DIGITIMES: News and Insight of the Global Supply Chain

UMC targets 12-inch TFLN to break 400G SiPh bottleneck

Charlene Chen — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 00:33:04 GMT

As interconnect traffic in AI hyperscale data centers climbs, optical modules are moving toward the 1.6T and 3.2T generations. United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), Taiwan's second-largest contract chipmaker, is expanding its silicon photonics (SiPh) efforts and focusing on thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) as a core technology for overcoming key bottlenecks, while its SiPh platform has moved into 12-inch production.

Apple's M6 and M5 Ultra break rule tying process to chip strength

Lily Hess — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 00:32:52 GMT

Apple has unveiled new Mac mini and Mac Studio models, equipped respectively with its first 2-nanometer chip, the M6, and the four-die M5 Ultra. Most notably, the latest 2-nanometer process is used only in the entry-level Mac mini, while the 3-nanometer M5 Ultra is officially billed as the "most powerful M-series chip yet."

How Taiwan is closing its semiconductor materials gap — three shifts to watch

Charlene Chen — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 00:25:08 GMT

Industry players say Taiwan's push to localize semiconductor materials did not begin in 2026. The real turning point came in 2019, when the Japan-South Korea semiconductor trade dispute exposed a structural risk: even as Taiwan concentrated manufacturing at home, key raw materials remained controlled by overseas suppliers.

Micro LED maker PlayNitride targets Micro LED optical communications within two years

Levi Li — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 00:24:41 GMT

Micro LED maker PlayNitride Inc. expects the technology to enter commercial optical communications applications within two years, expanding beyond displays into AI devices, data center optical transmission, silicon photonics and co-packaged optics (CPO).

Panasonic reportedly raises CCL and PP prices again as IC substrate costs jump 30%

Charlene Chen — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 00:24:10 GMT

Japan's Panasonic has raised PCB material prices for the second time in 2026, broadening the increases to copper-clad laminate (CCL), pre-preg (PP) and other products, including IC substrate materials. Some items will rise by as much as 30%, with the new pricing taking effect on shipments starting September 1.

AI packaging demand surges, ASE EVP identifies two manufacturing bottlenecks

Charlene Chen — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 00:23:52 GMT

On the eve of the official opening of SEMICON Taiwan 2026, the SEMI 3DIC Advanced Manufacturing Alliance (3DICAMA), initiated by SEMI, TSMC, and ASE, held the 3DIC Global Summit on September 1.

US solar module capacity to lead by 2027, but cell and wafer shortages pose major hurdles

Yunnie Cheng — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 00:02:42 GMT

The US is rapidly reshaping the cost structure of its solar supply chain under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. According to a recent webinar hosted by Intertek CEA, the US-based solar advisory arm of British multinational group Intertek, new minimum import prices (MIP) and tariffs are driving up the cost of imported modules, paving the way for domestic manufacturers to achieve market dominance by 2027.

China memory-module makers report surging profits, strained cash flow

DIGITIMES — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 00:01:47 GMT

Seven listed Chinese memory-module and memory-distribution companies have filed first-half 2026 results, and the headline numbers are the largest the tier has ever reported. The more useful number is further down each statement: four of the seven reported negative operating cash flow, as inventory purchases and other working-capital demands absorbed cash even as profits rose.

LG fights Chinese brands with innovation, business model shifts

DIGITIMES — Tue, 1 Sep 2026 23:55:00 GMT

LG Electronics is bolstering sales of home appliances, TVs and other consumer products through innovation and product segmentation. On the 1st, LG said it will launch new air purifiers and edge purifiers to meet air-care demand in small homes and other diverse living spaces.

Commentary: Malaysia wants foreign automotive investment to leave more behind

DIGITIMES — Tue, 1 Sep 2026 23:52:10 GMT

The 2026 Global Automotive and Technology Expo (GATE 2026), held August 26-28 at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC) in Kuala Lumpur, was ostensibly about the future of mobility. But the stronger message from the three-day event was about something more fundamental: Malaysia wants foreign automakers to build an industrial ecosystem, not simply sell cars.

Chinese MRAM chipmaker ICY Tech rethinks HBM for rack-scale AI inference

DIGITIMES — Tue, 1 Sep 2026 23:49:51 GMT

China-based ICY Tech has introduced its uHBM and uLPU AI inference architectures, extending persistent MRAM computing from validation silicon into a product roadmap spanning compute-memory dies, chips, modules, 2U trays, and racks.

