DIGITIMES: News and Insight of the Global Supply Chain

Column: Titan Batteries joins US defense effort to secure domestic drone supply chains with traceable battery solutions

Willis Ke — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 23:55:22 GMT

Idaho-based Titan Batteries has emerged as a key supplier in the US Drone Dominance Program (DDP), providing customized battery solutions for military drones as the Pentagon accelerates efforts to build a secure and resilient domestic supply chain. The company's focus on localized manufacturing, cybersecurity, and end-to-end traceability aligns with the US Department of Defense's (DoD) drive to reduce dependence on foreign suppliers for critical defense technologies.

LG Energy Solution sues EVE Energy in US over cylindrical battery patents

DIGITIMES — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 23:54:59 GMT

LG Energy Solution has filed patent infringement proceedings against Chinese battery maker EVE Energy in the US over cylindrical lithium-ion battery technologies, seeking relief through both the US International Trade Commission and the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

Zeiss races to break ASML's EUV optics bottleneck for the AI chip boom

DIGITIMES — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 23:54:45 GMT

Zeiss Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology is expanding production capacity in Germany to relieve a critical constraint on ASML's lithography output, with AI data center investment accelerating demand for advanced logic and memory chips.

Apple, Micron's clash over CXMT puts White House in the middle

DIGITIMES — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 23:54:14 GMT

Apple and Micron are fighting over whether the smartphone maker can buy memory chips from Chinese manufacturer ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) for non-US devices, a move opposed by Micron. Both companies are lobbying the administration of US President Donald Trump, which could force him to make an uncomfortable choice between his goals of cheaper prices or domestic chip production.

Moonshot AI opens Kimi K3 weights, challenging US closed-model economics

Levi Li — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 23:53:38 GMT

Moonshot AI officially released the model weights for its Kimi K3 large language model on July 27, allowing developers to download, fine-tune, and deploy it.

Nvidia's Vera targets AI server growth, with CSP adoption the key test

Lily Hess — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 23:52:55 GMT

Nvidia is pushing into the server CPU market with its Vera chip as AI infrastructure competition enters a new phase, seeking to evolve from a chip supplier into a full AI computing systems provider. But the company still needs cloud service providers (CSPs) to embrace the platform at scale if it wants to challenge Intel and AMD in servers.

From models to chips: Anthropic chip ambitions pull Korea deeper into the AI silicon race

DIGITIMES — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 23:52:20 GMT

The push toward deeper sovereign control over the critical hardware stack underpinning AI models is gaining traction following news of Anthropic's outreach to SK hynix for supplies related to producing its own chips, spanning early design planning and key component procurement.

EYEQ Lab completes 200mm SiC line validation with yield above 90%

DIGITIMES — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 23:51:50 GMT

South Korean power semiconductor maker EYEQ Lab has completed mass-production validation of its dedicated 8-inch, or 200mm, silicon carbide (SiC) line in Busan, achieving an average yield above 90%, ET News reported, citing industry sources.

Memory module maker Apacer warns 2027 DRAM supply could fall 70%

Levi Li — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 23:51:27 GMT

Memory price increases are expected to moderate in the second half of 2026, but shortages will remain severe, particularly for DRAM, according to Apacer CEO C.K. Chang.

Energy storage unicorn expands in Baotou as China's industry chain accelerates integration

Scarlett Yu — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 23:50:58 GMT

Inner Mongolia HyperStrong Technology is a major production subsidiary established by Beijing HyperStrong Technology in Baotou, Inner Mongolia. Its development offers a useful case study as competition intensifies among China's battery energy storage system integrators.

Young Optics sees revenue growth, but margin pressure underscores transition to higher-value products

Jingyue Hsiao — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 23:49:53 GMT

Young Optics said second-quarter revenue rose sequentially, but gross margin narrowed as newer products stayed in early production and the product mix shifted. The company expects shipments to remain broadly stable in the third quarter, even as it deepens its presence in optical communications, automotive optics, and AR glasses components.

China's Yunnan Germanium wins long-term InP wafer order as AI optical demand rises

Jingyue Hsiao — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 23:49:38 GMT

Yunnan Germanium has secured a major supply deal for indium phosphide (InP) wafers, underscoring how AI data center buildouts are reshaping global demand for high-speed optical parts. The contract could bolster the company's revenue base, but execution risks, capacity expansion, and market swings will determine how much benefit reaches investors and customers worldwide.

