DIGITIMES: News and Insight of the Global Supply Chain

Samsung SDI's new LFP battery shows how AI is reshaping battery markets beyond EVs

DIGITIMES — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 23:53:47 GMT

The aggressive rollout of large-scale infrastructure projects has brought increasingly visible changes across global economies and major technology supply chains, with much of that transformation now unfolding under the expanding influence of AI.

Huawei leads global smartwatch market, but earbuds reveal different competitive picture

DIGITIMES — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 23:52:27 GMT

Huawei has regained momentum across its consumer device business, but its position in the global wearables market is becoming increasingly uneven: the Chinese technology giant has taken the global smartwatch crown, while its wireless earbuds remain a more distant fourth behind Apple, Xiaomi, and Samsung Electronics.

Nanya Technology wins approval for Southern 3D packaging plant

DIGITIMES — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 23:51:36 GMT

The Science Park Review Committee under Taiwan's National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) approved 13 investment projects at its 35th meeting on the 1st, including Nanya Technology's plan to enter the Pingtung area of the Southern Taiwan Science Park and build advanced 3D semiconductor packaging and testing operations.

CSPs embrace multi-vendor co-design for custom ASICs, ending single-supplier era

Yunnie Cheng — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 23:51:05 GMT

Hyperscale cloud service providers (CSPs) are expanding their custom ASIC partner networks, accelerating a shift toward multi-vendor technology integration. Industry insiders note that the era of a single design partner handling an ASIC project end-to-end is largely over, replaced by a co-design model where vendors compete for functional silicon footprint within single-chip architectures.

China car exports to Europe severely underestimated, warns UBS

Kevin Wang — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 23:49:44 GMT

According to UBS, nearly twice as many China-made automobiles are being shipped to Europe as are being registered there, partly because trucking shortages delay deliveries from ports to dealers. The gap adds a new wrinkle in the battle for Europe between US and Chinese carmakers. Meanwhile, the vote on EU-wide approval of Tesla's supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) system is unlikely before December 2026. Even as US and Chinese automakers face short-term challenges in their push in Europe, they continue to put ever-intensifying pressure on European automakers.

Commentary: AMD challenges Nvidia in embodied AI as Lisa Su acquires Fei-Fei Li's World Labs

Yunnie Cheng — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 23:48:58 GMT

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) has agreed to acquire World Labs in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately US$8.2 billion. Following the closing, World Labs will operate as a dedicated frontier research organization for large language models (LLMs) and spatial intelligence, with founder Fei-Fei Li joining AMD as executive vice president and chief scientist, reporting directly to Chair and CEO Lisa Su.

A look at the startup winning Nvidia, Intel backing for AI scale-up optics

Levi Li — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 23:48:25 GMT

Silicon Valley data center optical interconnect startup CScale emerged from stealth on September 30 after raising US$145 million in a Series C funding round backed by Nvidia and Intel Capital. The latest financing brings the company's total funding to US$188 million.

NextDrive tops Japan HEMS market, speeds IPO push

DIGITIMES — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 23:44:22 GMT

Taiwan energy management startup NextDrive said that it has secured the No. 1 market share in Japan's home energy management system (HEMS) segment and has received key support from the Tokyo Stock Exchange for three straight years, adding momentum to its Japan IPO plans.

Champ-ray targets Japan drone market with power modules

DIGITIMES — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 23:43:35 GMT

Champ-Ray Industrial is stepping up efforts to expand in Japan's drone market, using a recent sponsorship tie-in with the Oita Trinita professional football team in Japan's J2 League to open deeper exchanges with the Oita Prefectural Government and local drone operators. The DC motor and ceiling fan maker said it is mapping local drone industry needs and evaluating whether to submit samples for testing as it moves toward practical cooperation.

Machvision expands early to chase NT$10B revenue

Lily Hess — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 23:43:01 GMT

Machvision is expanding capacity earlier than planned to meet rising demand from semiconductors, substrates, and optical modules, while tight computer numerical control (CNC) and machining supply chains have emerged as its biggest operating challenge. The inspection equipment maker is reshaping its Hsinchu and Kunshan facilities and expects the new footprint to support NT$10 billion (US$313.03 million) in revenue starting in 2027.

Samsung's mobile unit faces more than KRW1 trillion loss as memory costs surge

DIGITIMES — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 23:42:18 GMT

Samsung Electronics is expected to report another operating loss at its Mobile eXperience and network business in the third quarter of 2026, even as strong Galaxy Z foldable sales support handset demand. The preliminary earnings release is due in early October 2026, with the pressure coming from sharply higher memory prices and limited ability to raise device prices.

