DIGITIMES Asia: News and Insight of the Global Supply Chain

The Tata Electronics leak is overwhelmingly an Apple data set, file index shows

DIGITIMES — Sat, 27 Jun 2026 08:38:00 GMT

Tata Electronics, the Indian contract manufacturer that assembles iPhones and supplies other global technology companies, has confirmed a cybersecurity incident after the extortion group World Leaks published more than 630 gigabytes of data taken from the company's systems. The cache, posted on the group's dark-web leak site, contains 204,341 files and folders drawn from Tata Electronics' internal file servers.

JCET's US$1.1bn expansion shows where China's AI chip crunch is moving

DIGITIMES — Sat, 27 Jun 2026 08:30:46 GMT

China's AI chip race is pushing the semiconductor bottleneck into advanced packaging and testing, where HPC, HBM, Chiplets and domestic substitution are driving a new capacity cycle.

Apple's reported 1.4nm roadmap signals prolonged race for advanced-node capacity

Scarlett Yu — Sat, 27 Jun 2026 08:30:38 GMT

Apple is reportedly considering adopting 1.4nm process technology for its flagship smartphone SoCs as early as 2028, implying that flagship chips built on the 2nm generation could have a lifecycle of only about two years.

Hanmi targets advanced packaging market with FC Bonder 3.5

DIGITIMES — Sat, 27 Jun 2026 08:30:27 GMT

Hanmi Semiconductor has launched FC Bonder 3.5, a new flip-chip bonding tool for AI system semiconductor packaging, as the South Korean equipment maker looks to broaden its advanced packaging business beyond TC bonders for high-bandwidth memory and supply global foundry and OSAT customers, ETNews and Yonhap reported.

US backs I-Pulse's $250M plan to use pulsed power for geothermal drilling

DIGITIMES — Sat, 27 Jun 2026 08:30:19 GMT

A US$250 million award for I-Pulse's semiconductor and pulsed power research could have implications far beyond the US, potentially affecting energy, mining, defense, and chip supply chains used by industries worldwide. The funding is aimed at domestic capacity, but the technologies being developed may shape global competition and access.

ShunSin sees CPO potential, adds TSMC veterans as independents

Charlene Chen — Sat, 27 Jun 2026 08:30:09 GMT

ShunSin, a Foxconn-affiliated packaging and testing company, held its 2026 annual general meeting, with chairman Shang-Yi Chiang presiding. Chiang said ShunSin will leverage its packaging, testing, and optoelectronic integration capabilities under Foxconn's "3+3+3" strategy to seize advanced packaging opportunities in AI optical communications.

Taiwan motorcycle maker SYM's profit falls in 2025 despite record market share

Jingyue Hsiao — Sat, 27 Jun 2026 08:29:59 GMT

SYM said its 2025 results held up despite global tariff shifts and supply-chain disruption, highlighting resilient motorcycle sales in Taiwan and overseas. For global readers, the outlook signals how trade policy uncertainty is reshaping demand, while also showing how companies are leaning on product launches and disciplined management to support growth.

LG pushes robot strategy from home to factory; data shortage remains a challenge

Kevin Wang — Sat, 27 Jun 2026 08:29:41 GMT

LG Electronics has in recent years expanded its push into physical AI, building an end-to-end robotics value chain under its "One LG" strategy comprising other units across the group, with products ranging from the CLOiD home robot to the LG AXIUM robotic actuator. However, the lack of robot motion data remains its biggest bottleneck.

AI-driven chip demand tightens air and sea freight capacity and lifts rates

DIGITIMES — Sat, 27 Jun 2026 08:29:29 GMT

AI and semiconductor shipments are tightening global freight markets, with air cargo space in short supply and US-bound sea routes crowded. Lower fuel surcharges may ease some costs, but strong export demand from technology supply chains is expected to keep shipping prices firm through the peak season.

DrayTek's revenue slide drags into 2026, company pins hopes on Wi-Fi 7 and cybersecurity

DIGITIMES — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 18:56:00 GMT

Taiwan networking equipment maker DrayTek held its shareholders' meeting on June 26, acknowledging its 2025 business and financial reports along with its profit distribution plan.

