DIGITIMES Asia: News and Insight of the Global Supply Chain

800VDC could reshape data center power markets as regulation and supply chains lag

Jingyue Hsiao — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 23:11:21 GMT

Data center power systems are nearing a major transition as GPU rack densities rise toward the 600 kW range. A new report from SemiAnalysis said 800VDC direct-current distribution is moving beyond hyperscale trials and could alter how data centers are built, powered, and regulated.

BOE races Samsung for Gen 8.6 OLED title despite low yield

DIGITIMES — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 23:11:09 GMT

BOE is preparing to hold a mass-production shipment ceremony for its Gen 8.6 IT OLED line in mid-June, positioning the Chinese display maker to claim a first-mover title even as its production yield remains below 30%, according to ZDNet Korea.

BE Epitaxy Semiconductor targets 1.6T CPO with AMD, MediaTek

Charlene Chen — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 23:10:48 GMT

Silicon photonics (SiPh) chip designer BE Epitaxy Semiconductor turned profitable in 2025 as demand for 800G and 1.6T co-packaged optics (CPOs) heads toward explosive growth. Backed by orders and funding from AMD and MediaTek, the company is using a lean-asset model and ecosystem integration strategy to push into full-optical CPO design. General manager Jada Wang said 2026–2027 will mark the industry-wide breakout point for SiPh chips and CPO commercialization. BE Epitaxy Semiconductor's 800G products have already reached shipment standards, and the company is now moving toward 1.6T optical engine (OE) chipsets.

Taiwan's green energy industry shifts from manufacturing race to resilience strategy

Jingyue Hsiao — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 23:10:25 GMT

Taiwan's green energy industry is emerging from more than two decades of boom, retreats, and shakeouts with a different strategic focus. What began as a contest in hardware manufacturing has become a test of industrial sovereignty, financial discipline, and geopolitical adaptation.

Goldkey targets NT$10B funding to lock in memory supply as prices surge

Lily Hess — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 23:10:02 GMT

Memory module maker Goldkey said it plans to raise NT$6 billion (US$191.4 million) to NT$10 billion in working capital in 2026 through multiple channels as tight supply and rising contract prices fuel a memory supercycle. The company also plans to accelerate a shift into higher-value segments such as industrial control, AI, and edge computing after posting a 30% gross margin and 27.4% operating margin in the first quarter of 2026.

Japan's robotics legacy faces a new challenge: commercial success

Elaine Chen — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 23:08:19 GMT

At the close of his keynote address at the Humanoids Summit in Tokyo, Hiroshi Ishiguro — one of the pioneers of humanoid robotics — offered a candid assessment of the industry's progress: despite decades of investment and research, Japan has yet to produce a truly transformative, mass-market application for robotics.

Chip test equipment makers hit by FPGA, CPU supply crunch

DIGITIMES — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 23:07:32 GMT

Semiconductor test equipment makers are facing severe shortages of key components, with lead times for FPGAs, CPUs, GPUs, and driver ICs stretching sharply as AI and data center demand strain the broader chip supply chain, according to The Elec.

RISC-V will be 'default ISA of choice' for all new chip designs, architecture's CEO predicts

DIGITIMES — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 23:07:05 GMT

Andrea Gallo, CEO of RISC-V International, used his appearance at the MIPS Forum during Computex 2026 to declare that RISC-V has completed its transition from academic project to industrial standard — and that its dominance in physical AI is no longer a future prediction but a present reality.

Kioxia weighs new NAND fab as AI demand drives long-term expansion plans

DIGITIMES — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 23:06:46 GMT

Kioxia is evaluating the construction of a new NAND flash manufacturing facility at its Kitakami site in Iwate Prefecture, aiming for production to begin after 2029-2030 as the company prepares for sustained growth in AI-driven storage demand.

Taiwan courts the world's AI startups in a bid to secure chip future

Elaine Chen — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 23:06:14 GMT

Taiwan is stepping up its efforts to position itself as a global hub for artificial intelligence and semiconductor innovation, deepening ties between international startups and its world-leading chip ecosystem.

Innodisk, Qualcomm and Formosa Plastics roll out GenAI-powered industrial safety vision

DIGITIMES — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 23:05:59 GMT

Innodisk announced a strategic partnership with Qualcomm and Formosa Plastics Group to launch an AI industrial safety vision solution that upgrades surveillance into intelligent video monitoring and decision-making tools. The collaboration combines Qualcomm Insight Platform AI imaging software, Innodisk's edge AI servers and computing platforms, and Formosa Plastics' field deployment and systems integration capabilities to deliver GenAI search and natural-language conversation features for industrial sites.

