DIGITIMES: News and Insight of the Global Supply Chain

Haesung DS lands CXMT as DDR5 substrate customer, weighs panel production for DDR6

DIGITIMES — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 08:53:26 GMT

Haesung DS has reportedly added China's CXMT as a customer for DDR5 package substrates as the South Korean supplier expands its DDR5 business and considers panel-based production for higher-layer-count products expected with the DDR6 generation.

Google developing 'frozen' chip that embeds Gemini models for efficiency gains

DIGITIMES — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 08:44:45 GMT

Google is reportedly developing a new chip that embeds information from its Gemini AI models directly onto the silicon to boost efficiency. If the anticipated performance gains materialize, this new design would mark a deeper integration of the tech giant's hardware and AI capabilities.

Goldkey secures NT$3.6 billion loan to expand AI server memory business

DIGITIMES — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 08:36:58 GMT

Goldkey Technology has completed and signed a three-year syndicated loan worth NT$3.6 billion (US$111.3 million) to support inventory growth and working capital needs tied to AI servers and other high-demand markets. The Taiwan memory module maker said the financing will also back materials purchases as it prepares to expand its high-end RDIMM business in the second half of 2026.

Huawei Kirin 9030 shows SMIC's 7nm gains and ongoing efficiency gap

DIGITIMES — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 08:09:54 GMT

A teardown of Huawei's Kirin 9030 flagship processor — built on SMIC's 7nm-class N+3 process — reveals continued density progress from China's leading chipmaker, but a significant efficiency gap against global peers remains.

Ishihara Sangyo doubles high-purity titanium dioxide capacity on AI server demand

DIGITIMES — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 07:05:00 GMT

Ishihara Sangyo Kaisha plans to double production capacity for high-purity titanium dioxide used to make dielectric materials for multilayer ceramic capacitors, as rising AI server power requirements increase demand for the components.

Trump offers tariff relief to aluminum producers investing in US smelters

DIGITIMES — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 06:56:16 GMT

US President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation creating a new incentive program that would cut import tariffs on primary aluminum for companies that invest in expanding domestic smelting capacity, marking the latest effort by the administration to boost US metals production.

China's magnet exports hit records — but the tap stays political

DIGITIMES — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 06:51:44 GMT

China's exports of rare-earth permanent magnets reached record levels in the first half of 2026, yet the same customs data reveal a market increasingly shaped less by demand than by Beijing's discretion — flowing freely to most of the world, throttled to the US, and, since January, newly restricted to Japan.

Taiwan's top motherboard makers slash 2026 shipments again, with Asus, Gigabyte below 10M units

Levi Li — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 06:50:13 GMT

Taiwan's four largest motherboard brands have cut their 2026 shipment forecasts for a second time as memory and CPU shortages, rising component prices, and weaker upgrade demand deepen the PC market downturn, according to supply-chain sources.

Kimi K3 surge traces to Moonshot AI's GTC roadmap

Charlene Chen — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 06:31:10 GMT

Moonshot AI's open-source large language model (LLM) Kimi K3 has surged in popularity after its launch, drawing attention across multiple model benchmarks and forcing the company to suspend new member subscriptions after a rapid influx of users strained computing capacity. A review of CEO Zhilin Yang's March 2026 technical talk at Nvidia GTC in San Jose, California, shows K3 was not an overnight hit, but the result of months of work on model architecture and training techniques.

Cautionary tale for Taiwan's electric scooter industry: Supply-chain feud nearly turns to disaster

Kevin Wang — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 05:53:41 GMT

Electric scooters have been traversing a bumpy road in Taiwan, with sales numbers tied to government subsidies, and cost measures squeezing margins for brands and suppliers alike. These tough conditions have led many to fade away from the market, as they seek to cut losses by postponing the launch of new models. However, brands focusing solely on electric scooters must launch new products to sustain market attention, cash flow, and investor confidence.

Power and water constraints cast doubt on South Korea's Honam memory cluster, experts say

Scarlett Yu — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 05:42:45 GMT

South Korea's plan to develop a semiconductor cluster in the Honam region (Jeolla Province) is facing mounting scrutiny over whether the area can support the enormous energy and infrastructure requirements of advanced memory manufacturing.

Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron pull back on in-house CXL controller plans

DIGITIMES — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:53:59 GMT

Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Micron Technology are reportedly scaling back or shelving plans to commercialize internally developed Compute Express Link (CXL) controller chips, shifting more controller work to specialist fabless suppliers while continuing to develop CXL-based memory products.

