DIGITIMES: News and Insight of the Global Supply Chain

Corning to raise display glass substrate prices 15% from 4Q26

Lily Hess — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 07:45:00 GMT

Corning, the US glass substrate supplier, will raise prices for its yen-denominated display glass substrate products by 15% or more worldwide starting in the fourth quarter of 2026, according to industry sources. The company confirmed the move amid persistent cost pressure across the electronics supply chain.

CXMT eyes NAND amid global shortage, taking aim at YMTC

DIGITIMES — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 07:10:43 GMT

ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) is preparing to expand beyond DRAM into NAND flash, a move that would push China's leading DRAM supplier closer to the core market of domestic rival Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) as enterprise storage becomes a bigger part of the memory growth story.

Doosan commits KRW968 billion to CCL expansion as demand strains capacity

DIGITIMES — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 06:43:25 GMT

Doosan is investing KRW968.4 billion (approx. US$701 million) to expand high-end copper-clad laminate (CCL) production in South Korea and China, its largest-ever investment in the business, as growing demand for AI accelerators, network switches and optical modules pushes key production lines beyond full utilization.

China's AI data center token costs hinge on access to advanced GPUs

Charlene Chen — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 06:31:00 GMT

China's AI data centers are confronting a severe chip access bottleneck, with the cost of producing tokens shaped less by model design than by geopolitics, according to a recent Caijing analysis. The report said restricted access to high-end GPUs has become the most critical cost burden in China's AI era.

China's memory push gains ground across LPDDR6, advanced NAND, with HBM still the test

DIGITIMES — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 05:56:22 GMT

AI is reshaping the global memory industry, tightening supply while creating an opening for China's domestic suppliers. With Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron prioritizing high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and high-end server memory, ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) and Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) are gaining ground in conventional DRAM, mobile memory, and NAND Flash.

CoreWeave launches US$3 billion bond sale amid growing revenue, debt

DIGITIMES — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 05:44:42 GMT

CoreWeave launched a debt sale worth US$3 billion in convertible bonds, which would allow buyers to turn their bonds into shares. The neocloud, which has sharply ramped up its infrastructure spending over the past year, has secured a growing customer base but faces concerns over financial sustainability amid intense competition and fears of an AI slowdown.

High-end GPUs may be slowing China's AI compute expansion

Charlene Chen — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 04:29:35 GMT

China's wide gap in token costs stems largely from domestic companies' difficulty in accessing Nvidia high-end GPUs, forcing them to squeeze more value from each token to recoup costs. But supply-chain sources say the scale of China and US AI compute investment may actually be roughly comparable, despite US hyperscalers' far larger 2025 capex.

LGES, Samsung SDI reportedly booked out for two years as US restrictions and China slowdown reshape ESS market

Scarlett Yu — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 04:27:31 GMT

As energy storage system (ESS) battery orders continue to accumulate at South Korean manufacturers, expectations are growing that market conditions could improve further. The outlook follows the US government's declaration of a national emergency over electric grid security, signaling a move to restrict Chinese-made batteries, while China has begun curbing new battery capacity expansion.

Chip equipment makers face waits of up to 40 months for critical parts

DIGITIMES — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 03:56:42 GMT

The semiconductor industry's capacity crunch is moving deeper into the equipment supply chain, with shortages of specialized components stretching delivery times as chipmakers accelerate fab investment.

Samsung deepens Euclyd ties as startup reportedly reaches test-chip stage

DIGITIMES — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 03:45:41 GMT

Samsung Electronics is deepening its relationship with Dutch chip startup Euclyd after the company reportedly reached the test-chip stage at Samsung Foundry, adding a manufacturing dimension to Samsung's recent investment in the two-year-old company.

King Charles tests AI's safety consensus as Nvidia keeps its foot on the accelerator

DIGITIMES — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 03:41:15 GMT

King Charles III has stepped into the intensifying debate over artificial intelligence, urging executives from Nvidia, Google DeepMind, OpenAI, and Anthropic to keep AI under human control and ensure the technology serves people and the planet.

CPO raises PCB downgrade concerns but switches stick with M8 CCL

Sherri Wang — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 03:07:36 GMT

As the industry shifts toward greater use of optical interconnects and less reliance on copper, market speculation has emerged that wider adoption of co-packaged optics (CPO) could reduce high-speed transmission requirements for AI server motherboard printed circuit boards (PCBs).

iPhone 18 Pro sellouts across Taiwan as foldable Duo looms

Rodney Chan — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 03:05:31 GMT

Apple's iPhone 18 Pro series will go on sale on September 18, and Taiwan's major e-commerce platforms and telecom carriers have released preorder results ahead of launch. Data show that demand for premium iPhone models remains strong, with most channels selling out quickly and reservation volumes rising one to two times from the same period in 2025.

