DIGITIMES: News and Insight of the Global Supply Chain

Energy Taiwan 2026 opens with record international participation

DIGITIMES — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 15:59:00 GMT

Energy Taiwan 2026 opened on October 14, bringing together more than 430 exhibitors across nearly 1,400 booths as the island seeks to strengthen energy resilience and accelerate decarbonization amid rising electricity demand from artificial intelligence (AI).

300mm fab equipment spending to hit US$227 billion by 2029, SEMI says

DIGITIMES — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 09:18:42 GMT

Global spending on 300mm front-end fab equipment is projected to reach US$149 billion in 2026, up 31% from a year earlier. Spending is expected to keep growing at double-digit rates and reach US$227 billion in 2029, SEMI said in its latest 300mm Fab Outlook, released October 13 at SEMICON West in San Francisco.

AVC unveils 6MW In-Row CDU at OCP, adds predictive cooling

DIGITIMES — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 09:15:00 GMT

Asia Vital Components (AVC) unveiled new liquid-cooling solutions, including direct liquid cooling (DLC) and an In-Row CDU, at the Open Compute Project (OCP) Global Summit, held October 12–15 in San Jose, US. The company is expanding liquid cooling beyond AI GPUs and CPUs to support rising AI computing demand and increasingly heat-intensive data-center racks.

BOE struggles with glass breakage at US$9.4 billion OLED plant as it seeks Apple iPad orders

DIGITIMES — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 09:11:06 GMT

China's BOE has spent approximately six months trying to resolve recurring glass substrate breakage at its Gen 8.6 OLED plant in Chengdu, raising concerns about production stability as the display maker seeks approval to supply panels for Apple's iPads.

Tata's flagship chip fab faces pressure from its own shareholders

DIGITIMES — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 08:50:17 GMT

Tata Group's semiconductor fab in Gujarat, held up as the foundation of India's chipmaking ambitions, now faces scrutiny from within, as the group's controlling shareholder presses for quicker returns on capital-intensive bets.

AI computing demand drives water management integration at Tianyi

DIGITIMES — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 08:40:08 GMT

Rising AI computing demand is fueling capacity expansion in advanced semiconductor manufacturing, making water recycling, energy efficiency, and smart operations and maintenance key components of the green transformation of high-tech plants. Lealea Group's Tianyi Water & Energy Solutions is integrating water management, renewable power and AI-enabled smart maintenance. The company has also been selected for the AquaImpact Sustainable Water Mark at the 2026 Taiwan International Water Week (TIWW).

ASE expands PowerSiP platform to improve AI data center power efficiency

DIGITIMES — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 08:38:50 GMT

ASE has expanded its PowerSiP platform with a 3D system-in-package solution aimed at vertical voltage regulator modules (VRMs) for AI data centers and high-performance computing systems. The move could matter globally as demand for AI infrastructure rises, since more efficient power delivery may help lower energy losses, support denser computing, and ease the strain on rapidly expanding digital infrastructure.

Wiwynn unveils CPO compute system with GUC and Ayar Labs

DIGITIMES — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 08:38:13 GMT

Wiwynn Corporation, CPO solutions provider Ayar Labs and Global Unichip Corp. (GUC) will stage the first live demonstration of an integrated compute system with real-time telemetry monitoring at the 2026 OCP Global Summit, marking a new milestone in their strategic partnership.

Tsang Yow's semiconductor revenue share reaches 12%

DIGITIMES — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 08:26:00 GMT

Automotive drivetrain manufacturer Tsang Yow reported consolidated revenue of NT$86.36 million (US$2.69 million) in September 2026, down 2.3% month-over-month and 1.24% year-over-year as demand from the Americas aftermarket temporarily slowed. Supported by its semiconductor business, consolidated revenue reached NT$269 million in the third quarter of 2026, up 7.5% year-over-year, while revenue for the first nine months rose 4.04% year-over-year to NT$824 million.

Cerebras CEO reveals the capacity shortfall behind OpenAI's turn to Nvidia GPUs

Levi Li — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 08:20:00 GMT

Cerebras Systems' shortage of data centre capacity was a key reason OpenAI turned to Nvidia GPUs to expand services for its next-generation models, co-founder and CEO Andrew Feldman said at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026.

Kingboard Laminates raises thin-cloth laminates, prepreg prices 15% in eighth hike of 2026

Eifeh Strom — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 07:58:30 GMT

Kingboard Laminates Holdings (KB Laminates), a leading Chinese manufacturer, announced its eighth price increase of 2026 on October 13, raising prices by 15% for laminates and prepreg (PP) made with style 2116 or thinner fiberglass fabrics.

