DIGITIMES: News and Insight of the Global Supply Chain

MiniMax, Z.ai revenues surge on API demand but adjusted losses widen

DIGITIMES — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 16:50:00 GMT

Two of China's first listed foundation-model developers are showing that demand for their technology can translate into rapidly growing revenue. Turning that demand into profit remains a much harder problem.

TIME AI 100 spotlights China's new AI guard, from Moonshot, Z.ai to AgiBot, Manus

Levi Li — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 16:36:00 GMT

TIME recently unveiled its 2026 list of the 100 most influential people in AI. Alongside leaders of major technology companies, the list includes a new generation of Chinese entrepreneurs spanning AI models, humanoid robots, and AI agents, highlighting how China's AI industry is expanding beyond large language models into a broader range of technologies and applications.

SEMICON Taiwan 2026: Physical AI drives new demand for multimodal robot sensing

Willis Ke — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 16:33:00 GMT

The rise of physical AI is creating a new wave of demand for advanced sensors as robots move from controlled demonstrations toward practical deployment. Industry experts at SEMICON Taiwan 2026 said robots will need increasingly diverse sensing capabilities to perceive, interpret, and respond to complex real-world environments in real time.

Yield has been semiconductor industry's oldest question; now it's Microsoft's test for AI

DIGITIMES — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 16:05:00 GMT

Microsoft brought the semiconductor industry's own measure of success back to it on Wednesday, and argued that AI will be judged by it.

Sandisk says HBF can match HBM bandwidth with up to 16x the capacity

DIGITIMES — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 09:54:45 GMT

Sandisk says its NAND-based High Bandwidth Flash (HBF) technology can match HBM bandwidth while providing eight to 16 times the capacity at a similar cost, positioning flash memory closer to processors as inference workloads strain conventional memory systems.

Micron says tightly coupled DRAM could deliver more than 10x HBM bandwidth

DIGITIMES — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 09:41:08 GMT

Micron Technology is exploring tightly coupled DRAM that could deliver more than 10 times the bandwidth of HBM while using substantially less energy per bit, as the memory maker looks to new architectures to overcome the widening gap between processor performance and memory bandwidth.

Lam Research exec says automated preventive maintenance key to fabs of the future

DIGITIMES — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 09:03:25 GMT

A senior Lam Research executive told an industry audience this week that the next major leap in semiconductor manufacturing will not come from removing humans entirely from fabs, but from pairing collaborative robots with AI-driven predictive maintenance to close a long-standing gap in fab operations.

DRAM giants target 3D stacking to break memory wall and power bottlenecks

Yunnie Cheng — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 08:45:00 GMT

At a shared stage at Semicon Taiwan 2026, executives from Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron agreed that traditional 2.5D high-bandwidth memory (HBM) using interposers is approaching a performance ceiling. Consequently, the industry is transitioning toward 3D vertical stacking architectures to minimize transmission power consumption and leverage wafer-level bonding technologies.

Fresh off Nasdaq listing, Pasqal turns to Taiwan's photonics industry to help it scale

DIGITIMES — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 08:30:00 GMT

Four days after listing on Nasdaq, Pasqal came to SEMICON Taiwan with an argument aimed squarely at its competitors: the industry's assumption that quantum computing delivers nothing useful before fault tolerance arrives around 2030 is wrong, and the French company intends to sell against it.

EU EV battery recycling still lacks a profitable model

AI bot — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 08:20:00 GMT

The European Union is pushing to strengthen domestic second-life battery production and recycling loops, but EV battery recycling still faces a contradiction: the technology is maturing, yet a sustainable business model has not emerged.

Taiwan's semiconductor ecosystem has the UK taking notes

Rodney Chan — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 07:55:00 GMT

The UK wants to understand how Taiwan built such a successful semiconductor ecosystem, said Andy McLean, CEO of the UK Semiconductor Center, at a forum organized by Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) in Taipei on September 1. It is generally believed that government support, close collaboration among industry, academia and research institutions, and corporate long-term vision are key drivers of Taiwan's semiconductor success.

Nvidia and Micron top NT$4.4T in Taiwan investment

Charlene Chen — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 07:50:46 GMT

On the eve of the opening of SEMICON Taiwan 2026, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) hosted the Semicon Network Summit, where President Ching-Te Lai said Nvidia invests and procures more than NT$3 trillion (US$94.4 billion) a year in Taiwan. He added that Micron has invested more than NT$1.4 trillion cumulatively, while AMD has expanded its Taiwan R&D and investment to more than NT$300 billion.

