DIGITIMES: News and Insight of the Global Supply Chain

Nvidia Groq 3 LPX enters full production for faster agentic AI inference

DIGITIMES — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 01:04:15 GMT

Nvidia said its Groq 3 LPX inference accelerator is now in full production, a move that could speed up agentic AI systems used worldwide for coding, reasoning, and other tasks. The company said the platform is designed to improve responsiveness, lower latency, and support growing demand for real-time AI applications.

SpaceXAI to use Nvidia Vera CPUs for faster agentic AI at scale

DIGITIMES — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 01:02:04 GMT

SpaceXAI plans to deploy Nvidia's new Vera CPUs to speed up agentic AI workloads, a move that could influence how advanced AI systems are built and run worldwide. The partnership also extends toward orbital computing, signaling a broader shift in where future AI infrastructure may be located.

IBM unveils dual-architecture mainframe chip to run Arm, z/OS, Linux workloads

DIGITIMES — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:49:56 GMT

In an August 24 press release, IBM announced that it is developing the first dual-architecture mainframe processor, a move that could let global enterprises run Arm-native and IBM workloads on the same future systems. The milestone may broaden software choices, accelerate AI adoption, and reshape mission-critical computing for banks, governments, and large cloud operators worldwide.

Broadcom's debt push signals AI compute is becoming Wall Street asset class

DIGITIMES — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:06:48 GMT

The AI infrastructure race is entering a phase where access to silicon is no longer the only constraint. As compute demand expands into multi-gigawatt projects, the industry is increasingly confronting a second bottleneck: how to finance hardware and data-center capacity at the scale frontier-model developers now require.

AIDC eyes 2H26 lift from drones, jets

Lily Hess — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:06:20 GMT

Aerospace Industrial Development (AIDC) is cautiously optimistic about business momentum in the second half of 2026 as Taiwan's drone policy becomes clearer and defense work stays solid. Senior Vice President Hwai-Sheng King said the company has more than NT$100 billion (approx. US$3.1 billion) in orders on hand across defense, civil aviation, and technology services over the next five years, while it also pushes into the space satellite field, advanced composites, and structural parts.

Zhongji Innolight's 1.6T surge shows AI networking is becoming next hyperscaler bottleneck

DIGITIMES — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:06:02 GMT

The AI infrastructure boom has long been defined by a race to secure GPUs, memory and power. Yet as cluster sizes continue expanding, another layer of the system is beginning to emerge as an equally decisive constraint: the optical links responsible for moving data fast enough between increasingly dense pools of accelerators.

SK Hynix and Alibaba tackle the next AI bottleneck: getting more value per chip

DIGITIMES — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:05:25 GMT

The AI infrastructure race has been marked by a near-fixated drive to expand AI-powered buildouts, as demand for increasingly complex chip configurations pushes against the physical and economic limits of scalability.

Samsung Display resumes A7 construction as foldable demand rebounds

DIGITIMES — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:04:22 GMT

Samsung Display has resumed construction at its second campus in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, reviving a long-dormant OLED project just as the foldable smartphone market is expected to swing from a weak first half of 2026 to a stronger second half.

Inergy server share hits 47% on cooling, BBU demand

Lily Hess — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:03:53 GMT

Inergy Technology said strong demand for AI server cooling and power management pushed the share of server-related applications to 47% of revenue in the second quarter of 2026, with shipments of system-on-chip (SoC) cooling fan driver ICs set to ramp up in the second half of 2026 and battery backup unit (BBU) demand expected to keep rising as AI moves toward high-voltage direct current power architectures.

CNFI White Paper outlines solutions as labor, transformation, and energy headline Taiwan's industry hurdles

Yunnie Cheng — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:03:34 GMT

Navigating volatile US tariff policies, escalating geopolitical tensions, and a productivity revolution driven by agentic AI, Taiwan's industrial sector has reached a decisive crossroads.

Applied Materials executive says data centers set new AI competition standard

Yunnie Cheng — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:03:04 GMT

Commenting on the current surge in artificial intelligence (AI), Erix Yu, group vice president of Applied Materials and president of Applied Materials Taiwan, recently shared his perspective by tracing the evolution of industrial revolutions.

Nvidia memory demand widens the gap between SK Hynix and Samsung

DIGITIMES — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:02:41 GMT

Nvidia's AI memory orders helped drive a sharp split between SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics in the first half of 2026. According to Chosun Biz, Nvidia became SK Hynix's biggest customer in the first half of 2026, while it did not rank among Samsung's top five revenue sources.

