DIGITIMES: News and Insight of the Global Supply Chain

Siemens Taiwan chief to lead European Chamber in Taiwan from September 2026

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 10:45:00 GMT

The European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan said on August 27 that Siemens Taiwan president and chief executive Frank Grunert will become its chairperson on September 1, 2026. The decision was approved unanimously by the chamber's council and puts a senior Taiwan-based executive in charge of the group representing European business interests on the island.

Trump declares emergency over foreign grid equipment, likely eyeing Chinese power hardware

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 10:00:02 GMT

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on August 26 declaring a national emergency over the security of America's electrical grid. It restricts the purchase, import, and installation of certain foreign-made "bulk-power system" equipment on cybersecurity and national-security grounds.

HP revenue hits record as PC shipments fall on rising component costs

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 09:55:00 GMT

HP reported record revenue in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, but PC shipments declined as higher average selling prices weighed on unit volume. The company said the same pattern is affecting other PC brands and expects it to become more visible in the second half of the year as component costs stay elevated.

MiniMax revenue surges 283% as enterprise adoption increases

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 09:40:41 GMT

Chinese AI startup MiniMax Group reported a 283.1% increase in revenue, rising from US$30.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2025, to US$116.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2026. This growth was primarily driven by the continued expansion of its global user base, surging demand for model inference, and the company's ability to translate model advancements into commercial products and services for global enterprises, developers, and individual users.

Rebellions targets 100-plus NPU racks as UK steps up chip spending

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 08:55:00 GMT

Rebellions is pursuing deployment of more than 100 NPU-based computing racks in the UK through a partnership with British AI infrastructure startup Callosum, giving the South Korean chipmaker a potential entry point into Europe's emerging sovereign computing market.

Driving measurable sustainability: CIDB Malaysia's blueprint for carbon accountability

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 08:40:45 GMT

At Sustainability Environment Asia Conference 2026, Suhaimi Mansor, deputy chief executive of the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia, delivered a clear mandate for the nation's built environment: sustainability must transition from simple assessment to measurable, lifecycle-wide performance across buildings and infrastructure.

Japan bets on launch frequency as H3 moves from national program to commercial contender

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 08:40:26 GMT

The current aerospace landscape is increasingly marked by a push into satellite connectivity and space-based infrastructure, as SpaceX daringly edges deeper into the more intricate layers underpinning the construction of a proprietary space economy.

Samsung signals zHBF push as memory race moves beyond HBM

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 08:22:24 GMT

Samsung Electronics is signaling a push into high bandwidth flash (HBF), extending its next-generation memory ambitions beyond HBM as rivals move to establish a new NAND-based memory tier for AI inference.

Malaysia's charging shortfall opens the door for Chinese hardware players

Charlene Chen — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 08:20:00 GMT

Southeast Asia's EV market is expected to reach US$23.58 billion by 2031, with a 2026-2031 CAGR of 31.55%. But Malaysia's charging infrastructure is falling well behind government targets, creating an opening for Chinese hardware suppliers.

HBM hybrid bonding delayed by 300°C heat and CMP dishing

Yunnie Cheng — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 07:55:00 GMT

As high-bandwidth memory (HBM) stack counts continue to rise, the industry originally anticipated that hybrid bonding (HB), a next-generation packaging solution, would be officially introduced with HBM5. However, process control challenges and cost barriers are threatening to delay that timeline. Simultaneously, thermal management is emerging as the central bottleneck for the memory sector.

Chart: Nvidia's hyperscale revenue doubled again — and that was the slower half of the business

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 07:55:00 GMT

Nvidia has made a point of it in three consecutive earnings decks: year-on-year growth has accelerated for four straight quarters, which the company calls unprecedented at its scale. It's true. But split the data center business into its two halves, and the acceleration has a single source, and it isn't the customers everyone assumes.

Malaysia's EV market sharpens, local brands face off against Chinese rivals

Charlene Chen — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 07:45:00 GMT

Hybrid and plug-in hybrid demand continues to grow across ASEAN, with Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand posting the strongest sales gains. The shift is drawing local Southeast Asian automakers and Chinese brands into a tougher fight for share.

