DIGITIMES Asia: News and Insight of the Global Supply Chain

Nvidia and MediaTek reveal how RTX Spark came together — and why Jensen Huang insisted on NVLink from day one

Joseph(C) Chen — Tue, 2 Jun 2026 02:21:01 GMT

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang held a global media session on June 2 with an unusual guest: MediaTek vice chairman and CEO Rick Tsai, who joined Huang to share the inside story of how the two companies developed RTX Spark, the AI PC platform that Huang described as the beginning of the agent computing era.

Nvidia's Vera CPU is built for agents, not humans; Jensen Huang says it opens a market that never existed before

DIGITIMES — Tue, 2 Jun 2026 02:10:46 GMT

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced at GTC Taipei on June 1st that the company is launching Vera, a new CPU designed specifically for agentic AI workloads. The announcement reframes the CPU market around a simple but consequential argument: every CPU built until now was designed for human users. Vera is designed for AI agents.

Taiwan PCB output could top NT$1 trillion in 2026, but risks remain

Jingyue Hsiao — Tue, 2 Jun 2026 01:53:25 GMT

Taiwan's printed circuit board (PCB) makers are expected to see domestic and overseas output rise 15.1% year-over-year to NT$1.05 trillion (approx. US$33.5 billion) in 2026, according to the Taiwan Printed Circuit Board Association (TPCA), as AI demand and advanced packaging continue to drive double-digit growth. But the sector is also confronting rising risks that could affect costs, supply chains, and expansion plans.

Enterprise AI spending slows as token costs outpace measurable returns

DIGITIMES — Tue, 2 Jun 2026 01:51:00 GMT

Corporate adoption of artificial intelligence tools has cooled as firms across technology and consumer sectors flagged soaring token costs and uncertain returns, according to recent reporting by The Information, Axios, and Fortune. Executives said mounting compute expenses have, in many cases, exceeded labor costs, prompting moves to curb usage and rethink vendor choices as cost-control measures accelerated in the first half of 2026.

China bars AI as official reason for layoffs, pushing firms to hide cuts and retrain staff

DIGITIMES — Tue, 2 Jun 2026 01:48:59 GMT

China moved in late 2025 to prohibit companies from citing AI adoption as a reason for layoffs, directing employers to justify any workforce reductions as unrelated to AI, executives said. The policy followed meetings between senior officials and major employers to assess AI's impact on jobs and aimed to avoid social instability as firms accelerate AI deployment.

Honor launches entry-level X6d 5G in Taiwan as low-end competition heats up

DIGITIMES — Tue, 2 Jun 2026 01:46:28 GMT

Honor expanded its Taiwan lineup with the launch of the Honor X6d 5G after entering the market in April 2026 with a flagship model, the company announced, seeking to capitalize on demand in the entry-level segment as component-driven retail price increases cooled low- and mid-range sales. The handset maker said the X6d targets students, senior users, and value-conscious buyers with a long-lasting battery, large storage, multi-level display dimming for eye protection, and a large screen.

Naver launches defense AI unit to pursue military data and decision-making market

DIGITIMES — Tue, 2 Jun 2026 01:44:40 GMT

South Korean internet giant Naver said it has formed a dedicated defense AI organization to pursue military AI transformation, deploy field engineers to client sites, and develop defense-specific AI capabilities. The move was disclosed by South Korean media outlets Seoul Economic Daily and Maeil Business Newspaper, which reported that Naver Cloud has established a "Defense AX Special Task Force" to commercialize AI services for defense customers.

China's weak property market, soft domestic demand and sluggish factory investment keep growth under pressure

DIGITIMES — Tue, 2 Jun 2026 01:42:10 GMT

China's economy remained under pressure in 2026 as a weak property sector, sluggish domestic demand, and slow manufacturing investment outweighed resilient trade, according to research institutes and market forecasters. Taiwan's Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics sharply raised its 2026 growth forecast for Taiwan on May 29, projecting expansion of 9.64% after revising 2025 growth to 8.76%, while S&P Global forecasted China's 2026 GDP at 4.4%, down 0.1 percentage point from its prior outlook.