Qisda builds physical AI ecosystem from land to space

Rodney Chan — Tue, 1 Sep 2026 23:49:23 GMT

Qisda has been expanding its display, commercial, and industrial businesses beyond traditional desktop monitors into medical, rugged, automotive, unmanned vehicle, drone, and low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite applications. Its Commercial and Industrial Group (CIG) has now made physical AI a core priority. CIG aims to extend Qisda's products from underwater, across land, and into the sky and outer space, building a full physical AI ecosystem.

Nvidia pushes into HBM base dies as NVHBM battle heats up

DIGITIMES — Tue, 1 Sep 2026 23:49:11 GMT

The competition in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) is moving beyond DRAM stack height, bandwidth, and packaging to the base die at the very bottom of the package. As Nvidia pushes its NVHBM architecture, the fight is shifting toward who gets to define the base die — now emerging as the control center of next-generation HBM.

'Chinamaxxing' fuels China tech tourism as visitors flood Huaqiangbei

DIGITIMES — Tue, 1 Sep 2026 23:48:47 GMT

In the summer of 2026, the term "Chinamaxxing" has gone viral on overseas social media, reflecting a trend among young people, especially Gen Z in the West, who openly praise China and a China-style way of life. The trend is drawing foreign visitors to sites such as Xiaomi's EV superfactory, Wenchang Beach rocket launches, and Shenzhen's Huaqiangbei, where they shop for "Made in China" tech.

Taiwan eyes satellite communications to cut sea cable reliance

DIGITIMES — Tue, 1 Sep 2026 23:48:37 GMT

More than 90% of Taiwan's external communications rely on subsea cables, raising concerns over resilience and pushing policymakers and experts to call for satellite communications to be brought onshore as a backup. At a forum on July 31, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said the island's 4G and 5G networks together cover 99% of the population, but its international connectivity remains vulnerable to cable cuts.

Global quantum industry accelerates as Taiwan eyes Asia hub

DIGITIMES — Tue, 1 Sep 2026 23:48:17 GMT

As quantum commercialization gathers pace worldwide, Taiwan is linking up with multiple countries to push for an Asia hub for quantum technology, industrial applications, international cooperation, and capital. On August 31, the Taiwan Association of Quantum Computing and Information Technology (TAQCIT), SEMI, and the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research invited representatives from eight countries based in Taiwan to share details of the upcoming "2026 Taiwan Quantum Forum" and discuss whether Taiwan can become such a hub.

Tmytek to list on Innovation Board in September on antenna module growth

DIGITIMES — Tue, 1 Sep 2026 23:48:07 GMT

Millimeter-wave phased-array solutions provider Tmytek is set to list on the Innovation Board in September. Although the company has yet to turn profitable, its revenue mix has been shifting rapidly in recent years as antenna modules take a larger share, raising hopes that earnings will improve as upcoming projects scale up.

Gudeng pursues 'Taiwan Plus One' overseas strategy, says cost is not sole consideration

Eifeh Strom — Tue, 1 Sep 2026 23:45:59 GMT

Gudeng Precision Industrial chairman Bill Chiu said on August 31 that the company has begun building out its global manufacturing footprint. Its Japan plant is expected to complete further expansion in the second half of 2027 and gradually enter mass production, while the company has begun using an existing leased facility in the US for basic processing and manufacturing preparations.

Plug and Play plans US$100 million Taiwan fund, hopes one of its next five unicorns is Taiwanese

DIGITIMES — Tue, 1 Sep 2026 16:05:00 GMT

Saeed Amidi has been in Taiwan for about 20 hours, and he has been asking everyone the same question.

Taiwan carbon fee joins UK CBAM qualifying list

DIGITIMES — Tue, 1 Sep 2026 08:56:00 GMT

Taiwan's carbon fee has been formally included in the UK government's list of Qualifying Carbon Pricing Schemes (QCPS) under its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), alongside major carbon pricing systems in the EU, Japan, South Korea and Singapore. The Ministry of Environment said the move shows Taiwan's carbon pricing framework is now aligned with international systems and will help export industries respond to global carbon border measures while maintaining competitiveness.

Taoyuan eyes northern AIDC hub, touts Tatan and LNG cooling edge

DIGITIMES — Tue, 1 Sep 2026 08:55:00 GMT

Taiwan's limited land and heavy dependence on imported energy have made power a scarce and strategic resource in the compute era, putting AI data center (AIDC) site selection on the radar of industry and government. Taoyuan's Department of Economic Development chief Chang Cheng said on August 31 that the city is positioning itself as a northern AIDC demonstration base, with Tatan Power Plant and CPC Corp.'s Third Liquefied Natural Gas Receiving Terminal serving as key advantages.

