DIGITIMES: News and Insight of the Global Supply Chain

Commentary: Why China's AI optical-module dominance is Washington's next target

Levi Li — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 03:48:15 GMT

The AI boom is accelerating data-centre expansion and turning high-speed optical interconnects into the next globally scrutinised supply chain after GPUs and HBM. Over recent years, Chinese optical-module makers have rapidly entered global AI data centres through cost advantages, fast volume production and tightly integrated supply chains. Zhongji Innolight, Eoptolink and TFC Optical Communication have become emblematic of China's rise in optical communications.

China steps up EV battery and smart-driving inspections on five automakers

AI bot — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 03:39:08 GMT

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology launched surprise inspections in late July 2026 at five electric vehicle makers as Beijing widened its crackdown on "involution" industries. The checks focused on battery quality, smart-driving safety and marketing claims after years of intense price competition had raised concerns over product consistency and safety.

India's ASIP Technologies makes FCBGA core of OSAT plan

DIGITIMES — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 03:35:24 GMT

ASIP Technologies will focus its Visakhapatnam semiconductor facility on flip-chip ball grid array packaging as it works toward volume production in the fourth quarter of 2027, Managing Director and CEO Venkata Simhadri told DIGITIMES.

AI orders give Soonest visibility into 2027

Lily Hess — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 03:20:34 GMT

Soonest Express said strong AI shipments and the traditional second-half peak are extending its supply-chain visibility into 2027. The freight forwarder expects better performance in the third quarter of 2026 than in the second quarter, and a stronger second half than the first. The company said the air and sea freight market in the second half of 2026 is becoming an environment where "space is king" as demand tightens.

NEO Semiconductor unveils AI memory platform aimed at easing global bottlenecks

DIGITIMES — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 03:18:46 GMT

NEO Semiconductor has launched NEO.AI, a memory platform it says could help address one of the biggest constraints on artificial intelligence (AI) systems worldwide: limited memory. The company says the technology is intended to improve AI performance, scalability, and efficiency as models grow larger and more demanding across global markets.

Meta turns its engineers into trainers in coding race with Anthropic and OpenAI

DIGITIMES — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 03:12:01 GMT

Meta is trying to close the gap with Anthropic and OpenAI in AI coding by combining a public product launch with an unusually aggressive internal training campaign.

AUO warns of 2H26 panel demand pressure

Lily Hess — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 03:06:56 GMT

AUO said panel demand will come under pressure in the second half. IT channel inventories remain elevated, with notebook inventories particularly high. TV inventories, however, stay healthy, supported by the 2026 FIFA World Cup and year-end promotion campaigns.

Chunghwa Precision Test posts record July revenue on AI chip demand

DIGITIMES — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 03:00:00 GMT

Chunghwa Precision Test Tech. reported record monthly revenue in July 2026, as demand for AI and high-performance computing (HPC) testing products rose across data center and cloud markets. The testing interface maker said shipments of GPU-related chips, modules, and systems increased alongside stronger investment tied to agentic AI.

Anthropic builds in-house chip design team, signaling AI firms' turn to custom silicon

DIGITIMES — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 02:55:33 GMT

Anthropic is building an in-house team to design custom chips for its Claude AI models, according to Reuters, moving ahead with a plan first reported in April as the startup responds to a shortage of processors needed to run and develop more advanced AI systems.

Nanya Technology raises 2026 capex 34% to accelerate Fab 5A build-out

Eifeh Strom — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 02:52:23 GMT

Nanya Technology's board of directors approved several resolutions on August 5, including a plan to accelerate capacity build-out at its new Fab 5A by raising its 2026 capital expenditure to no more than NT$69.7 billion (approx. US$2.16 billion) from the earlier estimate of NT$52 billion, a roughly 34% increase. The board also approved participation in the bidding process for a testing facility to expand backend packaging and testing capacity.

Syncmold boosts LEO satellite parts push as 2026 revenue slips

DIGITIMES — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 02:50:00 GMT

Syncmold Enterprise reported second-quarter 2026 results on the 3rd, saying low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite products accounted for a larger share of sales even as consolidated revenue fell to NT$2.006 billion (US$61.9 million), down 5.2% from the first quarter and 6.9% from a year earlier. The Taiwanese precision parts maker said cautious end-market demand and customer shipment timing changes weighed on quarterly performance.

Samsung pitches 5nm as HBM4, Nvidia orders push 4nm lines to full capacity

DIGITIMES — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 02:43:54 GMT

Samsung Electronics' foundry arm is stepping up sales of its 5nm process as its more advanced 4nm capacity is expected to remain fully booked through 2027, driven by HBM4 base-die production and Nvidia inference-chip orders, according to ZDNet Korea, which cited semiconductor industry officials.

