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Tuesday 21 April 2026

APAC advances CPO positioning: ELSFP beings small-volume shipments, in-house COC line set for 3Q26 completion

Optical communications company APAC Opto Electronics reported that its inventory digestion phase is nearing completion, with market demand showing a clear rebound. Looking ahead to its co-packaged optics (CPO) strategy, the company noted that its external laser small form-factor pluggable (ELSFP) is becoming increasingly critical within the overall architecture. Small-volume shipments have begun in 2026, with volume ramp-up expected in 2027, positioning the product as a key future growth driver.

Tuesday 21 April 2026

Semiconductor materials supply shifts to risk sourcing under price and geopolitical pressure

In 2026, critical semiconductor materials face a perfect storm of rising prices, shortages, and geopolitical disruption. Lead times for multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) and power devices are stretching, while helium supply risks from Qatar are mounting. Topco Scientific CTO Tina Ding says companies must sharpen capabilities in long-term contract locking, flexible pricing negotiations, strategic stockpiling, and risk-based sourcing — all while tracking costs in real time and staying in close step with customers.

Tuesday 21 April 2026

Foxconn Industrial Internet to mass-produce CPO all-optical switches in 3Q26 with over 10,000 units target

Brand Cheng, chairman of Foxconn Industrial Internet (FII), a cloud networking business under Foxconn, recently announced ongoing advancements in technologies, including co-packaged optics (CPOs), liquid cooling, power architectures, and PCB technology. Notably, FII completed prototype shipments of its CPO all-optical switch in the first quarter of 2026 and plans to begin mass production starting in the third quarter of 2026.

Monday 20 April 2026

AI chip rivalry escalates: ABF substrate sells out for Unimicron, Kinsus, Nan Ya PCB

AI GPUs, CPUs, and ASICs are driving demand for increasingly larger sizes and higher layer counts in substrate technology. The supply-demand gap for high-end ABF substrates continues to widen, and over the next three years, the industry is expected to enter a capacity expansion cycle.

Monday 20 April 2026

Zhen Ding plans Hong Kong listing for subsidiary to boost global IC substrate presence

Printed circuit board (PCB) giant Zhen Ding Technology held a board meeting on April 17 and approved plans for its subsidiary, Leading Interconnect Semiconductor Technology (LIST), to apply for a listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The proposal will be submitted for review at the upcoming annual general meeting. The company stated that the move aims to unlock the standalone value of its high-growth business and strengthen the group's global competitiveness in core infrastructure in the artificial intelligence (AI) era.

Monday 20 April 2026

Taiyo Yuden raises MLCC prices, Murata takes the lead, Samsung to follow suit

Japanese electronic components maker Taiyo Yuden recently issued a price increase notice, announcing that it will raise prices on some products starting in May, specifically in the multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) market.

Sunday 19 April 2026

Corning leads glass substrate race as South Korea's KCC and LX Glass face steep challenges

Glass core substrates, valued for their low dielectric loss and warpage reduction, are key to next-generation advanced semiconductor packaging. In South Korea, traditional glass makers KCC Glass and LX Glass have entered R&D efforts to capture market opportunities.

Sunday 19 April 2026

ASE's CoPos advanced packaging accelerates as Skytech and CMIt boost equipment deliveries

AI and high-performance computing (HPC) are driving increasingly stringent chip performance demands, marking a pivotal shift in advanced packaging technology from traditional wafers to large-size panels. Semiconductor equipment leader Skytech's CEO George Yi announced that its self-developed 310x310mm panel-level packaging physical vapor deposition (PLP PVD) system, a world first, has completed delivery and been successfully integrated into production lines at major OSAT firms including ASE Technology Holding.

Saturday 18 April 2026

VLSI TSA 2026 explores quantum architecture and AI healthcare innovations

The 2026 International Symposium on VLSI Technology, Systems and Applications (VLSI TSA) kicked off on April 14, gathering over 800 semiconductor professionals worldwide. The conference focused on next-generation core areas including GenAI inference acceleration, wafer-level computing, and terahertz wireless communication, while also delving into quantum computer system architectures and extending the reach of semiconductors to AI-driven cardiac analysis and other smart healthcare applications.

Saturday 18 April 2026

bEMC advances Micro LED optical transmission with key POC validation

The surge in AI data center demand is rapidly accelerating the need for high-speed data transmission, prompting LED manufacturers to target opportunities in optical communications. best-Epitaxy Manufacturing's (bEMC) CEO Evan Wu said the company has focused on data transmission since its inception and recently began proof-of-concept (POC) testing with a leading cloud service provider (CSP). Their short-distance Micro LED transmission currently reaches speeds of 4Gbps, aiming to achieve 8Gbps per chip in 2026.

Friday 17 April 2026

MLCC, inductor prices climb as AI demand meets cost pressure

Global passive component prices are rising, led by Japanese suppliers, with the trend spreading across China and Taiwan. Higher raw material costs and AI-driven demand are tightening supply and shifting pricing dynamics across the electronics supply chain.

Friday 17 April 2026

Topoint bond deal signals wider supply risk for global AI hardware makers

The surge in AI-grade high-speed computing is pushing printed circuit board manufacturing toward thicker, higher-layer designs, creating a strategic, global shortage of advanced coated PCB drills and raising costs and supply risks for hardware makers and cloud providers, potentially constraining the deployment of server and network equipment over the next two years.