Ubiqconn satellite revenue jumps 175% as 3Q26 operations recover

DIGITIMES — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 07:55:00 GMT

Ubiqconn Technology reported September 2026 consolidated revenue of NT$142 million (US$4.4 million), up 32.4% month-on-month and 6.7% year-on-year. Third-quarter revenue rose 9.6% sequentially to NT$432 million but fell 10.5% year on year. Revenue for the first three quarters totaled NT$1.373 billion, down 15.7% year on year.

China's smartphone slump: Can Apple's new lineup light a spark?

DIGITIMES — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 07:54:59 GMT

China's smartphone market faces dual pressures as weakening consumer spending and rising component costs continue to weigh on the handset sector. According to third-quarter data from market research firm IDC, nationwide smartphone shipments dropped 15.4% year-over-year to 57.9 million units, underscoring broader macroeconomic headwinds across the country.

Largan chairman casts doubt on Micro LED links for AI data centers

Sherri Wang — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 07:39:17 GMT

Largan Precision chairman En-ping Lin has questioned the viability of Micro LED-based optical links for AI data centers, citing concerns over power consumption, size, and transmission efficiency. Industry sources interviewed by DIGITIMES counter that while individual Micro LEDs transmit data more slowly than lasers, using hundreds of parallel channels could reduce overall system power consumption by simplifying the transmission architecture.

SK Hynix HBM4 equipment installations reportedly face partial deferral to 2027

DIGITIMES — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 07:25:32 GMT

Some back-end manufacturing equipment intended for SK Hynix's sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM4) production may be deferred from the second half of 2026 into 2027, raising questions about the chipmaker's expansion plans as rising conventional DRAM prices create competing opportunities for capital spending.

Huawei's Kirin 9050 Pro delivers 53.5% density gain; tighter 3D bonding next for 2027

DIGITIMES — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 07:23:22 GMT

Huawei has begun mass-producing its Kirin 9050 series with LogicFolding, a 3D chip architecture that improves transistor density and computing efficiency without relying solely on smaller process nodes. Its next-generation Kirin chip, scheduled for 2027, has entered testing, with initial results meeting expectations.

Microsoft adds US$132.5 billion in lease commitments—but AI capacity takes years to build

Levi Li — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 07:08:47 GMT

Microsoft's lease commitments that have not yet commenced reached US$329.1 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, which ended in June, according to its latest regulatory filing. The total rose US$132.5 billion, or more than 67%, from the previous quarter, marking the company's largest quarterly increase on record.

ASML's record 3Q26 sales expose a capacity gap for AI chip demand through 2028

DIGITIMES — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 06:52:05 GMT

ASML reported record third-quarter 2026 net sales of EUR11.7 billion (approx. US$13.1 billion) and net income of EUR5 billion, while warning that its planned supply for 2027 and 2028 would fall short of customer demand. Growing AI investment is prompting the lithography equipment supplier to explore a larger capacity expansion for 2028, with some customers expressing interest in placing orders for 2029 and 2030.

Nvidia's share of China's AI chips falls by a third while Huawei gains

DIGITIMES — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 06:32:11 GMT

Nvidia's share of AI chips in China's data center market has fallen by 34% in the first half of this year, according to a new report. The drop follows months of US restrictions on advanced chip sales to the country, Chinese authorities' push to rely less on Nvidia imports, and domestic players like Huawei moving to fill in this supply gap.

Elon Musk says Micron is 'reasonable' on memory prices while others are 'extortionate'

DIGITIMES — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 06:19:58 GMT

Elon Musk has criticized memory chip suppliers for charging what he called "extortionate" prices while praising Micron Technology's approach to future pricing, highlighting tensions between chipmakers and customers as prolonged supply shortages strengthen manufacturers' bargaining power.

Taiwan IC substrate maker Xinxing halts some machinery after fatal workplace accident

DIGITIMES — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 05:50:09 GMT

IC substrate maker Xinxing experienced a fatal workplace accident at its Yangmei plant on October 13, prompting the Taoyuan City Labor Inspection Office to order a partial shutdown in the affected area. The company said the incident has not affected production or operations so far and that it will cooperate fully with the investigation and implement preventive measures.

JCET redirects Korean factories towards AI to counter weak smartphone growth

DIGITIMES — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 05:17:58 GMT

JCET is directing most of its increased capital spending towards advanced packaging, modules and testing while reorganising its two South Korean factories to meet AI infrastructure demand. The company expects benefits from the transformation of its South Korean operations to emerge from the second half of 2026 and to become more pronounced in 2027 and 2028, according to a recently released investor relations activity record.

Google unveils Gemini 4 Argon, balancing frontier capabilities with rigorous safety standards

DIGITIMES — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 04:44:44 GMT

The debut of Google's Gemini 4 family marks a major milestone in frontier artificial intelligence, and Gemini 4 Argon is set to lead this next-generation launch. As autonomous AI capabilities scale rapidly, security incidents across the tech landscape highlight why robust containment controls have become the industry's top priority.