Apple's CXMT play reportedly backfires on DUV limits, giving Samsung and SK Hynix more DRAM leverage

DIGITIMES — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 02:43:00 GMT

Apple's attempt to use China's ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) as leverage against Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix has backfired. The two Korean chipmakers now hold stronger, not weaker, negotiating power over DRAM supply, according to South Korean and Chinese trade press.

Microsoft's OpenAI disclosure reveals an unshakable dependency

DIGITIMES — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 02:34:48 GMT

Microsoft Corp. has given the first clear accounting of its revenue from OpenAI: US$24.1 billion for the year ended in June, likely close to 70% of its actual AI sales. The figure puts a hard number on a reliance the software giant has quietly worked to reduce ever since the two companies became partners.

SpaceX earnings strengthen Win Semiconductors' outlook for satellite-driven GaN demand

DIGITIMES — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 02:24:03 GMT

SpaceX's first quarterly earnings release has offered fresh evidence that Starlink's expansion is moving beyond subscriber growth and into a more hardware-intensive phase, strengthening expectations that next-generation satellite networks and direct-to-device services will raise demand for higher-power radio-frequency components.

Auras Technology sees July 2026 revenue more than double on liquid cooling demand

Eifeh Strom — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 02:20:04 GMT

Auras Technology reported a sharp rise in July 2026 revenue, more than doubling from a year earlier. The increase was mainly driven by customers expanding the adoption of liquid cooling solutions and placing additional orders for Nvidia's Grace Blackwell (GB) series of products.

Machvision July revenue hits record as AI and PCB demand strengthens

DIGITIMES — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 02:20:00 GMT

Machvision reported consolidated revenue of about NT$359 million (US$11.1 million) in July 2026, a record monthly high that was up 1.28% from June and 31.84% from a year earlier. The Taiwan-based inspection equipment maker said order visibility remained healthy, with some high-end products already booked several quarters ahead as demand ran stronger than in 2025.

US curbs on Chinese data-center optics open orders to non-China suppliers

Levi Li — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 02:11:59 GMT

The US Federal Communications Commission is reportedly considering restrictions on new models of Chinese-made optical transceivers used in data centers, potentially exposing suppliers including Zhongji Innolight and Eoptolink to fresh market-access risks.

National Aerospace Fasteners posts record first-half revenue on strong engine demand

DIGITIMES — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 02:09:30 GMT

National Aerospace Fasteners Corp. reported a surge in July 2026 revenue and record first-half results as demand for aircraft engine parts stayed strong. The Taiwan-based fastener maker said July revenue reached NT$494 million, up 53.03% from a year earlier and its second-highest monthly level on record, even though sales slipped 0.65% from June.

US locks down tungsten and battery scrap exports as great-power minerals race intensifies

DIGITIMES — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 02:08:31 GMT

Washington has moved to keep tungsten waste and recycled battery material inside its own borders, a step that underscores how deeply critical-minerals policy has become entangled with the broader US-China strategic rivalry.

ByteDance's new "watch and listen" AI signals a broader Chinese push beyond chatbots

DIGITIMES — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 02:02:11 GMT

ByteDance's Seed research team has released SeedRealtime. This native audio-visual full-duplex large language model, the company says, marks the industry's first large-scale deployment of audio-video full-duplex technology. The launch, announced August 5 on the Seed team's blog, points to where Chinese AI labs are increasingly competing: not just on text benchmarks, but on how naturally a model can see, hear, and respond in real time.

India proposes extension for electronics manufacturing tax breaks and loosening data center rules in new bill

DIGITIMES — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 01:46:04 GMT

India's Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, gives foreign suppliers to the country's electronics contract manufacturers a decade of extra tax certainty and removes some of the approval hurdles that had constrained foreign cloud and data-center operators, according to the bill text introduced in the Lok Sabha (the Lower House of India) on July 31, 2026, by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Sandisk leans on multi-year supply deals as it bets on AI-driven NAND supercycle

DIGITIMES — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 01:35:31 GMT

Sandisk closed its fiscal 2026 with record revenue, gross margin, and earnings per share. Still, the bigger story for investors is how much of the company's future business is now locked into long-term contracts, according to the company's fourth-quarter earnings call on August 5, 2026.

WD points to HAMR ramp and long-term contracts as pricing power builds

DIGITIMES — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 01:35:15 GMT

At its fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 earnings call on August 5, Western Digital (WD) laid out a near-term growth strategy centered on higher-capacity hard disk drives and multiyear customer contracts, even as executives acknowledged a quarter-on-quarter slowdown in exabyte shipment growth.