ByteDance's second AI-agent phone drops forced automation for permission — yet app wall still up

DIGITIMES — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 02:50:40 GMT

The question facing China's "AI agent phone" category is no longer whether a model can drive a smartphone. It is whether the apps will let it. Judging by the first mass-produced device to try it, the answer is mostly not yet.

Mobile SoC battle for 2026 centers on NPUs

Lily Hess — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 02:31:35 GMT

More technical details on 2026 mobile systems on a chip (SoCs) from major vendors are emerging, and the biggest changes in chips such as Apple's A20 Pro and MediaTek's Dimensity 9600 Pro are clearly concentrated in the neural processing unit (NPU). Qualcomm also published a technical article on NPU development on September 10, saying its next-generation NPU will expand shared memory capacity to improve access efficiency and speed for model data, helping mobile AI maintain fast response times.

Micron: AI memory crunch rewrites the market with long-term deals and custom designs

Levi Li — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 02:24:38 GMT

As the AI boom spreads from data centers to edge devices and robotics, Micron Technology executives are warning that memory has become a core bottleneck determining the upper limits of AI performance. With new capacity taking years to build and manufacturing processes growing increasingly complex, meaningful new memory supply may not begin arriving until 2028.

ByteDance builds strong supply chain force to master emerging hardware ecosystems beyond core demand

Yunnie Cheng — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 02:01:08 GMT

The Chinese smart glasses sector is rapidly consolidating around the principle that "subtraction is king." Rather than rushing unproven hardware to market, ByteDance is adopting a deliberate, supply-chain-first strategy.

GlobalFoundries, Marvell expand SiGe capacity deal for AI optical connectivity

DIGITIMES — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 01:56:11 GMT

GlobalFoundries (GF) and Marvell Technology have expanded a multi-year agreement to increase production capacity for silicon germanium (SiGe) technology at GF's facility in Burlington, Vermont, as demand grows for optical connectivity used in AI and cloud data centers.

NCSIST showcases military tech at Taiwan Innotech Expo 2026

Eifeh Strom — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 01:50:00 GMT

As countries worldwide accelerate efforts to develop homegrown defense technology capabilities, Taiwan's National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) showcased three key technologies at the Taiwan Innotech Expo 2026 (TIE), aimed at moving defense research from the laboratory to the battlefield and advancing dual-use applications.

Foldable smartphone panel shipments fall 13% in 1H26 as market shifts to in-fold designs

DIGITIMES — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 01:45:00 GMT

Global foldable smartphone panel shipments declined 13% year-over-year in the first half of 2026, with the contraction concentrated in clamshell products, according to Counterpoint Research's Quarterly Foldable Display Shipment and Technology Report.

Rumored Japan-US chip plant talks test whether two former chipmaking giants can rebuild at home

DIGITIMES — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 01:36:26 GMT

If the project under discussion goes ahead, it would be the first time Japan's US$550 billion tariff-linked investment pledge is directed toward chip manufacturing rather than the energy and industrial-materials projects announced so far — and the clearest sign yet that the two countries that once dominated chipmaking could rebuild some of that capacity jointly.

Resonac grows 300mm SiC crystal, marking a substrate milestone

DIGITIMES — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 01:35:00 GMT

Resonac has grown and processed a 300mm silicon carbide (SiC) single crystal. This development could shape the future of power electronics used worldwide in electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, data centers, and advanced computing. The achievement underscores the push for larger, higher-quality wafers that may improve efficiency, reliability, and manufacturing scale.

Taiwan central bank keeps rates unchanged as inflation stays contained

DIGITIMES — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 01:19:49 GMT

Taiwan's central bank left interest rates unchanged on the 17th, saying inflation remains manageable and the economy is still growing steadily. The decision came as the US Federal Reserve's rate hike drew criticism from President Donald Trump.

A 4-1 board vote has split Tata Sons from the charity that owns two-thirds of it

DIGITIMES — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 01:19:14 GMT

Tata Sons reappointed N. Chandrasekaran as chairman on September 17 and agreed to move toward a stock market listing, Reuters reported — two decisions made despite public objection from Tata Trusts. These charitable trusts own 66% of the holding company. The vote does not settle the group's direction so much as expose that authority to set one remains contested. India's largest conglomerate, with US$185 billion of combined revenue last financial year, is now running on a contested reading of its own articles of association.

Taiwan central bank warns market stability hinges on AI monetization

DIGITIMES — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 01:17:04 GMT

Taiwan's Central Bank said on the 17th that the success or failure of AI monetization will determine its long-term economic benefits and impact on financial markets. It urged Taiwanese companies to accelerate AI adoption as it weighed the effects of AI development on the macroeconomy and financial stability.

