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Monday 13 April 2026
Global chip sales expect to top US$1 trillion in 2026 on AI demand

Taiwan's semiconductor supply chain posted stronger-than-expected results in the first quarter of 2026, as artificial intelligence (AI) demand accelerated the adoption of advanced nodes and advanced packaging, lifting both foundries and equipment suppliers.

Monday 13 April 2026
Silicon photonics scaling hits wafer testing bottleneck
AI demand is pushing data transmission to its limits, making 2026 a critical year for silicon photonics (SiPh) and co-packaged optics (CPO) to move into large-scale deployment. The race to commercialize these technologies is accelerating across the semiconductor industry.
Monday 13 April 2026
Weekly news roundup: Shortages spread to MLCCs; SK Hynix reportedly in talks with Microsoft and Google
Below are the most-read DIGITIMES Asia stories from the week of April 6-April 13, 2026:
Monday 13 April 2026
Hormuz conflict exposes Southeast Asia's energy fault lines
A blockage of the Strait of Hormuz following conflict between the US and Iran is raising energy supply risks for Southeast Asia, with import-dependent economies most exposed. If the conflict continues, the region's recent gains from supply chain shifts could begin to erode.
Monday 13 April 2026
Supreme Court ruling stalls Taiwan-US trade deal, zero-tariff car imports in limbo
Taiwan and the US signed the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) on February 13, 2026, capping 10 months of negotiations. The deal set a reciprocal tariff of 15% without stacking and secured Taiwan the most favorable terms yet under Section 232 for semiconductors. But the US Supreme Court's invalidation of most of President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs has since frozen the agreement. Taiwan's Executive Yuan cannot submit it to the Legislative Yuan for review, and the prospect of zero-tariff US car imports has stalled along with it.
Monday 13 April 2026
Taiwan ramps up science park expansion as TSMC growth pushes capacity limits
Powered by surging semiconductor investment—led by TSMC—Taiwan's science parks are nearing full capacity, accelerating government efforts to expand land, infrastructure, and next-generation industry clusters.
Monday 13 April 2026
FormFactor and MPI vie to break SiPh test bottleneck as ficonTEC reportedly exits
As AI data centers officially enter the silicon photonics (SiPh) era, the industry faces severe challenges in testing accuracy and throughput on the path toward mass production of co-packaged optics (CPO) technology. This has drawn close attention to upstream test supply chain dynamics.
Monday 13 April 2026
Samsung caught between worker payouts and chip ambitions
South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics is facing a large-scale strike threat, and whether it will extend into May remains an open question, as labor-management negotiations remain at a deadlock. The union's demand for a substantial allocation of a performance bonus has widened the gap between the two sides, raising the risk of industrial action.
Monday 13 April 2026
India roundup: Domestic chip firms anchor India's semiconductor ambitions

India is advancing its semiconductor ecosystem via design alliances and acquisitions, while recalibrating its China ties. IndieSemiC and Kaynes target local chip gaps despite uncertain demand, and Cyient's Kinetic deal boosts power IC capabilities. Meanwhile, security-driven supplier shifts and new export opportunities highlight India's evolving strategic and industrial positioning.

Monday 13 April 2026
DIGITIMES Insight: US MATCH Act tightens export noose while Intel swaps debt for control and Nvidia co-opts rivals
The semiconductor industry is undergoing coordinated shifts that could reshape equipment flows, corporate financing, and supplier relationships in the AI era, according to DIGITIMES analyst Luke Lin.
Monday 13 April 2026
SAS Group's green and AI pivot gains traction
SAS Group's strategic shift into renewable energy, AI-related semiconductor materials, and automotive components signals growing resilience for global energy and tech supply chains, offering long-term recurring revenue through integrated hardware and service platforms and enhanced worldwide positioning for geopolitical robustness.
Monday 13 April 2026
Taiwan's chip program covers 200+ high-end devices to boost advanced IC design talent
The Chip-based Industrial Innovation Program (Taiwan CBI), a decade-long, NT$300 billion (US$9.4 billion) initiative launched by the Executive Yuan to support academic and research institutions in acquiring costly semiconductor equipment, has begun to achieve initial results. According to a report from the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), over 200 key semiconductor-related devices are now available to provide regular fabrication and implementation services, becoming a major boost for training advanced IC design talent.
Sunday 12 April 2026
US expands tech curbs on China with MATCH Act and FCC testing ban proposal

US lawmakers from both parties have recently introduced a new bill aimed at further restricting China's access to advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment. The move seeks to strengthen efforts to curb China's ambitions in semiconductor development and to achieve closer alignment with allies such as the Netherlands and Japan on export controls.