Sandisk's data center pivot drives record quarter as AI-fueled NAND shortage reshapes storage market

DIGITIMES — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 01:14:25 GMT

Sandisk reported fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year 2026 results on August 5 that underscore how thoroughly artificial intelligence (AI) demand has reshaped the NAND flash memory business, with the company's data center segment emerging as its primary growth engine and management locking in tens of billions of dollars in multi-year customer commitments to protect against the industry's traditionally volatile pricing cycles.

WD posts record fiscal fourth quarter as AI-driven demand for high-capacity drives accelerates

DIGITIMES — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 01:13:58 GMT

On August 5, Western Digital (WD) closed its fiscal 2026 with a fourth quarter that underscored how thoroughly artificial intelligence buildouts have reshaped the hard-disk-drive (HDD) market.

Google loses Jeff Dean, sidelines Hassabis from operations in biggest AI shake-up since 2023

DIGITIMES — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 01:00:07 GMT

Google is restructuring the leadership of its AI division at a moment when the company can least afford instability at the top of its research organization, with chief scientist Jeff Dean departing after 27 years and Demis Hassabis stepping back from day-to-day control of Google DeepMind.

US weighs Chinese optical transceiver ban, putting AI data center supply at risk

DIGITIMES — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 00:03:05 GMT

The Trump administration is preparing to extend US technology restrictions deeper into the artificial intelligence supply chain, with the Federal Communications Commission considering a ban on new Chinese-made optical transceiver models used in data centers.

Taiwan's KOYO-1 satellite validates homegrown FOG technology, opening doors to global space supply chains

Scarlett Yu — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 00:02:42 GMT

Taiwan's aerospace industry has reached another milestone with the successful launch of the KOYO-1 CubeSat in July 2026, helping local suppliers advance further into the global space supply chain.

China automakers struggle as margins plunge and battery supply chains skew

Lily Hess — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 00:02:22 GMT

China's automakers are still betting on a strategy of in-house batteries to complement their complete vehicle lineups, but the push remains hard to execute as profit margins slide and the supply chain stays structurally unbalanced. The challenge comes as upstream miners, refiners, and lithium battery makers capture most of the gains while carmakers face intensifying competition.

Tung Yang July revenue rises 23% on stronger AM and OEM demand

DIGITIMES — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 00:02:04 GMT

Auto parts maker Tung Yang reported July consolidated revenue of NT$2.036 billion, up 23% from a year earlier and a record for the same month. The Taiwanese supplier said cumulative revenue for the first seven months reached NT$13.33 billion as tariff pressure on exports to the US eased and customer orders began to recover.

FOPLP leads production as CoPoS advances glass packaging

Lily Hess — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 00:01:38 GMT

AI chip computing power is rising rapidly, pushing advanced packaging toward larger form factors, higher bandwidth, and greater integration. Traditional Ajinomoto build-up film (ABF) substrates and silicon interposers are increasingly hitting bottlenecks in cost, warpage, and packaging efficiency, making glass substrates and glass interposers a key focus in next-generation advanced packaging plans.

Memory shortages squeeze smartphone shipments, leaving Chinese brands to sell the AI upgrade

Levi Li — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 00:01:19 GMT

The global smartphone market is approaching an unusual turning point in the second half of 2026. Artificial intelligence has become the industry's preferred growth narrative, while reports that Apple and Samsung Electronics are considering memory components from Chinese suppliers also reflect a market under mounting strain.

DRAM price surge lifts Samsung and Micron as SK Hynix loses share

Sherri Wang — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 00:00:42 GMT

Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology are benefiting more strongly from rising conventional DRAM and NAND prices than SK Hynix, whose focus on high-bandwidth memory (HBM) has slowed the expansion of its traditional DRAM business despite its leadership in HBM.

Dark fiber essential for next-gen distributed AI centers

Rodney Chan — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 00:00:23 GMT

All-photonic networks (APN) are emerging as critical infrastructure for 6G, AI computing and smart cities. Nvidia's plan to expand its AI footprint in the US underscores why dark fiber is essential for distributed AI computing centers, according to Chau-Lyan Chang, director general of Taiwan's National Center for High-performance Computing (NCHC).

Interview: Ayar Labs CEO sees CPO scale-up volumes rising in 2028-2029

Jingyue Hsiao — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 00:00:01 GMT

The 2026 Open Compute Project (OCP) APAC Summit will be held in Taipei on August 11-12, bringing together global cloud service providers (CSPs), semiconductor firms, silicon photonics (SiPh) players, system makers and many Taiwanese suppliers to share the latest developments in compute architecture. Ayar Labs CEO Mark Wade, who will attend the event and spoke with DIGITIMES ahead of the summit, said Taiwan's supply chain is critical to the development of co-packaged optics (CPO) and that scale-up deployment is on track to ramp up 2028-2029.