Commentary: YMTC's high-profile IPO masks three long-term hurdles

Yunnie Cheng — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 07:45:00 GMT

Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) has officially kicked off its STAR Market IPO process. In the first quarter of 2026, China's largest 3D NAND Flash manufacturer delivered an impressive performance, generating CNY47.042 billion (approx. US$7 billion) in revenue and CNY33.379 billion (approx. US$5 billion) in net profit attributable to the parent company. Remarkably, its profit in a single quarter eclipsed its cumulative net earnings from prior years. This has turned YMTC's CNY33 billion (approx. US$4.9 billion) fundraising plan into one of the most anticipated semiconductor IPO in China since ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT).

KKCompany returns to Taiwan capital market

Rodney Chan — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 06:57:23 GMT

KKCompany, the parent company of KKBox, said it will list on Taiwan's emerging stock market on August 31, with Fubon Securities serving as lead underwriter and advisor, returning to the local capital markets more than two years after its IPO plan collapsed at the final stage in 2024.

TI's multiaxial sensor exposes the next EV inverter race: precision catches up with power density

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 06:55:00 GMT

As EV traction inverters increasingly migrate toward 800V architectures, demand for further technological upgrades designed to improve current-sensing performance has pushed the automotive supply chain into a challenging trade-off between precision and lightweight design.

Nvidia Vera Rubin drives 800VDC, lifts BBU demand

Lily Hess — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 06:55:00 GMT

Nvidia's GPU roadmap is pushing 800VDC into the spotlight as a key next-generation breakthrough, with battery backup modules (BBUs) set to gain in both quality and volume as high-density AI factories shift toward the new power architecture.

Grand Pacific Petrochemical teams up with Japan's AWI to enter Taiwan's semiconductor specialty materials market

Eifeh Strom — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 06:38:00 GMT

Taiwanese petrochemical maker Grand Pacific Petrochemical (GPPC) announced it has joined Japanese industrial gas manufacturer Air Water (AWI) in a capital increase for semiconductor specialty gas producer Hong-Kuang Hi-Tech (HK Hi-Tech). The move marks their entry into Taiwan's semiconductor specialty materials market as part of a joint Taiwan-Japan effort to develop the local industry.

Ford adopts Apple Maps data for next-gen smart driving

Kevin Wang — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 06:30:00 GMT

Ford Motor Company has announced that it will be adopting Apple's MapKit for Automotive software development kit (SDK) for its own universal EV platform, and feed Apple Maps data to its Latitude AI team, which is working on its next-gen BlueCruise advanced driver assistance system (ADAS). The move reflects a broader willingness among automakers to incorporate data and tools from big tech into their core vehicle systems, and marks a shift from the former hostility between automakers and tech companies into pragmatic collaboration, as the global auto industry seeks to speed up its smart transformation.

Chart: Hyperscale capex dollar is buying less Nvidia than it did one year ago

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 05:30:00 GMT

The five largest cloud operators spent US$181.5 billion on property and equipment in the June quarter, 87% more than a year earlier. Nvidia's hyperscale revenue was US$48.7 billion — 26.8 cents of every dollar they spent, down from a peak of 33.2 cents three quarters ago.

Synopsys lifts 3QFY26 sales, raises full-year outlook

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 04:45:00 GMT

Synopsys, a leading electronic design automation (EDA) company, reported stronger-than-expected fiscal third-quarter results for the 2026 fiscal year (3QFY26) as the AI boom drove higher spending on chips and infrastructure. The company said revenue rose 42.4% year-over-year to US$2.48 billion, topping market expectations of US$2.44 billion, and it raised its full-year revenue and profit outlook.

Doosan thins memory-package CCL insulation to 13µm

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 04:29:15 GMT

Doosan Corporation's Electro-Materials BG has developed copper-clad laminate (CCL) technology that reduces the prepreg (PPG) insulating layer used in memory semiconductor package substrates from about 18µm to 13µm, and is preparing the material for mass production as thinner package designs raise the technical demands on substrate materials.