Friday 17 April 2026

Tongfu Microelectronics profit jumps on AI chip packaging, AMD demand

Tongfu Microelectronics posted strong 2025 results, supported by AI and automotive chip demand, while reinforcing its position in the global semiconductor packaging supply chain alongside key customer AMD.

Thursday 16 April 2026

Yageo posts 40% YoY profit rise in 1Q26, driven by AI demand, price hikes

Passive component manufacturer Yageo held its first-quarter 2026 online earnings call on April 15, reporting strong financial results. Company CEO David Wang said that robust demand from applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) boosted sales of both standard and specialty products. Combined with the gradual impact of price increases, this drove significant growth in revenue and profits for the quarter, exceeding previous projections.

Thursday 16 April 2026

Taiwan analog IC firms show varied 1Q26 revenue; motor control and DDR5 PMIC drive growth

Taiwanese analog IC companies have recently released their full revenue figures for the first quarter of 2026, revealing mixed performances. Firms with rapidly growing new businesses or market share generally posted strong quarterly results.

Thursday 16 April 2026

China tightens rules against foreign supply chain decoupling

The Chinese government has introduced sweeping regulations that authorize investigations and penalties against foreign companies that decouple from China's supply chain. The new rules arrive as global supply chains face mounting geopolitical pressure and China's export surplus continues to grow.

Wednesday 15 April 2026

Tong Hsing Electronic expects revenue acceleration as fiber optics drives expansion

Tong Hsing Electronic, a Taiwanese semiconductor packaging and substrate manufacturer specializing in CMOS image sensors, said on Monday that optical communication modules have become its fastest-growing business, helping drive demand across RF components, ceramic substrates, and automotive and mobile imaging products, positioning the company for stronger-than-expected revenue growth in 2026.

Wednesday 15 April 2026

Samsung Electro-Mechanics to pour KRW1.8 trillion into Vietnam as ABF demand outstrips supply

Samsung Electro-Mechanics (SEM) is reportedly planning to invest KRW1.8 trillion (US$1.22 billion) in Vietnam to expand ABF substrate production capacity. As AI drives a surge in demand for semiconductor substrates, the move aims to alleviate supply bottlenecks and further strengthen its competitive position. According to Korean media Herald Business and Bloomberg, SEM plans to inject around KRW1.8 trillion into its Vietnam manufacturing subsidiary to expand production of high-value-added ABF substrates. Data from Vietnam's Foreign Investment Agency shows that SEM has obtained an investment registration certificate, with the project targeting the production of ABF substrates for robotics, autonomous vehicles, and AI applications. The project is known as "SEM Vietnam Phase 2."

Wednesday 15 April 2026

China Northern Rare Earth hikes 2Q26 rare earth ore prices over 44%, experts warn of demand destruction

China Northern Rare Earth, the leading player in China's rare earth industry, has raised its rare earth ore (REO) prices for the second quarter of 2026 by more than 44%. Amid geopolitical tensions and supply chain disruptions, this significant price increase has drawn strong attention across the sector.

Wednesday 15 April 2026

CCL price hikes to extend through 2026 with rising glass fiber and copper foil costs

Surging demand for high-end PCBs driven by AI servers and switches is intensifying supply imbalances for upstream materials. Industry sources said the rising cost of copper-clad laminate (CCL) is accelerating down the supply chain, prompting PCB manufacturers to adjust quotes for customers.

Wednesday 15 April 2026

Taiwan, Japan team up on advanced materials to power next-gen chips and clean energy

Japan dominates the global market for semiconductor equipment and materials — a strategic chokepoint that its neighbors and partners have long sought to learn from, not just rely on. Taiwan, home to the world's most advanced chip fabrication ecosystem, has spent years building closer ties with Tokyo in materials science. Now, that partnership is entering a more ambitious phase.

Wednesday 15 April 2026

Taiwan cooling suppliers post record March revenue as AI demand lifts liquid cooling

Taiwan's leading thermal solution providers reported record revenue in March 2026, as AI-driven demand extended into general-purpose servers and network switches, lifting overall shipments across the sector.

Tuesday 14 April 2026

Samsung Electro-Mechanics reportedly to expand AI packaging with MLCC embedded substrate line in Vietnam

As AI chips demand higher performance and denser integration, advanced packaging and substrate technologies have become critical in the semiconductor race. Samsung Electro-Mechanics (Semco) is reportedly establishing a new production line for multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) embedded semiconductor substrates at its Vietnam facility to strengthen its position in the AI semiconductor supply chain.

Tuesday 14 April 2026

Taiwan's auto suppliers pivot to AI and system integration in EV transition, says DIGITIMES Research

The annual "360°MOBILITY Mega Shows," a major gathering for the auto parts and mobility industry, opens on the 14th, drawing heightened attention to the growing role of Taiwan's suppliers in next-generation automotive technology. As software-defined vehicles (SDVs) emerge as a central industry direction, the share of automotive semiconductors and software in vehicle development is rising rapidly, according to a DIGITIMES Research report.

Tuesday 14 April 2026

Glass substrates move toward mass production as Intel, Samsung Electro-Mechanics step up efforts

Glass substrates are entering a critical pre-mass production phase as demand for high-performance AI chips accelerates. As AI workloads require larger chip sizes and higher bandwidth, the industry is shifting its focus toward mass production timelines and yield stability, according to industry sources and reports by ChosunBiz.

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