While the global semiconductor industry remains fixated on 3nm, 2nm, and the AI GPU arms race, SMIC founder and "China's semiconductor godfather" Zhang Rujing is pushing a sharply different message: the future of China's chip industry may depend less on chasing the world's most advanced nodes and more on dominating the vast market still built on mature processes.
AI server demand is pushing semiconductor packaging into a new growth cycle, but the market remains heavily concentrated among a small group of global outsourced semiconductor assembly and test leaders and Taiwanese and Chinese companies, sharpening the challenge for South Korea's back-end chip industry.
AP Memory reported that net profit for the first quarter of 2026 rose 91% to NT$660 million (US$20.93 million) as the company scaled mass production of its S-SiCap silicon capacitor and benefited from strong demand for its IoTRAM customized memory. The Taiwan-based chip packaging and memory supplier said silicon capacitor shipments entered a ramp-up phase in the first quarter of 2026 as AI and high-performance computing accelerators drove up power demands, placing greater emphasis on advanced packaging, power delivery, and signal integrity.
GlobalWafers announced that its greenhouse gas reduction targets passed review by the Science Based Targets initiative, signaling the wafer maker has aligned its decarbonization pathway with the global 1.5°C climate goal and committed to achieving net-zero emissions across its full value chain by 2050. The approval covers both near-term and long-term targets, and the company said the moves will shape its operational and supplier strategies through the 2030s and beyond.
Ajinomoto has informed IC substrate makers that it will raise prices for its key ABF build-up film by 30%, with the new pricing expected to take effect in the third quarter of 2026. Taiwanese package substrate makers confirmed they have received the official notice, as cost pressure in the IC substrate supply chain remains elevated.
Taiwanese printed circuit board maker Zhen Ding Technology Holding reported first-quarter 2026 revenue that reached a record for the period, as booming demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure helped offset the seasonal slowdown typically associated with consumer electronics.
As AI server orders surge, system assembly makers are finding that more business does not always mean better profits. High-priced GPUs and soaring memory costs are pushing up revenue without lifting manufacturing fees at the same pace, leaving original design manufacturers (ODMs) facing lower gross margins as assembly orders grow.
Taiwan Chinsan Electronic Industrial said strong demand from cloud and server customers pushed related revenue contribution to 35% in the first quarter of 2026, with high-margin AI server applications accounting for roughly half of the segment.
L&T Semiconductor Technologies' multiyear agreement with Synopsys to use AI-enabled multiphysics simulation software could accelerate the development of power modules and intelligent power modules, potentially affecting global electric mobility, renewable energy, and industrial automation by improving design efficiency, reliability, and time-to-market for next-generation power electronics, and by enhancing supply-chain resilience.
Imec's IC-Link has joined TSMC's OIP 3DFabric Alliance, opening up broader access to TSMC's 3D stacking and packaging technologies for global ASIC customers. The move could accelerate the development of multi-die systems, smoothing paths to high-volume manufacturing and benefiting designers across AI, high-performance computing, automotive, and telecommunications markets worldwide—as well as technology supply chains.
Taiwanese outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) services company ChipMOS Technologies reported strong growth in both revenue and profit for the first quarter of 2026. Net profit after tax for the quarter reached NT$505 million (approx. US$16.03 million), up 1% from the previous quarter and 186.37% from a year earlier, while earnings per share (EPS) came to NT$0.72, the highest in the past 10 quarters.
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