DIGITIMES Asia: News and Insight of the Global Supply Chain

SK Hynix reportedly readies HBM4E samples for Nvidia as Samsung pulls ahead

DIGITIMES — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 21:54:54 GMT

SK Hynix moved closer to shipping seventh-generation high-bandwidth memory, HBM4E, to key customers as timing emerged as a critical competitive factor in the global memory market. According to Newsis, industry sources reported that SK Hynix had recently made positive progress in HBM4E development and was preparing to send samples soon, with shipments possibly beginning in June 2026 and no later than July 2026.

China's Starlink rival warns SpaceX is taking prime orbital slots

Sherri Wang — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 21:54:40 GMT

SpaceX's reported valuation crossing US$1 trillion has renewed global attention on low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites and the broader space economy. As Starlink continues to expand its lead, the head of China's Qianfan satellite system has publicly warned that China faces a narrowing window to secure orbital and frequency resources.

Taiwan marks 500th offshore wind turbine milestone, total capacity hits 4.8GW

Scarlett Yu — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 21:54:26 GMT

Taiwan has reached another milestone in its offshore wind power development, with the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) announcing that the country's offshore wind farms have recently completed installation of the 500th wind turbine, bringing total installed capacity to 4.8GW.

Yaskawa eyes physical AI boom with JPY25 billion capex

Lily Hess — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 21:54:13 GMT

Yaskawa Electric is betting heavily on physical AI, the field that enables robots to operate autonomously, as it positions itself for a boom in AI robots. Since starting work with Nvidia in 2023, the company has completed proof-of-concept tests with more than 100 companies and is now seeking an effective commercial model.

Apple leans on Google Cloud and Nvidia GPUs in a pragmatic AI reset

Lily Hess — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 21:54:03 GMT

After Apple's WWDC 2026 keynote, online rumors claimed that only premium devices with 12GB of memory could run on-device AI, but DIGITIMES analyst Luke Lin said on a podcast that that was just Apple's messaging. Most on-device AI features only need 8GB of memory; only the Apple-defined advanced on-device AI requires the higher 12GB spec.

Rapidus signs UK chip pact in push for 2nm customers

DIGITIMES — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 21:53:51 GMT

Japan's Rapidus has signed a memorandum of understanding with the UK Semiconductor Centre, a government-backed body established in 2025 to support Britain's semiconductor ecosystem, marking a step toward cooperation on future semiconductor manufacturing and potential customer development in the UK, according to Rapidus and reports from Nikkei, Bloomberg, and Reuters.

Interview: From language to motion— Japanese startup APTO builds the data backbone for physical AI

DIGITIMES — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 21:53:36 GMT

Physical AI is emerging as a new frontier of model development. Any model, however, is only as good as the data used to train it. Because of this, Japanese startup APTO is launching a physical AI infrastructure lab to help plug the data gap needed to create vision-language-action (VLA) models, with a focus on imitation learning.

SAP says human-in-the-loop review is key to moving enterprise AI agents from POC to production

DIGITIMES — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 09:19:56 GMT

SAP reported that enterprise AI agents are shifting from proof of concept to real-world deployment as companies aim to embed generative AI into operational workflows such as finance and supply chain management rather than limiting it to chat and summarization tools. The firm said many AI applications reached about 80% accuracy during the proof of concept stage, but that core workflows require substantially higher reliability and human oversight to ensure safety and compliance.

Samsung foundry chief sees 2028 profit path as bonus costs mount

DIGITIMES — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 09:08:29 GMT

Samsung Electronics' foundry division chief told employees on June 12 that a return to profitability in the contract chipmaking business looks difficult next year, with 2028 emerging as a more likely timeline, Yonhap, ZDNet Korea, and Chosun reported.

Micron CEO turns visa rejection into US$1 trillion milestone

Charlene Chen — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 08:22:05 GMT

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's recent trip to South Korea put the spotlight on the rivalry between Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, while memory giant Micron crossed the US$1 trillion market-cap mark for the first time. That shift has also drawn global attention to Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, whose rise began with a string of dramatic visa rejections 50 years ago.

NPAQ pivots to AI infrastructure and satellite NTN amid memory market slump

DIGITIMES — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 08:13:33 GMT

INPAQ Technology, a unit of PSA Walsin Technology, reported that revenue and profit in the first quarter of 2026 fell year on year, citing a supply-demand imbalance in the memory market and sharp raw material price increases. The company said it expected a gradual recovery in the second half of 2026 as industry inventories normalized and new products and customers began contributing. INPAQ also outlined a strategic shift to deepen its antenna businesses and expand passive components for AI servers and high-performance computing.

CoPoS and FOPLP accelerate as Manz delivers its first 310mm electrochemical deposition equipment

Charlene Chen — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 08:10:33 GMT

Equipment maker Manz recently announced the successful delivery of the world's first 310mm x 310mm panel-level packaging (PLP) electrochemical deposition (ECD) mass-production tool, further expanding its footprint in advanced packaging process equipment and demonstrating integrated capabilities spanning in-house R&D, process and system integration, and mass-production deployment.

