DIGITIMES: News and Insight of the Global Supply Chain

Notebook downturn splits supply chain: ODMs lean on servers, component makers seek new growth

Scarlett Yu — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 02:56:09 GMT

Notebook shipments performed better than expected in the first half of 2026, but the market entered a sharp downturn beginning in September, in stark contrast to previous years, when the month typically marked the start of the peak season.

Electric scooter sales rise 33% in September but year-over-year slowdown persists

DIGITIMES — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 02:55:12 GMT

Taiwan's motorcycle market emerged from the seasonal lull in September 2026, with total registrations rising to 70,189, up 16.78% month-over-month. Electric scooter sales also rebounded, with 3,482 units sold in the month, up 32.9%.

September auto market beats expectations; Hotai sees stable Q4

DIGITIMES — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 02:48:59 GMT

Hotai Motor said Taiwan's auto market should remain stable in the fourth quarter, after September sales came in better than expected and the company kept its full-year 2026 forecast at 430,000 vehicles. The distributor also said sales of Toyota, Lexus, and Hino models will still target 165,000 units in 2026.

Taiwan unveils new 5-year quantum tech program to speed adoption

Rodney Chan — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 02:40:32 GMT

The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) has announced the details of its next five-year quantum research program as Taiwan prepares to wrap up its current NT$8 billion (US$252.14 million) National Quantum Team project by the end of 2026.

Samsung recasts India as global innovation base after three decades of manufacturing

DIGITIMES — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 02:34:53 GMT

Samsung Electronics says its India operations, which it set up in 1995, have evolved from a manufacturing base into a global innovation hub. The South Korean company is pitching the country as a source of technology for its worldwide business, rather than only as a market and production base.

Qualcomm licenses Huawei's LogicFolding patents as US curbs reshape chip ties

DIGITIMES — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 02:34:32 GMT

Qualcomm has agreed to license patents related to Huawei's LogicFolding chipmaking technology as part of a broad multiyear patent agreement, expanding the companies' intellectual-property ties even as US export restrictions have largely ended Qualcomm's chip sales to the Chinese company.

TSMC expansion pushes Da Yi Cheng Technology's orders over NT$10 billion, visibility through 2028

Ysi Chen — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 02:21:07 GMT

Da Yi Cheng Technology (DYC) has rapidly expanded in recent years, benefiting from the global semiconductor capacity expansion wave, which has driven demand for second-phase electrical and mechanical installation work. The company is now applying its experience in the US, Japan, Germany, and Singapore.

Behind the US$4.2 trillion revenue gap in AI infrastructure

DIGITIMES — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 02:18:50 GMT

AI data center plans and computing demand are expanding far faster than physical infrastructure can be built, creating a widening gap between planned and actually deployed compute. A review tracking construction progress and satellite imagery shows that while US data center construction continues to accelerate, bottlenecks in chip supply, advanced packaging, power, transformers and permitting could become key constraints on AI compute deployment.

Sony to transfer 418 XR patents to Meta

DIGITIMES — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 02:03:35 GMT

Sony plans to transfer 418 extended reality (XR) patents to Meta, with 43 of those transfers already completed. Analysts say the move signals Sony's retrenchment from XR hardware, while giving Meta a stronger patent position as it pushes deeper into AI glasses.

Pentagon creates autonomous warfare command to speed AI arms buildup

DIGITIMES — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 02:01:45 GMT

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced a new Autonomous Warfare Command (AWC) and is pushing a low-cost manufacturing, artificial intelligence (AI), and robotics-based combat model to accelerate the military's overhaul of drone, AI, and autonomous systems capabilities. The move signals a shift away from the US military's reliance on expensive, limited weapons platforms toward a large-scale autonomous warfare framework that balances quality and quantity.

NTT Data bets on India to lift its AI business as data center race heats up

DIGITIMES — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 02:00:58 GMT

NTT Data expects India to contribute a larger share of its global artificial intelligence (AI) business than it does of its overall IT services business, as the Japanese company pushes ahead with a three-year investment program in the country focused on data centers.

Meta open-sources Muse Gadgets SDK for building AI devices

DIGITIMES — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 01:59:16 GMT

Meta has open-sourced the Muse Gadgets software development kit (SDK) and firmware code, allowing developers to build physical devices that interact with its AI assistant Muse and extend the service into more real-world settings.

