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Monday 17 August 2026
Hermes Testing's 1H26 profit more than triples on rising AI testing demand
Hermes Testing Solutions (HTSI), a semiconductor testing solutions provider, stated that continued growth in demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC), coupled with capacity expansion by major global foundries and packaging and testing companies, has driven demand growth across its three main businesses: probe cards and cleaning materials, testing equipment engineering services, and semiconductor equipment and customized products.
Monday 17 August 2026
OCP APAC 2026: When AI starts running the hardware that runs it
The tech industry has long been fixated on one persistent bottleneck: the physical limitations of high compute in the AI era. But what if the industry's focus, rather than pouring endless resources into infrastructure scaling and thermal architecture, should instead turn toward the reverse of that equation?
Monday 17 August 2026
Topoint's high-end drill bits hit 56% share ahead of schedule, aims to double capacity by end of 2028

Printed circuit board (PCB) drill bit manufacturer Topoint Technology stated during its second-quarter 2026 earnings call that strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers and high-performance computing (HPC) has significantly improved its product structure. High-end coated drill bit products accounted for 56% of product share in the first half of the year, already exceeding the company's original full-year target of 55%.

Monday 17 August 2026
AI server growth is lifting Taiwan ODM revenue, but margins now face the harder test
Taiwan's top six original design manufacturers are seeing AI servers become the main revenue engine in 2026, but the boom is also bringing heavier exposure to expensive GPUs, CPUs, high-bandwidth memory, and networking parts. That has broadened the sales base while making gross margin protection a central concern in the industry.
Monday 17 August 2026
Weekly news roundup: AI expansion fuels supernodes, post-HBM memory, liquid cooling and supply-chain shifts
This week's most-read stories traced the AI boom across the stack, from supernodes and next-generation memory to liquid cooling, solar power, telecom services and PCB demand. Below are the most-read DIGITIMES stories from the week of August 10-16, 2026.
Monday 17 August 2026
Stripe reportedly agrees to buy AI routing startup OpenRouter for more than US$7 billion
Stripe has reportedly finalized an agreement to acquire OpenRouter, a startup that helps businesses switch between artificial intelligence (AI) models, for more than US$7 billion, Bloomberg reported August 17, citing people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because the information is not public. The final price could still change, Bloomberg said. A Stripe spokesperson said the company does not comment on rumors or speculation, and OpenRouter declined to comment, according to the report.
Monday 17 August 2026
LG, Nvidia deepen ties on humanoid robots, AI factories, and vehicles
LG said on Wednesday that it is developing a next-generation bipedal humanoid robot with Nvidia technology, a move that could influence how factories, vehicles, and service robots are built and deployed worldwide. The South Korean conglomerate also outlined plans for AI manufacturing sites and a future vehicle platform, signaling broader competition in physical AI.
Monday 17 August 2026
India roundup: India's electronics push gains momentum as water, China ties and chip incentives collide

India's electronics and AI infrastructure ambitions are accelerating, but mounting environmental opposition, tighter Chinese visa curbs, and intensifying competition for semiconductor investment are exposing new challenges. As Google advances a US$15 billion AI data center, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) restructures its cloud business, and Dixon Technologies expands its smartphone OEM business, states are sweetening incentives to strengthen India's position in global technology supply chains.

Monday 17 August 2026
DFI accelerates edge AI rollout in 2H26 with ‘Right Compute’ strategy
Industrial PC (IPC) maker DFI held its second-quarter 2026 earnings conference on August 14, reporting a sharp improvement in profitability as its embedded, intelligent automation and network security businesses all gained momentum. Revenue growth accelerated further in July, strengthening the company's confidence in the second-half outlook.
Monday 17 August 2026
Solomon posts record 2Q26 profit as AI vision, robotics orders surge
AI vision specialist Solomon Technology Corporation reported strong financial results for the second quarter of 2026, with quarterly profit reaching a record high. Solomon chairman Cheng-Lung Chen said orders related to AI vision and robotics have surged since the beginning of the year, setting the stage for substantial growth in 2026.
Monday 17 August 2026
Taiwan's Century Group eyes SMR supply chain as AI power demand accelerates
AI-driven electricity demand is prompting Century Group to broaden its energy ambitions beyond offshore wind. The group plans to enter the small modular reactor (SMR) supply chain through reactor peripheral equipment and aims to obtain TÜV Rheinland technical and safety certification within three years, positioning itself for what it sees as a major wave of low-carbon power investment tied to AI data centers.
Monday 17 August 2026
Appier lifts FY26 outlook after record second-quarter revenue and margin gains
Appier, an agentic AI-as-a-service provider, reported record second-quarter 2026 revenue of JPY12.9 billion and raised its fiscal 2026 outlook on the back of stronger growth and higher profitability. The results, announced on the 13th, showed revenue up 24.6% year-on-year and gross margin reaching 60.1% for the first time, with both revenue and operating profit beating the company's guidance.
Monday 17 August 2026
Sigurd tops NT$2B in July revenue as AI testing demand surges
Sigurd Microelectronics, an IC testing and packaging company, reported record July 2026 revenue and said demand from AI and AI connectivity markets drove the result. The company said orders for high-performance computing chips, including CPUs, GPUs, ASICs, and AI accelerators, lifted testing demand for silicon photonics, high-speed networking, memory, silicon capacitors, baseboard management controller chips, and high-end power management ICs used in AI servers and data centers.
Sunday 16 August 2026
Taiwan Mobile launches tender offer for Systex, targeting majority control
Taiwan Mobile said on August 12 that its board approved a tender offer for Systex Corporation common shares through its wholly owned subsidiary Taiwan Cellular, with the goal of lifting its stake to more than 50%. The telecom operator already held 11.86% of Systex, and the tender offer seeks an additional stake of at least 39%, which would lift Taiwan Mobile's total ownership above 50%.
Sunday 16 August 2026
Edgecore pushes all-optical networking for distributed AI data centers
Edgecore Networks said distributed AI infrastructure will become more important as data centers run into limits on power, space, and cooling. Speaking at the 2026 OCP APAC Summit, the company outlined an all-optical networking approach designed to connect GPUs, servers, and storage across multiple sites and regions.
Sunday 16 August 2026
AI reshapes semiconductor testing as KYEC pushes four-way model

