DIGITIMES Asia: News and Insight of the Global Supply Chain

Commentary: BYD unveils new AI platform as China's EV race shifts beyond batteries

Elaine Chen — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 21:54:25 GMT

China's electric vehicle (EV) leader, BYD, is pushing aggressively into the next frontier of automotive competition: artificial intelligence.

Volkswagen plans Europe-made Samsung SDI square batteries to diversify supply chain

DIGITIMES — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 21:53:57 GMT

Volkswagen is preparing a new three-way lithium battery supply chain that would add Samsung SDI as a Europe-based supplier of standardized square batteries as early as 2027, executives said. The automaker’s plan centers on in-house production via PowerCo, China’s Gotion High-tech and a potential Samsung SDI partnership to reduce reliance on China-linked sourcing amid shifting geopolitics and new European rules.

CanSemi IPO exposes strains in China's mature-node chip push

DIGITIMES — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 21:53:40 GMT

CanSemi Technology's planned ChiNext listing has exposed the financial strain behind China's push to build mature-node semiconductor capacity, as the Guangzhou-based foundry seeks fresh capital despite persistent losses, negative gross margins and a long road to profitability.

Taiwan deepens ties with Central and Eastern Europe as Taiwanese firms expand into Czech Republic, Poland

Eifeh Strom — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 21:53:22 GMT

The Czech Republic and other Central and Eastern European countries have gradually become emerging markets for Taiwanese investment and exports. This follows the donation of vaccines during the Covid-19 pandemic from the Czech Republic to Taiwan, underscoring the shared values of democracy and freedom between the two.

Unitree, Nvidia expose humanoid robotics' biggest question: who controls the body, brain and ecosystem?

DIGITIMES — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 21:53:07 GMT

Unitree Robotics' Nvidia-backed H2 Plus has sparked debate in China over who controls the robot body, AI brain and autonomy in a global ecosystem.

China's EV boom slows at home, but BYD sees further room to grow

DIGITIMES — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 21:52:50 GMT

China's electric-vehicle market is showing signs of slowing domestically, but industry leaders remain convinced that the country's shift away from gasoline-powered cars is far from complete.

Applied Materials invests US$500 million in Singapore to meet AI chip demand

Elaine Chen — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 21:52:35 GMT

As artificial intelligence (AI) fuels an unprecedented surge in demand for advanced semiconductors, Applied Materials is deepening its commitment to one of Asia's most important chipmaking hubs.

Largan's CPO play hinges on sub-0.3-micron precision, not perfect parts

Levi Li — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 21:52:17 GMT

Largan Precision is accelerating its push into CPO-related optical components, with chairman Adam Lin revealing that the company is building its first automated pilot line at a new Taiwan facility, scheduled to be ready before September 2026.

DIGITIMES Insight: Power, not chips, is now the binding constraint for AI data centers

Jingyue Hsiao — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 21:51:58 GMT

During COMPUTEX 2026 and Nvidia GTC Taipei, energy once again dominated the AI data center conversation — only this time the question was not whether enough electricity existed, but whether it could arrive on time, arrive clean, and sustain 24/7 carbon-free operations.

Wistron ITS rebrands as WITS to scale chip and AI engineering in software-hardware integration pivot

Willis Ke — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 21:51:37 GMT

Wistron ITS has officially changed its name to WITS. Chairman Ching Hsiao pointed out that the rebranding signifies the company's transition from software into the new frontier of "software-hardware integration."

Exclusive: Astera Labs sees switch chips becoming biggest revenue driver by end of 2026

Sherri Wang — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 21:51:25 GMT

Astera Labs expects its Scorpio switch-chip business to become its largest revenue contributor by the end of 2026, marking a shift for the cloud AI connectivity chip supplier as demand grows for scale-up infrastructure in AI clusters.

Sharp's AI server plan signals a broader shift in Japan electronics

Jingyue Hsiao — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 21:51:11 GMT

Sharp's June 9 fiscal year 2026 business briefing highlighted a deeper partnership with Foxconn, with AI servers becoming the main focus. Sharp said it will begin selling AI servers in fiscal 2027, signaling a shift in both its business model and its role in Japan's AI infrastructure market.

Gudeng flags EUV supply constraints as advanced-chip expansion accelerates

Sherri Wang — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 21:50:56 GMT

Gudeng chairman and CEO Bill Chiu said global demand for AI is driving a wave of 2nm and 3nm advanced-node capacity expansion, but the biggest constraint for chipmakers is not building fabs — it is securing extreme ultraviolet lithography systems.