Middlemen emerge as ASEAN's No. 2 AI compute buyers

Charlene Chen — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:24:36 GMT

In the AI computing race, Nvidia AI server chips remain red-hot, even as the US-China trade confrontation shows no sign of easing. Although Shopee and YTL Group are among the biggest buyers of AI chips for data centers, industry sources familiar with ASEAN semiconductor distribution say many mid-sized "middlemen" have effectively become ASEAN's second-largest compute buyers, lending fresh credibility to earlier claims of black-market GPU smuggling and proxy buyers.

China's EUV gap keeps semiconductor catch-up in check

Lily Hess — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:05:59 GMT

As the US continues to tighten export controls on advanced semiconductor equipment to China, questions are mounting over whether China can narrow the gap with leading-edge manufacturing through mature nodes and advanced packaging. German manufacturer Zeiss said advanced packaging can improve overall chip performance, but it cannot fully replace the process advantages delivered by extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography.

China's Z.ai reportedly powers up 1GW data center built entirely on domestic chips

DIGITIMES — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:05:00 GMT

Chinese AI developer Z.ai has completed a giant data center running exclusively on domestically made chips, a milestone in Beijing's drive to replace restricted Nvidia silicon for future AI development.

DDR5 module spot prices hit record highs as China-made dies narrow price gap

Sherri Wang — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:04:35 GMT

The pace of memory contract price increases has begun to slow in the second half of 2026, but DDR5 spot prices continue to climb as AI and server applications absorb available supply, according to industry sources.

Phone prices to surge in 2H26 as low-end models fade

Lily Hess — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 03:48:59 GMT

As the AI boom keeps memory shortages running hot, steep price hikes for smartphones in the second half of 2026 are coming into view. Global market researchers have issued increasingly bleak forecasts, warning that "chipflation" could last through 2027 and that surging memory prices are already lifting the cost of consumer devices.

India joins private-launch club as low-Earth-orbit race widens beyond the US and China

DIGITIMES — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 03:43:44 GMT

India now has a homegrown, privately built ticket to orbit, and its arrival lands squarely in the middle of a low-Earth-orbit (LEO) contest that until recently was framed as a two-power race between the US and China.

Taiwan launches AI- and IoT-powered smart heat protection network, starting with Tainan pilot

Willis Ke — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 03:41:56 GMT

As climate change fuels increasingly severe heat waves, Taiwan is stepping up efforts to combat heat-related illness by integrating artificial intelligence (AI), IoT sensors and social welfare services into a smart heat protection network to better protect vulnerable residents.

WAIC 2026 elevates the 'token factory' — why is China chasing cheap tokens over bigger models?

DIGITIMES — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 03:36:05 GMT

At the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, held July 17-20 across "three districts and four venues" with more than 1,100 exhibitors, one phrase recurred across vendor booths and keynotes: the "token factory".

CMTX develops 590mm single-crystal silicon ground ring for chip etching

DIGITIMES — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 03:22:23 GMT

South Korean semiconductor materials and parts supplier CMTX has developed a roughly 590mm single-crystal silicon ground ring for chip-etching equipment and plans to begin customer validation as it scales production of the 600mm-class ingots used to make oversized chamber components.

TSMC weighs margin hit against long-term AI payoff in US push

Lily Hess — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 03:21:38 GMT

TSMC has announced an additional US$100 billion investment in the US on top of its existing US$165 billion commitment, expanding its Arizona footprint to 12 fabs and one R&D center. While the market has focused on the size of the spending, investors are more concerned that overseas expansion could squeeze profitability.

Li Auto reportedly forms new Shanghai chip company to expand in-house semiconductor ambitions

DIGITIMES — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 03:18:53 GMT

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Li Auto has established a new subsidiary focused on IC chip design, underscoring its long-term strategy of developing core AI technologies in-house.

Taiwan indicts ex-TSMC employees in first China-linked national core tech espionage case

DIGITIMES — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 03:16:20 GMT

Taiwan prosecutors have indicted four former TSMC employees for allegedly stealing confidential semiconductor technology with the intent of transferring it to China, marking the island's first criminal prosecution involving "national core technologies" under the National Security Act. According to Nikkei Asia, the case highlights Taiwan's intensifying efforts to safeguard its semiconductor leadership amid growing competition from China.

Tariffs, competition drag down top automakers' 1H26 sales

Jingyue Hsiao — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 03:08:05 GMT

The world's biggest automakers are losing their long-held advantage as weaker demand, tariffs, and fierce competition reshape the market. For global readers, the shift signals a more cautious era for cars, where survival, restructuring, and overseas expansion may matter more than size, scale, or legacy brand power.