Optics remain hardest technological hurdle for smart glasses, says Jorjin chairman

Kevin Wang — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 23:49:11 GMT

Jorjin Technology chairman Wen-lung Liang believes that smart glasses that combine AI with spatial computing are the next smartphone-killers, going beyond mere hardware upgrades to launch a far-reaching revolution in human-computer interaction (HCI).

Smart glasses with color displays could enter mass production by 2028

Rodney Chan — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 23:48:36 GMT

Taiwan's smart glasses supply chain urgently needs to break down technical silos and move first, according to industry executives speaking at a forum on July 24 on the outlook for AI+XR and the next phase of wearable computing. Smart glasses with full-color displays are likely to reach mass production around 2028, and Taiwan's ecosystem must solve system integration bottlenecks to stay competitive.

China faces AI compute divide as advanced capacity falls short and lower-tier resources sit underused

Scarlett Yu — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 23:48:11 GMT

China's AI computing infrastructure is developing along two sharply divergent paths. As large language models and AI agents gain traction across industries, rapidly rising token consumption is driving shortages of advanced computing capacity. At the same time, portions of the country's installed lower- and mid-tier capacity remain underutilized because of software compatibility issues, weak coordination between supply and demand, and inadequate resource scheduling.

Taiwan urged to move beyond hardware role in AI glasses race

Jingyue Hsiao — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 23:47:48 GMT

As global tech giants push into AR, VR, and spatial computing, Taiwan's chip and hardware strength could help it shape the next wave of AI glasses for users worldwide. But that opportunity depends on moving beyond contract manufacturing and into product design, software integration, and ecosystem leadership, industry executives say.

South Korea, AMD team up to integrate homegrown NPUs with CPUs and GPUs

DIGITIMES — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 09:16:52 GMT

South Korea and AMD have agreed to build and demonstrate heterogeneous AI computing infrastructure integrating AMD CPUs and GPUs with homegrown neural processing units, as Seoul seeks to give its AI chip industry practical reference models and a path into the global AI computing supply chain.

Apple reportedly delays smart glasses launch to late 2027 due to privacy risks

DIGITIMES — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 09:16:30 GMT

Apple plans to present its first smart glasses during its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June 2027 before opening them for sale later in the year. This timeline has reportedly been set back from an original introduction this year due to work being done to figure out how to balance users' privacy with the many AI functions the products are set to offer.

Samsung converts AMD and OpenAI ties into HBM4 supply wins

DIGITIMES — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 09:10:28 GMT

Samsung Electronics is showing renewed momentum in the AI memory race as it deepens ties with both OpenAI and AMD, two partnerships that could strengthen its position in the next-generation HBM4 ecosystem after ceding early ground in AI memory to rival SK hynix.

Singapore startup Acrab claims 7.5x speed edge over Mac Mini M4 Pro with new AI chip

DIGITIMES — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 08:05:30 GMT

A Singapore-based chip startup called Acrab on July 22 unveiled its first AI processor, claiming it can run large language models locally at speeds that outpace Apple's Mac Mini M4 Pro by a factor of 7.5 on certain benchmarks.

Samsung to use 2nm process for HBM5 base die as heat challenge grows

DIGITIMES — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 08:05:12 GMT

Samsung Electronics plans to manufacture the base die for its next-generation HBM5 memory using a 2nm gate-all-around foundry process, as faster high-bandwidth memory raises pressure on logic performance, power efficiency and heat management.

CXMT tops A-share market cap on IPO debut

Lily Hess — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 07:48:07 GMT

Chinese DRAM maker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) listed on the STAR Market of the Shanghai Stock Exchange on July 27, with its market capitalization briefly topping CNY3.6 trillion (approx. US$533.1 billion) on the first day of trading, surpassing Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and becoming the largest listed company in the A-share market.

CATL profit climbs 42%, but storage price pressure tests its global lead

DIGITIMES — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 06:45:58 GMT

CATL reported a 42% rise in first-half 2026 net profit as electric-vehicle and energy-storage battery shipments surged, although weaker margins and intense storage pricing highlighted the cost of sustaining its global lead.

Nvidia's Vera CPU targets go beyond Intel and AMD

Lily Hess — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 06:02:04 GMT

After Nvidia has grown into a global giant on GPUs, why is it suddenly delving into CPUs? At first glance, its Vera is entering the server CPU market, where its rivals are naturally Intel's Xeon and AMD's EPYC. But Nvidia's real target may be much broader, including cloud providers such as Amazon and Google that design their own CPUs.