MediaTek frames orbit compute and NTN as next strategic R&D priorities

DIGITIMES — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 18:55:00 GMT

MediaTek hosted MARC Workshop 2026 on June 24 through the MediaTek Advanced Research Center (MARC), recognizing the year's university-industry collaboration outcomes while outlining forward-looking R&D priorities in AI, satellite communications and next-generation connectivity.

Zettabyte urges new standard for quality AI compute as demand surges over two years

DIGITIMES — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 18:55:00 GMT

AI infrastructure firm Zettabyte said AI token generation exploded more than 330-fold over two years and urged that compute be measured by delivered useful work rather than raw hardware specs or hourly price. According to Alphabet's Google, monthly AI token generation grew from about 9.7 trillion to more than 3.2 quadrillion, and Zettabyte presented its quality-compute framework at a seminar hosted by Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute.

SK On completes China battery joint-venture restructuring with Eve Energy

DIGITIMES — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 18:55:00 GMT

South Korean battery maker SK On has completed a share swap with China's Eve Energy, giving it full ownership of a battery manufacturing joint venture in Yancheng, Jiangsu province, as the company continues efforts to streamline operations and ease financial pressure.

Samsung SDI targets US battery supply chains with US$20M Forge Nano investment

DIGITIMES — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 09:16:17 GMT

Samsung SDI, a battery and electronic materials manufacturer, has entered an agreement to help US-based Forge Nano build a 3 GWh per year battery manufacturing site in Morrisville, North Carolina. The deal capitalizes on both Samsung's desire to avoid US tariffs and the American military's goal to develop non-China supply chains, including in batteries.

SK Hynix fluorine leaks trigger safety inspections at 25 South Korean chip plants

Charlene Chen — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 08:35:58 GMT

South Korea's Ministry of Employment and Labor has launched chemical safety inspections at 25 semiconductor manufacturers, including SK Hynix, after a series of fluorine gas leaks at chip plants raised fresh concerns over industrial accidents.

Inside Corning: a century of R&D bets, and why optical fiber is paying off again

Scarlett Yu — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 07:15:53 GMT

Preface

Taiwan IPC maker IEI Integration's margin fell to 28% in Q1, but rebound is coming

Jingyue Hsiao — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 07:08:24 GMT

IEI Integration said its first-quarter margin was squeezed by higher component costs and a changing product mix, but it expects a second-quarter rebound as high-end video conferencing shipments ramp up. The outlook matters for global industrial and enterprise technology buyers facing tighter supply, shifting production, and uneven demand across markets.

Acer's distribution arm bets on MacBook Neo, software to offset weak PC demand

Levi Li — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 07:06:12 GMT

Acer channel arm Weblink International remains upbeat on the second half of 2026, even as the PC industry looks increasingly likely to see weaker demand than in the first half.

Samsung eyes Gwangju chip site as SK Hynix weighs regional and overseas options

DIGITIMES — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 07:03:57 GMT

South Korea's plan to push semiconductor investment beyond the greater Seoul area is taking clearer shape, with Samsung Electronics reportedly moving closer to a new chip hub in Gwangju while SK Hynix continues to weigh a site in South Jeolla Province against overseas investment options.

Qualcomm HBC takes aim at HBM costs in AI data centers

Levi Li — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 06:57:41 GMT

Qualcomm has unveiled its latest AI data center platform, Dragonfly, at its annual investor day, highlighting a new technology it calls High Bandwidth Compute, or HBC, as a key weapon in its challenge to Nvidia, AMD and AI chip startups.

Agility Robotics IPO strengthens Foxconn's long-term robotics ambitions

Scarlett Yu — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 06:51:16 GMT

Humanoid robotics and physical AI pioneer Agility Robotics has announced plans to pursue a public listing, drawing significant attention from global capital markets and the technology industry. Behind the IPO, however, lies a notable Taiwanese supply-chain presence that adds broader strategic significance to the company's public market debut.

Seres' US$25bn wipeout tests the price of Huawei's EV halo

DIGITIMES — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 06:44:56 GMT

Seres Group, once the clearest listed proxy for Huawei's EV ambitions, has lost more than CNY180 billion (US$25 billion) in A-share market value from its peak, despite strong sales and profit.

