DIGITIMES: News and Insight of the Global Supply Chain

Meta open-sources Muse Gadgets SDK for building AI devices

DIGITIMES — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 01:59:16 GMT

Meta has open-sourced the Muse Gadgets software development kit (SDK) and firmware code, allowing developers to build physical devices that interact with its AI assistant Muse and extend the service into more real-world settings.

Meta, Microsoft reportedly cut internal Claude use as AI costs rise

DIGITIMES — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 01:54:42 GMT

Meta and Microsoft are reducing employees' internal reliance on Anthropic's Claude as they push proprietary AI tools and seek greater control over rapidly rising AI costs, according to The Information. The shift comes even as both companies continue to use Anthropic models in products and cloud services.

HBM4 prices to nearly triple in 2027, memory makers see windfall margins spread

Yunnie Cheng — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 01:53:23 GMT

Memory supply and demand will tighten further in 2027. According to supply chain sources, South Korean memory makers have recently quoted aggressive long-term contract prices for sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM4). While HBM4 prices are expected to sit at around US$500-US$550 in 2026, quotes for 2027 could surge to US$1,400-US$1,600—representing a massive 1.8x to 1.9x price increase.

Chicony Power sees satellite, server orders surge in 4Q26

DIGITIMES — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 01:48:43 GMT

Chicony Power Technology reported self-calculated consolidated revenue of NT$2.413 billion (approx. US$75.91 million) in September 2026, down 2.3% month-over-month, as memory shortages and cost pressure slowed notebook (NB) power customers' pull-in pace. The company said non-NB business remained solid and expects satellite communications power and server power momentum to strengthen, with satellite communications power orders likely to surge in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Can satellites share power?— Star Catcher puts an orbital grid to the test

Scarlett Yu — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 01:47:05 GMT

As in-orbit AI computing, Earth observation, and defense missions expand rapidly, satellites are demanding more power, turning energy supply into an emerging challenge for the growing space economy.

MIPS deepens RISC-V ties with China despite US-China tech tensions

Sherri Wang — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 01:45:10 GMT

Despite intense technology competition between the US and China, cooperation between the two sides on the open-standard RISC-V architecture continues to deepen, with US intellectual property provider MIPS expanding its work with Chinese industry.

Anthropic IPO filing flags legal risks over AI agents

DIGITIMES — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 01:44:39 GMT

Anthropic said in its IPO filing that as artificial intelligence (AI) systems gain greater autonomous capabilities, the risks rise as well, while current law still does not clearly define who is liable when AI agents go off the rails. The company warned that the legal exposure is significant and hard to predict as AI remains connected to enterprise systems for long periods and acts on data and tools independently.

OpenAI to watermark ChatGPT, Codex text in EU under AI Act

DIGITIMES — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 01:34:07 GMT

OpenAI will begin adding invisible, machine-readable watermarks to text generated by ChatGPT and Codex in the European Union (EU), as the company moves to comply with the EU AI Act's transparency requirements.

The death of the software seat: cheaper AI tokens turn enterprise computing into metered labor

DIGITIMES — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 01:30:38 GMT

The ferocious push toward artificial intelligence (AI) is gathering momentum, built upon increasing industry sentiment regarding demand for higher AI inference and compute-intensive models.

Nanya Technology, Winbond Electronics hit record highs for 10 consecutive months in September 2026

Eifeh Strom — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 01:30:02 GMT

Taiwan memory suppliers Nanya Technology and Winbond Electronics have set new monthly revenue records for 11 and 10 consecutive months, respectively, as their September 2026 consolidated revenues continued to grow.

MediaTek group spans Wi-Fi, 5G and PON to target AI-era network infrastructure

Scarlett Yu — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 01:21:00 GMT

MediaTek and subsidiary Airoha Technology will jointly showcase new technologies spanning Wi-Fi, 5G CPE, and passive optical networking (PON) at Network X 2026, scheduled for October 13–15 in Vienna, Austria.

Schneider Electric's deal to buy PTC is the next step in its software push

DIGITIMES — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 00:15:29 GMT

Schneider Electric has agreed to purchase software company PTC in a deal valuing its equity at around US$22.6 billion. The all-cash acquisition marks the French energy and tech company's latest move to expand into the software and AI market.

Google Gemini 4 Argon sparks internal doubts

Charlene Chen — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 00:14:10 GMT

Google's new flagship AI model, Gemini 4 Argon, has drawn strong results in multiple benchmark tests, but some employees still say its coding performance is not stable enough. According to Bloomberg, opinion inside Google is split, with some staff saying the model falls short in front-end development and that rivals from Anthropic and OpenAI are advancing faster.