Zhen Ding launches 1.6T optical modules, 34-layer AI server boards at Semicon Taiwan to meet next-gen AI infrastructure demand

Yunnie Cheng — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 07:50:00 GMT

Exhibiting in the AI Technology Zone at Semicon Taiwan 2026, Zhen Ding Technology (ZDT) Group highlights two core product lines: 800G, 1.6T, XPO, and NPO high-end optical transceiver modules, and ultra-high-layer AI server boards with up to 34 layers. The showcase underscores the company's advanced printed circuit board (PCB) engineering capabilities for next-generation AI computing infrastructure, spanning high-speed data transmission to multi-layer board designs.

Samsung, SK Hynix inventories surge as valuation reserves fall

DIGITIMES — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 07:41:00 GMT

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix ended the first half of 2026 holding sharply more inventory than six months earlier, an unusual development in a memory market where demand continues to strain available supply.

Semicon Taiwan 2026 to test cloud AI investment boom

Yunnie Cheng — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 07:33:00 GMT

Cloud AI capital expenditure continues to shatter market expectations, sparking growing concerns over whether the spending surge is overheating and heading toward a bubble. Semicon Taiwan 2026 may serve as the ultimate litmus test for this debate.

Wonderful Hi-Tech expands Thailand, Vietnam capacity to capture emerging space data center, physical AI demand

Eifeh Strom — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 07:30:00 GMT

Cable manufacturer Wonderful Hi-Tech announced its financial results for the second quarter and first half of 2026 during an earnings call held on September 1. A ramp-up in high-speed transmission cable shipments for artificial intelligence (AI) applications, coupled with strong pull-in momentum from a major US low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite customer, drove second-quarter results. The company also said it is expanding capacity in Thailand and Vietnam to capture new opportunities in space data centers and physical AI.

World's first legged robot standard sets global benchmark for humanoids, robot dogs

DIGITIMES — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 07:10:52 GMT

China-led experts have released what CCTV described as the world's first international standard for legged robots, creating a common framework for evaluating humanoid robots, robot dogs and other machines designed to walk, run, climb slopes and cross obstacles.

Indium CEO: packaging, cooling and power are next AI bottlenecks

Yunnie Cheng — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 06:55:00 GMT

As AI and high-performance computing (HPC) continue to drive semiconductor advances, industry competition is shifting beyond chip performance toward packaging, cooling, assembly, and power delivery. With GPUs, high-bandwidth memory (HBM), and advanced packaging pushing power density higher, chipmakers now face challenges that extend well beyond silicon manufacturing, including managing thermal expansion, warpage, heat dissipation, and reliability across heterogeneously integrated materials.

India reportedly readies AI agent payments on UPI, its national payment rails

DIGITIMES — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 06:55:00 GMT

India is preparing a framework that would allow AI agents to make small digital payments without requiring user approval for every transaction, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. This would be a step that would put one of the world's largest payment networks behind agentic commerce.

TSMC moves into Baipu Industrial Park, boosts advanced packaging

Charlene Chen — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 06:45:00 GMT

TSMC will set up operations in Kaohsiung's Baipu Industrial Park, helping create Taiwan's first advanced packaging materials and equipment supply-chain cluster. Closely watched by the industry, the move is expected to improve efficiency by 25% to 50% as the company builds a collaborative verification platform with suppliers.

TSMC reportedly asks suppliers to develop 5μm HBM microbumps

DIGITIMES — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 06:40:00 GMT

TSMC has asked materials and equipment suppliers to develop 5-micrometer-class microbump bonding and underfill technology for advanced HBM packaging, according to ETNews, signaling that the foundry may continue scaling conventional microbumps rather than shift immediately to hybrid bonding.

Certain Micro targets AI test-interface demand with three Semicon products

DIGITIMES — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 06:35:08 GMT

As Semicon Taiwan 2026 gets underway, semiconductor test-interface structural parts maker Certain Micro Application Technology (CMAT) announced three core product lines aimed at rising AI and high-performance computing (HPC) chip testing demand: fine drilling for upper and lower guide plates, probe card structural components, and ATE Stiffener test frames.

China's Galactic Energy puts PALLAS-1 in orbit, raising stakes in reusable rocket race

DIGITIMES — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 06:25:00 GMT

Chinese private launch company Galactic Energy Space Technology Co. has successfully flown PALLAS-1, its medium-to-large reusable liquid-fuel rocket, marking its expansion into a dual solid- and liquid-fuel portfolio.

Energy and water: How to tackle the fab resource crunch

DIGITIMES — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 06:19:16 GMT

As artificial intelligence demand drives astronomical growth in advanced chip manufacturing, the semiconductor industry is hitting critical resource bottlenecks. Speaking at SEMICON Taiwan 2026, leaders from Ecolab and Edwards Vacuum warned on September 2 that continuing with current water and energy practices is unsustainable.