GM begins U.S. battery cell trial runs with South Korean equipment

DIGITIMES — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 23:41:42 GMT

General Motors (GM) has started trial runs at a new battery cell line in Warren, Michigan, moving into the validation stage of its next-generation mass production plan. The line at the Battery Cell Development Center (BCDC) is being built with main process equipment sourced from South Korean suppliers.

Charts: Micron earns its best margins from PCs, phones, not AI

DIGITIMES — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 09:22:39 GMT

Micron's best margins aren't coming from AI data centers. They come from PCs and smartphones, markets where Micron warns that unit sales could fall.

Topco opens Fukuoka office to link Japan chip hubs

DIGITIMES — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 09:02:46 GMT

Topco Scientific said its Japanese subsidiary, Shunkawa, officially opened its Fukuoka office on October 1, making it the company’s third base in Japan alongside its Tokyo headquarters and Kumamoto office. The move is designed to leverage Fukuoka’s location and industrial clustering to strengthen real-time technical support and new business development in Kyushu’s semiconductor hub.

Taiwan aligns green certifications with Japan and EPEAT to speed electronics market entry

Scarlett Yu — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 08:55:00 GMT

Taiwan is moving to align its Green Mark ecolabel with international certification systems in an effort to reduce green trade barriers and shorten time to market for electronics products.

China ramps up Micro OLED capacity ahead of proven smart glasses demand

Sherri Wang — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 08:35:00 GMT

As smart glasses draw growing market attention, Chinese suppliers including BOE, SeeYA Technology and Sidtek are expanding Micro OLED production. Display industry sources caution, however, that demand for the panels remains uncertain and that capacity coming online ahead of proven demand could leave the market oversupplied.

Infineon opens new backend chip plant in Thailand, eyes growth to up to five modules

DIGITIMES — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 08:20:36 GMT

Infineon Technologies officially inaugurated a new backend manufacturing site in Samut Prakan, south of Bangkok, on October 1, expanding the German chipmaker's production network in Southeast Asia starting with an initial investment of over EUR100 million (US$113.1 million).

ASE expands smart OSAT push with six university research partnerships

DIGITIMES — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 08:17:38 GMT

Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE) held its 11th Automation Industry-Academia Project Results Presentation on September 30, unveiling 12 technology projects developed with six Taiwanese universities as it works to advance smart outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) and digital manufacturing. The projects were designed to support semiconductor factory efficiency, quality control, resilience, and climate adaptation.

Taiwan extends fuel freeze, seeks extra subsidies for CPC, Taipower

DIGITIMES — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 08:13:24 GMT

Taiwan's Executive Yuan has moved to extend price controls and seek additional subsidies for CPC Corporation and Taiwan Power Company as Middle East conflict has lifted global oil and gas costs. The government said the extra budget is intended to keep fuel, electricity, and bottled gas prices stable for households and businesses.

Shinko Electric acquires JDI's Mobara Fab to expand AI packaging capacity

DIGITIMES — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 08:07:19 GMT

Shinko Electric Industries announced on September 30 it has signed a purchase agreement to acquire the Mobara Fab from Japan Display (JDI) in Mobara City, Chiba Prefecture. The transaction is intended to establish a new core production hub dedicated to high-end semiconductor packaging, addressing surging global demand for AI accelerators and data center applications.

SiC substrate market shows signs of recovery, driven by demand from vehicles, energy and AI infrastructure

DIGITIMES — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 08:02:14 GMT

DIGITIMES has observed that since Tesla equipped the Model 3 with a traction inverter integrated with SiC power modules in 2018, the application of SiC power devices in the electric vehicle (EV) sector has gradually expanded, prompting suppliers to aggres

DB HiTek raises foundry prices by up to 30% as Chinese demand strains 200mm capacity

DIGITIMES — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 07:34:48 GMT

DB HiTek has raised foundry prices by as much as 30%, with Chinese customers facing the steepest increases as rising orders push the South Korean foundry's 8-inch capacity close to full utilization, according to The Elec.

Ascend now ahead of Nvidia in China, with domestic supply driving AI chip substitution, says Huawei chairman

Levi Li — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 07:22:20 GMT

Huawei rotating chairman Eric Xu said the company's Ascend AI accelerators have surpassed Nvidia in both sales and market share in China, highlighting how US export controls on advanced AI chips are accelerating the shift of China's data center and AI industries toward domestic suppliers.

Meta's Muse lifts server CPU demand, with AMD EPYC orders extending into 2028

DIGITIMES — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 07:09:28 GMT

Meta's rapid rollout of its Muse AI agent is emerging as an early test of how agentic AI could reshape server infrastructure demand, with CPU suppliers already seeing longer lead times and AMD's latest EPYC processors reportedly booked deep into 2027.