LB Semicon expands power chip capacity as Qualcomm production ramps up

DIGITIMES — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 00:13:50 GMT

South Korean outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) provider LB Semicon is expanding power semiconductor backend capacity at its Gumi plant as it steps up efforts to reduce its reliance on display driver integrated circuits (DDIs) and a highly concentrated customer base, backed by new business from Qualcomm and Renesas and KRW30 billion (approx. US$22.3 million) in planned equipment investment.

DeepSeek closes in on US rivals despite chip curbs

DIGITIMES — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 00:12:56 GMT

China's leading AI models have narrowed their performance gap with US rivals to a record low, while DeepSeek's latest advances in memory efficiency and its deepening work with Huawei suggest Chinese developers are finding ways to improve model performance despite tighter access to advanced US chips.

Samsung ramps Exynos 2700 wafer production as second-gen 2nm rollout advances

DIGITIMES — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 00:12:38 GMT

Samsung Electronics has reportedly begun front-end wafer mass production of its next-generation Exynos 2700 mobile application processor, with production volume planned at more than 10% above that of the Exynos 2600 as the company prepares to expand use of its in-house chips across the Galaxy S27 lineup.

China's glass substrate ramp-up outpaces South Korea with WG Tech targeting 1M sqm

Charlene Chen — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 00:12:14 GMT

China's WG Tech has reportedly begun the second phase of investment in its through-glass via (TGV) glass substrate production line, with total future capacity projected to reach 1 million square meters a year. Analysts say Chinese makers have moved ahead of South Korean rivals by building production lines first, then accelerating product output and customer validation, giving China an early lead in glass substrate commercialization.

LinkCom eyes 4Q26 rebound on smart meter, wireless charging demand

DIGITIMES — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 00:11:32 GMT

Magnetic components maker LinkCom Manufacturing posted September consolidated revenue of NT$44.18 million (approx. US$1.39 million), up 32.53% from a month earlier and down 10.24% from a year earlier. Cumulative consolidated revenue for the first three quarters reached NT$411 million, a 10.21% decline from the same period in 2025.

Column: How semiconductors' evolution foretells the rise of AI data centers

Yunnie Cheng — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 00:10:30 GMT

Semiconductors and AI data centers share a striking number of similarities.

Analysis: China automakers' US entry paths remain open

Yunnie Cheng — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 00:09:28 GMT

The recent summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded without progress on automotive issues—namely, whether Chinese automakers might enter the US market or build manufacturing plants on American soil. While the prospect had previously sparked anxiety among American, European, and Japanese carmakers, the topic yielded no tangible breakthrough during the talks.

Kawasaki teams with Noetra on fully autonomous humanoid robot

Lily Hess — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 00:09:06 GMT

Kawasaki Heavy Industries plans to launch an AI-powered fully autonomous humanoid robot as early as 2030, using a physical AI platform under development by Japan's Noetra. Nikkei reported that Noetra is backed by 44 Japanese companies, including SoftBank and Kawasaki Heavy Industries.

Marvell sees custom chips as a must for CSPs

Charlene Chen — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 00:08:33 GMT

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has said Marvell's optical technology could help make it the next trillion-dollar company, and Marvell took a step toward that goal on September 17 by expanding its partnership with GlobalFoundries (GF). The deal came as the AI computing race shifted from a simple chip contest into a system-level battle spanning interconnects, memory, and networking.

Winbond, Phison bonuses signal fiercer memory talent war

Charlene Chen — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 00:08:07 GMT

Memory chip profitability has surged as core operations improve sharply, with some Winbond employees reportedly receiving NT$500,000 to NT$1 million (US$15,733.41–31,466.83) in cash bonuses, helping reverse the company's recent loss-making image. The move underscores growing confidence in the memory outlook and a widening talent battle in Taiwan's tech sector.

Samsung opens Boston quantum design lab to expand US research push

DIGITIMES — Mon, 5 Oct 2026 12:45:00 GMT

Samsung Electronics has set up a Quantum Design Lab in the Boston area of Massachusetts and started hiring for it, marking a new phase in the company's push into quantum computing. The effort places the South Korean tech giant closer to US research hubs and signals a broader attempt to connect semiconductor expertise with quantum development.

Foxconn move smart long-term care pilot into real care settings

DIGITIMES — Mon, 5 Oct 2026 12:21:00 GMT

Foxconn and Shiangbao Longterm Care Group have advanced their smart long-term care collaboration into proof-of-concept trials at three care sites in Taiwan. The pilot, launched in November 2025, is designed to address rising demand in an aging society while easing pressure on caregiving staff.