Meta, Microsoft reportedly cut internal Claude use as AI costs rise

DIGITIMES — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 01:54:42 GMT

Meta and Microsoft are reducing employees' internal reliance on Anthropic's Claude as they push proprietary AI tools and seek greater control over rapidly rising AI costs, according to The Information. The shift comes even as both companies continue to use Anthropic models in products and cloud services.

HBM4 prices to nearly triple in 2027, memory makers see windfall margins spread

Yunnie Cheng — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 01:53:23 GMT

Memory supply and demand will tighten further in 2027. According to supply chain sources, South Korean memory makers have recently quoted aggressive long-term contract prices for sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM4). While HBM4 prices are expected to sit at around US$500-US$550 in 2026, quotes for 2027 could surge to US$1,400-US$1,600—representing a massive 1.8x to 1.9x price increase.

Chicony Power sees satellite, server orders surge in 4Q26

DIGITIMES — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 01:48:43 GMT

Chicony Power Technology reported self-calculated consolidated revenue of NT$2.413 billion (approx. US$75.91 million) in September 2026, down 2.3% month-over-month, as memory shortages and cost pressure slowed notebook (NB) power customers' pull-in pace. The company said non-NB business remained solid and expects satellite communications power and server power momentum to strengthen, with satellite communications power orders likely to surge in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Can satellites share power?— Star Catcher puts an orbital grid to the test

Scarlett Yu — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 01:47:05 GMT

As in-orbit AI computing, Earth observation, and defense missions expand rapidly, satellites are demanding more power, turning energy supply into an emerging challenge for the growing space economy.

MIPS deepens RISC-V ties with China despite US-China tech tensions

Sherri Wang — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 01:45:10 GMT

Despite intense technology competition between the US and China, cooperation between the two sides on the open-standard RISC-V architecture continues to deepen, with US intellectual property provider MIPS expanding its work with Chinese industry.

Anthropic IPO filing flags legal risks over AI agents

DIGITIMES — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 01:44:39 GMT

Anthropic said in its IPO filing that as artificial intelligence (AI) systems gain greater autonomous capabilities, the risks rise as well, while current law still does not clearly define who is liable when AI agents go off the rails. The company warned that the legal exposure is significant and hard to predict as AI remains connected to enterprise systems for long periods and acts on data and tools independently.

OpenAI to watermark ChatGPT, Codex text in EU under AI Act

DIGITIMES — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 01:34:07 GMT

OpenAI will begin adding invisible, machine-readable watermarks to text generated by ChatGPT and Codex in the European Union (EU), as the company moves to comply with the EU AI Act's transparency requirements.

The death of the software seat: cheaper AI tokens turn enterprise computing into metered labor

DIGITIMES — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 01:30:38 GMT

The ferocious push toward artificial intelligence (AI) is gathering momentum, built upon increasing industry sentiment regarding demand for higher AI inference and compute-intensive models.

Nanya Technology, Winbond Electronics hit record highs for 10 consecutive months in September 2026

Eifeh Strom — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 01:30:02 GMT

Taiwan memory suppliers Nanya Technology and Winbond Electronics have set new monthly revenue records for 11 and 10 consecutive months, respectively, as their September 2026 consolidated revenues continued to grow.

MediaTek group spans Wi-Fi, 5G and PON to target AI-era network infrastructure

Scarlett Yu — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 01:21:00 GMT

MediaTek and subsidiary Airoha Technology will jointly showcase new technologies spanning Wi-Fi, 5G CPE, and passive optical networking (PON) at Network X 2026, scheduled for October 13–15 in Vienna, Austria.

Schneider Electric's deal to buy PTC is the next step in its software push

DIGITIMES — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 00:15:29 GMT

Schneider Electric has agreed to purchase software company PTC in a deal valuing its equity at around US$22.6 billion. The all-cash acquisition marks the French energy and tech company's latest move to expand into the software and AI market.

Google Gemini 4 Argon sparks internal doubts

Charlene Chen — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 00:14:10 GMT

Google's new flagship AI model, Gemini 4 Argon, has drawn strong results in multiple benchmark tests, but some employees still say its coding performance is not stable enough. According to Bloomberg, opinion inside Google is split, with some staff saying the model falls short in front-end development and that rivals from Anthropic and OpenAI are advancing faster.