China's 'BEST' fusion reactor enters the engineering endgame

DIGITIMES — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 06:20:00 GMT

China's next-generation fusion programme has entered a new engineering phase with the formal opening of the campus for the Burning Plasma Experimental Superconducting Tokamak (BEST) and the start of critical main-device assembly in Hefei, Anhui.

Four glass makers converge on 510x515mm substrate, hinting at TSMC's next move

Yunnie Cheng — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 05:56:31 GMT

As AI chip sizes scale up, global glass leaders Corning, AGC, Nippon Electric Glass (NEG), and Schott have all centered their next-generation core substrate and through-glass via (TGV) roadmaps on a unified 510×515mm format. The tight alignment strongly suggests that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is eyeing this exact specification for its post-2030 glass substrate platform.

Synopsys and Amazon sign US$1 billion-plus deal to speed custom chip development

DIGITIMES — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 05:48:22 GMT

Synopsys announced a strategic agreement with Amazon on September 30, a multi-year deal valued at more than US$1 billion that is intended to speed up Amazon's custom silicon work and support the development of more complex AI-powered products and cloud infrastructure.

China's share of global solar module demand falls below 40% as Europe, India gain ground

Scarlett Yu — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 05:26:51 GMT

The global solar module market is undergoing a significant geographic shift in 2026. China remains the world's largest source of module demand, but its share of global shipments is set to fall below 40%, down 12 percentage points year-over-year, while Europe and India continue to gain ground.

Analysis: China's AI data center buildout vaults to No. 2 as Big Tech capex races toward US$100 billion

Levi Li — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 04:15:44 GMT

China's rapid expansion of AI applications is driving a fresh wave of data center construction. SemiAnalysis estimates that the country has already delivered more than 24GW of data center capacity and will remain above that level by the end of 2026, making China the world's second-largest data center market after the US.

China's chip-tool localization accelerates: ACM Research backlog jumps 88%

DIGITIMES — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 04:13:17 GMT

ACM Research (Shanghai)'s order backlog has surged alongside China's semiconductor equipment expansion, giving the Shanghai-listed chip-tool maker a larger base of future deliveries while AI-related capacity investment and localization continue to support demand.

Samsung raises Galaxy S26 prices in South Korea seven months after launch

DIGITIMES — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 04:09:02 GMT

Under pressure from rising memory prices, Samsung Electronics has raised the South Korean launch prices of its Galaxy S26 series about seven months after release. Most models went up by KRW149,600(US$110), while the top-end Galaxy S26 Ultra 1TB rose to KRW2.8215 million.

China OSAT share in cloud AI accelerators to hit 13% in 2026 as local ASIC volume ramps up

Yunnie Cheng — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 04:07:07 GMT

As China accelerates its push for homegrown AI computing chips, custom ASIC accelerators from domestic tech giants—including Huawei, Cambricon, and Alibaba—are entering volume production. These chips are being routed to Chinese OSAT providers such as JCET Group, Tongfu Microelectronics, and SJ Semiconductor (SJSemi), driving a steady expansion in Chinese OSATs' share of the global cloud AI accelerator market.

Huawei makes Mate 90 showcase for its Tau chip strategy

Levi Li — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 04:06:49 GMT

Huawei unveiled its Mate 90 smartphone series on October 1, with Richard Yu, Huawei executive director and chairman of the Consumer BG, introducing the new devices alongside a new generation of in-house chips and imaging hardware. Every model in the Mate 90 lineup, from the standard version to the flagship tier, uses Huawei's latest self-developed Tau (τ) chip platform.

TCC Group targets Ukraine's postwar rebuild with cement acquisition

Lily Hess — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 04:02:10 GMT

Taiwan Cement recently authorized its Dutch subsidiary, TCC Group EMEA Holdings B.V., to acquire 100% of Ukrainian cement materials maker Ivano-Frankivskcement (IFCEM), roofing materials company Ivano-Frankivsk-Dakh, gypsum products maker KRU Gips, and dry-mix mortar company KRU Mix for a corporate value of up to EUR750 million (US$849.3 million). Taiwan Cement has moved into Ukraine to capture postwar reconstruction demand, while Taiwan Cement shareholder Chia Hsin Cement said the acquisition is likely to boost market positioning and profitability.

Neweb Information targets late-October listing on Taipei Exchange

Sherri Wang — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 04:01:46 GMT

Neweb Information, a Taiwan-based IT systems integrator, is targeting a late-October listing on the Taipei Exchange. Long focused on enterprise core systems, the company has expanded in recent years into AI GPU computing platforms and AI infrastructure, with AI-related revenue in the first half of 2026 already exceeding the level recorded for all of 2025.