Z.ai's HK$1tn rally tests China AI boom: model leap or market mirage?

DIGITIMES — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 06:43:41 GMT

Chinese AI startup Z.ai, also known as Zhipu AI, has turned GLM-5.2 into the clearest test yet of China's frontier AI gap with Anthropic and OpenAI. Its stock surge is now raising a second question: whether investors are pricing a real technology shift or a thin-float capital-market fever.

Global intelligent eyewear market surges as AR and smart glasses gain ground

DIGITIMES — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 06:41:08 GMT

Global demand for intelligent eyewear is rising fast, with shipments jumping 83% in the first quarter of 2026, according to Counterpoint Research. For readers worldwide, the shift signals a faster move toward AI-enabled wearables, while VR headsets continue to struggle with weak demand and slower product refreshes.

AuthenX targets AI data center interconnects with plug-and-play FAU for CPO

Lily Hess — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 06:35:26 GMT

AI-driven hyperscale data center expansion is pushing the global AI race beyond raw GPU computing power into a broader contest over high-speed interconnects and electro-optical integration. As Nvidia's next-generation AI factory moves toward petabyte (PB)-scale data transfers, co-packaged optics (CPO) is heading toward commercialization, lifting the importance of key components such as fiber array units (FAU) and external laser sources (ELS).

Groundhog Technologies wins world's first telecom GenAI order, eyes LEO satellite optimization market

Kevin Wang — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 05:59:05 GMT

Groundhog Technologies is eyeing opportunities in low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite applications by targeting the satellite resource optimization market, according to chairman David Chiou at the company's latest shareholders' meeting on June 24. Chiou also announced that Groundhog has won the first generative AI order worldwide in the field of telecom engineering, with Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) as its client.

AIDC showcases advanced composite materials for next-gen aircraft, drones

Eifeh Strom — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 05:54:42 GMT

To meet the aerospace industry's push for lighter, more environmentally sustainable next-generation aircraft, Taiwan's Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) has stepped up research and development of thermoplastic composite materials in recent years.

Taiwan to draft new drone budget after defense bill cuts

Kevin Wang — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 05:47:50 GMT

Taiwan's Executive Yuan has decided to draft a separate special bill to support drone development and procurement after the Legislative Yuan cut relevant items from the NT$1.25 trillion (approx. US$39 billion) special budget for national defense, with the Executive Yuan citing national security concerns and the need to build an autonomous industrial supply chain. The move comes as a delegation of lawmakers, led by Speaker Daniel K.Y. Han, returns from a visit to TSMC's Arizona plant and meetings with US lawmakers, yet it remains unclear whether that trip will help win opposition support for the drone bill.

OpenAI to release GPT 5.6 model on staggered basis in face of US regulatory uncertainty

DIGITIMES — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 04:44:03 GMT

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told staff that its latest model, GPT 5.6, would be released on a staggered basis, with a small group of entities first gaining preview access to it after approval by the US government. The case highlights the regulatory uncertainty many local AI developers are facing after US President Donald Trump announced a voluntary review system before the release of frontier models, with the industry remaining concerned that it is not so voluntary after all.

Samsung's reported US$648 billion plan shifts focus to South Korea's chip belt

DIGITIMES — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 04:31:25 GMT

Samsung Group is expected to announce a domestic investment plan worth more than KRW1,000 trillion (approx. US$648 billion) on June 29, when South Korean President Lee Jae-myung chairs a public briefing at the presidential office in Seoul on what his administration is calling the country's "three mega-projects for a great leap forward," Maeil Business Newspaper reported.

Exclusive: SK Hynix races to build Yongin memory megasite as supply crunch deepens

Sherri Wang — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 04:08:12 GMT

The global memory market is facing a structural supply-demand imbalance that shows little sign of easing. Micron's stronger-than-expected quarterly results have drawn fresh attention from investors and the technology industry, while the broader supply picture remains tight.