Qualcomm CEO says AI agent era has arrived with Dragonfly data center platform

Levi Li — Tue, 2 Jun 2026 01:28:34 GMT

At his Copmutex 2026 keynote, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said the presentation was not about Qualcomm itself, but about all the companies driving technological progress, including suppliers and development partners. Reflecting that message, the stage backdrop prominently featured numerous Taiwanese supply chain partners and customers.

Twoway Group sees three years of growth from North America DOCSIS 4.0 upgrade cycle

DIGITIMES — Tue, 2 Jun 2026 01:27:23 GMT

Twoway Group held its shareholders meeting on June 1, during which shareholders approved the company's 2025 financial statements and profit distribution plan.

Broadcom, Samsung launch Wi-Fi 8, 5G platform to bring fiber-grade FWA to mass market

DIGITIMES — Tue, 2 Jun 2026 01:16:23 GMT

Broadcom and Samsung Electronics have announced a broadband-optimized reference platform for the global fixed wireless access (FWA) market, integrating Broadcom's BCM6776 Wi-Fi 8 system-on-chip with Samsung's B1320 5G modem. The platform combines 3GPP Release 17 connectivity with the Wi-Fi 8 standard to deliver high reliability and consistent throughput, the companies said at Computex 2026.

DeepSeek's pricing move could redistribute value across AI hardware market

Jingyue Hsiao — Mon, 1 Jun 2026 23:37:06 GMT

Chinese AI startup DeepSeek said it will permanently cut the API price of its flagship model by 75% from June 1, prompting debate across the global AI industry. Amazon AWS said the move may matter less as a price war than as a bid to change how AI infrastructure is built and sold.

Pixverse AI exhibits fast, affordable AI video generation; ethical concerns persist

DIGITIMES — Mon, 1 Jun 2026 23:36:48 GMT

During Global Connect Show (GCS) 2026 in Shenzhen, China, Pixverse AI presented and demoed its AI video platform, reflecting the exceptional rate at which AI video is transforming. According to the Chief Representative of Singapore and Global PR Head at Pixverse AI, Robyn Tan, the platform supports three creation paths: text-to-video, image-to-video, and multi-image cinematic production.

India's chip startups move from design to pilot production, raising stakes for local semiconductor push

DIGITIMES — Mon, 1 Jun 2026 23:36:21 GMT

India's emerging semiconductor startups are entering a crucial phase as companies such as Netrasemi, Mindgrove Technologies, and Agnit Semiconductors move from research into customer pilots and prepare for larger-scale production. The shift comes as supply-chain constraints and testing risks continue to determine how quickly the sector can scale.

Foxconn's Genesis AI manufacturing scales from pilot to plantwide deployment

Lily Hess — Mon, 1 Jun 2026 23:35:40 GMT

Foxconn said its Genesis smart manufacturing project has delivered measurable gains in AI-driven factory operations, with production-line scheduling efficiency up 50%, misjudgment rates down 50%, and root-cause analysis accuracy rising to 90%. The company also said the time needed to build new plants and deploy production lines has been cut by more than 60%.

GSEO sees 2H26 demand lifts from smartphones, AI glasses, and high-end optics

Jingyue Hsiao — Mon, 1 Jun 2026 23:35:19 GMT

GSEO expects a traditional peak season in the second half as smartphone camera customers prepare to ramp new-model orders from mid- to late June, while AI glasses have become its second-largest product line behind mobile phones.

Asus broadens its AI push as servers, AI PCs, and robots become strategic bets

Jingyue Hsiao — Mon, 1 Jun 2026 23:34:54 GMT

Asus chairman Jonney Shih said the company is extending its AI strategy beyond servers into agentic AI, edge AI, and physical AI, while treating humanoid robots as a major future market. He said the company's AI server shipments are surging and that physical AI has already been made a long-term priority.

