Groq has reportedly requested Samsung Electronics' foundry division to increase wafer production for its inference AI chips, reflecting the booming market demand. Industry sources expect Samsung's foundry business to boost profitability by deepening collaboration with Groq and scaling up output.

Major printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturer Zhen Ding Technology reported a slight 3.97% year-over-year decline in February 2026 revenue to NT$11.72 billion (US$367.45 million), despite being part of the traditional off-season for consumer electronics. The company highlighted that momentum for products related to high-end AI continued to see robust growth, while revenue from servers, optical communications, and IC substrates all maintained a year-over-year growth of more than 60%, indicating that its revenue structure is rapidly shifting toward high-end AI applications.

As the global semiconductor manufacturing process advances below 2nm, wafer fabs are demanding increasingly stringent cleanroom environments. This has rapidly boosted demand for airborne molecular contamination (AMC) solutions from major suppliers such as Greenfiltec, Yesiang, and Sweden's Camfil. Driven primarily by TSMC's aggressive capacity expansion and rapid progress in advanced nodes, these companies have recently faced rare supply tightness, sparking a new wave of price increases.

MAtek reported record quarterly revenue in the fourth quarter of 2025 amid rising outsourced demand for materials analysis and reliability assurance, but net income after tax declined year over year. The company said advanced AI ASIC, and process verification drove the surge in service demand.

Samsung Electronics' labor union recently announced that employees who do not participate in a planned 18-day general strike from May 21 to June 7, 2026, will face penalties, sparking widespread concern and controversy across South Korea. The vote on whether to proceed with the strike began March 9 and runs through March 18.

The global semiconductor industry is rapidly expanding production capacity, with Taiwan, the US, and China accelerating memory, advanced packaging, and wafer foundry construction plans. Supply chain sources report a sharp order increase for 2026, driven not only by TSMC's large-scale expansions in Taiwan and the US but also by accelerated memory fab projects from Nanya Technology and Micron, alongside continuous growth in China's semiconductor output.

PCB drill bit and drilling service provider Topoint reported that strong demand from PCB industry customers has kept supply of high-end coated drill bits tight. Although drill bit utilization has remained above 90%, production still cannot fully meet market demand.

Taiwan is accelerating its push into quantum computing. As global competition intensifies — with the US, China, and Europe all pouring resources into the technology — the island is moving beyond lab research and into full-scale commercialization.

Taiwan's once-struggling panel industry is undergoing an unprecedented structural shift as major players Innolux and AUO shutter or divest legacy LCD production lines. While these moves may appear aimed at stemming losses in the low-margin LCD market, they actually represent a strategic retreat designed to reposition assets toward the booming AI chip packaging sector.

TSMC's Arizona facility posted strong profitability in the fourth quarter of 2025, underscoring the commercial viability of advanced chip manufacturing in the US, according to DIGITIMES Research senior analyst Luke Lin.