Amazon signs 20-year nuclear power deal with Constellation for AI demand

DIGITIMES — Mon, 5 Oct 2026 11:38:00 GMT

Amazon and Constellation Energy signed a 20-year power purchase agreement that will supply 690 MW from the Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant in Maryland. The deal was announced as AI and cloud computing continue to drive higher electricity demand, prompting hyperscale tech companies to secure long-term, zero-emission power.

Foxconn September revenue tops NT$1 trillion for first time on AI, ICT demand

Scarlett Yu — Mon, 5 Oct 2026 10:24:37 GMT

Driven by strong momentum in AI and consumer electronics, Foxconn reported consolidated revenue of NT$1.158 trillion (US$36.7 billion) for September 2026, marking the first time its monthly revenue has surpassed the NT$1 trillion threshold.

Largan Precision sees steady smartphone lens demand as CPO fibre arrays near production

Levi Li — Mon, 5 Oct 2026 10:08:21 GMT

Largan Precision reported September consolidated revenue of NT$5.78 billion (US$181.99 million), up 15% from August but down 7% from a year earlier. Third-quarter revenue rose 15% sequentially to NT$15.65 billion.

Pegatron AI servers boost September revenue

Lily Hess — Mon, 5 Oct 2026 09:35:33 GMT

Pegatron's AI server business is ramping up in 2026, with co-CEO Kuang-Chih Cheng recently saying new orders from a US client have begun shipping and are expected to lift September revenue. He added that the company still sees AI server revenue growing by triple digits next year, with the business potentially accounting for 10% of sales.

Kyushu's chip expo expands as Japan adds a chip design focus

DIGITIMES — Mon, 5 Oct 2026 08:40:31 GMT

Japan's Kyushu Semiconductor Industry Exhibition, known as K-Semi, grew 36% at this year's edition in Fukuoka, held from September 30 to October 1, 2026, as chip makers expanded their presence in Kyushu. The event also added a semiconductor design zone for the first time and was held alongside the debut Kyushu Next-Generation Energy Exhibition, or K-Ene.

Deutsche Telekom targets US$2.8 billion in savings as AI business grows

DIGITIMES — Mon, 5 Oct 2026 08:37:04 GMT

Deutsche Telekom expects artificial intelligence and automation to generate around EUR2.5 billion (approx. US$2.8 billion) in indirect-cost savings by 2030 compared with 2023, Reuters reported, as the German telecom group puts measurable financial targets behind both cost savings and revenue growth.

Southern Taiwan Science Park revenue climbs 36.5% in first eight months of 2026

DIGITIMES — Mon, 5 Oct 2026 08:29:17 GMT

Companies in the Southern Taiwan Science Park (STSP) posted record revenue of NT$2.495124 trillion (US$78.59 billion) in the first eight months of 2026, up 36.5% from a year earlier, according to the STSP Bureau. The bureau said the growth reflected the global AI boom and the park's expanding role in the high-tech supply chain.

Trend Micro opens closed preview for AI-driven vulnerability discovery service

DIGITIMES — Mon, 5 Oct 2026 08:22:39 GMT

Trend Micro said on October 5 that it was opening closed preview access to Autonomous Vulnerability Discovery in Trend Vision One, expanding an AI-driven security service that identifies and validates vulnerabilities in customer code and verifies their fixes. The service is designed to help enterprises find exploitable issues, including zero-day vulnerabilities, before attacks begin.

AMD's Lisa Su back in Taiwan as AI capacity crunch spreads beyond TSMC

Charlene Chen — Mon, 5 Oct 2026 08:15:18 GMT

AMD CEO Lisa Su arrived in Taiwan on October 5 for a lightning visit, less than five months after her May trip. No major public events are scheduled, but meetings with key suppliers are planned. Industry sources said her core mission was to meet TSMC and, more importantly, to coordinate capacity with packaging, testing, and substrate suppliers that are facing tight supply and rising prices.

Bangkok floods disrupt logistics for Taiwan PCB makers in Thailand

Yunnie Cheng — Mon, 5 Oct 2026 08:00:14 GMT

Severe floods triggered by days of extreme rain in Thailand have paralyzed transport in Bangkok and several other areas, disrupting local auto and components supply chains and drawing attention to damage at Taiwanese companies with factories in the country. The flooding has also slowed shipments from Taiwan PCB makers in Thailand as road and airport transport remain affected.