Largan Precision chairman En-ping Lin has questioned the viability of Micro LED-based optical links for AI data centers, citing concerns over power consumption, size, and transmission efficiency. Industry sources interviewed by DIGITIMES counter that while individual Micro LEDs transmit data more slowly than lasers, using hundreds of parallel channels could reduce overall system power consumption by simplifying the transmission architecture.

Microsoft's lease commitments that have not yet commenced reached US$329.1 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, which ended in June, according to its latest regulatory filing. The total rose US$132.5 billion, or more than 67%, from the previous quarter, marking the company's largest quarterly increase on record.

Nvidia's share of AI chips in China's data center market has fallen by 34% in the first half of this year, according to a new report. The drop follows months of US restrictions on advanced chip sales to the country, Chinese authorities' push to rely less on Nvidia imports, and domestic players like Huawei moving to fill in this supply gap.

Samsung Electronics and AMD have collaborated to validate Compute Express Link (CXL) memory technology designed to expand capacity and bandwidth for AI servers, as Samsung broadens its AI infrastructure strategy beyond high-bandwidth memory (HBM) to memory pooling and enterprise storage.

Cisco and Nvidia announced at the 2026 OCP Global Summit that they are jointly developing an ultra-dense small form factor pluggable (USFP) optical module designed to support 400Gb/s electrical signals per lane, targeting AI data centers' demand for higher bandwidth density, greater energy efficiency, and high-speed interconnects.

The contest for leadership in AI computing is being fought on two fronts—technology and manufacturing capacity—and chipmakers must advance chips, memory, advanced packaging and system interconnects simultaneously to keep pace with demand, Applied Materials President and CEO Gary Dickerson said.

Taiwan's export surge is increasingly tied to high-value AI servers and pricier memory chips, a shift with implications far beyond the island. As exports climb, the outlook underscores both the global demand for artificial intelligence hardware and the risks of relying heavily on one fast-growing sector.

King Yuan Electronics (KYEC) has signed a prepayment agreement with Nvidia to support its wholly owned US subsidiary, AeternZ, in building local testing capacity, giving Nvidia early access to AI chip testing capacity in the US. The move further clarifies KYEC's plans to invest in the US, with Fort Worth, Texas, reportedly emerging as the likely site of its operations in the country.

A proposed Adani-Jabil venture could boost India's role in the global AI supply chain by adding local manufacturing of servers, racks, and cooling systems. If approved, the tie-up may help meet rising demand for data center hardware, lower supply risks, and widen access to AI infrastructure worldwide.

MiTAC Computing Technology featured a comprehensive suite of full-stack AI infrastructure at the Open Compute Project (OCP) Global Summit in San Jose, California, centered around the theme "Scaling Open AI Infra with Full-Stack Innovation." The company demonstrated integrated solutions spanning compute, storage, liquid-cooled servers, firmware, operating systems, and management software.

SEMI announced at a media event during SEMICON West 2026 that the exhibition will move to Phoenix, Arizona, in 2027 and shift to a spring schedule. SEMI Americas President Joe Stockunas confirmed at a pre-show press conference that the organization has signed a three-year agreement with Phoenix to host SEMICON West.

Pegatron showcased its end-to-end AI infrastructure capabilities at the Open Compute Project (OCP) Global Summit 2026, highlighting Nvidia-based products designed to move from engineering development to large-scale cluster deployment. The Taiwanese electronics manufacturer presented rack-scale AI systems, liquid-cooling technologies, and integrated deployment capabilities as demand grows for infrastructure that can support increasingly complex AI workloads.

Foxconn Technology Group showcased rack-scale artificial intelligence infrastructure at the Open Compute Project (OCP) Global Summit 2026 in San Jose, California, combining computing platforms, high-speed interconnects, power delivery, and liquid cooling. The portfolio included Ingrasys Technology's Nvidia Vera Rubin NVL72 platform and connectivity, power, and thermal-management systems from Foxconn Interconnect Technology (FIT) as Foxconn expanded its offering from components and Compute Trays to complete AI racks.

While the rapid advancement of AI has driven steadily growing investment in large-scale infrastructure, one of its downstream effects is becoming increasingly visible in the memory sector, where supply has tightened as vendors prioritize higher-margin AI workloads.

IonQ is extending its quantum ambitions beyond processors and networking into enterprise cybersecurity, agreeing to acquire zero-trust security provider Elisity in an all-stock transaction valued at up to US$1.3 billion.

Leveraging Singapore as its regional hub, Huawei has expanded hardware deployments, such as servers, across data centers in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region. Following the US revocation of certain Intel chip export licenses to Huawei in 2024, the Chinese tech giant has aggressively adopted its proprietary Kunpeng chipsets, resulting in a dramatic increase in Kunpeng shipments to ASEAN data centers and telecom base stations, according to DIGITIMES Intelligence.

As custom AI silicon proliferates alongside growing demand for heterogeneous compute, the ability to move and optimize workloads across different accelerators is becoming an increasingly important capability for AI developers.

Formosa Smart Energy, an energy affiliate of Taiwan's Formosa Plastics Group, said global cloud service providers have approached it about building AI data centers at the group's industrial sites, seeking to leverage existing power infrastructure, surplus electricity and available land.

Japan's Omron has agreed to acquire US industrial computer (IPC) maker OnLogic and its parent company, Interlogic, at an enterprise value of US$675 million, seeking to expand its presence in Western markets and combine rugged edge computing with its factory automation and control technologies.

Nvidia and Cisco have introduced a new pluggable optics form factor to expand AI infrastructure without sharply increasing power use or network complexity. For global cloud operators, enterprises, and sovereign AI projects, the design could support denser, more efficient data center builds as demand for AI computing continues to rise.

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan warned in Singapore that demand for AI infrastructure continues to outpace supply, with hardware shortages unlikely to ease significantly over the next 2–3 years as capacity constraints persist across memory, wafers and advanced packaging.

Wistron announced plans to invest roughly NT$8 billion (approx. US$250.67 million) to expand its production capacity in Taiwan. On October 12, the board approved an additional capital expenditure of around NT$7.05 billion to renovate buildings and purchase equipment for its Kaohsiung and Hsinchu facilities, while also approving spending of no more than NT$1 billion to acquire Coretronic's factory and ancillary facilities in the Tainan Science Park.

Electricity demand from semiconductor manufacturing, memory production, advanced packaging, and server assembly is rising rapidly, fueling reports that Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) is seeking financial contributions from major industrial customers, including TSMC, to support dedicated power plant development.

Fujitsu's plan to open a quantum computing research center in New Mexico could have implications well beyond the US. The collaboration aims to accelerate research, train workers, and support hybrid computing advances that may eventually affect industries worldwide, including healthcare, energy, manufacturing, finance, and logistics.

AMD has introduced Helion, an open rack architecture designed for agentic AI workloads that could change how data centers allocate compute, power, and cooling. The system targets hyperscale and enterprise customers building AI agents that need continuous execution, tool use, and workflow coordination.