DIGITIMES: News and Insight of the Global Supply Chain

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.

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.

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.

China's AI smartphone race pits ZTE, StepFun, and Honor against limits of agentic computing

DIGITIMES — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 08:48:45 GMT

China's smartphone industry is turning agentic AI into its next growth narrative, with ZTE's Nubia, StepFun and Honor presenting sharply different visions of how phones should plan tasks, coordinate apps and process personal data.

Alibaba open-sources AI chip software, launches Zhenwu cloud supernode service

DIGITIMES — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 08:28:15 GMT

Alibaba Group's chip design unit, T-Head, has open-sourced the software stack behind its Zhenwu AI processors while extending the platform from individual accelerators into rack-scale supernodes and public-cloud computing services.

Oracle's New Mexico data center reportedly hits cost overruns

DIGITIMES — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 08:12:28 GMT

Oracle's US$165 billion data center project in New Mexico is running into higher-than-expected costs due to local concerns about its energy requirements. This case is one of several showing how the build-out of AI infrastructure in the US has become a politically charged issue at the local level due to worries over electricity needs and other issues.

Samsung to cut over 800 US jobs amid market headwinds

DIGITIMES — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 08:04:33 GMT

Samsung Electronics is cutting over 800 jobs in the US from its smartphone, display, and consumer electronics business units. The division, part of Samsung Group, is facing a challenging market this year, in contrast to the soaring performance of its chip unit.