AIDC secures NT$22 billion in civil aviation, engine contracts to boost long-term growth

Eifeh Strom — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 06:00:15 GMT

Taiwanese aerospace company Aerospace Industrial Development (AIDC) secured new contracts worth more than NT$22 billion (approx. US$680.27 million) with several major aerospace companies for civilian aircraft and engines at the Farnborough International Airshow in the UK.

H2U lists on Taiwan Innovation Board to tap digital health opportunities

Eifeh Strom — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 06:00:06 GMT

Taiwan's largest digital health technology platform H2U debuted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange's Taiwan Innovation Board on July 24 at an offering price of NT$49.13 (approx. US$1.52) per share, marking its official listing as it seeks to capture the growing digital health market.

Pegatron unveils AMD EPYC server platform for AI and HPC

Sherri Wang — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 05:59:54 GMT

Pegatron unveiled a new server platform powered by AMD's sixth-generation EPYC processors at AMD Advancing AI 2026, targeting enterprise AI, agentic AI, high-performance computing (HPC), cloud computing, and data-intensive workloads.

Chinese AI startup Moonshot dispute puts US-China AI cooperation at risk

DIGITIMES — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 05:59:46 GMT

Tensions between the US and China are escalating following allegations that Moonshot AI improperly extracted capabilities from advanced US-developed AI models and accessed export-controlled Nvidia hardware while developing Kimi K3. The model has drawn industry attention for approaching the performance of leading US systems despite Moonshot's comparatively limited computing resources.

Rebellions readies Rebel100 shipments as AI inference demand grows

DIGITIMES — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 05:58:27 GMT

South Korean AI chip designer Rebellions plans to begin shipping its next-generation Rebel100 accelerator in the second half of 2026, betting that wider use of AI agents and commercial AI services will shift more infrastructure spending from model training toward inference.

Taiwan manufacturers raise prices as procurement costs climb, survey finds

DIGITIMES — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 05:38:15 GMT

Taiwan manufacturers are facing sharply higher procurement costs, and more than half have already passed those increases to customers, according to a survey presented at a Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research seminar on July 24. The findings showed rising pressure on margins as AI-related shortages, energy costs and delivery uncertainty weighed on the sector.

WIN Semiconductors sees optical communications ramp accelerate AI revenue contribution

Scarlett Yu — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 05:03:14 GMT

Gallium arsenide (GaAs) foundry WIN Semiconductors (WIN) expects infrastructure revenue to continue growing in the third quarter of 2026, driven by demand from low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites and other aerospace applications, while shipments of smartphone power amplifiers (PAs) and Wi-Fi products are expected to remain broadly flat or post modest growth.

India's Paras Defense semiconductor unit to invest in Madhya Pradesh OSAT facility

DIGITIMES — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 04:52:03 GMT

Indian defense engineering company Paras Defense and Space Technologies said its semiconductor subsidiary, Paras Semiconductors, will invest INR62 billion (approx. US$643.79 million) to establish a semiconductor packaging and testing facility in Madhya Pradesh, as the country expands efforts to build a domestic chip manufacturing ecosystem, according to Reuters, The Economic Times, and Data Quest.

Stalled drone law aside, Taiwan's industry wants Taiwan's own DARPA

Scarlett Yu — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 04:33:49 GMT

Taiwan's proposed legislation governing unmanned systems remains stalled as competing political parties continue to debate multiple versions of the bill. For the drone industry, however, prolonged uncertainty over the regulatory framework poses a greater challenge than the legislation itself.

India's NIELIT and SCL expand access to indigenous semiconductor design kit through eChipHub

DIGITIMES — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 04:19:50 GMT

India's National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) and the Semiconductor Laboratory (SCL) have collaborated to make SCL's indigenous 1.2-micrometer Process Design Kit (PDK) available through the eChipHub platform, supporting semiconductor design education and research as part of the country's India Semiconductor Mission.

Nvidia weighs US$250B backstop for OpenAI's Ohio data center

DIGITIMES — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 04:14:41 GMT

Nvidia is in talks to provide a financial backstop of roughly US$250 billion that would help OpenAI lease and finance a massive AI data center campus in southern Ohio, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.