Once a global LCD manufacturing powerhouse, Taiwan's display industry has weathered financial crises, antitrust penalties and fierce competition from state-backed Chinese rivals. Now, after three decades of boom-and-bust cycles, its leading manufacturers are seeking a new future beyond screens, leveraging their expertise in precision manufacturing to enter automotive electronics, advanced semiconductor packaging and AI-related technologies.

The global silicon carbide (SiC) market stands at a critical juncture of industrial scaling, driven by rising demand across the automotive, AI data center, and renewable energy sectors.

IBM and Siemens will collaborate on research to develop IBM's nanostack transistor architecture, aiming to move its design toward manufacturing. The work could influence chip performance, energy efficiency, and artificial-intelligence computing worldwide, as the companies seek to address design, simulation, lithography, and production challenges beyond the 7-angstrom node.

German equipment maker Von Ardenne is entering the semiconductor industry with coating technology aimed at panel-level packaging, a segment where the choice among competing panel dimensions remains unresolved. Its tray-based systems can handle different substrate sizes without a new platform, potentially reducing equipment risk as manufacturers and customers worldwide weigh standards for advanced packaging and glass-based processes.

Spanish semiconductor metrology startup Wooptix, whose technology originated in astronomical observation, is accelerating efforts to enter the supply chains of leading semiconductor foundries.

Tesla's dealings with Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) are highlighting tensions between chip designers and foundries as demand for AI processors accelerates. Allegations by an engineer, which neither Tesla nor Samsung has confirmed, include pricing pressure, requests for sensitive information, and the recruitment of Samsung employees for Tesla's Terafab project.

Surging AI-driven chip demand has extended order visibility for Zeiss, a key supplier of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography optics. Christoph Hensche, president of Zeiss Semiconductor Manufacturing Optics (SMO), told DIGITIMES in an exclusive interview that demand for 2026 and 2027 is already clearly defined, with production capacity at Zeiss and some other manufacturers fully booked for the coming years.

South Korean semiconductor equipment maker Hanmi Semiconductor showcased its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and AI chip packaging equipment at SEDEX 2026, including the TC Bonder 4 for HBM4 production and the Wide TC Bonder, scheduled for launch in 2027. The company also introduced five 2.5D packaging systems designed to accommodate increasingly large AI chip packages.

AUO is expanding its push into AI-related businesses, including augmented reality (AR) glasses, low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite antennas, optical communications, and advanced semiconductor packaging. The display maker has secured board approval for NT$24 billion (US$739.92 million) in planned investment for 2026, as chairman and CEO Paul Peng positions the initiatives as a route to growth and supply-chain relevance.

Infineon Technologies has lined up 8-inch silicon carbide (SiC) wafers from Wolfspeed under an expanded and extended long-term supply agreement. The deal gives the German chipmaker another source of the larger substrates it needs to convert its SiC fabs. It gives the US materials supplier a commitment from a top-tier customer about a year after its financial restructuring.

This week's coverage (October 12 to October 18, 2026) highlights semiconductor capacity, AI infrastructure, and the commercialization challenges behind ambitious technology strategies. Tata's Dholera fab has early customer commitments but must convert them into qualified, recurring wafer production while facing shareholder scrutiny. Intel is rebuilding through process execution, partnerships, and advanced packaging. Micron and TSMC are expanding AI-related capacity in Taiwan and Japan, while companies including Murata, AWS, Hitachi, and XPeng advance physical AI, robotics, and engineering exports.

Nvidia's custom memory design is shifting control of how high-bandwidth memory (HBM) is built from memory makers to its largest customer, and steering a key part of that work to TSMC. Samsung Electronics, which has made every part of its HBM stacks in-house, has agreed after an internal review to use TSMC's 3nm process for the base die of NVHBM, Nvidia's next-generation custom HBM, the Seoul Economic Daily reported on October 18, citing industry sources. The newspaper said it would be the first time the two companies have worked together at the HBM manufacturing stage.

SEMI's latest 12-inch fab outlook projects double-digit annual growth in equipment spending from 2026 through 2029, with forecasts revised upward from its previous edition. However, Clark Tseng, senior director of market intelligence at SEMI, said external constraints involving funding, electricity, and politics are emerging as potential downside risks. He added that this could prevent the AI-driven expansion from overheating.

Singapore is targeting high-value semiconductor manufacturing, advanced packaging, and silicon photonics, building on its strengths in engineering, precision manufacturing, and reliability, according to Zeng Yi Wong, assistant managing director for manufacturing at Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG).

On October 16, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) approved a revised plan from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) to build 3nm logic chips at its second fab in Kumamoto Prefecture, on the southern island of Kyushu. 3nm is one of the most advanced chip processes in commercial production. The plan replaces the 6nm and 12nm production approved in February 2024.

Taiwan Mask Corporation (TMC) is expanding its presence in Japan through the acquisition of semiconductor equipment services provider TCK, extending its business beyond precision photomask manufacturing to equipment assembly and engineering support in Japan's growing Kyushu semiconductor market.

The semiconductor industry reached the US$1 trillion revenue milestone several years earlier than originally forecast, and with growth driven by AI and quantum computing, reaching US$2 trillion by 2035 is entirely achievable, SEMI President and CEO Ajit Manocha told DIGITIMES in an exclusive interview at SEMICON West 2026.

Taiwan plans to set up industrial parks in the US to help its supplier ecosystem reach customers like Nvidia and other local hardware manufacturers. It is starting with a complex in Texas, which has become a hotspot of expansion plans among Taiwanese tech companies.

Within AI server tracking data, a clear parallel growth trajectory has emerged between semiconductor testing interface providers and chip design houses. Driven by the surge in artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing (HPC), and custom ASIC developments, both sectors demonstrated substantial year-over-year revenue gains as of September 2026.

ASE, together with National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), National Sun Yat-sen University (NSYSU), and National Chung Cheng University (CCU), unveiled 18 technology research projects on October 16, focusing on advanced packaging integration and the development of critical processes and materials.

Samsung Electronics plans to begin construction of its second semiconductor fabrication plant in Taylor, Texas, in November 2026, moving ahead with its US foundry expansion as its first facility prepares to begin operations by the end of the year.

Taiwan's economy is projected to grow 6.04% in 2027 as expanding global AI-related capital spending boosts the island's exports, despite geopolitical conflicts and trade barriers weighing on global growth, Taiwan's National Development Council (NDC) Minister Yeh Chun-hsien said on October 15.

Five senior Samsung Electronics executives, including the heads of its semiconductor and consumer electronics businesses, reportedly traveled to Tokyo on October 13 while chairman Lee Jae-yong was visiting Japan, bringing together the company's three executive directors and key corporate decision-makers as it expands cooperation with Japanese semiconductor suppliers.

As the semiconductor industry enters the artificial intelligence (AI) era, Intel, once the dominant force in the PC market, has increasingly been viewed as a company that fell behind in the AI race.