DIGITIMES: News and Insight of the Global Supply Chain

US becomes top helium source for Taiwan, South Korea and Japan as Qatari supply falters

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 02:00:00 GMT

The US has become the leading source of helium and other noble gases for Taiwan, South Korea and Japan as disruptions to Qatari production and China's temporary export ban reshape supply routes for materials used in semiconductor manufacturing, according to a Nikkei Asia analysis of customs data and related reporting.

Apple reportedly explores PrismML's AI compression technology to bring larger models onto iPhones

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 01:56:43 GMT

Apple is reportedly evaluating AI model compression technology from Silicon Valley startup PrismML as it seeks to run more capable AI models directly on iPhones, a move that could improve performance while reducing reliance on cloud computing.

Taiwan and Japan expand all-photonic network ties for AI and research

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 01:48:28 GMT

Taiwan and Japan are expanding deployment of the IOWN all-photonic network to improve research connectivity and provide backup AI computing capacity. The effort comes as Taiwan promotes digital resilience and sovereign AI infrastructure, while NTT extends APN links through Kumamoto to tighten industry connections between the two markets.

CATL redraws AI ambitions with DeepSeek, VNET and an energy-first strategy

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 01:45:00 GMT

CATL is rapidly expanding into AI infrastructure. Through strategic investments in DeepSeek, data centres and power systems, the company is positioning itself at the energy layer of the AI computing value chain, extending its business well beyond electric vehicle batteries.

Japan ramps up AI and quantum investment to strengthen technology leadership

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 01:43:16 GMT

Japan's new growth strategy could ripple well beyond its borders as it channels public investment into AI, quantum technologies, and advanced networks that align with priorities already advancing in Taiwan and other economies. For global readers, the plan signals stronger competition for supply chains, talent, and strategic technology leadership.

Taiwan expo in Japan spotlights AI, robotics and senior care

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 01:34:49 GMT

The 2026 Taiwan Expo Japan opened in Tokyo on July 15, giving Taiwanese companies a platform to pursue business in AI, smart technology, robotics and the silver economy. Taiwan's trade promotion delegation had arrived in Japan a day earlier for the expo and a separate Taiwan-Japan AI technology forum.

Intel sends its most advanced 18A node into orbit with Starfire space chip

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 01:30:00 GMT

Intel has unveiled Starfire, a space-grade processor that leverages its leading-edge 18A manufacturing process for satellites and other systems designed to survive beyond Earth's atmosphere. The move extends Intel's most advanced node — the centerpiece of its foundry turnaround — into a defense-and-space niche long dominated by specialist radiation-hardened suppliers. It stakes the design on a selling point that rivals cannot easily match: domestic US production.

Taiwan auto market rebounds as replacement demand lifts second-half outlook

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 01:26:28 GMT

Taiwan's auto market showed signs of recovery in June, and industry players expect replacement demand from the AI supply chain to support sales in the second half of 2026. The shift came as June new-car registrations rose to 41,000 units, the highest monthly level this year, while luxury vehicles also posted a sharp rebound.

Microsoft's Xbox overhaul signals AI is overtaking gaming in Big Tech capital allocation

Jingyue Hsiao — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 01:11:33 GMT

Microsoft has announced an expanded 3,200-job cut at its Xbox division and is evaluating whether to split off or sell certain game studios. Analysts say the move is more than a routine gaming restructure and instead reflects how AI investment is reshaping capital allocation across the tech industry.

Tower Semiconductor bets on Japan to ride the AI data center shift from copper to light

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:53:05 GMT

Tower Semiconductor is placing a roughly US$3 billion wager that the artificial-intelligence buildout will force data centers to move data with light rather than electricity, anchoring the bet in Japan with backing from Tokyo.

IBM issues rare mid-quarter warning as AI-driven memory shortage shifts enterprise spending away from software

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:52:11 GMT

A rare mid-quarter warning from IBM triggered the sharpest single-day decline in the company's 115-year history on Tuesday, and the reasons chief executive Arvind Krishna gave point to a broader shift: the AI-driven global memory shortage is pulling corporate technology budgets away from software and mainframes and toward supply-constrained hardware, a dynamic that could unsettle enterprise vendors well beyond IBM.

Nvidia looks to Mitsubishi Heavy for cooling and power as Japan's AI buildout accelerates

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:51:37 GMT

Nvidia and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are weighing a partnership under which the Japanese industrial group would supply cooling systems and energy management equipment for the artificial-intelligence data centers Nvidia is building with partners worldwide, Nikkei reported. The talks point to where the AI buildout is now bottlenecked: not chips, but the power and heat they generate.