Kioxia weighs third Kitakami fab as NAND demand rises

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 04:21:01 GMT

Kioxia Holdings is weighing construction of a new manufacturing building at its Kitakami plant in northern Japan, as rising NAND demand pushes the memory maker toward its next phase of capacity expansion beyond 2029.

Foxconn reportedly weighs major India expansion as global manufacturing footprint grows

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 04:12:38 GMT

Hon Hai Technology Group, better known as Foxconn, is expanding its global manufacturing footprint through new land acquisitions, factory development, and capacity upgrades as demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure accelerates and electronics supply chains become more geographically distributed.

Washington's silicon-anode bet tests whether battery innovation can break China's graphite grip

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 04:07:26 GMT

The years-long tug-of-war between the US and China has witnessed a head-on showdown over technological might, as stringent export controls and tightening restrictions continue to push the world's two largest economies into increasingly tense competition across critical technology infrastructure.

SK Hynix questions PIM as thermal, packaging limits constrain HBM

Yunnie Cheng — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 03:48:13 GMT

South Korean memory rivals Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are taking fundamentally different routes to solve HBM performance bottlenecks. While Samsung frames processing-in-memory (PIM) as its core solution, SK Hynix is prioritizing packaging interconnect innovation to streamline data movement.

Nvidia H200 China sales stall, with US$400M inventory charge

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 03:46:57 GMT

Nvidia said in its fiscal 2027 second-quarter results on the 27th that it sold a small number of H200 artificial intelligence (AI) processors to Chinese customers last quarter, marking its first renewed AI chip sales to China since shipping about US$60 million of H20 chips in early 2025. But shipments fell short of the total approved by US President Donald Trump and licenses cleared by the US government in January, amid opposition from Beijing.

Nvidia's inventory build shifts upstream as memory costs bite

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 03:43:23 GMT

Nvidia closed its second fiscal quarter with US$31.6 billion of inventory, but the more consequential change is what that inventory now consists of. Work in process and raw materials together account for 78% of the balance, against 42% a year earlier. The mix shows a company committing to scarce memory well ahead of the Vera Rubin ramp, and absorbing the cost several quarters before customer price increases land.

Chart: Nvidia's segment split tells only half the AI demand story

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 03:33:10 GMT

Nvidia's data center business now splits almost evenly between hyperscalers and everyone else — US$48.7 billion against US$40.3 billion in the July quarter. The obvious reading is that the customer base is broadening. The sequence says something more specific.

Nvidia reportedly acquires Hugging Face for US$12.9 billion, tying open-source AI to chip dominance

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 03:31:28 GMT

Nvidia has agreed to acquire Hugging Face for US$12.9 billion, giving the AI chipmaker control of one of the most widely used platforms for open-source models, datasets, and AI deployment at a time when some of its biggest customers are developing competing processors.

China shifts autonomous driving liability to automakers in draft traffic law

Willis Ke — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 03:21:08 GMT

China is moving to address one of autonomous driving's most contentious and long-unresolved questions: when a Level 3 advanced automated driving system is engaged and a traffic violation or crash occurs, should the driver or the automaker bear responsibility? Beijing appears inclined to align with the classification standards set by SAE International (Society of Automotive Engineers), shifting liability to the automaker while Level 3 functions are active.

China's AI software strategy gains scale as OpenHarmony ecosystem tops 1.35 billion devices

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 03:20:00 GMT

China is placing artificial intelligence, industrial software and open-source ecosystems at the centre of its next phase of manufacturing digitalisation, seeking to strengthen domestic software capabilities while extending platforms such as Huawei's HarmonyOS (HMOS) across consumer and industrial devices.

CXMT DDR5 closes in on SK Hynix at 8,000 MT/s, benchmark gap falls below 1%

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 03:15:49 GMT

CXMT is narrowing the performance gap with SK Hynix in high-speed DDR5 memory, with new benchmark tests showing CXMT chips running stably at 8,000 MT/s and delivering productivity and gaming performance within about 1% of SK Hynix's latest M-die.

