DIGITIMES: News and Insight of the Global Supply Chain

Tower Semiconductor bets on Japan to ride the AI data center shift from copper to light

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:53:05 GMT

Tower Semiconductor is placing a roughly US$3 billion wager that the artificial-intelligence buildout will force data centers to move data with light rather than electricity, anchoring the bet in Japan with backing from Tokyo.

IBM issues rare mid-quarter warning as AI-driven memory shortage shifts enterprise spending away from software

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:52:11 GMT

A rare mid-quarter warning from IBM triggered the sharpest single-day decline in the company's 115-year history on Tuesday, and the reasons chief executive Arvind Krishna gave point to a broader shift: the AI-driven global memory shortage is pulling corporate technology budgets away from software and mainframes and toward supply-constrained hardware, a dynamic that could unsettle enterprise vendors well beyond IBM.

Nvidia looks to Mitsubishi Heavy for cooling and power as Japan's AI buildout accelerates

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:51:37 GMT

Nvidia and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are weighing a partnership under which the Japanese industrial group would supply cooling systems and energy management equipment for the artificial-intelligence data centers Nvidia is building with partners worldwide, Nikkei reported. The talks point to where the AI buildout is now bottlenecked: not chips, but the power and heat they generate.

Taiwan's memory sector in June delivers standout performance by a wide margin

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:49:42 GMT

Taiwan's memory sector delivered an extraordinary June 2026, with aggregate revenue reaching US$2,829.5 million, up 6.4% month-over-month and a staggering 288.3% year-over-year — by far the fastest-growing category in Taiwan's entire semiconductor supply chain, dwarfing silicon foundry (~54% year-over-year) and OSAT (~24% year-over-year). The surge reflects the AI/HBM-driven DRAM and NAND pricing supercycle layered on a depressed year-ago base.

Huawei to unveil largest Ascend SuperPoD at Xi-opened WAIC , scaling China's AI infrastructure

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:49:24 GMT

Huawei will publicly display its Atlas 950 SuperPoD AI computing system for the first time at the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, placing domestic computing infrastructure at the centre of China's flagship AI gathering.

Charts: Taiwan's OSAT sector grows a steady 23.7% YoY in June, but a small player is stealing the spotlight

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:49:13 GMT

Taiwan's back-end packaging and testing (OSAT) industry posted US$3,105.4 million in June 2026 revenue, up 2.9% month-over-month and 23.7% year-over-year — a solid, steady pace, but one that masks sharply divergent performance beneath the surface.

China's Orient Computing unveils 14nm AI chip designed to bypass HBM constraints

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:48:55 GMT

Shanghai Orient Computing Core Technology has launched the DF1000, a 14-nanometre AI accelerator that uses software-defined computing and 3D-stacked near-memory architecture to reduce reliance on advanced process nodes and high-bandwidth memory, as Sohu and ICsmart reported.

Huawei's US$11B clean energy business turns Brazil into its next growth engine

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:48:42 GMT

Huawei Technologies is becoming an increasingly important supplier to the global energy transition, expanding beyond telecommunications into solar inverters, battery storage, and electric vehicle charging.

South Korea moves to secure power for new chip cluster

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:47:05 GMT

South Korea is accelerating plans to supply electricity to a new semiconductor cluster in the country's southwest by 2030, potentially expanding the domestic energy-storage market as chip fabs and AI data centers add to power demand.

Buima lifts June revenue as battery modules and energy storage demand grows

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:45:16 GMT

Buima said that its June 2026 revenue continued to rise on stronger green energy business and battery backup unit (BBU) module shipments, with sales the second quarter and first half of 2026 holding steady. The company said demand for low-Earth-orbit satellites, energy storage systems (ESS), and distributed energy remained strong, supporting its outlook for the rest of the year.

QBit Semiconductor June revenue hits record as SoC and ASIC demand rises

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:45:07 GMT

QBit Semiconductor reported a June consolidated revenue of NT$132 million (US$4.1 million) in 2026, a record high marking a rise of 108.5% from the previous month and 41.1% from a year earlier. The Taiwan-based IC design company said its first-half revenue for 2026 reached NT$320 million, up 91.7% year on year and equal to 75% of its full-year 2025 sales.

Nam Liong posts strong Q2 as high-value materials drive growth

AI bot — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:44:53 GMT

Nam Liong Global Corporation reported consolidated revenue of NT$245 million (US$8.4 million) for June 2026, down 2.56% from the previous month but up 21.66% year over year, reflecting mid-year inventory adjustments by some customers and normal seasonal shipment patterns. Second-quarter revenue reached NT$743 million, rising 23.73% sequentially and 17.07% from a year earlier. Revenue for the first half totaled NT$1.343 billion, up 8.87% year over year.