SK Hynix touts up to 5.15x inference gains with custom HBM

DIGITIMES — Tue, 1 Sep 2026 08:53:42 GMT

SK Hynix is pushing computation deeper into high-bandwidth memory (HBM), saying a custom HBM architecture that places compute functions in the base die could improve large language model inference performance by up to 5.15 times as data movement becomes a growing constraint on computing performance.

Samsung eyes early 2027 LPDDR5X-PIM production, touts 3.8x performance gain

DIGITIMES — Tue, 1 Sep 2026 08:18:56 GMT

Samsung Electronics is targeting mass production of its LPDDR5X processing-in-memory (PIM) solution in late 2026 or early 2027, moving the technology closer to commercialization as the memory giant broadens its portfolio beyond HBM.

Japan's chip materials makers reportedly deepen Taiwan ties as AI reshapes supply chains

DIGITIMES — Tue, 1 Sep 2026 07:55:00 GMT

Japanese semiconductor materials suppliers Ajinomoto and Daikin Industries are expanding their presence in Taiwan as the AI boom fuels demand for advanced chip materials and encourages closer cooperation between suppliers and manufacturers.

Safety rewired: AI, robots on the front line at K-Safety Expo 2026

DIGITIMES — Tue, 1 Sep 2026 07:55:00 GMT

Hard hats and fire extinguishers will certainly have their place at K-Safety Expo 2026, but visitors arriving at BEXCO in Busan from September 2–4 may find that the modern safety industry increasingly speaks the language of AI, robots, sensors and connected infrastructure.

Taiwan chip equipment maker Skytech opens advanced process lab with TSMC backing

Levi Li — Tue, 1 Sep 2026 07:55:00 GMT

Skytech and TSMC have opened an Advanced Process Laboratory focused on next-generation semiconductor manufacturing, highlighting TSMC's continued efforts to support Taiwan's domestic semiconductor equipment supply chain.

Autonomous driving expands into Physical AI, creating new openings for Taiwan firms

Willis Ke — Tue, 1 Sep 2026 07:55:00 GMT

The autonomous driving industry is gaining momentum as advances in AI, sensing and semiconductor technologies expand opportunities in vehicle computing, machine vision and Physical AI. At Taiwan-based Turing Drive's eighth-anniversary press event, longtime partners Vecow and oToBrite shared their perspectives on the evolution of autonomous vehicles, in-vehicle computing and robotics.

Imec CEO: AI era pushes broader ties between chip, model and CSP players

Charlene Chen — Tue, 1 Sep 2026 07:45:00 GMT

Imec CEO Patrick Vandenameele said during a media briefing at SEMICON Taiwan 2026 that the Belgian research center is broadening its collaboration base in the AI era, extending beyond IC design firms to include model developers and cloud service providers as AI reshapes how computing systems are built and connected. Vandenameele said Imec is well positioned because what is happening in AI aligns with the organization's core mission, but its role has also changed significantly.

AI server demand lifts Japanese capacitor shipments by 22% in first half of 2026

DIGITIMES — Tue, 1 Sep 2026 07:40:00 GMT

Japanese electronic component shipments rose in the first half of 2026 as demand from AI servers drove strong growth in capacitors and other parts. According to Nikkei and Dempa, the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA) said on August 31 that global shipments by about 50 member companies increased 4% from a year earlier to JPY2.2865 trillion (US$15.45 billion) in the first six months of 2026.

ASE CEO describes AI resource squeeze as a short-term problem

Lily Hess — Tue, 1 Sep 2026 07:02:26 GMT

AI's early-stage growth is creating a short-term squeeze on land, talent, capital, and power in Taiwan, but there is no such thing as a world that cannot do without Taiwan, ASE Technology CEO and SEMI Global Board Executive Committee Chair Tien Wu said. He made the remarks at a pre-show conference on August 31 ahead of SEMICON Taiwan 2026, which runs from September 2 to 4.

Micron opens Tainan plant after 6.5 months amid labor dispute

Lily Hess — Tue, 1 Sep 2026 06:55:38 GMT

Micron's plant at the Southern Taiwan Science Park, which it purchased from AUO for NT$7.4 billion (US$233.8 million) in August 2024, is now officially in operation, marking a key milestone in the transformation of its Tainan site. The move comes as Micron posts record revenue and profit, while a labor dispute at its Taiwan operations has raised strike concerns.