LB Semicon expands power chip capacity as Qualcomm production ramps up

DIGITIMES — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 00:13:50 GMT

South Korean outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) provider LB Semicon is expanding power semiconductor backend capacity at its Gumi plant as it steps up efforts to reduce its reliance on display driver integrated circuits (DDIs) and a highly concentrated customer base, backed by new business from Qualcomm and Renesas and KRW30 billion (approx. US$22.3 million) in planned equipment investment.

DeepSeek closes in on US rivals despite chip curbs

DIGITIMES — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 00:12:56 GMT

China's leading AI models have narrowed their performance gap with US rivals to a record low, while DeepSeek's latest advances in memory efficiency and its deepening work with Huawei suggest Chinese developers are finding ways to improve model performance despite tighter access to advanced US chips.

Samsung ramps Exynos 2700 wafer production as second-gen 2nm rollout advances

DIGITIMES — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 00:12:38 GMT

Samsung Electronics has reportedly begun front-end wafer mass production of its next-generation Exynos 2700 mobile application processor, with production volume planned at more than 10% above that of the Exynos 2600 as the company prepares to expand use of its in-house chips across the Galaxy S27 lineup.

China's glass substrate ramp-up outpaces South Korea with WG Tech targeting 1M sqm

Charlene Chen — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 00:12:14 GMT

China's WG Tech has reportedly begun the second phase of investment in its through-glass via (TGV) glass substrate production line, with total future capacity projected to reach 1 million square meters a year. Analysts say Chinese makers have moved ahead of South Korean rivals by building production lines first, then accelerating product output and customer validation, giving China an early lead in glass substrate commercialization.

LinkCom eyes 4Q26 rebound on smart meter, wireless charging demand

DIGITIMES — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 00:11:32 GMT

Magnetic components maker LinkCom Manufacturing posted September consolidated revenue of NT$44.18 million (approx. US$1.39 million), up 32.53% from a month earlier and down 10.24% from a year earlier. Cumulative consolidated revenue for the first three quarters reached NT$411 million, a 10.21% decline from the same period in 2025.

Column: How semiconductors' evolution foretells the rise of AI data centers

Yunnie Cheng — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 00:10:30 GMT

Semiconductors and AI data centers share a striking number of similarities.

Analysis: China automakers' US entry paths remain open

Yunnie Cheng — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 00:09:28 GMT

The recent summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded without progress on automotive issues—namely, whether Chinese automakers might enter the US market or build manufacturing plants on American soil. While the prospect had previously sparked anxiety among American, European, and Japanese carmakers, the topic yielded no tangible breakthrough during the talks.

Kawasaki teams with Noetra on fully autonomous humanoid robot

Lily Hess — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 00:09:06 GMT

Kawasaki Heavy Industries plans to launch an AI-powered fully autonomous humanoid robot as early as 2030, using a physical AI platform under development by Japan's Noetra. Nikkei reported that Noetra is backed by 44 Japanese companies, including SoftBank and Kawasaki Heavy Industries.

Marvell sees custom chips as a must for CSPs

Charlene Chen — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 00:08:33 GMT

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has said Marvell's optical technology could help make it the next trillion-dollar company, and Marvell took a step toward that goal on September 17 by expanding its partnership with GlobalFoundries (GF). The deal came as the AI computing race shifted from a simple chip contest into a system-level battle spanning interconnects, memory, and networking.

Winbond, Phison bonuses signal fiercer memory talent war

Charlene Chen — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 00:08:07 GMT

Memory chip profitability has surged as core operations improve sharply, with some Winbond employees reportedly receiving NT$500,000 to NT$1 million (US$15,733.41–31,466.83) in cash bonuses, helping reverse the company's recent loss-making image. The move underscores growing confidence in the memory outlook and a widening talent battle in Taiwan's tech sector.

Samsung opens Boston quantum design lab to expand US research push

DIGITIMES — Mon, 5 Oct 2026 12:45:00 GMT

Samsung Electronics has set up a Quantum Design Lab in the Boston area of Massachusetts and started hiring for it, marking a new phase in the company's push into quantum computing. The effort places the South Korean tech giant closer to US research hubs and signals a broader attempt to connect semiconductor expertise with quantum development.