Commentary: Intel turns AI packaging crunch into foundry comeback test

Levi Li — Mon, 1 Jun 2026 22:59:51 GMT

Intel's foundry revival may depend less on beating TSMC at the most advanced process nodes than on whether it can turn AI-driven demand into a profitable advanced packaging business.

Analysis: Advanced packaging shifts from TSMC dominance to industry collaboration

Charlene Chen — Mon, 1 Jun 2026 22:59:37 GMT

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has repeatedly backed TSMC's price hikes, saying its advanced process and supply-chain services are difficult and highly valuable. As AI chip demand surges, TSMC, Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, Micron, and other top semiconductor makers are also reshaping their supply-chain strategy to deepen cooperation on mature-node foundry services and advanced packaging.

Huawei's Tau Law faces its hardest test: chip yield, not theory

DIGITIMES — Mon, 1 Jun 2026 22:59:22 GMT

Huawei has introduced Tau Law, a semiconductor design framework built around LogicFolding, as a potential route for China to improve chip performance under US technology restrictions. The idea is to shorten critical signal paths and extend gains as Moore's Law slows, but its commercial value will hinge on yield, cost, and heat dissipation — not theory.

India's corporate giants race to build backbone of its AI economy

DIGITIMES — Mon, 1 Jun 2026 22:59:09 GMT

India's biggest business groups are ramping up spending on digital infrastructure, with Reliance Industries and Adani Group focusing on data centers, energy, and artificial intelligence. Their plans point to a wider shift in the Indian industry toward building the infrastructure needed for AI domestically.

Chinese brands fight for global trust amidst geopolitical turbulence

Emily Kuo — Mon, 1 Jun 2026 22:58:58 GMT

Chinese consumer electronics and tech brands have made significant strides in quality and innovation over the past few years, yet trust remains a persistent challenge in Western markets. Ongoing geopolitical tensions and media framing have added further complexity to that dynamic.

Commentary: Will AI sink or save the planet?

DIGITIMES — Mon, 1 Jun 2026 22:58:47 GMT

AI holds enormous potential to benefit the environment, but it simultaneously consumes massive amounts of water and energy. One generative AI data center can use up to 5 million gallons of water a day, and AI as a whole draws as much power as 100,000 households. A single AI query can use up to 1,000 times more electricity than a traditional Google search. The result is an urgent paradox: AI is becoming one of the most sophisticated tools ever built to combat climate change, yet it is also one of the fastest-growing strains on the planet's resources.

Interview: Agentic AI moves from copilot to co-worker in enterprise procurement— Pactum's case for autonomous execution

DIGITIMES — Mon, 1 Jun 2026 22:58:34 GMT

Agentic AI is reshaping corporate procurement by moving beyond decision support to autonomous execution. Pactum is using it to automate tasks such as requisition handling, supplier communication, and compliance checks, helping enterprises manage procurement more efficiently across large supplier networks.

Lenovo expands Tianjin AI server hub with 2027 mass production plan

Levi Li — Mon, 1 Jun 2026 22:58:22 GMT

Lenovo Group is stepping up its AI infrastructure push. Lenovo chairman and CEO Yuanqing Yang said on May 28 at the 2026 World Intelligence Expo that the company will invest in Tianjin to build a next-generation AI computing product R&D and manufacturing center, with mass production planned for 2027, as Lenovo seeks a larger share of the AI infrastructure market.

Nvidia's Jensen Huang says no need to compare or choose between Taiwan and South Korea

Eifeh Strom — Mon, 1 Jun 2026 22:58:01 GMT

At a Korea Partner Night event held in Taipei, Taiwan, ahead of Computex 2026, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan and South Korea occupy distinctly different positions in the technology industry and do not need to be compared nor does a choice between the two need to be made.