Microdisplay advances push AR glasses closer to mainstream adoption

DIGITIMES — Wed, 5 Aug 2026 23:59:40 GMT

Taiwanese supply-chain players said new microdisplay designs and optical simulation tools are accelerating consumer augmented reality (AR) glasses adoption as the market shifts toward lighter devices, higher image quality, and better optical efficiency. The comments were tied to ongoing development in smart glasses and spatial computing, where hardware performance remains a central hurdle.

China auto exports shift production and pressure suppliers in the first half of 2026

DIGITIMES — Wed, 5 Aug 2026 23:59:08 GMT

China’s auto industry shifted sharply in the first half of 2026 as export growth offset weakening domestic demand, pushing production toward export-connected manufacturing hubs and putting suppliers in slower regions under pressure. The change was most visible in provinces with strong logistics links and export-oriented automakers, while areas tied to aging gasoline vehicle programs lost ground.

Fositek lifts server revenue mix to 56% and plans capacity expansion

DIGITIMES — Wed, 5 Aug 2026 23:58:34 GMT

Fositek said AI-driven demand increased the share of server-related products in its revenue mix in the second quarter of 2026 and helped improve profitability even as overall sales declined during a product transition period. The Taiwanese supplier said server-related products accounted for 55.7% of first-half revenue at the end of the quarter, up from 19.2% a year earlier, while it prepared to expand manufacturing in China and Vietnam.

Chicony Power wins US communications customer as AI server products move toward production

DIGITIMES — Wed, 5 Aug 2026 23:58:13 GMT

Chicony Power Technology Co. said on Aug. 4 that stronger demand for communication and server power improved its second-quarter 2026 product mix, even as higher raw material costs and a firmer Chinese yuan (CNY) pressured margins. The Taiwan-based power supply maker said operating profit fell more than 40% quarter-over-quarter, but non-operating gains helped lift earnings per share and support a stronger first-half result.

HTC reports NT$280 million loss as AI glasses and XR products expand

DIGITIMES — Wed, 5 Aug 2026 23:57:55 GMT

HTC reported a net loss of NT$280 million (US$8.6 million) attributable to parent company owners for the second quarter of 2026 on August 4, with revenue of NT$610 million (US$18.8 million). The company also posted a gross margin of 42.6%, while operating loss widened to NT$570 million and operating margin fell to -93.2%.

Adlink posts record second-quarter revenue on AI edge computing demand

DIGITIMES — Wed, 5 Aug 2026 23:57:30 GMT

Adlink reported record second-quarter 2026 revenue of NT$4.459 billion (approx. US$138 million), lifted by demand in AI edge computing and intelligent edge applications. The industrial PC maker said it will keep expanding in healthcare, semiconductor automation, robotics, and new energy as it pushes deeper into edge-based AI markets.

Myson Century expands health supplement business into Malaysia

DIGITIMES — Wed, 5 Aug 2026 23:57:09 GMT

Myson Century is taking its Chun Ho Biotech brand overseas through an expansion into Malaysia as part of a broader push to build a one-stop health and wellness ecosystem. The Taiwanese group said it is using a puzzle-style merger and acquisitions strategy to connect raw material development, contract development and manufacturing services, brand operations, and channel sales.

Wistron reports strong first-half profit and expands AI capex in Taiwan and the US

DIGITIMES — Wed, 5 Aug 2026 23:56:11 GMT

Wistron said on August 4 that it delivered strong first-half 2026 results and expects artificial intelligence demand to remain robust in the second half. The Taiwan-based electronics manufacturer also approved additional capital spending in Taiwan, the US, and Vietnam as it prepared for further AI-related capacity expansion.

GlobalWafers says AI demand is lifting utilization and new LTA talks are underway

DIGITIMES — Wed, 5 Aug 2026 23:55:42 GMT

GlobalWafers said semiconductor demand has rebounded as AI and high-performance computing applications expanded, keeping its factories highly utilized and prompting a new round of long-term supply agreement talks. The Taiwan-based wafer supplier also said tighter supply could push spot prices higher in the second half of 2026.

Mitsubishi Electric, Daikin expand US production to meet data center cooling demand

DIGITIMES — Wed, 5 Aug 2026 09:22:27 GMT

Mitsubishi Electric is establishing a cooling-equipment production company in Ohio, joining Daikin Industries in bringing manufacturing closer to US data center customers as delivery times, tariffs and local service become more important competitive factors.