Global chipmakers answer India's pitch with equipment, materials, and R&D — not fabs

DIGITIMES — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 01:14:10 GMT

The multinationals that filled Semicon India 2026 committed to almost every layer of the semiconductor value chain except the one India most wants: nobody announced a new fab. Applied Materials, Lam Research, Micron, ASML, and Infineon instead put money and headcount behind equipment manufacturing, silicon components, assembly and test, research parks, and design centers. That is the supporting industry that the government's Semicon 2.0 framework explicitly targets, and the part of the chain that can be built without waiting for a customer's wafer starts.

Tata Electronics put 16 MoUs on the record at Semicon India, join hands with Nexperia

DIGITIMES — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:57:17 GMT

Tata Electronics has attached a headline number to its supplier-recruitment drive at Semicon India 2026 — 16 memoranda of understanding — but only five have been documented in the company's own announcements, leaving most of the tally resting on a list its chief executive read from the stage. For an India Semiconductor Mission trying to show movement from project approvals to commercial production, the distance between the claim and the paperwork is a fair measure of how early this ecosystem still is.

Modi says India's chip mission has reached commercial production as Semicon 2.0 lifts the purse to US$13.5 billion

DIGITIMES — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:56:10 GMT

India's government used the opening of Semicon India 2026 to reframe what it is asking the industry to believe: not that fabs will be built, but that they are already shipping. Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the inaugural session that the mission's second phase is funded at US$13.5 billion against roughly US$8 billion for the first, and that the annual conference has moved through policy, projects, and pilot lines to arrive at commercial output — a claim the government is now inviting equipment, materials, and chemicals suppliers to underwrite with their own capital.

Housing slump and plant builds diverge as Tung Ho Steel sees AI demand support

Charlene Chen — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:32:25 GMT

Electric-arc furnace steelmaker Tung Ho Steel said Taiwan's real-estate slowdown has dragged down rebar orders in 2026, while high-tech investment and plant construction have strongly supported its section steel and steel structure business. General manager Bing-Hua Huang said rebar shipments and order intake have both slowed since the start of 2026 amid housing policy headwinds. From January to August 2026, order intake fell 23% year-over-year, while orders on hand slipped from 1.2 million tonnes to 1.15 million tonnes, leaving rebar order visibility at 10 months.

China sees a second chance in VLEO as AI shifts the satellite race from chips to networks

DIGITIMES — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:32:10 GMT

Starlink's massive scale in conventional low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites has markedly reinforced the satellite giant's aggressive grip on the commercial space industry for the next decade or so.

Samsung taps Japan for 3.xD chiplet push as packaging race heats up

DIGITIMES — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:31:58 GMT

Samsung Electronics is deepening its semiconductor ties with Japan as it develops large-area chiplet packaging technologies for high-performance computing and AI processors, tapping the country's materials, equipment and engineering ecosystem to strengthen its broader memory, foundry and advanced packaging business.

GaN is winning the AI power argument, not yet the cost battle

DIGITIMES — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:31:46 GMT

Gallium nitride (GaN) is emerging as a key power semiconductor for AI data centers, where rising rack power and the shift toward higher-voltage architectures are forcing suppliers to improve efficiency and power density. But despite rapidly expanding orders and falling costs, industry researchers say GaN remains at an early stage of adoption and is unlikely to displace silicon broadly for another two to three years.

Huawei Connect 2026: Huawei scales supernodes into million-card AI systems

DIGITIMES — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:29:57 GMT

Huawei is extending its AI infrastructure strategy beyond individual accelerators and storage systems, unveiling an Agentic supercluster architecture designed to scale Ascend computing to as many as 1 million accelerator cards through UnifiedBus.

Samsung Display reportedly taps Sunic for KRW300 billion RGB OLEDoS push

DIGITIMES — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:29:29 GMT

Samsung Display (SDC) is reportedly preparing to invest about KRW 300 billion in a 12-inch RGB OLED-on-Silicon (OLEDoS) production line, moving the next-generation microdisplay technology closer to mass production as the XR market shifts toward lighter glasses.

Z.ai's next growth engine starts where compute scarcity ends

DIGITIMES — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:29:14 GMT

Chinese AI developer Z.ai has raised its 2026 year-end annual recurring revenue (ARR) target by 25% to US$3 billion after fresh financing eased the computing bottleneck that had constrained growth earlier this year.

CATL looks beyond China's passenger-car squeeze as electric trucks become the next growth front

DIGITIMES — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:29:01 GMT

The expansive reach of CATL's entrenched battery grip on the EV market has persisted through years of undefeated market share, pinning many Chinese automakers against severe component constraints that have proved difficult to break away from.