Taiwan auto parts makers look to overseas expansion as turmoil in China's auto market worsens

Kevin Wang — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:43:44 GMT

China's auto market remained volatile in the second quarter of 2026, even though new energy vehicles (NEV) and emerging brands continued to gain market share. The ongoing price slashing and hypercompetitive "involution" have disrupted production schedules across the upstream supply chain, while reductions to NEV subsidies have caused consumers to adopt a wait-and-see approach, and both domestic brands and joint ventures with leading foreign automakers alike have seen drastic declines. Moreover, these broader trends have led to declining revenues for Taiwanese auto parts makers.

CXMT's US$4.3B IPO powers China's HBM challenge to global memory giants

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:43:32 GMT

CXMT is preparing China's largest chip-sector IPO of 2026, seeking up to US$4.3 billion to expand DRAM and HBM capacity, deepen vertical integration, and challenge Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology under rising AI demand and tighter US export controls.

Parpro revenue jumped on defense and satellite shipments in June 2026

DIGITIMES — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:43:18 GMT

Industrial computer maker Parpro reported strong June revenue as higher shipments of defense-related products lifted its monthly, quarterly, and first-half results. The company said deliveries for military unmanned vehicles and low-Earth orbit satellite projects were in a dense shipping phase, and it expects the traditional peak season in the second half to support further growth.

AI image sensor chip makers accelerate shift to algorithms, modules

Lily Hess — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:42:59 GMT

AI image sensor chips have become a key market for Taiwan's IC design firms, with major players such as Novatek Microelectronics, Realtek Semiconductor, and Himax Technologies, as well as mid-sized companies including Sunplus Technology, Egis Technology, and Etron Technology, all stepping up their efforts. Among firms also pushing into drone imaging solutions, including Elan Microelectronics and PixArt Imaging, a broad consensus is emerging: compute power and price are not the real winning factors in this market.

China's 1H26 IC exports jump 96% on AI hardware demand

Charlene Chen — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:42:28 GMT

China's IC exports surged in the first half of 2026, underscoring strong demand for AI, data center, and HPC hardware that lifted electronics supply-chain momentum. The General Administration of Customs said on July 14 that IC exports reached US$177.28 billion in the first half of 2026, up 96.1% year-over-year.

Rebound in North American AM market lifts Taiwanese auto parts suppliers

Kevin Wang — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:42:11 GMT

The market for aftermarket (AM) automotive parts in North America is showing signs of recovery, prompting Taiwanese suppliers to strike a cautiously optimistic tone in recent shareholder meetings and June revenue disclosures. Across the supply chain, from headlamps and auto parts to tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS), companies now expect rising momentum going forward as a result of reduced tariff uncertainty, the end of inventory adjustments, and the approach of the traditional stocking season in the third quarter.

Jensen Huang says sovereign AI development tops nuclear weapons

Charlene Chen — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:40:57 GMT

As attention in the tech industry has centered on the US tech giants and TSMC, sovereign AI has emerged as a faster-growing blue ocean for AI infrastructure providers, supply-chain players and compute-rental operators seeking better margins.

Column: Digital AI and Physical AI follow the same growth logic

Jingyue Hsiao — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 08:50:01 GMT

At a humanoid robotics summit in Tokyo in May 2026, I saw a consulting firm's global labor automation map for Physical AI. After returning, I recreated the same map using the firm's research on Digital AI job functions. Placing the two side by side revealed something unexpected.

Treading the market slowdown: IT panel demand cools as Taiwan display makers pivot to AI

Scarlett Yu — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 08:22:57 GMT

As early inventory stocking by brand customers winds down, China's 618 Shopping Festival delivers weaker-than-expected sales, and LCD TV panel prices begin to retreat, demand for monitor and notebook (NB) panels is cooling in the third quarter. Despite the slowdown, panel makers remain reluctant to cut prices amid elevated production costs, and IT panel prices are expected to remain flat in July as buyers and suppliers enter a period of pricing negotiations.

South Korea exports top US$100B in a month, stoking chip dependence fears

Scarlett Yu — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 08:19:38 GMT

South Korea's exports surpassed US$100 billion in a single month for the first time in June 2026, raising expectations that the country could exceed US$1 trillion in annual exports this year. While the milestone underscores the strength of South Korea's export sector, it has also renewed debate over the economy's growing dependence on semiconductors.

Japan tests reusable rocket as satellite launch ambitions face SpaceX cost gap

DIGITIMES — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 08:16:30 GMT

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has completed the first flight test of its reusable small experimental rocket RV-X, marking an early step in Japan's effort to develop lower-cost launch technology for future satellite missions.

Nvidia cuts list of approved Asian chip buyers by more than half to prevent diversion to China

DIGITIMES — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 07:55:11 GMT

Nvidia has removed more than half of the Asian customers it previously authorized to buy its advanced chips, after creating a new internal white list intended to prevent the processors from reaching China through other countries. The Financial Times reported the move, citing three people familiar with the matter.

Taiwan AI suppliers ride global demand as substrate, and CCL markets tighten

DIGITIMES — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 07:01:15 GMT

Taiwan's AI hardware supply chain remained strong in June, as substrate and CCL makers posted sharp annual gains driven by demand for AI servers, ASICs, and high-performance computing. The latest sales data suggest the upgrade cycle is broadening beyond one segment, with advanced ABF substrates and high-end CCL benefiting from higher specifications, better pricing, and rising AI content. For investors, companies with greater AI exposure, stronger product mix, and disciplined capacity are capturing the most upside.