Taiwan's memory sector in June delivers standout performance by a wide margin

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:49:42 GMT

Taiwan's memory sector delivered an extraordinary June 2026, with aggregate revenue reaching US$2,829.5 million, up 6.4% month-over-month and a staggering 288.3% year-over-year — by far the fastest-growing category in Taiwan's entire semiconductor supply chain, dwarfing silicon foundry (~54% year-over-year) and OSAT (~24% year-over-year). The surge reflects the AI/HBM-driven DRAM and NAND pricing supercycle layered on a depressed year-ago base.

Huawei to unveil largest Ascend SuperPoD at Xi-opened WAIC , scaling China's AI infrastructure

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:49:24 GMT

Huawei will publicly display its Atlas 950 SuperPoD AI computing system for the first time at the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, placing domestic computing infrastructure at the centre of China's flagship AI gathering.

Charts: Taiwan's OSAT sector grows a steady 23.7% YoY in June, but a small player is stealing the spotlight

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:49:13 GMT

Taiwan's back-end packaging and testing (OSAT) industry posted US$3,105.4 million in June 2026 revenue, up 2.9% month-over-month and 23.7% year-over-year — a solid, steady pace, but one that masks sharply divergent performance beneath the surface.

China's Orient Computing unveils 14nm AI chip designed to bypass HBM constraints

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:48:55 GMT

Shanghai Orient Computing Core Technology has launched the DF1000, a 14-nanometre AI accelerator that uses software-defined computing and 3D-stacked near-memory architecture to reduce reliance on advanced process nodes and high-bandwidth memory, as Sohu and ICsmart reported.

Huawei's US$11B clean energy business turns Brazil into its next growth engine

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:48:42 GMT

Huawei Technologies is becoming an increasingly important supplier to the global energy transition, expanding beyond telecommunications into solar inverters, battery storage, and electric vehicle charging.

South Korea moves to secure power for new chip cluster

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:47:05 GMT

South Korea is accelerating plans to supply electricity to a new semiconductor cluster in the country's southwest by 2030, potentially expanding the domestic energy-storage market as chip fabs and AI data centers add to power demand.

Buima lifts June revenue as battery modules and energy storage demand grows

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:45:16 GMT

Buima said that its June 2026 revenue continued to rise on stronger green energy business and battery backup unit (BBU) module shipments, with sales the second quarter and first half of 2026 holding steady. The company said demand for low-Earth-orbit satellites, energy storage systems (ESS), and distributed energy remained strong, supporting its outlook for the rest of the year.

QBit Semiconductor June revenue hits record as SoC and ASIC demand rises

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:45:07 GMT

QBit Semiconductor reported a June consolidated revenue of NT$132 million (US$4.1 million) in 2026, a record high marking a rise of 108.5% from the previous month and 41.1% from a year earlier. The Taiwan-based IC design company said its first-half revenue for 2026 reached NT$320 million, up 91.7% year on year and equal to 75% of its full-year 2025 sales.

Nam Liong posts strong Q2 as high-value materials drive growth

AI bot — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:44:53 GMT

Nam Liong Global Corporation reported consolidated revenue of NT$245 million (US$8.4 million) for June 2026, down 2.56% from the previous month but up 21.66% year over year, reflecting mid-year inventory adjustments by some customers and normal seasonal shipment patterns. Second-quarter revenue reached NT$743 million, rising 23.73% sequentially and 17.07% from a year earlier. Revenue for the first half totaled NT$1.343 billion, up 8.87% year over year.

Taiwan auto parts makers look to overseas expansion as turmoil in China's auto market worsens

Kevin Wang — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:43:44 GMT

China's auto market remained volatile in the second quarter of 2026, even though new energy vehicles (NEV) and emerging brands continued to gain market share. The ongoing price slashing and hypercompetitive "involution" have disrupted production schedules across the upstream supply chain, while reductions to NEV subsidies have caused consumers to adopt a wait-and-see approach, and both domestic brands and joint ventures with leading foreign automakers alike have seen drastic declines. Moreover, these broader trends have led to declining revenues for Taiwanese auto parts makers.

CXMT's US$4.3B IPO powers China's HBM challenge to global memory giants

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:43:32 GMT

CXMT is preparing China's largest chip-sector IPO of 2026, seeking up to US$4.3 billion to expand DRAM and HBM capacity, deepen vertical integration, and challenge Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology under rising AI demand and tighter US export controls.

Parpro revenue jumped on defense and satellite shipments in June 2026

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:43:18 GMT

Industrial computer maker Parpro reported strong June revenue as higher shipments of defense-related products lifted its monthly, quarterly, and first-half results. The company said deliveries for military unmanned vehicles and low-Earth orbit satellite projects were in a dense shipping phase, and it expects the traditional peak season in the second half to support further growth.

