Amid escalating geopolitical tensions, defense awareness is rising rapidly worldwide, with drone and counter-drone technologies becoming key areas of development for governments and defense industries. Taiwan is also continuing to upgrade technologies for radar detection, missile defense, and other military systems.
Strong Ajinomoto Build-Up Film (ABF) substrate demand has driven a surge in orders for vacuum laminating equipment, with Eternal Precision Mechanics, a unit of Eternal Materials, saying customer orders and inquiries jumped sharply around Christmas 2025 and have continued since. Its Japan plant has been running at full capacity since May this year.
Zhen Ding Tech (ZDT), a major PCB supplier, said at its second-quarter 2026 earnings conference on August 11 that rising investment in AI computing infrastructure is ushering in a new expansion cycle for high-end PCB demand. Chairman Charles Shen said the company expects strong revenue growth in 2026, while increasing contributions from AI-related products should narrow the traditional gap between peak and off-peak seasons. ZDT aims to raise the combined revenue share of servers, optical modules and IC substrates to 45–50% by 2030.
Lithography Semiconductor Equipment Co. (LSE) officially announced on August 11 that TECO Image Systems Co. (TIS) had completed a strategic investment in the company. The two parties will deepen cooperation across precision manufacturing, optoelectronic technology, supply chain management, semiconductor equipment, and other areas to jointly build semiconductor equipment self-sufficiency and a China-free supply chain. TIS Chairman Eugene Huang will serve as a director at LSE to assist the company in entering its next stage of growth.
Passive component distributor Nichidenbo said supply of MLCCs and other products remains tight as AI servers and ASIC applications continue to grow, with lead times for some products stretching to 36 weeks. The company said manufacturers are shifting capacity toward high-end applications, crowding out standard-spec products.
Dynamic said its Thailand plant will not begin mass-producing high-end AI products until the fourth quarter of 2026, a delay that could make it harder for the PCB maker to achieve its goal of deriving 20% of sales from AI that year. For global readers, the timeline underscores how supply-chain bottlenecks can ripple through AI hardware markets.
China's silicon wafer industry is entering a new phase of simultaneous capacity expansion and consolidation, with Xi'an Eswin Material Technology investing further in a 12-inch wafer base in Wuhan while Hangzhou Lion Microelectronics moves to take full control of Zhejiang Jinruihong Technologies.
The UK Semiconductor Centre (UKSC), a leading organization in the UK semiconductor ecosystem, will lead a delegation of British semiconductor companies and research institutions to SEMICON Taiwan 2026, seeking to deepen strategic ties between Taiwan and the UK.
Co-packaged optics (CPO) remains a key focus in the AI era. Beyond advanced packaging and testing, compound semiconductors, and other fields, major Taiwan optical manufacturers — including Largan Precision, Asia Optical, Genius Electronic Optical, and JMO Corp. (Zhong Yang Technology) — have successively launched their own CPO initiatives, each pursuing a different strategy. Taiwan-based suppliers acknowledge that Corning, a major glass manufacturer, has a formidable solution, but say many CPO approaches remain under discussion and in development.
