While global political and economic elites were still exchanging remarks at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang exited and flew straight to Shanghai.

Microsoft officially introduced its second-generation AI accelerator, Maia 200, on January 27, marking its continued efforts in chip development since 2019. The new chip emphasizes improved inference performance and is produced with TSMC's advanced 3nm process technology.

Taiwan's electricity demand is entering a new phase of sustained growth, driven by AI, semiconductors, and high-tech manufacturing. While the government accelerates grid resilience efforts, global shortages of critical power equipment—especially gas turbines and transformers—are inflating costs, delaying projects, and reshaping how the island plans its power future.

The ongoing surge in memory chip prices has brought a substantial profit boom for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Although prices are expected to continue trending upward, industry experts caution that this persistent supply shortage could present Chinese memory manufacturers with an opportunity to enter the market and narrow their technology gap.

What is the ultimate goal of Nvidia, the dominant force in artificial intelligence? And what, if anything, drives the life of its founder and chief executive, Jensen Huang?

T-Head Semiconductor, a subsidiary of Alibaba, is reportedly preparing for an initial public offering (IPO), signaling a new growth phase for China's domestic AI chip sector. Industry sources in the semiconductor supply chain note that T-Head has already achieved stable shipments of certain edge AI chips, while its cloud AI chips are primarily used internally by Alibaba Cloud to support AI-related services, demonstrating comprehensive technical capabilities.

Price increases are spreading through the passive components industry as clearer pricing signals from market leaders accelerate the trend across the supply chain. Products ranging from tantalum capacitors and ferrite bead inductors to chip resistors are seeing broad-based adjustments.

TSMC's recently announced capex surpassed market expectations by US$6 billion to US$8 billion, driven by factors that analysts had previously overlooked, DIGITIMES analyst Luke Lin said in a podcast episode. This development signals structural changes in the semiconductor production landscape and has broader implications for global industry competition and US-Taiwan trade relations.

The growing emphasis on power efficiency in cloud AI computing has drawn focus to the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) 800V supply chain, presenting notable opportunities and challenges within the semiconductor industry. According to sources from integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) and IC design houses, the market is currently dominated by established European and US players, making entry difficult for smaller companies.

Facing intense price competition from Chinese manufacturers in the silicon carbide (SiC) substrate market, Kenmec Mechanical Engineering's subsidiary TAISIC Materials is pursuing a targeted strategy emphasizing high-end niche applications and advanced R&D. This approach diverges from scale-based price competition and aims to redefine SiC's functional value within specialized technology sectors.