AI image sensor chip makers accelerate shift to algorithms, modules

Lily Hess — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:42:59 GMT

AI image sensor chips have become a key market for Taiwan's IC design firms, with major players such as Novatek Microelectronics, Realtek Semiconductor, and Himax Technologies, as well as mid-sized companies including Sunplus Technology, Egis Technology, and Etron Technology, all stepping up their efforts. Among firms also pushing into drone imaging solutions, including Elan Microelectronics and PixArt Imaging, a broad consensus is emerging: compute power and price are not the real winning factors in this market.

China's 1H26 IC exports jump 96% on AI hardware demand

Charlene Chen — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:42:28 GMT

China's IC exports surged in the first half of 2026, underscoring strong demand for AI, data center, and HPC hardware that lifted electronics supply-chain momentum. The General Administration of Customs said on July 14 that IC exports reached US$177.28 billion in the first half of 2026, up 96.1% year-over-year.

Rebound in North American AM market lifts Taiwanese auto parts suppliers

Kevin Wang — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:42:11 GMT

The market for aftermarket (AM) automotive parts in North America is showing signs of recovery, prompting Taiwanese suppliers to strike a cautiously optimistic tone in recent shareholder meetings and June revenue disclosures. Across the supply chain, from headlamps and auto parts to tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS), companies now expect rising momentum going forward as a result of reduced tariff uncertainty, the end of inventory adjustments, and the approach of the traditional stocking season in the third quarter.

Jensen Huang says sovereign AI development tops nuclear weapons

Charlene Chen — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:40:57 GMT

As attention in the tech industry has centered on the US tech giants and TSMC, sovereign AI has emerged as a faster-growing blue ocean for AI infrastructure providers, supply-chain players and compute-rental operators seeking better margins.

Column: Digital AI and Physical AI follow the same growth logic

Jingyue Hsiao — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 08:50:01 GMT

At a humanoid robotics summit in Tokyo in May 2026, I saw a consulting firm's global labor automation map for Physical AI. After returning, I recreated the same map using the firm's research on Digital AI job functions. Placing the two side by side revealed something unexpected.

Treading the market slowdown: IT panel demand cools as Taiwan display makers pivot to AI

Scarlett Yu — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 08:22:57 GMT

As early inventory stocking by brand customers winds down, China's 618 Shopping Festival delivers weaker-than-expected sales, and LCD TV panel prices begin to retreat, demand for monitor and notebook (NB) panels is cooling in the third quarter. Despite the slowdown, panel makers remain reluctant to cut prices amid elevated production costs, and IT panel prices are expected to remain flat in July as buyers and suppliers enter a period of pricing negotiations.

South Korea exports top US$100B in a month, stoking chip dependence fears

Scarlett Yu — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 08:19:38 GMT

South Korea's exports surpassed US$100 billion in a single month for the first time in June 2026, raising expectations that the country could exceed US$1 trillion in annual exports this year. While the milestone underscores the strength of South Korea's export sector, it has also renewed debate over the economy's growing dependence on semiconductors.

Japan tests reusable rocket as satellite launch ambitions face SpaceX cost gap

DIGITIMES — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 08:16:30 GMT

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has completed the first flight test of its reusable small experimental rocket RV-X, marking an early step in Japan's effort to develop lower-cost launch technology for future satellite missions.

Nvidia cuts list of approved Asian chip buyers by more than half to prevent diversion to China

DIGITIMES — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 07:55:11 GMT

Nvidia has removed more than half of the Asian customers it previously authorized to buy its advanced chips, after creating a new internal white list intended to prevent the processors from reaching China through other countries. The Financial Times reported the move, citing three people familiar with the matter.

Taiwan AI suppliers ride global demand as substrate, and CCL markets tighten

DIGITIMES — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 07:01:15 GMT

Taiwan's AI hardware supply chain remained strong in June, as substrate and CCL makers posted sharp annual gains driven by demand for AI servers, ASICs, and high-performance computing. The latest sales data suggest the upgrade cycle is broadening beyond one segment, with advanced ABF substrates and high-end CCL benefiting from higher specifications, better pricing, and rising AI content. For investors, companies with greater AI exposure, stronger product mix, and disciplined capacity are capturing the most upside.

Rambus unveils DDR5 9600 chipset for next-generation AI servers

DIGITIMES — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 06:56:40 GMT

Rambus has introduced a new DDR5 9600 server RDIMM chipset aimed at faster, denser data center memory systems. The move matters beyond one supplier because higher bandwidth and better power efficiency are becoming essential for AI inference, cloud computing, and HPC platforms used by businesses and consumers worldwide.