Walsin sees passive component crunch stretching into 2028 as memory shortages weigh

Sherri Wang — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 08:09:15 GMT

Walsin Technology expects the tight supply of passive components could last into 2028, as demand from AI infrastructure, automotive electronics, and future device upgrades lifts orders while memory shortages weigh on shipments across the broader electronics supply chain.

BESS boom supply chain reshuffle: Automakers pivot to stationary battery systems

DIGITIMES — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 08:01:05 GMT

US automakers are shifting major battery investment away from electric vehicle traction packs and into stationary battery energy storage systems as policy changes and grid needs have altered market incentives, executives said. The move has accelerated in recent months as the expanding US BESS market and federal and local "Made in the US" subsidies have made large-scale stationary storage a more immediate commercial opportunity than some EV segments.

Taiwan urges tech gains for traditional industries

Charlene Chen — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 08:00:40 GMT

The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) convened its industrial advisory committee on June 12, 2026, with Minister Ming-Hsin Kung saying participants focused on how to help traditional industries upgrade and transform through semiconductor supply chain spillover, practical AI adoption, and industry alliances.

SpaceX's US$2T debut forces Wall Street to tear up mega-cap map

Charlene Chen — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 07:55:55 GMT

SpaceX has broken through the US$2 trillion market-cap mark after completing the largest initial public offering (IPO) in history, surpassing Elon Musk's other companies Tesla and Meta, and prompting Wall Street to reconsider the long-used "Magnificent Seven" framework.

Galatek opens Penang hub to meet surging semiconductor equipment demand

Sherri Wang — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 07:51:58 GMT

Galatek Technologies has opened a manufacturing, assembly, and delivery center in Penang, marking the AI-enabled automation and semiconductor equipment supplier's first manufacturing site in Malaysia.

Apple resists 'AI-for-AI' hype as Silicon Valley's token bill comes due

Kevin Wang — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 07:26:49 GMT

Amid widespread anxiety sparked by foreign media reports about an impending "Tokenpocalypse," Apple software engineering chief Craig Federighi signaled that Apple is not pursuing "AI for AI's sake" at WWDC 2026, echoing a growing trend among Silicon Valley tech giants cautioning employees against using AI for the sake of using it.

South Korea's chip equipment players ride the HBM4 wave

DIGITIMES — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 07:03:04 GMT

South Korea's semiconductor equipment supply chain saw a material pickup in orders in the first half of 2026 as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix accelerated investment in advanced DRAM and high-bandwidth memory (HBM4), generating demand across front-end tools, advanced packaging, and inspection equipment. The shift toward high-end process and packaging capabilities for AI memory has driven new contracts and revenue rebounds for domestic suppliers, according to executives and industry reporting.

Taiwan's IC design sector posts sharpest gains in years; May data hints at further acceleration into 2H26

DIGITIMES — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 06:49:29 GMT

Taiwan's fabless semiconductor design sector posted its strongest year-over-year growth figures in years as of May 2026, with a cluster of memory-adjacent and storage chip makers leading a recovery that is both remarkable in scale and strikingly uneven in distribution. Of the 105 companies tracked, 69 reported positive accumulated year-over-year growth through May, but the top performers are lapping the field by multiples, not percentages.

China's new EV rules push European luxury PHEVs to the exit

DIGITIMES — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 06:45:15 GMT

European luxury automakers are pulling back from China's plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) market after Beijing tightened eligibility requirements for new-energy vehicle incentives starting in 2026. The policy raised the minimum all-electric range for tax incentives from 43 kilometers to 100 kilometers. The threshold sidelined many European PHEV models and prompted a shift in market strategy, according to executives and foreign media reports.

Southeast Asia shifts from test-and-pack to multi-center advanced packaging hub

DIGITIMES — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 06:35:03 GMT

As global semiconductor supply chains are rebuilt, Southeast Asia is evolving from a back-end test-and-pack region into a resilient, multi-center advanced packaging and equipment ecosystem, according to industry participants. Migration drivers include pushes for local production and service, faster ramps for AI chip capacity, and customer demands for supply chain resilience amid de-Americanization and de-Chinaization pressures.

Taiwan firms ramped AI investment but must fix architecture to realize ROI

DIGITIMES — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 06:31:41 GMT

Taiwanese companies sharply increased enterprise AI investment and adoption in 2026, yet critical gaps in technology architecture and measurable return on investment risk blunting business impact, according to Dun & Bradstreet's latest Enterprise AI Maturity Index. The index surveyed more than 300 Taiwanese firms across 17 industries as part of a global study of over 10,000 C-level executives in 32 advanced countries, finding momentum rising in the second quarter of 2026 but persistent operational hurdles.