Marvell CTO: power and density bottlenecks are driving CPO adoption in AI data centers

Yunnie Cheng — Tue, 1 Sep 2026 06:55:00 GMT

Speaking at the Silicon Photonics Global Summit ahead of Semicon Taiwan 2026, Marvell Technology CTO Radha Nagarajan highlighted that the core focus for upgrading connectivity in the AI data center era has shifted firmly to power consumption. He noted that the acceleration of co-packaged optics (CPO) adoption is primarily driven by two critical bottlenecks: power and unit density.

South Korea CCL exports surge 42% on AI demand

DIGITIMES — Tue, 1 Sep 2026 06:55:00 GMT

South Korea's copper-clad laminate, or CCL, exports jumped sharply in the first seven months of 2026 as AI infrastructure investment and larger semiconductor packaging lifted demand, boosting revenue at suppliers including Doosan Electronic BG, LG Chem and Lotte Energy Materials.

Chinese smartphone brands raise prices as component costs climb

DIGITIMES — Tue, 1 Sep 2026 06:55:00 GMT

Several Chinese smartphone brands raised prices across entry-level and premium models on September 1, citing IT Home, Antutu, MyDrivers and Sina. The increases coincided with the start of the back-to-school buying season in China and reflected the pass-through of higher component costs to end customers.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics discloses major MLCC supply deal tied to AI server demand

DIGITIMES — Tue, 1 Sep 2026 06:45:00 GMT

Samsung Electro-Mechanics disclosed on September 1 that it has concluded a single sales and supply contract worth KRW1.072 trillion (about US$778.9 million) for MLCCs, equal to 9.5% of the company's most recent annual revenue.

DIGITIMES: News and Insight of the Global Supply Chain

UMC targets 12-inch TFLN to break 400G SiPh bottleneck

Apple's M6 and M5 Ultra break rule tying process to chip strength

How Taiwan is closing its semiconductor materials gap &mdash; three shifts to watch

Micro LED maker PlayNitride targets Micro LED optical communications within two years

Panasonic reportedly raises CCL and PP prices again as IC substrate costs jump 30%

AI packaging demand surges, ASE EVP identifies two manufacturing bottlenecks

US solar module capacity to lead by 2027, but cell and wafer shortages pose major hurdles

China memory-module makers report surging profits, strained cash flow

LG fights Chinese brands with innovation, business model shifts

Commentary: Malaysia wants foreign automotive investment to leave more behind

Chinese MRAM chipmaker ICY Tech rethinks HBM for rack-scale AI inference

Qisda builds physical AI ecosystem from land to space

Nvidia pushes into HBM base dies as NVHBM battle heats up

'Chinamaxxing' fuels China tech tourism as visitors flood Huaqiangbei

Taiwan eyes satellite communications to cut sea cable reliance

Global quantum industry accelerates as Taiwan eyes Asia hub

Tmytek to list on Innovation Board in September on antenna module growth

Gudeng pursues 'Taiwan Plus One' overseas strategy, says cost is not sole consideration

Plug and Play plans US$100 million Taiwan fund, hopes one of its next five unicorns is Taiwanese

Taiwan carbon fee joins UK CBAM qualifying list

Taoyuan eyes northern AIDC hub, touts Tatan and LNG cooling edge

SK Hynix touts up to 5.15x inference gains with custom HBM

Samsung eyes early 2027 LPDDR5X-PIM production, touts 3.8x performance gain

Japan's chip materials makers reportedly deepen Taiwan ties as AI reshapes supply chains

Safety rewired: AI, robots on the front line at K-Safety Expo 2026

Taiwan chip equipment maker Skytech opens advanced process lab with TSMC backing

Autonomous driving expands into Physical AI, creating new openings for Taiwan firms

Imec CEO: AI era pushes broader ties between chip, model and CSP players

AI server demand lifts Japanese capacitor shipments by 22% in first half of 2026

ASE CEO describes AI resource squeeze as a short-term problem

Micron opens Tainan plant after 6.5 months amid labor dispute

Marvell CTO: power and density bottlenecks are driving CPO adoption in AI data centers

South Korea CCL exports surge 42% on AI demand

Chinese smartphone brands raise prices as component costs climb

Samsung Electro-Mechanics discloses major MLCC supply deal tied to AI server demand

How Taiwan is closing its semiconductor materials gap — three shifts to watch