Hotai and Nan Yang cut Taiwan auto market outlook as risks linger

DIGITIMES — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 10:55:00 GMT

Taiwan's new-car market is cooling, with Hotai Motor and Nan Yang Industrial both taking a cautious view of the second half of 2026. The companies cited geopolitical uncertainty, volatile international oil prices, tariff concerns and softer consumer sentiment in revising their outlook for the market.

YouTube offers funding to keep creators from streaming with Netflix

DIGITIMES — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 10:46:00 GMT

YouTube is preparing offers of millions of dollars in funding and brand revenue sharing to keep major creators from taking simultaneous streaming deals with Netflix, according to Bloomberg. The move comes as the two platforms compete more directly for top talent and audience attention in the US and beyond.

Xiaomi taps TSMC to make chips for foldables, AI and autonomous driving

DIGITIMES — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 10:08:47 GMT

Xiaomi is expanding its in-house semiconductor push from smartphones into AI acceleration and autonomous driving, unveiling three Xring processors that deepen its reliance on TSMC manufacturing while reducing dependence on external chip suppliers.

How Nvidia's whitelist was beaten: 74 B300 servers, Taiwan to China

DIGITIMES — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 09:07:27 GMT

Taiwan's Keelung District Prosecutors Office has indicted nine people over the illegal export of high-end AI servers built on Nvidia's B300 GPUs. The indictment lays out, step by step, how a compliance regime designed to track every unit was defeated from the inside.

Etron chair sees memory boom extending to 2028-2030

Lily Hess — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 08:45:00 GMT

The memory industry is undergoing a structural shift as AI demand surges, and Etron Technology chairman Nicky Lu said the sector's boom will stretch beyond 2027, with shortages likely lasting through 2028 and possibly into 2030. He said supply is tightening further as AI and edge computing create rigid demand, pushing the supply chain to focus on higher-value applications.

TPK TGV pilot line to start by September, Thailand plant eyes 2027 ramp

Lily Hess — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 08:20:00 GMT

TPK Holding is accelerating its move from consumer touch panels into semiconductors, with its Through Glass Via (TGV) pilot line in Taoyuan, Taiwan set to begin operations in August or September. The company is also working with leading outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) providers on the project, while its new Thailand production base aims to complete trial runs by year-end and begin volume production in early 2027.

AI energy bottleneck is driving semiconductor materials innovation, says Applied Materials

Eifeh Strom — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 07:56:00 GMT

Rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) computing is driving a new wave of technological transformation in the semiconductor industry, while energy is emerging as the next bottleneck for the AI sector. Applied Materials group vice president and Taiwan president Eric Yu pointed out that semiconductor technology competition in the AI era can no longer focus solely on performance and transistor counts. How to support more computing with less energy will become the core of the next stage of semiconductor innovation.

Advanced packaging substrates hit limits; ceramic cores rise to challenge glass materials

Yunnie Cheng — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 07:00:00 GMT

As hardware demands for artificial intelligence continue to surge, beyond increased size and complexity in chip packaging, advanced packaging substrates face mounting challenges: larger package footprints, higher layer counts, lower warpage, and higher accuracy. However, relying solely on incremental upgrades to traditional manufacturing processes is hitting a physical wall. This bottleneck is compelling the industry to evaluate next-generation core layer materials.

Nvidia's strikes US$6B licensing deal with Poolside to accelerate Nemotron models

DIGITIMES — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 06:57:23 GMT

Nvidia reportedly struck a US$6 billion deal with startup Poolside to license its technology and hire much of its staff. The technology and personnel will reportedly support the chipmaker's Nemotron models in a bid to compete with China's strength in open-source models, but the deal also puts Nvidia in competition with some of its biggest customers.

Samsung's DRAM capacity lead shrinks as SK Hynix expands faster

DIGITIMES — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 06:56:33 GMT

Samsung Electronics' DRAM wafer capacity will grow only marginally through 2027, with investment directed at node migration and line conversions rather than aggressive wafer-capacity expansion, according to Omdia data obtained by Chosun Biz.

Taiwan's Iron Force shifts airbag output to Poland, targets AI server component ramp in 2027

Willis Ke — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 06:55:00 GMT

Taiwan-based Iron Force Industrial is reshaping its manufacturing footprint as pressure on its traditional auto-parts business weighs on earnings. The company plans to expand its Poland plant and shift some airbag production from Taiwan, while AI server-related components, now contributing only marginal revenue, are expected to enter mass production in 2027.

UAE weighs investment in 500 MW AI data center plan in Japan

DIGITIMES — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 06:35:00 GMT

The United Arab Emirates is considering backing a proposed 500 MW AI data center in Akita prefecture, Japan, after local officials met with the UAE ambassador on Aug. 19. The project, which could begin operations as early as 2030, is being positioned as one of Japan's largest data center developments if it moves ahead.