AI reshapes semiconductor growth curve; Zeiss eyes US$2.5 trillion market

Lily Hess — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 03:05:41 GMT

Generative AI, high-performance computing (HPC), and large AI models are rapidly reshaping the global semiconductor industry's growth curve. Thomas Stammler, chief technology officer of Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology (SMT) at Zeiss, said the market is now being discussed not as a US$1 trillion milestone in 2030, but as one that could reach US$2 trillion or even approach US$2.5 trillion, ushering in a new growth cycle for the industry.

Samsung consolidates robot teams and weighs standalone HX division

DIGITIMES — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:49:07 GMT

Samsung Electronics has started a broad reorganization of its robot operations, bringing scattered teams under one structure as humanoid robot competition shifts toward artificial intelligence-based autonomous control. The move was reported by JoongAng Daily, which cited industry sources and said Samsung is aiming to centralize talent and technology across its robotics work.

China's AI supernode race seeks systems edge through optics, packaging, and cloud scale

DIGITIMES — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:48:46 GMT

China's AI hardware race is shifting from individual accelerators to supernodes, optical interconnects, advanced packaging and cloud-scale systems.

BOE expands into glass-core packaging, solar cells and optical interconnects

DIGITIMES — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:47:18 GMT

BOE Technology Group said on July 20 that it is pushing beyond display panels into glass-core substrate packaging, perovskite solar cells and Micro LED optical interconnects. The Chinese display maker outlined the three areas as strategic priorities as it moves toward advanced packaging, optoelectronics and new energy markets, according to meeting notes from an investor relations event posted on the Shanghai Stock Exchange website.

China's solar slump deepens, raising warning signs for energy storage and electric vehicles

Jingyue Hsiao — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:40:16 GMT

China's solar industry is still trapped in a painful shakeout after three straight years of losses across much of the supply chain, according to first-half reports from leading companies. Persistent overcapacity, weak downstream demand, and rising overseas barriers have left the sector under pressure, while investors are watching for signs that similar problems could spread to energy storage and new energy vehicles.

India's smartphone shipments fall as memory costs bite

DIGITIMES — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:25:38 GMT

India's smartphone market was hit by a sharp second-quarter decline that may matter well beyond the country's borders, as higher component costs lifted prices and dampened demand. The drop underscores how global memory shortages, inflation, and weaker spending are reshaping handset sales, especially in value-driven markets across Asia and emerging economies.

Niche demand drives SLC NAND prices up nearly tenfold, opening further gains for Taiwan suppliers

Scarlett Yu — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:24:10 GMT

Memory price increases have begun to diverge in the second half of 2026, but persistent capacity shortfalls continue to constrain supply and sustain upward momentum in contract prices.

How AI boom spurs Taiwan's PCB makers to rethink their Southeast Asia playbook

Scarlett Yu — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:23:33 GMT

Amid the global boom in AI infrastructure investment, Southeast Asia is evolving from an electronics-component manufacturing base into a critical node for AI servers, high-speed networking equipment and semiconductor supply chains. The transition is also serving as a major catalyst for the region's PCB industry to move up the value chain.

Pat Gelsinger: Intel missed GPU boom, warns Taiwan energy risk

Charlene Chen — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:13:22 GMT

Former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has criticized Intel's past strategy in a recent interview, revisiting the company's history with Nvidia and Apple while also weighing in on Taiwan Strait tensions and the outlook for quantum computing. Speaking at the RAISE Summit AI conference in Paris, he said Intel dismissed Nvidia GPUs at the height of its CPU dominance as nothing more than graphics tools for gamers.

Memory shortage could turn into a glut by 2028 as chipmakers expand

DIGITIMES — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:11:32 GMT

A powerful rally in memory-chip stocks has stalled as investors reconsider whether record spending on AI data centers could eventually push the DRAM market back into oversupply.

Microsoft expands Azure partnership with AMD ahead of Helios AI system launch

DIGITIMES — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:03:14 GMT

Microsoft has expanded its strategic partnership with AMD, announcing plans to deploy the company's upcoming Helios rack-scale AI system across Azure, a move that comes just days before AMD is expected to unveil its next-generation AI products at its Advancing AI 2026 event, which begins on July 22.