As AI chip value and integration complexity keep rising, King Yuan Electronics (KYEC) President Gauss Chang said semiconductor testing is shifting from being considered "part of the supply chain" to a "part of the process." He said the supply chain is also moving toward a new collaboration model built around four integrated elements: equipment, accessories, testing, and products.

Sunday 16 August 2026
AI product cycle lifts Chroma test demand
AI is sharply increasing demand for test and measurement equipment, turning it from a cost-cutting support tool into a must-have, said Chroma president I-Shih Tseng. He said he expects the industry boom to outlast a short-term investment wave and that second-half 2026 operations will outperform the first half of the year.
Sunday 16 August 2026
HDRE reports first-half growth as Japan and Australia projects expand
HD Renewable Energy (HDRE) reported first-half 2026 consolidated revenue of NT$3.078 billion (approx. US$95.7 million), along with gross profit of NT$758 million, a gross margin of 24.63%, and operating profit of NT$112 million. The Taiwanese energy group said some second-quarter transactions were delayed, pushing recognition of several 2MW battery storage projects in Japan into the third quarter.
Saturday 15 August 2026
Gelsinger calls HBM 'lousy', SK Hynix says it's not memory's final answer

High-bandwidth memory (HBM), a core component in AI semiconductors, has drawn fresh scrutiny after former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger called it "lousy" at a recent AI summit in Paris. SK Hynix, the market leader in this type of memory, also said it is not the final answer to AI memory bottlenecks, underscoring the industry's push to find a next-generation memory architecture beyond HBM.

Saturday 15 August 2026
Research Insight: Unitree IPO reveals humanoid robot commercialization still in early innings
Chinese humanoid robot maker Unitree Robotics has drawn significant market attention with its IPO. Based on DIGITIMES' review of the company's three-hour IPO roadshow and Q&A session on August 7, chairman Xingxing Wang and the management team provided further details on humanoid robot commercialization, embodied intelligence, and its supply chain strategy.
Saturday 15 August 2026
MicroIP sees second-half revenue lift as board approves cash raise
MICROIP, which focuses on AI software design services and ASIC design services, said its first-half 2026 financial report showed continued investment in core technologies and key IP. The company also disclosed that its board approved a cash capital increase to support working capital and ongoing development as more projects move into production and delivery.
Saturday 15 August 2026
Taiwan approves NT$8 billion ocean tech program for security and industry
Taiwan's government approved a four-year ocean technology and industry development program for 2027-2030 and will seek more than NT$8 billion in funding. The plan was designed to strengthen maritime security, expand scientific research, and improve industrial competitiveness as Taipei responds to growing pressure in its surrounding waters.
Saturday 15 August 2026
Interview: Acrab CEO Ken Phua on building agentic AI silicon in Singapore
Ken Phua, former Arm China co-CEO, spent 25 years abroad building someone else's business model. He came home to Singapore to build his own.
Friday 14 August 2026
AI server tracker: Demand drives July revenue gains across Taiwan infrastructure suppliers
Data center infrastructure providers reported revenue gains across baseboard management controllers (BMCs), optical modules, power supply components, and thermal management products. Some companies, such as LandMark Optoelectronics and Auras Technology, reported year-over-year July revenue growth exceeding 100%.
Friday 14 August 2026
Alibaba Cloud's 6-year evolution: five super data centers pivoting to AI compute

Alibaba Cloud's Lingjun Zhenwu M890 supernode has officially gone live, with its initial commercial deployment in Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia—the same super data center launched six years ago. The site is now hosting next-generation AI supernode compute capabilities, bringing Alibaba Cloud's "Five Super Data Centers" back into the spotlight as the company positions itself for the AI era.