Foxconn Interconnect Technology (FIT) unveiled its latest high-speed interconnect and thermal management solutions aimed at enhancing 224G generation transmission and energy efficiency at the 2025 Open Compute Project (OCP) Global Summit in San Jose, the US. The exhibition highlighted FIT's efforts to address rising power consumption challenges in high-performance computing (HPC) and data centers.

The global artificial intelligence data center sector is advancing into a phase characterized by high-power, high-density infrastructure, as highlighted at the Open Compute Project (OCP) 2025 Global Summit held in San Jose, in the US. The event has emerged as a key indicator for the next stage in AI infrastructure development, focusing on innovations in power supply, cooling, interconnectivity, and cluster platform design.

Egis Technology Group's subsidiary Algoltek has invested approximately NT$198 million (approx. US$6.46 million) by subscribing to private placement shares in Appro Photoelectron at NT$30 each. The investment is aimed at integrating Egis Group's iCatch AI vision chips, Syncomm's low-latency communication technology, and Algoltek's AI algorithms and high-speed interface technologies to develop a comprehensive "AI vision solution." This collaboration specifically targets applications in smart manufacturing, smart logistics, and the drone markets.

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.

Tensions are flaring yet again between China and the US. China has reportedly made plans to impose export controls on certain lithium batteries, key anode and cathode materials, and manufacturing equipment starting November 8, 2025. If China enforces the controls, consumer electronics like notebooks will be significantly impacted. However, data center Battery Backup Unit (BBU) systems primarily use Japanese and Korean cells, making the impact there relatively limited.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has announced that the new iPhone Air will open for preorder in China on October 17, with official sales beginning on October 22. The announcement was made during Cook's public appearance in China, where he promoted the device through a live stream on the popular platform Douyin, known internationally as TikTok.

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 memory industry rides the AI boom, cloud service providers (CSPs) are placing orders that upstream memory foundries were unprepared for. Adata's chairman, Simon Chen, confirmed that this wave of memory supply shortages has spread across the four major product lines: DRAM, NAND Flash, solid‑state drives (SSDs), and traditional hard drives (HDDs). Such a phenomenon is almost unprecedented in the history of the memory industry, and the competition for goods is no longer among peer module makers but against CSPs with orders of magnitude larger. Additionally, there is no overlap in duplicate orders.

Yen Sun Technology (YS Tech) has completed a new factory in Kaohsiung as it moves to capitalize on the booming demand for AI server cooling systems. The company announced that mass production at the new facility is scheduled to begin in the first half of 2026.

Tatung's revenue momentum continued to strengthen in September 2025, sustaining the company's overall growth trajectory. The company benefited from strong performance in its electronics manufacturing business, particularly with new mini-PC products, as well as growing collaboration with international brands and industry peers. Robust ODM order shipments in its electronics manufacturing division, along with active deliveries from its power and renewable energy systems business in alignment with customer timelines, were key drivers supporting steady revenue growth.

Lianyou Metals has benefited from the continued rise in international tungsten and cobalt prices, boosting its performance in the rare metal recycling and smelting market.

Pegatron saw its September 2025 revenue rebound, driven by strong shipments of Apple's new iPhone 17 series, reaching NT$114.91 billion (US$3.76 billion), a 74.52% sequential and 5.17% year-over-year increase. This marks the first time in five months that the company's revenue has surpassed the NT$100 billion mark.

Optical lens and component manufacturer Largan Precision held an online earnings call on October 9, reporting a third-quarter 2025 revenue of NT$17.68 billion (approx. US$579.5 million), up 51% sequentially but down 7% annually. Net profit after tax rose 6.79% year-over-year to NT$7.08 billion, while gross margin declined to 47.2% due to an increase in outsourced components and foreign exchange impacts.

Taiwan's memory module maker Adata Technology has announced a strategic partnership between its enterprise storage brand TRUSTA, Giga Computing, and South Korea's flash controller architecture developer FADU to jointly develop high-end enterprise-grade SSD solutions tailored for next-generation server platforms.

Largan Precision CEO Adam Lin provided a wealth of insights regarding robotics and smartphone lenses at Largan's third-quarter online investor conference.

The newly founded Smart Robot Application Special Interest Group (SIG) has brought together over 60 Taiwanese companies to focus on application-oriented deployment of intelligent robots, with Asus co-CEO Samson Hu serving as the group's chairman. In his remarks at the founding ceremony, Hu emphasized that practical validation across diverse environments is essential for the industry to develop products that align with market needs.

Nan Pao Resins Chemical Group reported NT$1.98 billion (US$65 million) in consolidated revenue for September 2025, marking a slight year-over-year increase of 0.2%. However, third-quarter revenue dropped 2.9% year-over-year to NT$5.91 billion (US$194 million), mainly due to a higher baseline last year and the appreciation of the New Taiwan Dollar. Cumulative revenue for the first nine months of 2025 reached NT$17.27 billion (US$566 million), up 2.4% year-over-year and setting a new record for the period.

The global AI boom is fueling demand for high-performance servers, pushing liquid cooling to the forefront of data center architecture to handle GPU power and density. Research firms project the global liquid-cooled data center market will grow from US$4B in 2023 to US$10B by 2028, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 20%.

Taiwan-based lens manufacturer Genius Electronic Optical (GSEO) reported a consolidated revenue of NT$2.66 billion (approx. US$86.98 million) in September 2025, down NT$42.53 million or 1.58% compared to NT$2.7 billion the month prior, but up NT$70.83 million or 2.74% year-over-year from NT$2.59 billion in September 2024.

In recent years, China's traditional industries and those with lower technical barriers have faced intensifying competition, with bad money driving out good. This trend threatens long-term industrial development and competitiveness. Taiwan's industry value chains face similar challenges amid tariffs, exchange rates, and geopolitical risks, compounded by worsening competition among small and medium enterprises (SMEs). It is imperative to take action now to tackle the problem.

Global Lighting Technologies (GLT) has liquidated its Zhongshan factory in Guangdong, China and has plans to start trial production at its new facility in Vietnam facility in the fourth quarter of 2025. GLT chairman Mang-shiang Lee said the company has reduced display segment revenue to below 5% of its overall sales and is expanding into the biomedical sector for stable future growth.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) is intensifying its focus on artificial intelligence (AI) adoption in Taiwan and Hong Kong amid increasing demand across multiple sectors, particularly manufacturing, finance, and healthcare in Taiwan. Jon Wang, managing director of Taiwan & Hong Kong at HPE, emphasized that enterprises in these regions are seeking comprehensive AI solutions that integrate computing power with advanced networking capabilities.

Neural Processing Units (NPUs) are everywhere in consumer electronics now, from smartphones to robotic vacuums. But running AI applications effectively requires more than just NPUs—it demands coordination between CPUs, GPUs, and NPUs working together in what the industry calls heterogeneous computing.

Qualcomm has announced the acquisition of Italian open-source hardware and software company Arduino, assuring that Arduino's brand mission and community spirit will remain intact. Arduino enables developers to create devices using open-source microcontrollers (MCUs) that sense and interact with their environment, designed for rapid prototyping even by students and makers.

The global rare earth market has long been dominated by China, encompassing everything from ore extraction to separation and refining, and even magnet manufacturing. Although the US possesses rare earth resources, high costs, strict environmental regulations, and China's low-price supply led the US to virtually exit the industry after the 1990s, becoming reliant on imports from China.