Taiwan revives NT$210 billion drone procurement plan amid industry hopes and concerns

Charlene Chen — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 03:59:13 GMT

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense has revived a NT$210 billion (approx. US$6.6 billion) special bill for unmanned vehicle procurement after the Legislative Yuan in May 2026 stripped out all domestic-industry-friendly items from an earlier defense special budget, leaving only arms purchases. The Executive Yuan has now approved the draft, raising hopes and concerns across the drone industry.

Teradyne expands India focus with new country manager

DIGITIMES — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 03:56:59 GMT

US-based automated test equipment supplier Teradyne plans to expand its presence in India and has appointed Alpa Sood as India Manager, as the company seeks to deepen engagement in a semiconductor ecosystem moving toward manufacturing scale.

Corning weighs South Korea site as chip packaging race turns to glass

DIGITIMES — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 03:54:27 GMT

Corning is studying South Korea as a possible manufacturing base for semiconductor glass substrates, a sign that the US specialty glass and optical materials maker is looking to extend its AI exposure beyond data-center connectivity into advanced chip packaging.

Academia Sinica readies Taiwan-made quantum chip for engineering push

Lily Hess — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 03:53:00 GMT

Academia Sinica has built a 20-qubit quantum chip from scratch, and the team now says the next phase is less about lab breakthroughs and more about engineering a scalable, reproducible manufacturing system. Chii-Dong Chen, executive director of Academia Sinica's Center for Quantum Computer, says Taiwan's quantum chip effort is moving into that engineering battleground.

DIGITIMES Asia: News and Insight of the Global Supply Chain

The Tata Electronics leak is overwhelmingly an Apple data set, file index shows

JCET's US$1.1bn expansion shows where China's AI chip crunch is moving

Apple's reported 1.4nm roadmap signals prolonged race for advanced-node capacity

Hanmi targets advanced packaging market with FC Bonder 3.5

US backs I-Pulse's $250M plan to use pulsed power for geothermal drilling

ShunSin sees CPO potential, adds TSMC veterans as independents

Taiwan motorcycle maker SYM's profit falls in 2025 despite record market share

LG pushes robot strategy from home to factory; data shortage remains a challenge

AI-driven chip demand tightens air and sea freight capacity and lifts rates

DrayTek's revenue slide drags into 2026, company pins hopes on Wi-Fi 7 and cybersecurity

MediaTek frames orbit compute and NTN as next strategic R&amp;D priorities

Zettabyte urges new standard for quality AI compute as demand surges over two years

SK On completes China battery joint-venture restructuring with Eve Energy

Samsung SDI targets US battery supply chains with US$20M Forge Nano investment

SK Hynix fluorine leaks trigger safety inspections at 25 South Korean chip plants

Inside Corning: a century of R&amp;D bets, and why optical fiber is paying off again

Taiwan IPC maker IEI Integration's margin fell to 28% in Q1, but rebound is coming

Acer's distribution arm bets on MacBook Neo, software to offset weak PC demand

Samsung eyes Gwangju chip site as SK Hynix weighs regional and overseas options

Qualcomm HBC takes aim at HBM costs in AI data centers

Agility Robotics IPO strengthens Foxconn's long-term robotics ambitions

Seres' US$25bn wipeout tests the price of Huawei's EV halo

Z.ai's HK$1tn rally tests China AI boom: model leap or market mirage?

Global intelligent eyewear market surges as AR and smart glasses gain ground

AuthenX targets AI data center interconnects with plug-and-play FAU for CPO

Groundhog Technologies wins world's first telecom GenAI order, eyes LEO satellite optimization market

AIDC showcases advanced composite materials for next-gen aircraft, drones

Taiwan to draft new drone budget after defense bill cuts

OpenAI to release GPT 5.6 model on staggered basis in face of US regulatory uncertainty

Samsung's reported US$648 billion plan shifts focus to South Korea's chip belt

Exclusive: SK Hynix races to build Yongin memory megasite as supply crunch deepens

Taiwan revives NT$210 billion drone procurement plan amid industry hopes and concerns

Teradyne expands India focus with new country manager

Corning weighs South Korea site as chip packaging race turns to glass

Academia Sinica readies Taiwan-made quantum chip for engineering push

MediaTek frames orbit compute and NTN as next strategic R&D priorities

Inside Corning: a century of R&D bets, and why optical fiber is paying off again