Analysis: Taiwan suppliers pivot to physical AI as humanoid robots draw attention

Jingyue Hsiao — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 21:50:39 GMT

Humanoid robots are attracting global interest, and COMPUTEX 2026 has opened its first robotics zone. Yet Taiwanese suppliers are focusing on physical AI, including AI computing platforms, edge AI, and application solutions. This reflects Taiwan's strengths in ICT and semiconductors, as well as the hurdles facing commercial humanoid robots worldwide.

How an alliance of Taiwanese chip suppliers cracked Intel's supply chain with a FOUP solution

Sherri Wang — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 21:50:24 GMT

TSS Semiconductor Alliance, a group of 18 small and medium-sized Taiwanese suppliers of semiconductor materials, components and equipment, is preparing to form a third cohort as members seek to expand their role in global chip supply chains.

China's embodied AI boom tests whether robots can repeat the EV miracle

DIGITIMES — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 21:50:01 GMT

China's embodied AI sector is entering a financing cycle that increasingly resembles the early days of electric vehicles. Investors, local governments, and technology groups are backing robotics companies that could translate AI into machines for factories, warehouses, public services, and eventually homes.

PCIM 2026: Why the Silicon survival, physics, and the AI vortex are forcing reality check

DIGITIMES — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 21:49:42 GMT

While marketing initiatives promote an ultra-fast transition to wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductors, fully automated smart factories, and an all-electric automotive future, the sentiment across the PCIM Europe 2026 exhibition floor is more pragmatic. The industry has reached a transitional maturity wall where the realities of material physics, fragmented design silos, and macroeconomic supply shocks are clashing with marketing hype cycles.

Apacer targets industrial memory demand as DDR4 shortages drive profits through 2027

Lily Hess — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 21:49:15 GMT

Memory supply remains tight, and higher prices have made end markets cautious. Despite that, Apacer Technology CEO Chia-Kun Chang said that foundry shifts by the three major makers are irreversible, meaning DRAM and flash will stay in short supply, and the memory industry will continue to profit at least throughout the first half of 2027.

Cerebras outpaces Nvidia in video showdown at SuperAI Singapore, making its case against GPU dominance

DIGITIMES — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 21:39:23 GMT

Andy Hock, chief strategy officer at Cerebras Systems, walked onto the Main Stage at SuperAI Singapore 2026 on Wednesday carrying the company's Wafer Scale Engine — the physical chip itself — and held it up for an audience of 10,000 before placing it next to a slide showing it to scale against Nvidia's latest B200 platform. The size difference was stark.

Advanced semiconductor demand fuels Liying's fluorine recycling expansion

Charlene Chen — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 09:25:00 GMT

As demand for AI chips continued to surge, utilization rates at advanced semiconductor process lines kept climbing, making the circular-economy treatment of waste hydrofluoric acid and calcium fluoride sludge an essential service. Liying said the company's core strength lay in using intelligent production parameters to improve waste purity and regenerate the materials into green synthetic fluorite (calcium fluoride), helping semiconductor customers meet carbon reduction and ESG goals in advanced manufacturing.

Infineon and VinRobotics sign partnership to advance humanoid robot development

DIGITIMES — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 09:15:00 GMT

Infineon Technologies and Vietnam's VinRobotics have agreed to collaborate on humanoid robots, a move that could shape how future machines are designed, manufactured, and deployed worldwide. The partnership brings together semiconductor expertise and robotics development, highlighting Asia's growing role in automation across industry, services, and the home.

TXC eyes 30% optical module share by 2027

Charlene Chen — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT

AI and optical communications demand are pushing frequency components toward higher frequencies, smaller sizes, lower power consumption, ultra-low jitter, and very high stability. Quartz component maker TXC sees AI and automotive as its main growth engines in 2026, and expects AI to account for 16% of full-year revenue this year. TXC currently holds a 20–30% share of the optical module market and aims to break above 30% in 2027.

Unigroup Guoxin targets Beijing IPO as China's DRAM pipeline gains another contender

DIGITIMES — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 08:45:00 GMT

Unigroup Guoxin Microelectronics is moving closer to a Beijing Stock Exchange IPO, adding another DRAM-focused player to China's domestic memory chip pipeline.

WD pushes toward 100TB hard drives as AI storage demand surges

Jingyue Hsiao — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 08:15:00 GMT

WD is preparing for a global wave of AI data growth by prioritizing hard drives with higher capacity, faster performance, and lower power consumption. The company says the shift reflects how AI training and inference are generating more data than traditional systems can handle, making storage efficiency and affordability increasingly important worldwide.