As satellite networks expand, telecom operators gain influence

Elaine Chen — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 23:05:28 GMT

The race to build space-based internet networks is accelerating. But as thousands of low-Earth orbit satellites enter orbit, a more fundamental question is taking shape: who will control access to the customer?

Interview: Andhra Pradesh moves to become India's semiconductor packaging hub

DIGITIMES — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 23:04:19 GMT

Andhra Pradesh is making its most concrete move yet in semiconductors, zeroing in on packaging as the immediate entry point into the chip supply chain. Speaking on the sidelines of the Computex technology expo in Taipei, Bhaskar Katamneni, Secretary to the Government for ITE&C, acknowledged that wafer fabrication remains a long-term "seven or eight-year journey," but said packaging work is already well underway — with four PCB manufacturers having already begun operations, according to him.

Taiwan's Walsin Technology gains pricing power from AI demand

Elaine Chen — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 23:03:55 GMT

Walsin Technology, one of Taiwan's leading manufacturers of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs), has notified distributors that it will raise prices on resistors and selected capacitor products beginning June 1, citing mounting cost pressures and robust demand from AI-related applications. The move makes Walsin one of the first Taiwanese MLCC suppliers to formally implement a new round of price increases, and a sign that the inflationary effects of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom are spreading deeper into the electronics supply chain.

Huawei's Tau Law exposes China's EDA gap; Empyrean advances memory chip design tools

Levi Li — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 23:02:28 GMT

Huawei's recently proposed Tau Law has drawn attention across the semiconductor industry, with the company arguing that chip performance can be improved by reducing the internal signal transmission time constant, known as τ, through multi-layer optimization across devices, circuits, architectures, systems, and algorithms.

E Ink and BMW advance automotive color-changing tech toward market readiness

Willis Ke — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 23:01:59 GMT

Taiwan-based electronic paper leader E Ink Holdings is preparing to bring its color-changing vehicle technology to market after overcoming key regulatory and technical hurdles with BMW. The milestone marks a significant step in the company's strategy to extend e-paper beyond displays and into vehicle exteriors, consumer products, and large-scale architectural surfaces.

Notebook shipment update, April 2026

DIGITIMES — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 09:58:58 GMT

Affected by weakened channel stocking momentum and a high base period, shipments of the top five notebook brands fell 33% sequentially in April 2026.

MIPS CEO makes the case for RISC-V in physical AI at Computex forum

DIGITIMES — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 09:03:57 GMT

Sameer Wasson, CEO of MIPS by GlobalFoundries, spoke at the MIPS Forum at Computex 2026 on June 3 in Taipei, held at the Taipei Courtyard by Marriott Nangang — one day after his company announced the completion of its acquisition of Synopsys' ARC Processor IP Solutions business.

Qisda chair eyes 2026 AI takeoff

Kevin Wang — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 08:33:47 GMT

Qisda Corp. chairman Peter Chen has pledged that the group will not miss out on the AI boom, with AI servers, 1.6T switches, cooling systems, and power solutions already in place. With orders already in hand and some products ready to ship, Qisda expects its AI business to begin taking off in 2026.

Physical AI must act before it thinks, NXP CEO argues at Computex

DIGITIMES — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 07:48:37 GMT

As robots and autonomous systems move from factory floors into hospitals, warehouses, and public spaces, NXP Semiconductors CEO Rafael Sotomayor used his Computex 2026 keynote to argue that the defining challenge of physical AI is not raw intelligence, but the ability to act in milliseconds without waiting for instructions from the cloud.

Micron's HBM4 push signals bigger Nvidia supply role

Sherri Wang — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 07:42:34 GMT

Micron Technology may supply more HBM4 memory for Nvidia's next-generation Vera Rubin platform than the market currently expects, as the US memory maker ramps up equipment investment for the new technology, according to sources in South Korea's memory equipment industry.

Liteon: RTX Spark could turn AI PCs into personal assistants

Levi Li — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 07:39:00 GMT

Liteon Technology showcased AI power management and liquid cooling solutions at COMPUTEX 2026, highlighting technologies aimed at supporting both AI PCs and next-generation AI data centers.

Pegatron's Chairman sees a future where AI can think and act

Elaine Chen — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 07:13:06 GMT

As the artificial intelligence industry moves beyond chatbots and text generation, a new question is emerging: what happens when AI can act on the physical world, not just understand it?