Tri-fold, rollable foldables intensify materials supply chain battle

Lily Hess — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 02:53:37 GMT

Samsung Electronics' first tri-fold handset of 2025, the Galaxy Z TriFold, has repeatedly sold out, but with global shipments of only about 30,000 units, it functioned more as a technology showcase. A second-generation model is expected in the second half of 2027, with thinner designs, durability, and mass production capability as the next focus.

CXMT lands early LPDDR6 opportunity with Xiaomi Xring O3, eyes China flagship phones

Levi Li — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 02:47:52 GMT

China's smartphone and memory supply chains are moving closer together, with Xiaomi's new Xring O3 processor potentially providing CXMT with an early commercial entry into the LPDDR6 era.

Tesla goes local in China, swapping Grok for ByteDance's Doubao LLM in smart cockpits

Yunnie Cheng — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 02:42:00 GMT

Tesla once tried to license its electrification and automated driving technologies to mainstream automakers through tech-transfer agreements, but none of those deals materialized. Today, the company is charting a different course, building out its own cloud service provider (CSP) capabilities and its Grok model while pushing into Robotaxis and Optimus humanoid robots. In China, though, regulatory reality has forced a pivot: Tesla is setting aside Grok in favor of ByteDance's localized large language model (LLM), Doubao.

China OLED buildout lifts Korean equipment sales as backlogs grow

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 02:40:38 GMT

Chinese panel makers' investment in next-generation OLED production is beginning to translate into reported sales at South Korean equipment suppliers, with several vendors posting sharp first-half revenue gains and large order backlogs providing further visibility as new Chinese fabs move through installation and ramp-up.

Analysis: From Starlink to Starmind, Nvidia deal reveals SpaceX's blueprint for an orbital AI economy

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 02:33:19 GMT

The recent disclosure of SpaceX's partnership with Nvidia to deploy Vera CPUs as part of the architecture behind SpaceXAI's Starmind AI satellite was an outright showcase of where the two tech giants are decisively headed in the agentic AI era, as their collaboration deepens into one huge, interconnected ecosystem of orbital compute.

Apple unveils 2nm M6 Mac mini as workstation race heats up

Sherri Wang — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 02:28:33 GMT

Apple unexpectedly opened preorders for its new Mac mini on August 25, introducing the M6, its first chip built on a 2nm process, while also offering a higher-end version powered by the M5 Pro. Apple also unveiled an updated Mac Studio featuring the M5 Ultra the same day. The new systems are scheduled to go on sale September 22.

Apple sets September 9 event for foldable iPhone and iPhone 18 Pro debut

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 02:24:36 GMT

Apple said it will hold its fall product launch event on September 9 at 10 a.m. Pacific timei. The presentation, titled "Surprise and shine," will be hosted by the new chief executive for the first time, according to the company.

AMD, Broadcom book most of Powertech's FOPLP capacity ahead of 2027 ramp

Sherri Wang — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 02:21:18 GMT

Powertech Technology (PTI) is preparing to move its fan-out panel-level packaging (FOPLP) technology into mass production by mid-2027. AMD and Broadcom are backing demand, and most of the planned capacity has already been booked, as the Taiwan-based OSAT supplier builds a second growth engine around advanced packaging and optical integration.

Google, MediaTek embrace advanced packaging diversification

Lily Hess — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 02:17:23 GMT

Google and MediaTek are moving toward advanced packaging diversification, as Intel's embedded multi-die interconnect bridge (EMIB) gains traction after Google's TPU was confirmed to adopt the packaging technology. The shift is fueling expectations that more advanced packaging orders could move to Intel, while TSMC's chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) remains tight on capacity.

India's CG Power targets 70% utilization at larger semiconductor packaging plant

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 01:50:17 GMT

CG Power and Industrial Solutions is targeting 70% utilization at its larger semiconductor packaging facility within about four years, with the unit potentially generating around US$500 million in annual revenue once it reaches scale, according to CNBC.