TaiSol expects server revenue to top 50% in 2H26, liquid cooling to exceed 25% for full year

Eifeh Strom — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 01:58:05 GMT

As power consumption of artificial intelligence (AI) servers continues to rise, liquid cooling is rapidly evolving from an auxiliary solution into a standard feature at the rack and data center levels. Optimistic that the liquid cooling trend will continue to grow, thermal solutions provider TaiSol Electronics said during its earnings call on July 20 that its liquid cooling portfolio has further expanded beyond cold plates, manifolds, and tubing to include coolant distribution units (CDU) and products and architectures related to 800V high-voltage direct current (HVDC) power supply. Going forward, the company will focus on integrated products and system-level solutions.

Samsung keeps High-NA EUV rollout cautious as foundry profitability remains the focus

DIGITIMES — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 01:45:00 GMT

Samsung Electronics is taking a slower approach than Intel to High-NA extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography for advanced chip production, weighing equipment spending against the need to restore foundry profitability. According to Chosun Biz, citing industry sources, the debate now centers less on yield than on financial returns.

Seoul Semiconductor weighs India LED plant to tap ISM 2.0 incentives

DIGITIMES — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 01:34:28 GMT

South Korea's Seoul Semiconductor, one of the world's largest optoelectronics makers, is assessing plans to build a manufacturing plant in India and is in early talks with several state governments, the Economic Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The move would make the LED specialist a candidate to become the first major Korean chip-manufacturing project to follow India's revamped incentive push.

Taiwan lawmakers stall on drone procurement bill as localization debate intensifies

DIGITIMES — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 01:30:00 GMT

Taiwan's Legislative Yuan reviewed four versions of a special bill for drone procurement on the 16th but reached no conclusion, leaving the measure pending further deliberation. The debate centered on how much of each drone should be made in Taiwan and whether production and storage sites should be spread across regions to protect combat capability.

Microsoft promotes AI sovereignty through local data, while Stanford warns on US jurisdiction

DIGITIMES — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 00:37:14 GMT

Microsoft has been positioning AI sovereignty as a way to prioritize local languages, culture and values in AI systems rather than build isolated national alternatives, according to remarks from its Responsible AI leadership at the AI for Good summit. The discussion comes as enterprise and government buyers weigh how much control they can retain over data and model access when relying on major US cloud providers.

Weblisher plans double-digit growth as Taiwan SME and Japan lodging businesses expand

DIGITIMES — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 00:36:17 GMT

Weblisher, a data technology platform provider, is set to list on Taiwan's Emerging Stock Market on July 23. The company said 2026 revenue is expected to keep growing at a double-digit pace, driven by expansion in its Taiwan small and midsize business customer base and its Japan lodging management operations.

Taiwan expands drone defense plans as lawmakers boost funding support

DIGITIMES — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 00:30:00 GMT

Taiwan's legislature has moved toward stronger backing for drone research and production following a political shift in June, as the government seeks to close a capability gap in its defense buildup. The Executive Yuan had proposed an eight-year special defense budget of NT$1.25 trillion (US$38.7 billion), but the Legislative Yuan approved an opposition-backed version that capped spending at NT$780 billion, NT$470 billion below the Cabinet's proposal.

TSMC sees structural AI growth, expands Arizona capex

Lily Hess — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 23:53:36 GMT

TSMC Chief Financial Officer Wendell Huang said the company expects AI chip demand to remain strong for years, prompting it to keep expanding investment in its Arizona site. After previously announcing an additional US$100 billion investment, TSMC has raised its total planned investment there to US$265 billion.

LGES accelerates sodium-ion battery plans while CATL secures early ESS lead

DIGITIMES — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 23:53:07 GMT

LG Energy Solution plans to establish a sodium-ion battery mother line at its Ochang Energy Plant in South Korea in 2026, seeking to narrow CATL's early commercial lead in energy storage systems.

Samsung, SK Hynix prioritize DDR5 as margins near HBM levels

DIGITIMES — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 23:52:25 GMT

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are reportedly allocating additional or flexible DRAM production capacity to server DDR5 and other conventional memory products while maintaining high-bandwidth memory (HBM) volumes already committed to customers.

Elite Material, TUC race ahead in AI CCL push

Lily Hess — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 23:51:51 GMT

As AI server products accelerate their generational shift and demand higher-frequency, higher-speed transmission, the upgrade cycle for copper-clad laminate (CCL) materials in the PCB upstream supply chain has become firmly established. M7 and M8 specs are now mainstream, while M9 and M10 materials remain in the testing and validation stage, with mass production expected in 2027 or 2028.