MiniMax and Z.ai seek Shanghai listings as AI compute spending grows

DIGITIMES — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 07:12:34 GMT

MiniMax and Z.ai both plan to apply for listings in Shanghai's tech-focused STAR Market, months after the two AI companies successfully launched IPOs in Hong Kong's stock market in January, according to Nikkei Asia. This move indicates the pressure the AI companies face to raise capital amid high compute costs to stay ahead of the competition, even as profitability so far remains out of reach.

The robotics future will arrive in stages, Qualcomm exec predicts

Elaine Chen — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 07:12:01 GMT

Qualcomm's view of the robotics industry points to a market that is rapidly taking shape, but along sharply diverging paths of complexity and time horizon.

Delta highlights power gap as AI expansion pressures data centers worldwide

Jingyue Hsiao — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 07:09:04 GMT

Global AI growth is increasingly colliding with electricity limits, a shift that could slow data center buildouts and reshape infrastructure planning from the US to Asia. Delta Electronics chairman Ping Cheng said the bottleneck is already delaying projects, pushing operators toward self-owned power systems and off-grid microgrids.

Tight laptop chip supply tests Intel's 18A comeback

DIGITIMES — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 07:07:13 GMT

Intel's effort to rebuild confidence in its manufacturing technology is facing an early test, as PC makers struggle to secure laptop processors built on the company's 18A process.

GlobalFoundries completes acquisition of Synopsys' ARC processor IP business to build physical AI platform

DIGITIMES — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 06:53:03 GMT

GlobalFoundries (GF) has completed its acquisition of Synopsys' ARC Processor IP Solutions business, the company announced on June 2. The acquisition adds to GF's existing MIPS subsidiary, combining two processor IP portfolios into a single offering that spans RISC-V processor IP, software tools, custom silicon design, and semiconductor manufacturing.

Nvidia to accelerate Vera Rubin production; Quanta Computer to add three US plants by end of 2026

Eifeh Strom — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 06:51:44 GMT

Quanta Computer executive vice president and Quanta Cloud Technology (QCT) president Mike Yang said GPU applications are expanding across training, edge computing, and storage, as well as in the development of application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). In response to future demand, the company is preparing for power needs and production capacity, planning to add three more plants in the US by the end of 2026.

xMEMS sees 2027 debut for cooling chips as AI glasses, SSDs face heat limits

DIGITIMES — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 06:49:37 GMT

xMEMS Labs is preparing to move its MEMS-based µCooling technology toward commercial production in 2027, with AI glasses and data-center SSDs expected to be among the first applications as sustained AI workloads push thermal constraints beyond GPUs.

OpenAI eyes CUDA killer to push AI infrastructure beyond Nvidia's grip

DIGITIMES — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 06:01:54 GMT

OpenAI is weighing whether to publicly release software designed to make advanced AI workloads run more easily across chips from multiple providers, a move that could weaken one of Nvidia's most durable advantages: the CUDA software ecosystem that has helped lock developers into its GPUs.

Lightmatter joins Nvidia NVLink Fusion ecosystem to expand optical AI connectivity

DIGITIMES — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 05:46:03 GMT

Lightmatter has joined Nvidia's NVLink Fusion ecosystem, a move that could accelerate the rollout of high-performance optical links for AI infrastructure worldwide. The collaboration is aimed at easing data-center bottlenecks, improving bandwidth, and giving global customers more options for building energy-efficient AI systems at scale.

Nvidia and Infineon press supply chain co-design as AI power limits tighten

Lily Hess — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 04:44:47 GMT

At the opening day of Computex 2026, Lite-On Technology hosted an AI industry summit under the theme "Powering the AI-driven Future," where DIGITIMES chairman Colley Hwang moderated a cross-industry panel with Nvidia, Infineon Technologies, and Gigabyte subsidiary Giga Computing at the exhibition venue.

MediaTek denies rumored EMIB adoption timeline

DIGITIMES — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 04:44:26 GMT

MediaTek denied a foreign report about a timeline for adopting Intel Corp.'s embedded multi-die interconnect bridge packaging at a recent investor event and said its supply-chain strategy remains focused on TSMC. The clarification came after a Goldman Sachs research note, and media coverage suggested MediaTek had set tape-out and mass-production dates for a project using Intel EMIB-T packaging.

AI cooling demand keeps booming, lifting suppliers' outlook through 2029

Charlene Chen — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 04:34:30 GMT

Strong demand for AI server cooling is extending visibility for the industry, with Asia Vital Components (AVC) and Auras Technology both forecasting sustained growth through 2029. Nvidia is driving a shift from air cooling to liquid cooling in AI servers, boosting both revenue and profits for cooling module makers.