Analysis: Smartwatch demand set to outpace broader hardware market in 2026

Jingyue Hsiao — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 01:45:00 GMT

Smartwatch shipments are expected to continue rising faster than broader IT hardware in 2026, even as smartphones and notebook PCs see weaker growth due to higher memory costs. For global consumers, the shift signals that wearables are becoming a more essential, health-focused purchase, while top brands fight for share.

Uber expands ride-hailing reach across Taiwan as trips and local demand rise

Jingyue Hsiao — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 01:42:36 GMT

Uber and its partner fleets expanded ride-hailing coverage in July 2026 to 19 counties and cities across Taiwan proper, underscoring how mobility platforms are reaching farther beyond major urban centers. The move comes as global transport markets balance convenience, safety, and regulation, while demand grows for more flexible options in both cities and smaller communities.

Yttek's ground equipment supports FORMOSAT-8 first satellite

Lily Hess — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 01:41:59 GMT

Taiwan aerospace communications equipment maker Yttek said its HyperSDR satellite ground-station modem, developed at the request of the Taiwan Space Agency (TASA), successfully received and decoded high-frequency telemetry signals downlinked from the first FORMOSAT-8 satellite, FORMOSAT-8A, on April 27 this year. The system helped TASA rapidly reconstruct high-resolution optical images of Alibag, India.

Moody's lifts South Korea GDP forecast on hard-to-replace memory chips

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 01:41:46 GMT

Moody's has sharply raised its forecast for South Korea's 2026 economic growth to 3.5%, saying the country's semiconductor boom and export strength will last longer than expected and that its high-end memory supply remains difficult to replace.

HTSI targets AI chip demand with SiPh, CPO, packaging push

Lily Hess — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 01:41:38 GMT

Hermes Testing Solutions (HTSI) said revenue for the first seven months of 2026 reached NT$2.7 billion (US$83.8 million), up 128.2% year-over-year and already exceeding its full-year 2025 scale, as AI and high-performance computing (HPC) applications continue to drive demand for high-end chip testing. The semiconductor wafer test solutions provider said it expects stronger operations in the second half of 2026 and sees growth momentum extending through 2027, 2028, and even 2029.

Anthropic prepares IPO pitch centered on a $30 trillion AI market

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 01:41:15 GMT

Anthropic is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) and plans to tell investors its total addressable market exceeds US$30 trillion, according to people familiar with the matter. The company is expected to present the figure as part of its case for a high valuation and continued heavy infrastructure spending.

Proton sales jump 39% as Malaysian automaker expands EV push

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 01:40:49 GMT

Proton said its vehicle sales rose 38.7% in the first seven months of 2026, as the Malaysian automaker highlighted new electrification and connected mobility technologies at GATE 2026. The company tied the growth to a broader push to strengthen its engineering and manufacturing capabilities while supporting Malaysia's automotive industry competitiveness.

Ablecom takes control of Jochu to expand AI server rack, liquid cooling business

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 01:40:37 GMT

Ablecom Technology said it had joined a private placement for Jochu Technology and become the listed company's largest shareholder, giving the Taiwan-based chassis and thermal solutions provider access to additional capacity for AI server racks and liquid cooling products. The move is designed to help Ablecom address rising demand from global data centers for high-density computing, while the two companies plan to work more closely on production and technology.

Commentary: Nvidia bets on open models to lift GPU usage

Lily Hess — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 01:40:11 GMT

Nvidia is aggressively expanding into open-source models and positioning itself as the world's largest open AI contributor, as CEO Jensen Huang reshapes the company from a supporter of the open AI ecosystem into a builder. The company recently spent US$6 billion to license Poolside's technology and hire about 100 of its engineers, adding momentum to the US open-model push.

Taiwan, Germany map AI-led net-zero push for 2026

Lily Hess — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 01:39:52 GMT

The 2026 Taiwan Sustainability Summit opened in Taipei on August 25, bringing together government representatives, industry leaders, and experts from Taiwan and Germany to focus on how digital twin and industrial AI can accelerate net-zero deployment in manufacturing, buildings, energy management, and rail transport. The summit closed with a five-point joint declaration, outlining Taiwan's next 10-year development blueprint.