IBM's quantum pitch to chip audience: bottleneck is now manufacturing

DIGITIMES — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 05:00:00 GMT

IBM's case for quantum computing no longer rests on physics. At Semicon Taiwan 2026 on September 1, the company's argument was that AI has outrun what silicon can supply, that no amount of process scaling closes the gap, and that the constraint on quantum is now a manufacturing problem — one IBM intends to solve with a dedicated 300mm foundry.

Global smartphone industry, 2Q 2026

DIGITIMES — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 04:18:06 GMT

According to DIGITIMES, smartphone memory contract prices surged by 50% to 80% in the first half of 2026, prompting most vendors to continue cutting shipments of mid- and low-end models and to raise product prices.

MediaTek pushes advanced packaging and supply chain to keep pace with AI

Charlene Chen — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 04:16:34 GMT

Speaking at the 3DIC Global Summit at SEMICON Taiwan 2026, MediaTek general manager T.Y. Lau revealed the publicly disclosed cost structure of the B200 accelerator, saying that after excluding memory, 75% of the cost comes from advanced packaging, assembly and testing. In the single-chip era, that portion barely existed in the cost structure.

Meta reportedly taps SeeYA for Phoenix OLEDoS panels as BOE fails to qualify

DIGITIMES — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 04:05:00 GMT

Meta has reportedly tapped Chinese microdisplay maker SeeYA Technology to supply OLED-on-silicon (OLEDoS) panels for its next-generation lightweight mixed-reality headset, codenamed Phoenix, while rival BOE failed to obtain supplier qualification, according to South Korea's The Elec.

Operations shake-up: how SpaceX is reengineering its AI data center strategy

DIGITIMES — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 03:58:55 GMT

Elon Musk has restructured the SpaceX leadership team tasked with constructing the company's AI data centers, replacing several leaders with executives drawn from SpaceX's rocket and satellite internet divisions. The reshuffle follows mounting civil engineering concerns and persistent operational reliability issues at existing data center facilities in Tennessee and Mississippi. During its initial push to establish AI infrastructure rapidly, the company operated clusters for extended periods without backup cooling or power systems, significantly elevating the risk of system outages, sources told The Information.

Marvell sees silicon photonics scaling from late 2027, with Taiwan and TSMC at the center

Levi Li — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 03:58:48 GMT

Marvell SVP and chief technology officer Radha Nagarajan offered a clearer timeline for the commercialisation of co-packaged optics, or CPO, during a media briefing at SEMICON Taiwan 2026.

Manus resumes independent operations after Meta deal collapses

DIGITIMES — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 03:55:00 GMT

Manus has resumed independent operations under its founding team, closing a turbulent chapter that began with Meta Platforms' multibillion-dollar acquisition of the AI agent startup and ended after Chinese regulators ordered the transaction canceled.

Hardware isn't the problem — TSMC exec flags software, substrate gaps in 3D IC

Yunnie Cheng — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 03:51:38 GMT

Speaking at the SEMI 3DIC Advanced Manufacturing Alliance (3DICAMA) Global Summit on September 1, Jun He, TSMC Vice President of Advanced Packaging Technology and Service, noted that while the advanced packaging sector offers massive commercial opportunities and a bright outlook, the industry still has critical gaps to address across both hardware and software.

SDC to expand foldable iPhone OLED mass production in September

DIGITIMES — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 03:30:00 GMT

Samsung Display (SDC) is expected to formally expand mass production of OLED panels for Apple's foldable iPhone starting in September 2026. Although the ramp-up for the foldable iPhone had previously been pushed back because production delays hit some components, including the hinge and substrate, the new OLED mass production schedule suggests SDC can still meet its full-year production target.

European chip ambitions hinge on more than subsidies, says TSMC

Jingyue Hsiao — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 03:26:26 GMT

The EU is pressing ahead with the European Chips Act and discussing a second phase, but TSMC says public money alone will not secure a durable semiconductor base. The company argues that long-term demand, operating conditions, and administrative coordination will matter more than incentives if Europe wants lasting manufacturing capacity.

ByteDance-ZTE Nubia NaviX Ultra clears launch hurdle, takes agentic AI beyond smartphone assistants

Levi Li — Wed, 2 Sep 2026 03:21:05 GMT

ByteDance and ZTE are preparing to launch the Nubia NaviX Ultra in September after the AI smartphone received China's network access approval, clearing the regulatory process from large-model filing to device certification.