Taiwan networking firms begin Wi-Fi 8 validation ahead of standard finalisation

Levi Li — Mon, 1 Jun 2026 09:18:13 GMT

Wi-Fi 7 has yet to reach mass adoption, but the networking supply chain is already preparing for the next generation. Sercomm, WNC, Zyxel, and Gemtek have showcased Wi-Fi 8 technology roadmaps at major international trade shows such as CES and MWC, while some networking equipment makers, including CyberTAN, have included Wi-Fi 8 routers and mesh products in their development plans.

SK Hynix Cheongju plant fire triggers HF leak

Charlene Chen — Mon, 1 Jun 2026 09:10:34 GMT

SK Hynix's Cheongju campus was hit by a fire on June 1, 2026, prompting the emergency evacuation of all 3,600 workers from the M15 and M15X plants. Seven people were taken to the hospital after hydrogen fluoride (HF) leaked in the incident, which came less than a week after a separate fire-related event at the site.

Formosa Plastics Group shifts to AI, semiconductors, and grid opportunities

Rodney Chan — Mon, 1 Jun 2026 08:24:15 GMT

Formosa Plastics Group (FPG) is stepping up its transformation into higher-value businesses, with AI, semiconductors, and power grid opportunities emerging as key new growth engines as the petrochemical industry faces a downcycle that started in 2023.

Nvidia confirms Vera Rubin in full production with 150 Taiwan suppliers powering the ramp

DIGITIMES — Mon, 1 Jun 2026 07:57:58 GMT

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced at GTC Taipei on June 1st that the Vera Rubin platform has entered full production, with Taiwan's server makers and global supply chain partners manufacturing systems at scale for AI labs, cloud providers, and hyperscalers worldwide.

Microsoft previews Surface Laptop Ultra and AI-focused Windows platform ahead of Build

DIGITIMES — Mon, 1 Jun 2026 07:38:06 GMT

Microsoft used Nvidia GTC to preview Surface Laptop Ultra and its broader Windows platform strategy ahead of Build, highlighting a shift toward on-device AI agents and developer workloads. The company emphasized deeper Windows 11 integration with Nvidia hardware, aiming to unify performance, security, and AI tooling across next-generation PCs.

GTC Taipei 2026: As AI automates its own development, demand shifts to human judgment

Sherri Wang — Mon, 1 Jun 2026 07:29:22 GMT

Artificial intelligence is reshaping how industries define talent. In the next phase of AI, the most valuable workers may not be those who train models, but those who understand demand, define problems, judge value, and oversee the direction of AI development, according to National Taiwan University electrical engineering professor Hung-Yi Lee.

LianDe Holdings to mass produce liquid-cooling floating fittings for US chipmaker supply chain

DIGITIMES — Mon, 1 Jun 2026 07:19:10 GMT

LianDe Holdings-KY moved into AI server liquid-cooling components and secured a spot in a US chipmaker supply chain, the firm announced, with product validation underway and volume production slated to begin in the second half of 2026. The company has developed a liquid-cooling floating fitting designed to pair with quick disconnects used between coolant lines and servers to support liquid-cooled AI servers.

ByteDance reportedly developing Groq-style chip with InnoStar

DIGITIMES — Mon, 1 Jun 2026 07:12:36 GMT

ByteDance is creating a new chip similar to those made by Nvidia partner Groq to help the Chinese creator of TikTok handle its AI inference loads, according to The Information. Its expansion into language processing units (LPUs) marks another step in the development of its domestic AI infrastructure.

RoboSense dominates LiDAR for robotics with 1,458.8% YoY shipment surge in 1Q26

DIGITIMES — Mon, 1 Jun 2026 07:06:46 GMT

RoboSense Technology, an AI-driven robotics technology company, announced a historic first quarter of the year in which the robotics business exceeded 50% of total LiDAR shipments for the first time in the company's history. Its dual-engine strategy across ADAS and robotics continues to drive growth, building on its first-ever profitable quarter in the fourth quarter of 2025.