Taiwan plans higher power growth to meet AI demand, officials say

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 01:39:43 GMT

Taiwan's government said it will raise electricity supply capacity as it responds to rising demand from AI and industry. The comments came on August 26 at the opening of the 2026 New Energy International Forum in Taipei, where officials also pointed to gaps in public understanding of the island's power mix.

AI data center boom lifts Weltrend fan-control chip sales 64%

Levi Li — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 01:39:18 GMT

Weltrend Semiconductor said first-half 2026 revenue rose 28% from a year earlier to a record for the period, with growth driven almost entirely by cooling demand tied to AI data center investment.

Xiaomi's Xring O3, O100 and D100 define a three-tier AI chip strategy beyond smartphones

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 01:38:57 GMT

Xiaomi is expanding Xring from a smartphone chip program into a broader AI computing platform spanning consumer devices, vehicles, and edge inference, with three processors assigned to distinct workloads.

Nvidia reportedly shifts HBM4 mix toward 8-high as memory supply stays tight

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 01:38:48 GMT

Nvidia has reportedly asked Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to increase the share of 8-high products in their HBM4 supply mix, as the chipmaker seeks greater flexibility in balancing thermal constraints, packaging yields and memory availability amid tight supply.

China's foundries have won the mature-node argument, not the self-sufficiency one

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 01:38:28 GMT

China's contract chipmakers spent the first half of 2026 proving something narrower than the headlines suggest. They demonstrated that domestic fabs can run at full capacity, raise prices, and earn money at mature nodes, largely on the strength of Chinese customers buying Chinese wafers. What the same results do not show is a country that has closed the gap where the gap actually binds — lithography, high-end metrology, and the leading edge.

Indian states begins to tighten screws on data centers even as the build-out accelerates

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 01:38:18 GMT

India's data center story has split in two. The pipeline forecasts keep getting bigger, but the money actually landing has thinned sharply since June — and the reason is no longer demand or capital availability. It is environmental clearance, temple land, water accounting, and grid load, questions that courts, local residents, and state governments are all now asking before the concrete is poured.

5G-A low-latency breakthrough paves way for Physical AI, XR

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 01:38:14 GMT

Advances in low-latency and zero-latency wireless communications are seen as a critical foundation for physical AI, remote control, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and extended reality (XR), and the latest breakthrough has come through a joint effort by MediaTek, AT&T, and Ericsson.

Ligitek skips 800G, targets 1.6T silicon photonics

Sherri Wang — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 01:36:24 GMT

Ligitek Electronics, a Taiwan-based LED packaging maker, has expanded in recent years into semiconductor system-in-package (SiP) and silicon photonics. The company said AI-related products accounted for about 45% of its revenue in the first half of 2026. Ligitek is targeting a 200G-per-lane architecture, bypassing the mainstream 800G specification to move directly into 1.6T optical engine modules, with small-volume shipments expected as early as the fourth quarter. The company plans to push further into higher-end 3.2T module development.

Anthropic reportedly commits US$45 billion to Nscale for AI computing capacity

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 01:35:45 GMT

Anthropic has reportedly agreed to spend US$45 billion over six years to rent artificial intelligence computing capacity from Nscale's planned data center campus in West Virginia, underscoring the growing importance of securing large-scale infrastructure as AI companies scale their services.

Apple, Huawei foldables to collide in September, lifting ultra-thin glass, hinge and cooling demand

Levi Li — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 01:31:05 GMT

Huawei and Apple are set to intensify competition in foldable smartphones in September, accelerating demand across a supply chain spanning foldable OLED panels, ultra-thin glass, hinges, flexible printed circuits and thermal components.

Supply shortages, price hikes fail to slow new phone wave

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 01:28:58 GMT

Mobile phone sales are under pressure as shortages and price increases for multiple upstream components squeeze the market. But brand makers have stepped up new product launches, with Samsung Electronics, Honor, Oppo, and Google already rolling out devices, and Xiaomi, Sony, and Vivo set to follow.