Frontier of AI shifts from model strength to deployment, cost, and applications

DIGITIMES — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 08:04:01 GMT

The frontier of AI is shifting from model training and accuracy to real-world deployment and other emerging factors, according to a panel held on June 10 comprising AI leaders in Asia and Europe. The new battleground is evolving toward cost and markets where AI capabilities remain less developed.

Nvidia's AI ramp deepens memory squeeze as cloud providers lock up supply through 2028

Jingyue Hsiao — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 08:00:50 GMT

Memory shortages tied to Nvidia's next wave of AI hardware are expected to intensify through 2027 and into 2028, as major cloud service providers continue to secure long-term supply for data-center buildouts, according to supply-chain sources. The pressure is already rippling through DRAM and NAND markets, with OEMs and module makers warning of tighter availability and weaker room for additional orders.

Aker to expand capacity by 20% as auto demand drives growth

Sherri Wang — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 07:46:47 GMT

Aker Technology plans to expand capacity by 20% in 2026 as automotive demand grows and the quartz component supplier pushes further into AI servers, optical modules, and industrial control applications.

OpenAI reportedly nears 10GW Ohio lease with Nvidia backing, sealing its pivot from building to renting compute

DIGITIMES — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 07:25:36 GMT

OpenAI is in advanced talks to lease a planned 10-gigawatt data center campus on federal land in Ohio, in what would be the company's largest infrastructure commitment to date, The Information reported, citing people familiar with the negotiations. The deal — developed by SoftBank's SB Energy on land owned by the US Department of Energy, with Nvidia weighing a role as credit guarantor — would crystallize a year-long shift in OpenAI's strategy: away from owning massive computing assets, and toward leasing them.

Tech analyst unpacks why AI eats the world at SuperAI Singapore

DIGITIMES — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 06:54:41 GMT

Sam Altman's vision of artificial intelligence as a utility bought by the meter — like electricity — may be the wrong model entirely, and the telecommunications industry's last decade shows why. Benedict Evans, the technology analyst and former Andreessen Horowitz partner, made that case Wednesday in the second keynote of SuperAI Singapore 2026, drawing on mobile data's growth trajectory to argue that volume and valuation do not travel together in commodity infrastructure businesses.

Commentary: How AI boom gave Nokia and BlackBerry a second life

Elaine Chen — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 06:52:10 GMT

The artificial intelligence boom has created clear winners among semiconductor and memory manufacturers. Shares of companies such as Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Micron Technology have climbed as demand for AI memory chips continues to surge.

ByteDance takes direct aim at Claude Code and Codex at SuperAI Singapore

DIGITIMES — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 06:47:37 GMT

ByteDance's enterprise technology arm took a direct shot at Anthropic and OpenAI's coding tools at SuperAI Singapore 2026 on Wednesday, with Kan Yang, head of solutions at BytePlus, naming Claude Code and Codex as competitors to ByteDance's own agentic engineering product, Trae.

Commentary: Nvidia CEO visit spotlights Samsung in HBM supply race

Charlene Chen — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 06:44:24 GMT

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's multi-day trip to South Korea put the "triangle relationship" among Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Nvidia over high-bandwidth memory (HBM) in the spotlight, even as he toured AI factories and sealed partnerships in robotics and physical AI. The visit underscored how HBM has become a strategic supply asset for Nvidia's expanding AI platform.

Powerchip taps AI-driven chip boom with US$833 million overseas fundraising push

DIGITIMES — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 06:36:58 GMT

Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (PSMC) has priced a cash capital increase tied to an overseas depositary receipt offering, a move that may matter to global investors tracking Asia's semiconductor supply chain. The Taiwan-based company said the deal will fund equipment purchases and foreign-currency materials, while modestly diluting existing shareholders.

Closed AI models face a capex reckoning as open-weight alternatives close gap, SuperAI speaker warns

DIGITIMES — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 06:21:07 GMT

The economics of closed artificial intelligence (AI) models may be fundamentally broken, and the centralized cloud infrastructure supporting them is the next target — that was the sharpest argument to emerge from the opening keynote of SuperAI Singapore 2026 on Wednesday, where entrepreneur and former Coinbase chief technology officer Balaji Srinivasan laid out a case for why the software industry may have no choice but to decentralize.

Taiwan exports hit record high as AI servers and chip price hikes fuel trade surge

DIGITIMES — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 06:18:03 GMT

Taiwan's exports hit new highs in May 2026 and in the first five months of the year, powered by AI supply-chain demand and rising electronics prices, the Ministry of Finance said on June 9.