Befar begins production of 6N hydrogen fluoride gas for chipmaking

DIGITIMES — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 23:51:06 GMT

Befar Group has begun producing semiconductor-grade hydrogen fluoride gas with a claimed purity of 6N, or 99.9999%, expanding the Chinese chemical supplier's presence in materials used for chip etching and chamber cleaning.

Advanced Echem Materials to invest NT$4.52 billion in Longtan plant

Eifeh Strom — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 23:50:39 GMT

Advanced Echem Materials (AEMC), a semiconductor specialty chemicals materials maker, plans to invest roughly NT$4.52 billion (approx. US$139.66 million) in Taiwan's Longtan Science Park to build a smart chemical plant and laboratory. The project will strengthen the company's R&D resource integration and operating efficiency, as well as create job opportunities for chemistry, materials, and chemical engineering talent.

From Beijing to Singapore—how Beyondsoft is betting on agentic and physical AI in Southeast Asia

Jingyue Hsiao — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 23:50:23 GMT

Agentic AI is likely to reach commercial use sooner than physical AI, according to Beyondsoft, as the IT services provider deepens its push into robotics and enterprise automation. The Singapore-based company sees the region, especially Singapore, as a key proving ground where cloud partners, governments, and enterprises are shaping the next phase of AI adoption.

Glass substrates poised to be chip packaging's next battleground: Trumpf

Jingyue Hsiao — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 23:49:52 GMT

AI and high-performance computing are pushing chip packages beyond the limits of conventional materials, and German laser equipment maker Trumpf says that shift could accelerate demand for glass substrates and through-glass vias. The company said 12-inch wafers are nearing physical constraints, leaving advanced packaging in search of larger, more capable platforms.

Hyundai labor unrest ripples through Kia, GM Korea supply chains

DIGITIMES — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 23:49:28 GMT

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Samsung could overtake SK Hynix in the HBM market by 2027

DIGITIMES — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 23:48:46 GMT

Samsung Electronics could overtake SK Hynix to lead the global high-bandwidth memory market in 2027 as shipments of HBM4 expand, according to forecasts from UBS cited by Money Today and Financial News.

Zeiss accelerates push into AI chip advanced packaging, CPO

Lily Hess — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 23:48:21 GMT

Zeiss is moving into a new AI chip battleground as advanced packaging and silicon photonics rise on the back of chiplet-based architectures, multi-chip integration, and high-bandwidth memory (HBM). The company says it is extending decades of lithography expertise into advanced packaging, metrology, inspection, and co-packaged optics (CPO) to build competitiveness for the next decade.

AI-related power management needs drive e-Fuse demand for Fortune Advanced Technology

Kevin Wang — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 23:48:10 GMT

Power management IC (PMIC) maker Fortune Advanced Technology is set to list on the Emerging Stock Board on July 22, with an eye on growing demand for high-voltage power management in AI data centers driving the need for e-fuses and smart power management solutions. In addition, shipments of higher-margin products are also lifting revenue for the company, as it seeks opportunities in importing substitute protective components.

Alibaba and Huawei muscle into Singapore's AI market: SEA-LION swaps Llama for Qwen

Scarlett Yu — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 23:47:57 GMT

Singapore is Southeast Asia's AI frontrunner. It has also become a proving ground for competing Eastern and Western AI business models. As a global technology and financial hub, the city-state is one of the first battlegrounds where leading US and Chinese AI companies are building their regional presence.

AI boom may reshape SK Siltron sale as chairman reportedly rethinks

Charlene Chen — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 23:47:39 GMT

SK Group chairman Chey Tae-Won is reportedly making a final decision on the sale of semiconductor silicon wafer subsidiary SK Siltron, as surging AI chip demand raises doubts about whether the asset should be sold at all. While SK originally pushed the sale to improve rebalancing and its financial structure, many inside and outside the group now see securing a stable wafer supply chain as the higher strategic priority.

VSMC warns AI-ready MES is becoming essential for wafer fabs, with China accelerating adoption

Levi Li — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 23:46:58 GMT

TSMC's sustained capital spending highlights the two foundations of its competitive strength: technology leadership and manufacturing excellence. The latter remains a core advantage not only for TSMC but also for the broader semiconductor ecosystem built around its production model.

HBM4 battle shifts to cooling as hybrid bonding slips

Charlene Chen — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 09:03:27 GMT

Sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM4) shipments paired with Nvidia Vera Rubin will keep rising in the second half of 2026, setting up a head-to-head fight among the three major memory makers over stable mass production and supply. Industry sources say the next wave of high-capacity HBM will be decided by one core issue: how effectively vendors solve heat dissipation.