Sunday 12 April 2026
China's Hwatsing ships 1,000th CMP system, targets advanced chip manufacturing growth

Hwatsing Technology has emerged as one of China's most prominent domestic suppliers of chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) equipment, a critical process step in advanced chip manufacturing.

Saturday 11 April 2026
ASE leads US$3.4B advanced testing push in Renwu
Global OSAT leader ASE continued its expansion into advanced processes as its subsidiary ASE Test held a groundbreaking ceremony on April 10, 2026, at the Renwu Industrial Park. ASE collaborated with WinWay and Horng Terng Automation (HTA) to jointly invest in building a high-end semiconductor testing service industrial park that will provide wafer and chip testing services.
Saturday 11 April 2026
Samsung Electro-Mechanics reportedly strengthens role in Nvidia's Groq 3 LPU supply chain with FC-BGA substrate push
Samsung Electro-Mechanics has reportedly secured a leading position in the supply chain for advanced substrates used in the Groq 3 language processing unit (LPU), a next-generation inference chip integrated into Nvidia's upcoming Vera Rubin AI platform.
Saturday 11 April 2026
Intel unveils ultra-thin GaN chiplet as it advances AI-era systems foundry strategy
Intel Foundry has announced a breakthrough in gallium nitride (GaN) chiplet technology, unveiling what it describes as the world's thinnest GaN chiplet as part of its broader push to position itself as a "systems foundry" for the artificial intelligence era.
Saturday 11 April 2026
Analysis: Taiwan's March supply chain data makes the AI acceleration case better than any earnings call
Taiwan's listed AI hardware companies collectively generated $69.7 billion in March 2026 revenue across 13 supply-chain segments — up 63% year-over-year — offering the most comprehensive single-month snapshot yet of where global AI infrastructure spending is actually flowing. The table below covers 49 companies from TSMC's silicon foundry all the way down to the rail kits that slide servers into racks. Read together, the numbers tell a story that goes well beyond any single company's earnings call.
Saturday 11 April 2026
Analysis: Taiwan's AI supply chain posts strong March revenues, signaling the buildout is still accelerating
Taiwan's listed companies powering the global AI server supply chain delivered exceptional March 2026 revenues across virtually every segment, with TSMC posting its strongest single-month revenue on record and server ODMs surging on the back of relentless hyperscaler demand for AI infrastructure. The results, amplified by a seasonal rebound from February's Lunar New Year-compressed working days, confirm that the AI hardware buildout is accelerating rather than plateauing.
Friday 10 April 2026
MAtek sees record March revenue as AI and silicon photonics boost testing demand
MAtek's March revenue surge has implications for global chipmakers and AI infrastructure providers: rising demand for advanced material and failure analysis testing linked to AI chip and silicon photonics development could strain testing capacity worldwide and influence timelines for advanced node adoption, optical communications deployment, and related investment.
Friday 10 April 2026
GlobalWafers' 12-inch line to run full in 2Q26 as wafer utilization rises
GlobalWafers reported March and first-quarter 2026 revenue that underscores transient operational disruptions with global implications: March consolidated revenue reached NT$5.45 billion (US$171.5 million), up 23.8% month-on-month and flat year-on-year, while first-quarter revenue fell amid holiday- and weather-related capacity impacts at overseas plants, prompting cautious market observation.
Friday 10 April 2026
Taiwan accelerates SiPh and materials breakthroughs for next-gen AI computing
Taiwan is stepping up its global semiconductor leadership with a coordinated push into silicon photonics (SiPh) and advanced materials, aiming to meet surging demand for faster, more energy-efficient AI computing while strengthening domestic technological autonomy.
Friday 10 April 2026
Merck's material and equipment push could speed CPO and advanced packaging adoption
Merck presented integrated materials and inspection tools at Touch Taiwan 2026 as the panel industry pivots toward chip-on-panel (CPO) and advanced packaging. The company emphasized solutions to improve yield, resolution, energy efficiency, and inspection speed to support next-generation optoelectronic semiconductor integration.
Friday 10 April 2026
MPI posts record 1Q26 revenue, invests NT$2B in Hsinchu plant expansion
Semiconductor test interface leader MPI reported a new quarterly revenue high in the first quarter of 2026, driven by strong demand for AI-related chip testing and signaling sustained growth for the year.
Friday 10 April 2026
China's export controls spark 140x yttrium price surge, fueling chip equipment fears
Yttrium, a critical rare earth element used in semiconductor manufacturing equipment, has seen its global supply tighten sharply due to China's export restrictions, driving prices up about 140x within a year and raising concerns over impacts on the semiconductor, aerospace, and energy sectors.