Rambus unveils DDR5 9600 chipset for next-generation AI servers

DIGITIMES — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 06:56:40 GMT

Rambus has introduced a new DDR5 9600 server RDIMM chipset aimed at faster, denser data center memory systems. The move matters beyond one supplier because higher bandwidth and better power efficiency are becoming essential for AI inference, cloud computing, and HPC platforms used by businesses and consumers worldwide.

Commentary: AI computing power map reshapes ASEAN, with Singapore still central

Charlene Chen — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 06:29:05 GMT

In the second quarter of 2025, DIGITIMES visited the rapidly expanding Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) and Wiwynn's massive AI server system integration (SI) factory. Microsoft also granted a media interview, using the occasion to discuss Singapore's role as the hub of the broader ASEAN AI ecosystem.

China rare-earth price dip ends seven-quarter rally, tight supply keeps magnets in focus

DIGITIMES — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 06:00:00 GMT

China's largest rare-earth suppliers have cut their third-quarter 2026 concentrate transfer price for the first time in eight quarters, offering limited relief to magnet makers after a prolonged cost surge while leaving the broader supply-demand imbalance largely intact.

Huaqin expects first-half net profit to jump over 50%, but core earnings growth stays modest

DIGITIMES — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 05:52:56 GMT

Chinese contract-manufacturing giant Huaqin Technology expects its net profit for the first half of 2026 to rise between 53.5% and 61.5% year-over-year, to a range of CNY2.9 billion (approx. US$427.73 million) to CNY3.05 billion, according to a preliminary earnings pre-announcement filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange on July 14. Revenue is projected to grow 10.8% to 13.2% to between CNY93 billion and CNY95 billion, up from CNY83.9 billion a year earlier. The company said the disclosure was triggered because net profit was set to rise more than 50%.

Ingenic's first-half profit set to jump more than 400% as memory super-cycle lifts chip prices

DIGITIMES — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 05:02:53 GMT

Chinese chip designer Ingenic Semiconductor expects its net profit for the first half of 2026 to surge between 431% and 531% year-over-year, to a range of CNY1.079 billion (approx. US$159.14 million) to CNY1.282 billion, as a memory-market super-cycle drives up prices for its DRAM and Flash products, according to a preliminary earnings filing to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on July 13. That compares with CNY203 million a year earlier. Total revenue rose about 77% to roughly CNY3.99 billion.

Six-inch SiC substrate price rebounds as supply tightens

Lily Hess — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 04:40:09 GMT

Six-inch silicon carbide (SiC) substrates, a third-generation semiconductor product that has faced oversupply and falling prices for the past two years, have clearly bottomed out and are even starting to recover as capacity remains constrained and demand emerges across multiple sectors. Semiconductor distributors say supply is now tight, and customers who want to buy more must pay more, with new orders becoming increasingly hard to absorb.

Gogolook revenue jumps 36% in June to record high

Eifeh Strom — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 04:23:34 GMT

Trust technology company Gogolook reported June 2026 consolidated revenue of NT$110 million (approx. US$3.43 million), up 36.5% from a year earlier. Consolidated revenue for the second quarter of 2026 reached NT$310 million, an increase of 28.4% from the same period in 2025. Cumulative revenue for the first half of 2026 totaled NT$613 million, up 27.5% year over year. Both second-quarter and first-half figures reached record highs.

Global smartphone shipments fall to the lowest 2Q level since 2013 amid memory shortage

DIGITIMES — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 03:50:14 GMT

According to Counterpoint's latest market tracker, global smartphone shipments fell sharply in the second quarter of 2026, underscoring the memory crunch's impact on consumers, manufacturers, and retailers worldwide. Higher component costs, rising prices, and weaker demand in budget segments are now reshaping the market, with the disruption likely to influence availability, upgrade cycles, and handset pricing well beyond this year.

Huatian Technology guides first-half 2026 net profit up 231-275%, lifted by IC demand and investment gains

DIGITIMES — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 03:46:19 GMT

China's semiconductor packaging and testing firm Tianshui Huatian Technology said on July 14 it expects first-half 2026 net profit attributable to shareholders of CNY750 million (approx. US$110.62 million) to CNY850 million, up 231.16% to 275.31% from CNY226 million a year earlier, according to a forecast filed with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Diluted earnings per share are seen at CNY0.2290-0.2595, versus CNY0.0706 in the same period of 2025.

Bosch starts sample production at its first US chip plant after securing up to US$225 million

DIGITIMES — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 03:27:29 GMT

German automotive supplier and chipmaker Bosch has begun sample production at its first US semiconductor factory after finalizing an agreement for up to US$225 million in federal funding. Commercial production of silicon carbide chips at the Roseville, California, site is expected to begin in 2026.