As the generative AI (GenAI) boom becomes a central focus in tech development, high-performance computing (HPC) opportunities continue to expand, recently causing supply-demand gaps in the memory market that have triggered a surge of urgent orders. Coupled with the arrival of the consumer peak season and the first wave of new device shipments in September 2025, these three key drivers have pushed Taiwan's printed circuit board (PCB) industry to exceed revenue expectations in the third quarter of 2025.

Airoha Technology has continued to secure new collaboration opportunities in the international telecom market in 2025, with some of its previously developed markets now entering mass production and shipment phases, driving steady growth in its overall revenue. The company has also integrated MediaTek's Wi-Fi chips into its solutions.

As the AI boom drives demand for advanced packaging, chip testing at the backend is facing challenges in temperature, frequency, and speed. In response, the testing interface industry has been pushed into a new wave of product upgrades.

US-based PMIC manufacturer Power Integrations (PI) announced that it has officially entered Nvidia's 800V data center power supply architecture supply chain, becoming a certified supplier for the entire platform.

At the opening of the 2025 Taipei Innovative Textile Application Show (TITAS) on October 14, Tong-sheng Wu, chairman of Shinkong Synthetic Fibers Corporation (SSFC)—a subsidiary of Shinkong Group—addressed the industry's ongoing challenges, from global tariffs to China's low-price dumping. Despite this, he maintained an optimistic outlook, remarking, "Business is always tough, but there are always opportunities."

As trade tensions between the US and China intensify, rare earth minerals have once again become the focal point of a global strategic contest. In a surprise move, China's Ministry of Commerce has imposed sweeping new restrictions on rare earth exports, extending controls beyond raw materials to include related technologies, blueprints, maintenance, and services.

On October 9, 2025, China's Ministry of Commerce issued its No. 61 and No. 62 notices, expanding export controls on rare earths. The scope now extends from raw materials to equipment, technology, and assemblies containing rare earth elements. Additionally, the notices include extraterritorial application mechanisms.

At the OCP Global Summit 2025, Arm's Mohamed Awad, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Infrastructure Business, delivered a keynote urging the data center industry to rethink how systems are built in the age of AI. His talk, titled "What AI Wants: New Silicon, New Systems, and a New Era for the Data Center," highlighted that performance-per-watt optimization, ecosystem collaboration, and custom silicon are key to meeting the explosive growth in AI workloads.

As Samsung Electronics' performance rebounds, previously stagnant sectors such as materials, components, and equipment are expected to regain momentum. Improved performance across the supply chain is bringing optimism to the industry, and market watchers anticipate that companies with Samsung as a key customer will reap the greatest benefits, with the potential to achieve record-high earnings.

On October 9, 2025, China announced expanded export controls on rare earths. In response, US President Donald Trump vowed to impose 100% tariffs on goods from China starting in November. These rare earth controls have a considerable impact on the tech supply chain, one being the optics industry.

In an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape, Chinese tech giant Wingtech and its core subsidiary Nexperia are facing several trade barriers.

On October 9, 2025, China's Ministry of Commerce issued Announcements No. 61 and 62, expanding export controls on rare earths. The scope now extends beyond raw materials to include equipment, technology, and assemblies containing rare earth elements. An extraterritorial clause was also introduced, stating that foreign products containing a certain proportion of Chinese-origin rare earths or manufactured using Chinese technology must also apply for export licenses. China emphasized that this clause was intended to improve the regulatory system; in response, the US raised tariffs.

As the US scrambles to rebuild its domestic semiconductor industry, a key Taiwanese supply chain firm, Topco Scientific (TSC), is making a major push into Arizona to bridge the gap for Asian suppliers eager to capitalize on the boom.

Originally rooted in heavy industry, South Korea's Doosan Group is expanding into the semiconductor sector and is considering acquiring semiconductor wafer manufacturer SK Siltron. While Doosan is not directly involved in semiconductor fabrication, it is strategically targeting areas such as materials, back-end processes, and design within the semiconductor industry. This strategy allows it to avoid high technical investment risks while still securing industry influence.

The Institute of Physics of Microstructures of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IPM RAS) has recently announced a long-term roadmap for the development of an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography system. The plan aims to create a Russian-made EUV machine operating at an 11.2nm wavelength.

Taiwan-based Niching Industrial continues its steady growth trajectory in 2025, buoyed by robust demand from AI servers and automotive electronics. The company's heat spreader and IC substrate businesses have become twin pillars driving revenue expansion.

China's development of through glass via (TGV) technology, crucial for advanced semiconductor packaging in AI and high-performance computing chips, encounters significant hurdles, including high process complexity, reliance on imported equipment, cost-yield balance issues, fragmented supply chains, patent barriers dominated by Japan, South Korea, and the US, and long research and development cycles.

China's glass substrate through glass via (TGV) industry has made significant progress, with companies pushing innovations from materials to mass production. Despite challenges in yield and process control, these efforts aim to meet growing AI server and high-performance computing (HPC) chip packaging demands, marking a critical step toward technological self-reliance.

3D Chips introduced its "TGV 3.0" process, successfully overcoming technical challenges of sub-10-micron vias and high aspect ratio filling.

SEMICON West 2025, one of the major semiconductor exhibitions, is being held in Phoenix, Arizona. Topco Scientific is participating alongside fourteen partners from Japan and Taiwan, focusing on semiconductor process materials, equipment, automation systems, and precision components; demonstrating its competitive edge in global supply chain platform integration services.

Taiwanese printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturer Allied Circuit (ACCL), a subsidiary of Compal Electronics, has entered a joint venture with Japanese firm Meiko to establish an HLC PCB production line in Vietnam. The plant is scheduled to begin commercial operations in 2027, marking a strategic expansion amid capacity constraints at ACCL's Taiwan facilities.

Since early 2025, rising costs of precious metals such as gold and silver have triggered price increase signals in the supply chain for key materials like substrates and leadframes used in the IC packaging industry. Market watchers expect these cost pressures to shift downstream to packaging companies, potentially impacting customer pricing.

Facing continuing growth in precious metal costs, IC packaging lead frame manufacturer Chang Wah Technology has revealed plans to raise prices on its LED lead frames starting January 1, 2026. The company informed customers that shipment order prices for its entire LED lead frame range will increase by 15% to 25%, depending on product type and design specifications.

Due to global tariffs and inflation, the consumer market outlook for the second half of 2025 remains pessimistic. Taiwanese PCB industry players believe that overall industry growth momentum still relies on demand from AI servers and low-orbit satellites.

According to the Taiwan Printed Circuit Association (TPCA), the PCB manufacturing output value of Taiwanese companies in the second quarter of 2025 reached NT$218.2 billion (US$7.2 billion), a 14.4% increase compared to the same period in 2024; cumulative output value in the first half of 2025 hit NT$423.6 billion, up 13.8% year-over-year, demonstrating strong growth despite the usual off-season.