InnoScience wins China patent ruling, Infineon GaN sales banned

Charlene Chen — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 06:30:03 GMT

The Supreme People's Court in China rejected Infineon's reconsideration request on June 12, 2026, upholding a Suzhou Intermediate People's Court injunction that found Infineon had infringed two of InnoScience's core GaN invention patents. The ruling bars the affected products from being sold, imported, or offered for sale in China, and awards InnoScience approximately NT$45 million (US$1.4 million) in damages.

Wus Printed Circuit sees turnaround on high-end PCB demand

Sherri Wang — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 06:25:57 GMT

Wus Printed Circuit is pressing ahead with an AI-driven transformation, with its chairman and president outlining plans to move toward profitability as demand builds across high-performance computing and emerging technology markets.

Exclusive: Wiwynn triples capital, president says it signals confidence

Charlene Chen — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 06:05:24 GMT

Wiwynn, Taiwan's smallest-capital server ODM with the highest EPS, is set to triple its share capital after shareholders approve a retained-earnings-to-capital-increase plan in 2026. President William Lin said the move is meant to show the market that the company is optimistic about the future. Wiwynn's capital will jump from NT$1.858 billion (approx. US$59 million) to NT$5.574 billion, a move that Lin said is rare among technology companies. He called the company "very bold," adding, "This is also telling the market that we are very optimistic about the future."

SK Hynix to test ChatGPT and Copilot as Samsung widens enterprise AI use

DIGITIMES — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 05:58:48 GMT

SK Hynix said it is evaluating external generative AI models, including ChatGPT Enterprise and Microsoft Copilot, as it pilots broader AI use across the company, following Samsung Electronics' recent rollout of external generative AI services for employees. The move was disclosed during an internal briefing on the semiconductor maker's AI transformation plans and is aimed at extending AI from support tasks into decision-making, research and development, and wider operations.

Visionox pushes ViP OLED commercialization as China's flexible OLED utilization slumps

DIGITIMES — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 04:57:39 GMT

Chinese OLED panel maker Visionox is accelerating the commercialization of its proprietary Visionox intelligent Pixelization (ViP) technology even as utilization rates at China's flexible OLED fabs continue to decline amid weaker smartphone demand and lingering inventory pressure.

Google's TPU diversification challenges MediaTek and other ASIC partners

Lily Hess — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 04:49:54 GMT

Google's push to diversify its Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) supply chain is increasingly reaching into the foundry side, adding pressure on ASIC makers such as MediaTek. Recent reports indicate that Google is not only set to adopt Intel's embedded multi-die interconnect bridge (EMIB) packaging for its next-generation product, but is also planning to bring in Samsung Electronics for front-end wafer manufacturing to broaden its capacity sources.

Samsung's Exynos 2600 doubles on-device AI performance in MLPerf benchmarks

DIGITIMES — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 04:40:01 GMT

Samsung Electronics announced that its Exynos 2600 mobile application processor delivered more than double the on-device AI performance of the Exynos 2500, according to benchmark results released in June 2026. The company said the chip, manufactured on a 2nm foundry process and slated for Galaxy S26 standard and Plus models in early 2026, showed broad gains across natural language processing and image-generation workloads.

AI server tracker: Taiwan's AI supply chain posts triple-digit gains in May as server makers and memory chips surge

DIGITIMES — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 04:33:40 GMT

Taiwan's listed semiconductor and electronics companies posted robust revenue growth in May 2026, with the latest monthly data revealing a widening split between AI infrastructure beneficiaries and legacy consumer electronics players. The five-month cumulative picture through May underscores a structural reordering of the sector's top earners, led by server and AI hardware demand.

AI power race lifts transformer demand, gives Fortune Electric pricing edge

Charlene Chen — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 04:23:58 GMT

AI-driven demand for power infrastructure is pushing up transformer demand, while long lead times at global giants such as Siemens, ABB, and GE are reshaping bargaining power across the heavy electrical equipment sector. As the "power is computing" trend takes hold, lead time has become a key pricing factor for transformers.

SK Hynix readies HBM4 packaging push as Nvidia demand grows

DIGITIMES — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 04:10:14 GMT

SK Hynix is bringing additional back-end equipment into its Cheongju P&T6 facility as it steps up mass-production preparations for HBM4, a move that underscores mounting pressure on advanced memory suppliers to keep pace with demand from AI infrastructure.

Exclusive: Wiwynn sees no AI bubble for 4 years as capex surges

Charlene Chen — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 04:04:23 GMT

Wiwynn president William Lin says AI demand has exceeded expectations, with orders so strong that even rapid global expansion still feels too slow. The server maker is expanding capacity across the Americas and Asia in 2026 and plans to add Europe as customers push hard to keep up with surging AI workloads.

LG Energy Solution secures patent licensing deal with Sunwoda, ending two-year dispute

DIGITIMES — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 03:46:22 GMT

LG Energy Solution (LGES) reached a patent licensing agreement with Chinese battery maker Sunwoda, ending a two-year legal battle that had involved courts in Germany, China, and South Korea, the firms announced. The settlement, disclosed through a joint statement handled by patent manager Tulip Innovation, did not include financial or royalty terms.