Samsung Galaxy A1 DDI packaging shifts to Chipbond

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 01:23:15 GMT

Rising gold prices are squeezing Samsung Electronics' entry-level smartphone supply chain, with South Korean media reporting that back-end packaging and testing orders for display driver ICs (DDIs) used in the Galaxy A1 series OLED panels have moved from South Korea's LB Semicon to Taiwan's Chipbond Technology to ease manufacturing cost pressure.

Lambda eyes US$3B funding ahead of 2027 IPO

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 01:15:08 GMT

Lambda, the Nvidia-backed neocloud provider, is seeking to raise as much as US$3 billion before a planned 2027 listing, with its valuation potentially reaching US$12 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. Bloomberg reported that Lambda’s 2026 revenue is projected to exceed US$1.5 billion, and that the company has already received several investment term sheets, though the deal terms have not been finalized.

Goldman Sachs AI chief warns of cognitive decline

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 01:11:46 GMT

AI is already sweeping Wall Street, but Goldman Sachs partner Chris Churchman is warning that overuse of AI could lead to "cognitive decline." A CEPR-backed study cited by The Economist found that generative AI lifted homework scores among 26,811 Chinese secondary school students by 18% but cut closed-book monthly exam scores by 20% within six months.

China open-source AI usage hits record high as DeepSeek leads

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 01:03:20 GMT

China's open-weight AI models have surged in usage and have now overtaken proprietary models for the first time. South China Morning Post (SCMP), citing data from US web development platform Vercel, reported that on August 25, Chinese open-weight AI models accounted for 54% of total token usage across its own calls and the agent layer AI Gateway, surpassing proprietary models for the first time.

AWS, Nvidia expand AI partnership with plan for 2 million more GPUs

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 01:00:31 GMT

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Nvidia are expanding their collaboration to add millions of GPUs and new infrastructure for agentic and physical AI. The move signals rising global demand for advanced computing, with implications for cloud customers, governments, and robotics developers seeking faster, more secure access to AI tools worldwide.

Apple pressure on OLED prices squeezes South Korean panel profits

DIGITIMES — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:49:35 GMT

Apple is reportedly negotiating lower unit prices with South Korean OLED panel suppliers as surging prices for high-performance mobile DRAM, NAND flash, and other memory chips threaten its gross margin. The company is seeking to cut OLED procurement costs by offering larger orders in exchange for discounts.

Tesla doubles down on custom AI chips as Musk claims AI5 can beat NVIDIA on efficiency and cost

Scarlett Yu — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:25 GMT

Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently said the company's upcoming AI5 inference chip could deliver two to three times the performance per watt of Nvidia products when deployed in autonomous vehicles and Optimus humanoid robots, potentially at just around 10% of the cost.

Research Insight: US humanoid supply chains pivot away from China as Taiwan moves from parts to actuator modules

Scarlett Yu — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 23:59:58 GMT

As the humanoid robot supply chain moves closer to mass-production readiness, Taiwan's precision manufacturing sector is gaining new opportunities to enter the US market, according to DIGITIMES observations.

SpaceX's $100 billion Louisiana Starbase turns orbital ambitions into launch-infrastructure race

DIGITIMES — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 23:59:09 GMT

The pinnacle of Elon Musk's far-reaching ambitions in orbital compute has come into better view following another major SpaceX announcement to turn the space giant's expanding plans for Starlink V3 and Starmind into a grand Starbase at the heart of Louisiana.

Beijing's AI4Chip plan puts AI to work on EDA, fabs, advanced packaging

DIGITIMES — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 23:58:35 GMT

Beijing is extending artificial intelligence deeper into semiconductor production, targeting chip design, wafer fabrication, packaging, testing, equipment, and materials under what local authorities describe as China's first dedicated "AI4Chip" policy.

AI glass substrate race shifts toward reliability and mass production

DIGITIMES — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 23:58:19 GMT

The competition to develop glass substrates for artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor packaging is intensifying, with Japanese and South Korean manufacturers pursuing different approaches to solve the reliability challenges created by increasingly large and complex packages.

