with Taiwan's largest outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) providers preparing a fresh round of capacity expansion.

US still pinning down AI approach as plans for self-regulating body reportedly stall

DIGITIMES — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 06:35:00 GMT

Progress has reportedly stalled on an executive order draft circulating within the Trump administration about a public-private organization to supervise the release of AI models. While the White House is still figuring out its approach to regulating AI, it is also considering a ban on Chinese open models despite outcry from Nvidia and other tech companies.

China memory catch-up broadens: YMTC closes in on SK Hynix NAND share, CXMT advances DRAM tech

DIGITIMES — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 06:32:57 GMT

China's memory-chip industry is narrowing parts of the technology gap with global leaders on two fronts. YMTC is approaching SK Hynix in NAND revenue share while running a more advanced layer mix, and CXMT is moving deeper into DRAM process technology with mass-produced high-k materials and a broader HBM roadmap.

Pioneering sustainable water solutions in Asia-Pacific data centers

DIGITIMES — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 06:14:28 GMT

At the Sustainability Environment Asia Conference 2026, Gunalan Kaniasan, principal for water resources in Asia-Pacific and Japan (APJC) at AWS, outlined strategies for water sustainability across the Asia-Pacific region. As data center demand grows, AWS is actively collaborating with governments and utilities to introduce recycled-water alternatives, navigate regulatory barriers, and test water-credit mechanisms.

Hiroca Holdings 2Q26 loss narrows as China plant consolidation supports recovery

Eifeh Strom — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 05:25:00 GMT

Automotive components manufacturer Hiroca Holdings stated on August 27 that although losses were still recorded in the second quarter of 2026 due to weak pull-ins from China's domestic market, the loss narrowed slightly compared with the first quarter. Continued optimization of its product mix and stable overseas orders for high-margin products also helped cushion the downturn.

Taiwan Mobile acquisition of Systex moves forward as review committee deems terms fair, reasonable

Eifeh Strom — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 05:15:00 GMT

Taiwan Mobile's acquisition of Systex has moved forward, with Systex's tender offer review committee completing its review on August 27, concluding that the terms of the tender offer are fair and the funding source is reasonable.

China's Kaizhong eyes data centers and dexterous hands

Charlene Chen — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 04:55:00 GMT

At GATE 2026, Kaizhong, a major Chinese commutator maker, used its display to showcase how its automotive business has laid the groundwork for expansion into data centers, dexterous hands, and drones. The company is also targeting new opportunities in Southeast Asia as Chinese automakers deepen their regional footprint.

Huawei's Ascend 910C sold out in China, but Nvidia's H200 supply gap persists

Jingyue Hsiao — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 04:45:00 GMT

Huawei's Ascend 910C is already sold out in China, but domestic chips still cannot fully replace Nvidia's H200s. The shortage matters beyond China because AI compute constraints, pricing, and supply chain shifts are reshaping how quickly companies worldwide can deploy advanced inference systems.

Nvidia forms PAC to expand Washington lobbying

DIGITIMES — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 04:13:15 GMT

According to Bloomberg, Nvidia has formed a federal political action committee (PAC), expanding its Washington presence as governments debate artificial intelligence rules that could affect businesses, workers, and consumers worldwide. The move underscores how major technology firms are preparing for a longer policy battle over AI, competition, and market access.

Nvidia's upbeat outlook points to tighter AI supply chains ahead

Jingyue Hsiao — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 04:07:43 GMT

Nvidia's latest earnings and forecast suggest AI demand remains far ahead of available supply, with implications for memory, power, cooling, and networking worldwide. The chipmaker's guidance points to continued price pressure and a broader buildout of infrastructure that will shape AI adoption across markets and industries.

Samsung eyes zHBM products from 2029 as heat remains key hurdle

DIGITIMES — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 03:45:00 GMT

Samsung Electronics expects products based on its first-generation zHBM specifications to appear in 2029 or later, giving the 3D memory concept unveiled earlier this month an initial product window. Heat remains a key engineering hurdle as Samsung works to stack HBM directly above AI accelerators.

Exemption that shields US$143 billion of US server imports is now on the table

DIGITIMES — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 03:22:28 GMT

For all the noise Donald Trump has made about taxing semiconductors, the measure that actually took effect in January 2026 barely touched the machines the AI build-out runs on. A 25% Section 232 duty landed on a narrow band of advanced logic chips, and an explicit carve-out spared anything imported for use in US data centers. That carve-out is why US$143.2 billion of computer processing units entered the US in the first half of 2026 without meaningfully paying it.

Samsung diverges from TSMC on FOPLP: retains 415×510mm panel size, targets 2028 mass production

Yunnie Cheng — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 03:08:37 GMT

Samsung Electronics' packaging technology lead, Lee Hee-seok, outlined the company's advanced semiconductor packaging roadmap at Advanced Semiconductor Packaging & Chiplet Show (ASPS) 2026. Beyond sharing target production timelines and specifications for fan-out panel-level packaging (FOPLP) and glass substrates, Lee emphasized AI's pivotal role in driving packaging R&D forward.

Insight: China's next AI frontier is silicon, not smarter models

Levi Li — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 02:55:16 GMT

For the past two years, China's AI companies have competed on a single axis: whose model performs best. That contest is starting to give way to a harder one — whether those models can actually run, at scale, on chips made in China, as US restrictions on advanced AI chip exports raise the stakes of that question.

Taiwan passes drone procurement bill allocating NT$240 billion for 6 years

Rodney Chan — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 02:44:17 GMT

Taiwan's Legislative Yuan on August 27 passed a defense drone procurement bill, allocating a total of NT$240 billion (approx. US$7.59 billion) for six consecutive years for purchases prioritizing Taiwan-made drones.