OpenAI in talks to buy cybersecurity firm Trail of Bits, report says

DIGITIMES — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 04:34:36 GMT

OpenAI is in early talks to acquire Trail of Bits, a cybersecurity research firm specializing in software vulnerabilities and open-source security, The Information reported on October 13, as the ChatGPT maker expands its push into enterprise cybersecurity.

AI chip competition shifts to data-center efficiency as memory, interconnect limits bite

Jingyue Hsiao — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 04:14:35 GMT

As demand for artificial intelligence computing accelerates, the competitive focus in semiconductors is shifting beyond single-chip speed to the efficiency of entire data centers. Nvidia, Broadcom, and Qualcomm executives said memory bandwidth, chip interconnects, power use, and heat management are now among the biggest constraints on AI performance, forcing closer coordination across chips, memory, packaging, and system design.

Broadcom executive says chipmakers must tackle packaging, power limits together

Jingyue Hsiao — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 04:11:30 GMT

Broadcom's Frank Ostojic said semiconductor firms need joint innovation across equipment, materials, and design to overcome bottlenecks that affect AI chips worldwide. He warned that die size, packaging, power delivery, and cooling are becoming major constraints as workloads evolve, making faster coordination essential for future system performance.

Samsung, AMD validate CXL memory for AI servers

DIGITIMES — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 04:04:18 GMT

Samsung Electronics and AMD have collaborated to validate Compute Express Link (CXL) memory technology designed to expand capacity and bandwidth for AI servers, as Samsung broadens its AI infrastructure strategy beyond high-bandwidth memory (HBM) to memory pooling and enterprise storage.

LG, Bosch team up on automotive chiplets

DIGITIMES — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 03:58:43 GMT

LG Electronics is reportedly working with Bosch to develop automotive chiplets, a move that would mark LG's formal entry into the automotive semiconductor market if the technology reaches production and wins customers. The business could also create synergies with the LG Group's broad automotive electronics operations.

LGD's KRW104.1B auto LCD module sale collapses

DIGITIMES — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 03:46:49 GMT

LG Display (LGD) has canceled the planned sale of its automotive LCD module business at its Nanjing subsidiary, losing a potential KRW104.1 billion (about US$72 million) payment and delaying plans to improve production efficiency.

TSMC and MediaTek alumni lead Taiwan's new wave of deep tech startups

DIGITIMES — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 03:39:39 GMT

At Plug and Play Taiwan's Batch 4 Selection Day, 21 startups made the case that Taiwan's next wave of innovation is being built by chip-industry veterans who are tackling problems faced by the world's biggest tech companies.

Cisco expands AI networking with new chips, SONiC, cross-site deployment

DIGITIMES — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 03:30:49 GMT

As AI cluster sizes grow, networking systems face challenges beyond higher bandwidth, including power consumption, cooling, cross-site coordination, and large-scale device operations. Cisco is expanding its AI data center technology strategy from high-bandwidth switch chips to cross-site networking, open network operating systems, and device management.

Cisco, Nvidia target high-speed optical interconnects with 4x USFP density

DIGITIMES — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 03:25:27 GMT

Cisco and Nvidia announced at the 2026 OCP Global Summit that they are jointly developing an ultra-dense small form factor pluggable (USFP) optical module designed to support 400Gb/s electrical signals per lane, targeting AI data centers' demand for higher bandwidth density, greater energy efficiency, and high-speed interconnects.

AI accelerator growth shifts toward value as custom ASICs move upmarket

Lily Hess — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 03:11:19 GMT

The AI accelerator market is set to reach US$1.4 trillion by 2030, up 150% from Bloomberg Intelligence's January 2026 estimate of US$560 billion, as higher prices—not just shipment growth—drive the market. Annual revenue is expected to surpass US$1 trillion in 2028, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 38% from 2026 to 2030.

Hua Hong forges strategic alliances with four Chinese chip equipment giants

DIGITIMES — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 02:55:55 GMT

Hua Hong Group signed strategic agreements with four Chinese semiconductor equipment suppliers at the inaugural 2026 China Integrated Circuit Exhibition (China Chip Exhibition) in Shanghai, strengthening cooperation on domestic manufacturing technologies. The event also showcased advances in chipmaking equipment, AI accelerators, and electronic design automation (EDA).

CyberTAN sells Hsinchu site in US$68B deal to fund strategy shift

Jingyue Hsiao — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 02:55:00 GMT

CyberTAN Technology's sale of its Hsinchu Science Park factory and auxiliary facilities signals a broader shift toward higher-growth networking and AI infrastructure. The move may reshape how the Taiwanese company deploys capital, and it underscores continued global demand for data center, enterprise, and telecommunications equipment.