Pixel 11 preorder surge lifts Google's Taiwan smartphone share

DIGITIMES — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 06:20:00 GMT

Google's newly launched Pixel 11 series drew a strong preorder response in Taiwan after telecom carriers rolled out expanded promotions and sales plans. The early momentum has renewed attention on whether Google can lift its local smartphone share above 5%.

Nvidia reportedly weighs Perplexity investment as AI strategy expands beyond chips

DIGITIMES — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 05:59:58 GMT

Nvidia is reportedly in discussions to invest in artificial intelligence startup Perplexity as part of a funding round that would value the company at more than US$30 billion, underscoring the chipmaker's increasingly aggressive effort to deepen its influence across the AI software ecosystem.

German auto industry hardens stance against Chinese competition

Rodney Chan — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 05:55:00 GMT

Germany's top auto industry lobby, the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), is overhauling its strategy as it hardens its stance on China. The group has said China must put forward constructive proposals, quickly stop distorting competition, and avoid using export restrictions on technologies and materials to hinder free-world trade.

Taiwan semiconductor materials hit golden opportunity

Yunnie Cheng — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 05:45:00 GMT

Rising concerns over potential supply chain chokepoints for critical raw materials have driven the formation of the SEMI Taiwan Materials Alliance. Wei-Wang Chen, General Manager of Everlight Chemical and Chairman of the Taiwan Chemical Industry Association (TCIA), noted that Taiwan boasts the world's largest tier-one customer demand alongside the most stringent process specifications. This unique position, he stated, presents a "once-in-a-century golden opportunity" for local semiconductor material development.

SK Hynix charts advanced HBM packaging path: hybrid bonding, Intel EMIB and 3D integration

Joseph Chen — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 04:55:00 GMT

Competition in high bandwidth memory (HBM) is shifting from raw memory performance to advanced packaging. As bandwidth, capacity and stack heights keep climbing, thermal management, power consumption and packaging have emerged as the new bottlenecks. At Hot Chips 2026, SK Hynix laid out its advanced packaging roadmap in detail, moving from hybrid bonding to Intel's EMIB and ultimately toward 3D integration.

Europe's struggling auto industry turns to China, drawing US scrutiny

Kevin Wang — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 04:17:09 GMT

European automakers have been increasing collaboration with their Chinese counterparts in recent years, as they seek to break through the vicious cycle of weak demand, rising costs, and low capacity utilization, as well as difficulties in their transition to electric vehicles (EVs). However, the fact that Europe is utilizing subsidies and collaborative efforts to expand production with Chinese carmakers while confronting overcapacity issues on its home turf is, in the eyes of the US, an absurd situation, and Washington has not ruled out the possibility of further tariffs or import restrictions on European cars.

Analysis: SK Hynix pushes beyond HBM with HBF and CPO

Sherri Wang — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 04:08:26 GMT

SK Hynix is moving on several fronts as it pushes deeper into system-level memory competition. From high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and high-bandwidth flash (HBF) to a recently published roadmap proposing to extend co-packaged optics (CPO) to the memory interface, the company increasingly appears to be competing not just over the next generation of HBM, but over how future artificial intelligence (AI) systems organize and access memory.

Rapidus 2nm ramp stays on track as Japan readies JPY150 billion investment

DIGITIMES — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 03:57:05 GMT

Rapidus' plan to begin volume production of 2nm chips in the second half of FY2027 remains on schedule, with rising demand from AI chips and data centers providing a stronger-than-expected tailwind, CEO Atsuyoshi Koike told Reuters.

Fujifilm opens new post-CMP cleaner plant at Oita to meet AI chip demand

DIGITIMES — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 03:33:42 GMT

Fujifilm has completed a new production building at its Oita Factory in Japan to make post-CMP cleaners, expanding capacity for materials used in advanced semiconductors amid rising global demand for AI chips. For readers worldwide, the move underscores how chip supply chains are adapting to support data centers, connected devices, and next-generation computing.

India weighs new capital subsidies to build domestic polysilicon capacity

DIGITIMES — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 03:22:53 GMT

India is preparing a new capex-based subsidy scheme to support domestic polysilicon manufacturing, as the government seeks to reduce import dependence and build a more integrated solar supply chain.

Notebook brands shift production back to China as Southeast Asia costs rise

Lily Hess — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 03:09:24 GMT

Notebook brands that rushed into Southeast Asia for manufacturing are moving production back to China, as the cost gap remains too wide and the impact of substitute tariffs has proved limited, according to supply chain sources. The shift is expected to affect Taiwan original device manufacturers (ODMs) serving new customer lines in Vietnam and Thailand.