Micron's Taiwan investment passes US$47 billion as it rallies fab construction suppliers

Lily Hess — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:28:39 GMT

Micron held a conference for Taiwanese suppliers on September 17 under the theme of building at speed and growing at scale. The event brought together Taiwan-based supply chain partners involved in civil, structural, and architectural (CSA) works; mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) systems; fab equipment; construction materials; and tool installation.

Nvidia roadmap shifts to rack-scale AI with Rubin Ultra

Charlene Chen — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:26:40 GMT

Nvidia's latest AI platform roadmap is taking shape, with supply chain sources saying the company will enter a heavy shipment phase for Vera Rubin in the second half of 2026, followed by Vera CPU, Rubin GPU, and platforms including NVL4, NVL8, and NVL72 moving into mass production. In the second half of 2027, Vera Rubin Ultra NVL576, HGX Rubin Ultra NBLB and Groq 3 LPX-Next are set to take over.

FCS Group eyes North America layout, as plastics industry turns to material innovation

Kevin Wang — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:25:53 GMT

The spotlight has been on industry innovation at the 2026 Taipei International Plastics and Rubber Industry Show (TaipeiPLAS), as Taiwan's plastics and rubber sector moves beyond the realm of traditional manufacturing, with forays into high-value applications in aerospace, drones, robotics, automobiles, and healthcare and medicine, aiming to create new value through smart manufacturing, innovative materials, and circular use. According to data from the Ministry of Finance, Taiwan's total exports of plastics and rubber processing machinery reached US$458 million through August 2026.

AI's next infrastructure squeeze is storage: Seagate sees demand accelerating

Levi Li — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:23:13 GMT

Seagate's 2026 Data Infrastructure Readiness Report finds that enterprise AI strategies are moving beyond early-stage adoption toward broader deployment, increasing the importance of data infrastructure for storing, accessing, managing, and using data at scale.

Taoyuan to sign high-end IC substrate MOU with Unimicron, Kinsus as Aerotropolis zone takes shape

Yunnie Cheng — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:22:44 GMT

In response to rapid AI market growth, the Taoyuan City Government announced plans to establish a 40-hectare high-end integrated circuit (IC) substrate zone within Phase 1 of the Taoyuan Aerotropolis Industrial Area. Utilizing a phased construction and staggered site handover model to accelerate tenant entry, the city aims to begin joint land preparation with manufacturers in 2028, with options to scale the zone up to nearly 100 hectares based on industry demand.

Taiwan prepares 150-qubit quantum computer RFP, seeks 'win-win' partnerships with global suppliers

Scarlett Yu — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:22:14 GMT

Taiwan is moving closer to issuing a request for proposal (RFP) for its quantum computing system project.

FIT hedges its AI optics bets with Corning EBO, TSMC co-packaging talks

Levi Li — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:22:00 GMT

Foxconn Interconnect Technology (FIT) chairman Sidney Lu said AI demand remains strong, with overall capacity near full utilization and visibility extending through 2027. Optical communications products began shipping in small volumes in 2026 and are expected to scale further in 2027 and 2028, though adoption will ultimately follow customers. "We cannot run faster than our customers," Lu said.

Nan Ya accelerates AI materials shift with major capacity expansion

Charlene Chen — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:20:12 GMT

Nan Ya Plastics is speeding up its transformation in electronic materials as cloud service providers expand capex at a rapid pace, making printed circuit board (PCB) materials a key lever for AI hardware performance. The company is broadening its role in high-end AI and adjacent supply chains, with the shift beginning to pay off.

Taiwan's small businesses race into AI, raising the stakes for execution

Jingyue Hsiao — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:19:41 GMT

Taiwan's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are making plans to adopt AI, according to a new survey that suggests the debate has shifted from whether to adopt AI to how quickly it can be turned into measurable business gains. The findings point to a new competitive divide shaped by decision speed, data readiness, and management execution.

DeepSeek engineer's warning suggests AI may reshape, not simply eliminate, technical work

Jingyue Hsiao — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 16:10:00 GMT

A DeepSeek engineer's viral reflection on AI's rapid progress has reignited debate over whether artificial intelligence will replace human workers or redefine their roles. His comments suggest the immediate risk for software engineers may be less about layoffs and more about a swift shift in how technical work is done.

Winbond's Infineon buyout puts GigaDevice under pressure

Levi Li — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 16:08:00 GMT

Winbond Electronics' US$1.12 billion acquisition of Infineon's NOR Flash and ferroelectric RAM (F-RAM) businesses has drawn close attention from China's semiconductor industry.

Physical AI drives autonomous driving upgrade; three efficiency factors lift AI accelerator demand

DIGITIMES — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 10:24:31 GMT

End-to-end autonomous driving has become the mainstream technology path, and the inference demand created by Physical AI in autonomous driving systems is, in turn, reshaping automotive system-on-chip (SoC) design.