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.
At the Nvidia AI Factory MGX Ecosystem Showcase in Taipei, Taiwan, on May 29, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said that to meet the strong demand and support the production ramp for the next-generation Vera Rubin architecture, the company will double its artificial intelligence (AI) supercomputer capacity in Taiwan in 2026. He also thanked supply chain partners, saying he could not do it alone.
Xintec, TSMC's packaging and testing unit, is preparing for a broader testing-led expansion that could affect global chip supply chains. The company said capacity gains, new equipment spending, and strategic-partner orders may support growth in 2026, even as it continues a gradual shift in its product mix and packaging portfolio.
When Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang stepped off a plane in Taipei on Saturday, May 23, he had already begun documenting the trip on X — night markets, fried food, and family. By the time he hosted more than 30 executives at a brick-walled restaurant six days later, the week had traced something much larger than a Computex schedule. It had mapped, dinner by dinner and post by post, the anatomy of the world's most consequential AI supply chain.
The building where Saeed Amidi runs his global venture empire was once one of the most important semiconductor facilities on the West Coast. Philips Electronics operated a fabrication plant here in Sunnyvale, California, employing 8,000 people at its peak. Then, like much of America's chip manufacturing base, it moved to Asia — to Taiwan, to Korea, to the supply chains that would come to define the global electronics industry for the next three decades.
Generative AI, HPC, and large data centers are raising demand for chips with higher power efficiency, stronger thermal control, and denser packaging, making advanced packaging a more strategic part of the semiconductor supply chain. In China, panel-level packaging (PLP) is gaining traction for its larger format, higher output, and lower-cost potential.
Intel is reportedly making a major push into advanced semiconductor packaging as it seeks to strengthen its foundry business and expand capacity for its Embedded Multi-die Interconnect Bridge (EMIB) technology, according to ETNews.
The European Commission wants governments to buy chips from EU startups as Brussels seeks to reduce the bloc's reliance on US and East Asian suppliers, Reuters reported, citing a document it has seen.
As the global buildout of artificial intelligence infrastructure accelerates, Taiwan's technology industry has emerged as one of the most closely watched hubs in the world. Ahead of COMPUTEX 2026, Morgan Stanley held its Asia AI Summit in Taipei for the first time, underscoring the island's central role in the global semiconductor supply chain and the AI investment cycle.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang gave a media interview after the "trillion-dollar dinner" in Taipei, Taiwan, on May 28, commenting on topics including competition in the artificial intelligence (AI) industry, cloud service providers (CSP) developing in-house application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), Huawei's technological progress, Taiwan's role as a center of the AI revolution, and energy demand.
