Intel's foundry revival may depend less on beating TSMC at the most advanced process nodes than on whether it can turn AI-driven demand into a profitable advanced packaging business.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has repeatedly backed TSMC's price hikes, saying its advanced process and supply-chain services are difficult and highly valuable. As AI chip demand surges, TSMC, Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, Micron, and other top semiconductor makers are also reshaping their supply-chain strategy to deepen cooperation on mature-node foundry services and advanced packaging.
At a Korea Partner Night event held in Taipei, Taiwan, ahead of Computex 2026, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan and South Korea occupy distinctly different positions in the technology industry and do not need to be compared nor does a choice between the two need to be made.
SK Hynix's Cheongju campus was hit by a fire on June 1, 2026, prompting the emergency evacuation of all 3,600 workers from the M15 and M15X plants. Seven people were taken to the hospital after hydrogen fluoride (HF) leaked in the incident, which came less than a week after a separate fire-related event at the site.
Formosa Plastics Group (FPG) is stepping up its transformation into higher-value businesses, with AI, semiconductors, and power grid opportunities emerging as key new growth engines as the petrochemical industry faces a downcycle that started in 2023.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced at GTC Taipei on June 1st that the Vera Rubin platform has entered full production, with Taiwan's server makers and global supply chain partners manufacturing systems at scale for AI labs, cloud providers, and hyperscalers worldwide.
After Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang wrapped up his "trillion-dollar banquet" for Taiwan AI supply-chain giants, GTC Taipei is set to become a highlight of Computex 2026. Nvidia will also host its first "South Korean partners night" in Taiwan.
Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang said the artificial intelligence industry is entering a rapid growth phase that could keep revenue rising sharply into 2027, while supply-chain bottlenecks are likely to persist as demand continues to outstrip capacity.
Computex 2026 will open under the theme "AI Together," with attention shifting beyond Nvidia's training-focused hardware to AI computing, robotics, smart mobility, and next-generation technologies. The event is likely to highlight a wider set of suppliers as AI moves deeper into inference, edge applications, and custom chips.
The global semiconductor industry is at an inflection point, split between those who can still shrink transistors and those who can no longer do so. US export controls and the denial of EUV lithography equipment have effectively capped China's front-end chip manufacturing at older process nodes, while Taiwan's TSMC extends its lead by layering chips vertically in three dimensions — a technique known as 3D stacking — binding the world's top AI chip designers ever more tightly to its ecosystem.
Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang's pre-Computex meetings in Taipei are drawing close attention from South Korean companies seeking a bigger role in the global AI supply chain. With demand for AI infrastructure rising, their interest reflects how the next phase of AI development could shape worldwide competition, partnerships, and technology access.
Taiwan has secured preferential treatment under US Section 232 tariffs for most exports other than semiconductors after months of negotiations with Washington, but uncertainty remains over proposed semiconductor measures. With chips accounting for the bulk of Taiwan's exports to the US, Taipei is seeking tariff-free quotas and company-specific exemptions before any new duties are imposed.
MediaTek held a pre-Computex 2026 media event in Taipei, Taiwan, on May 29, after which president and COO Joe Chen and CFO and co-COO David Ku spoke with reporters. Ku shared his views on supply chain capacity planning as well as a range of capital market-related issues.
Ion Electronic Materials announced that its Tongluo plant in Miaoli has completed construction of Phase 1 and Phase 2 and is entering a mass-production stage for new products and a fluorine-based cleaning gas filling line, the firm said after its shareholders meeting on the 29th. The company said the planned filling line will be one of only two in Taiwan and will create the world's largest single-site implant gas production capacity, aimed at meeting demand from advanced semiconductor and display manufacturers.
A defense industry forum in Taiwan signaled growing interest among US military tech companies in Taiwan's supply chain, particularly as a new era of warfare defined by AI and unmanned systems takes shape. Speakers at the event noted a need to shift from governments relying solely on traditional weapons procurement to supply chain integration between companies.
AI data centers are driving increased demand for faster transmission worldwide, prompting compound semiconductor foundries to shift toward optical communications. Advanced Wireless Semiconductor Company said the segment is emerging as a major growth engine, with early products under customer testing and more meaningful results expected in 2027 as adoption broadens.
WinWay Technologies, a major test interface provider, followed ASE Holdings in holding a groundbreaking ceremony for its new plant at the Renwu Industrial Park in southern Taiwan. The company plans to invest NT$3.5 billion (US$111.1 million) in the facility construction.
Aspeed Technology and Lattice Semiconductor have formed a strategic partnership that could reshape how servers are managed in data centers worldwide. The collaboration aims to combine platform control and programmability into a single chip, a move that may help operators adapt more quickly to changing AI, cloud, and infrastructure demands.
United Integrated Services, a key fab-building partner for TSMC and Micron, said the global artificial intelligence (AI) boom is continuing to drive semiconductor capital spending and lifting its order backlog to record levels. At its shareholders' meeting on May 29, the company stated that advanced processes, advanced packaging, and high-tech fab construction are now being shaped by AI and high-performance computing demand.
Formosa Plastics disclosed on May 28 that it would expand into semiconductor chemicals, green energy and healthcare, announcing plans to invest NT$292 billion (approx. US$9.2 billion) to develop 27 products expected to increase annual output by NT$30 billion. A spokesperson said the program covered semiconductor-grade gases and liquids, key materials and new polymers, including electronic-grade hydrogen, ammonia water, hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid, as well as atomic layer deposition ruthenium precursors, photoresist diluents, 1-hexene, polyolefin elastomers and polyaryletherketone.
AUO's entry into Micro LED co-packaged optics sampling could give the display maker a new growth path as it seeks to expand beyond panels. Chairman Paul Peng said the company is preparing optical communication modules as a future driver of revenue and profits.
India has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Intel and US-based 3DGS to establish an advanced packaging glass-core substrate manufacturing facility in the eastern state of Odisha, marking Intel's first significant participation in India's semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem beyond its existing design and technology operations.
SpaceX's IPO prospectus details an early-stage "Terafab" initiative to build large-scale AI chip manufacturing capacity. Still, the company warns of significant execution uncertainty, unfinalized partnerships, and capital intensity risks. The plan, still in preliminary form, depends on future agreements and could face delays, cost overruns, and supply-chain constraints.
As Taiwan's equity markets continue to surge on enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence (AI), concerns about a potential AI-driven bubble have grown louder among investors and analysts.
