The AI semiconductor supply chain is showing unexpected signs of a shift, with TSMC's long-held dominance in the foundry market beginning to loosen. US chipmakers are increasingly engaging with Samsung Electronics and Intel as alternative suppliers, and AMD has already handed its 2nm order to Samsung.

At SEMICON Southeast Asia 2026 in Kuala Lumpur, China's semiconductor equipment makers are steadily "infiltrating" the Southeast Asian market, extending from back-end packaging and testing into front-end processes while setting up subsidiaries in Singapore and Malaysia and using localized branding to break through. The shift is reshaping the competitive landscape at the region's annual semiconductor showcase.

AI will bring an epochal technology revolution, as did the invention of steam power and electricity, according to Transcend Information chairman Chung-Won Shu. He argued that DRAM and NAND flash will face shortages in 2026-2027 and could remain undersupplied in 2028. He said Transcend's multi-level cell (MLC) NAND inventory, bought before certain memory manufacturers stopped production, is enough for about one year. Shu added that the company has recently broken into China's cloud service provider (CSP) supply chains, underscoring a structural change in the memory industry.

AI is upending the world of cybersecurity, as more capable models and agentic capabilities bring about new ways to exploit vulnerabilities, along with new ways to discover and patch them. While major US AI companies have so far led the race, Chinese firms are also using AI to stay competitive and create similarly powerful tools, even as they are officially shut out of the most advanced American models.

Chinese AI startup DeepSeek is seeking to raise as much as CNY50 billion (US$7.35 billion) in its first external funding round. The deal could value the company at more than CNY350 billion (US$51.5 billion), potentially the largest funding round in Chinese AI history.

When Unitree Robotics added "Mantis Boxing", Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do and even "Kamehameha" moves to its humanoid robot application store, the immediate reaction from many observers was amusement.

Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) has launched a new next-generation communications program under its A+ Industrial Innovative R&D Program, aiming to steer company research toward 6G networks, non-terrestrial networks (NTN), and all-photonics networks (APN). The move follows the Executive Yuan's Five Trusted Industry Sectors push launched in May 2024, and its Next-Generation Communications Technology Development Program announced in July 2025.

FocalTech Systems said its business is expected to bottom out in the first quarter of 2026, with a recovery already underway and a return to growth in both revenue and profitability beginning in the second quarter, according to remarks made at an investor conference on May 8.

Driven by surging AI computing demand and the industry-wide shift toward higher-bandwidth, lower-power network infrastructure, optical communications company Coherent Corp. says customer orders are growing at an accelerated pace, with its backlog reaching a record high and order visibility now extending into the 2028–2030 timeframe.

Taiwan and Germany signed a Science and Technology Arrangement (STA) in 2023 to promote joint research in semiconductors, hydrogen energy, artificial intelligence (AI), and other fields. Officials from Taiwan's National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) recently attended a lithium battery cooperation workshop in Dresden, Germany, where both sides confirmed continued support for a bilateral advanced battery research and development program from 2026 to 2029.

Foxconn announced a strategic partnership with ElectroMobility Poland S.A. (EMP), a Polish state-owned enterprise, to jointly evaluate building an electric vehicle manufacturing and R&D center in Poland. The deal, announced alongside Poland's Minister of State Assets Wojciech Balczun and Deputy Minister Eliza Zeidler, represents the Taiwanese electronics giant's most concrete move yet toward establishing a manufacturing presence on European soil.

As tensions between the US and Iran heighten global energy supply concerns, Taiwan's plan to restart the Kuosheng and Maanshan Nuclear Power Plants has drawn fresh attention. Although the Maanshan plant has yet to pass safety inspections, Taiwan Power (Taipower) has reportedly considered preordering fuel rods in advance — a move Pegatron chairman Tzu-hsien Tung supports to avoid a power supply gap, particularly as Taiwan seeks to sustain economic growth amid the ongoing AI arms race.

Apple said it is increasing investment in renewable energy and water sustainability projects globally, including new solar and water initiatives in India, as the company pushes toward its goal of becoming carbon neutral across its entire value chain by 2030.

Coupang Taiwan’s chief information security officer spoke at CYBERSEC 2026 in Taiwan to detail a November 2025 customer data breach that exposed information from about 33.7 million accounts globally and impacted roughly 200,000 accounts in Taiwan. The executive said the firm strengthened technical defenses and external mechanisms and formally launched Taiwan’s first Public Bug Bounty Program in partnership with HackerOne to institutionalize vulnerability reporting.

Syncmold, a precision mechanical components manufacturer, is positioning itself more deeply within the fast-expanding low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite supply chain, betting that space infrastructure will become a new long-term growth engine for the company.

The Pentagon has deployed more than 100,000 AI agents through its GenAI.mil platform, marking a broader shift toward algorithm-driven warfare and expanding the US military's push into AI-powered combat operations.

Rapid changes in battlefield tactics have made drones central to "economic attrition warfare," shifting the focus from technical performance to cost and scale. The implications are global: military planners, procurement budgets, and civilian supply chains are all under pressure as countries and manufacturers scramble to stockpile, ramp up production, and rethink manufacturing models.

Samsung Electronics is offering severance packages above China's statutory requirements while restructuring parts of its consumer electronics business in the country, signalling a calibrated retreat rather than a broader China exit.

Ennostar said its core losses narrowed significantly in the first quarter of 2026 from the previous quarter, despite the seasonally weak period for the industry, and expects a marked recovery in both revenue and shipments starting in the second quarter of 2026, driven by stronger demand for components and emerging growth in Micro LED technology.

Genius Electronic Optical (GSEO), the Taiwanese optical lens manufacturer known for supplying high-end smartphone camera components, reported strong revenue growth in April as the company pushes into new application markets beyond its traditional business.