Chinese GPUs head to space as MetaX payload begins in-orbit AI computing tests

Scarlett Yu — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 23:58:17 GMT

Chinese GPU vendors are beginning to extend their applications beyond terrestrial computing and into space. The recently launched Yunjian Muxi satellite (Jitianxing A-04) carries an intelligent computing payload powered by a domestically developed MetaX GPU, marking an effort to validate Chinese AI chips under real-world space conditions.

WRC 2026 signals a new humanoid robot race as competition shifts from bodies to embodied AI models

Scarlett Yu — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 23:57:55 GMT

The 2026 World Robot Conference (WRC 2026) has concluded in Beijing. While the commercial prospects of humanoid robots remain a subject of debate, they once again took center stage at the event. With China continuing to lead the world in humanoid robot shipments, more than 100 robotics-related companies showcased new technologies and unveiled their latest products, making the event not only a magnet for capital but also a window into where the industry is heading.

Nvidia's binding constraint moves from demand to cost, and it has now put a number on both

DIGITIMES — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 23:29:26 GMT

For the first time in this cycle, Nvidia has told investors where its gross margin will bottom out and how far short of demand its supply will fall - two admissions that shift the question from whether the AI buildout continues to who absorbs its rising input costs. Management guided gross margin down from 75.0% to a trough of 71-72% by the fourth quarter, directly blamed memory pricing, and capped fiscal 2028 revenue growth at about 70% against demand it put at nearer 100%. Neither disclosure is a demand warning. Both say the company is now managing a shortage rather than a market.

Nvidia's second quarter shows demand intact and the cash cycle stretching

DIGITIMES — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 23:28:53 GMT

Growth has stopped being the interesting question at Nvidia. Revenue for the quarter ended July 26, 2026 was US$96.2 billion, up 106% from a year earlier, and Data Center accounted for US$89.0 billion of it, up 117%. Gross margin held at 75.0% even as the Vera Rubin platform moved into volume—unusual, because a new rack-scale architecture normally costs a quarter or two of margin while yields settle. On the operating line, the quarter was close to flawless.

Nvidia says AI labs it is helping to finance will be about a quarter of next year's business

DIGITIMES — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 23:28:19 GMT

Nvidia has put a figure on its exposure to the AI labs it helps fund. On its second-quarter earnings call, chief financial officer Colette Kress said the company expects "demand from the AI labs for which we expect to leverage our balance sheet to contribute toward roughly a quarter of our business next year." That single sentence reframes the financing question. The issue is no longer whether Nvidia supports its customers' balance sheets, but that a quarter of forecast revenue now depends on structures the company itself has arranged.

Nvidia's answer to custom silicon is the half of the market that will never build any

DIGITIMES — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 23:27:56 GMT

The sharpest question on Nvidia's second-quarter call came a Bank of America analyst, who noted that OpenAI and Anthropic - both major beneficiaries of Nvidia's ecosystem investment - are designing their own chips, and that OpenAI had, days earlier, claimed its Jalapeno part outperforms Blackwell.

Nvidia caps its own growth at 70% because that is all the supply it can secure

DIGITIMES — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 23:27:14 GMT

Nvidia has guided a full year in advance for the first time, and the number it chose is not a demand forecast. Chief financial officer Colette Kress told the company's second-quarter earnings call that Nvidia expects to grow revenue by approximately 70% in fiscal 2028, then immediately qualified it: "This is a supply-constrained outlook." Customer forecasts, she said, "point to our growth doubling next year." The 30-point gap between what buyers want and what Nvidia has committed to ship is now the central fact about the company's next four quarters, and it is what the Vera Rubin, Groq, and Vera CPU ramps exist to close.

YMTC targets global NAND lead by 2027 as parent seeks US$5 billion IPO

DIGITIMES — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 09:53:01 GMT

Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) is aiming to become the world's largest NAND flash supplier by the end of 2027, setting an aggressive target as its parent prepares a nearly US$5 billion Shanghai listing to fund production upgrades and research.