Demand from high-tech companies for new research and manufacturing sites remains strong, prompting Taiwan to advance plans to expand Longtan Science Park by 104 hectares as the government seeks to accommodate continued growth in AI and semiconductor industries.
Industry sources say Valve is expected to launch a new Steam Deck in 2027, setting up a tougher contest for Taiwanese original design manufacturer (ODM) Quanta as China's Huaqin moves to win the manufacturing order. The winner has not yet been confirmed.
EZconn said global fiber and optical cable supplies remain tight as AI data center demand overtakes demand from traditional telecom applications, pushing up raw material prices and boosting costs for optical passive components. The company expects the shortage to ease gradually from the second half of 2026 into 2027 as upstream suppliers add capacity, while it negotiates for larger allocations and longer-term supply contracts.
High-speed transmission demand continues to rise on the back of AI server and data center buildouts, while cloud service providers (CSPs) accelerate adoption of in-house application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) platforms. As a result, demand for high-speed connectors and high-speed transmission cables inside servers is also increasing.
Printed circuit board (PCB) wet-process equipment maker Ampoc Far-East said demand for its in-house high-end equipment has surged on AI servers and high-performance computing applications, driving brisk orders in the first half of 2026 and strong utilization rates. Capacity is now close to fully booked, and customers have also begun laying out long-term orders for the next one to two years.
CoreWeave launched a debt sale worth US$3 billion in convertible bonds, which would allow buyers to turn their bonds into shares. The neocloud, which has sharply ramped up its infrastructure spending over the past year, has secured a growing customer base but faces concerns over financial sustainability amid intense competition and fears of an AI slowdown.
The spotlight has been on industry innovation at the 2026 Taipei International Plastics and Rubber Industry Show (TaipeiPLAS), as Taiwan's plastics and rubber sector moves beyond the realm of traditional manufacturing, with forays into high-value applications in aerospace, drones, robotics, automobiles, and healthcare and medicine, aiming to create new value through smart manufacturing, innovative materials, and circular use. According to data from the Ministry of Finance, Taiwan's total exports of plastics and rubber processing machinery reached US$458 million through August 2026.
Foxconn Interconnect Technology (FIT) chairman Sidney Lu said AI demand remains strong, with overall capacity near full utilization and visibility extending through 2027. Optical communications products began shipping in small volumes in 2026 and are expected to scale further in 2027 and 2028, though adoption will ultimately follow customers. "We cannot run faster than our customers," Lu said.
Wiwynn held the grand opening for its first US factory on September 14 local time, choosing El Paso, Texas, over larger cities such as Dallas and Houston. Chief manufacturing officer Robin Wang said the site gives the company the best support from its Ciudad Juarez, Mexico plant, which is less than an hour away.
Samsung Electronics' in-house Exynos application processors (APs) are steadily regaining lost ground in the global smartphone market. Samsung's share of the global smartphone AP market rose to 9% in the second quarter of 2026, up 2 percentage points from the previous quarter and 3 percentage points from a year earlier, marking a second straight quarterly increase.
DeepSeek is reportedly set to hire Wentao Yan, a partner at venture capital firm GL Ventures, as its first CFO. If the appointment takes place, it would happen at an important time for the Chinese AI startup as it seeks to go public, begins a large expansion of its workforce, and invests in chipmaking and computing capacity.
