DIGITIMES ICT: IT components, peripherals news

Home Tech ICT IT components, peripherals

Thursday 26 March 2026

Nvidia and Google predict 'Q-Day' at first AI Expo quantum forum

Academic and industry experts from Nvidia and Google predicted an upcoming "Q-Day", the day when quantum computing is advanced enough to break current levels of encryption and crack passwords. While this day may be years ahead, governments and companies are already preparing post-quantum cryptography (PQC) standards to prepare for this day, the experts said at the 2026 AI Expo in Taipei.

Thursday 26 March 2026

US senators accuse Nvidia CEO of misleading claims, urge halt to AI chip exports

US Senators Jim Banks and Elizabeth Warren, in a joint letter dated March 23, called on US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to suspend Nvidia's export licenses for advanced AI chips destined for China and intermediary Southeast Asian countries, including Singapore and Vietnam.

Thursday 26 March 2026

Four reasons that Aspeed dominates the BMC chip market

As Taiwan-based IC design firms face declining global market share due to China, Taiwan's Aspeed stands out by dominating the baseboard management controller (BMC) chip sector.

Thursday 26 March 2026

Taiwan's robotics alliance mobilizes cross-domain resources to tackle aging society needs and compete globally

Taiwan is accelerating its robotics strategy to address a rapidly aging population and capture emerging global demand, with the Robotics Innovation Alliance (RIA) mobilizing cross-industry resources to fast-track deployment and exports.

Thursday 26 March 2026

Broadcom to mass-produce 400G single-lane PAM4 DSP by 2027, vows to maintain lead

Broadcom recently announced that it completed development of a 400G single-lane PAM4 digital signal processor (DSP) at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference (OFC) 2026, signaling accelerated progress toward higher-speed optical links, with implications for global data center scalability, AI deployments, and supply-chain dynamics as the industry awaits volume production and wider market adoption over the coming years.

Wednesday 25 March 2026

Micron's Singapore expansion could trigger global transformer shortage and delay AI data centers

Micron Technology's planned Singapore expansion, driven by soaring AI memory demand, requires hundreds of transformers, signaling supply constraints that could affect global AI and semiconductor infrastructure timelines and costs for data-center buildouts, energy storage projects, and heavy electrical equipment suppliers, potentially reshaping procurement and construction schedules worldwide and logistics planning.

Wednesday 25 March 2026

Commentary: Foxconn advances liquid cooling subsystems with brand partnerships at Nvidia GTC

The demand for liquid cooling technology in AI servers continues to rise, and Foxconn is increasingly showcasing its components and subsystems in this space. At Nvidia's recently concluded GTC 2026, Foxconn's parts appeared not only on the back panels of ecosystem partners for Nvidia's MGX architecture, but also as core subsystems like rack manifolds featured in the exhibits of branded vendors.

Wednesday 25 March 2026

Broadcom expects optical communication supply chain capacity issues to ease by 2027

The Optical Fiber Communication Conference (OFC 2026) concluded on March 19, with Broadcom holding a media briefing to discuss the latest technologies and product announcements from the event. Addressing concerns about capacity bottlenecks across the optical communication supply chain, Broadcom acknowledged that many segments currently face tight supply conditions. However, the company noted that supply chain partners are actively expanding capacity, and more suppliers are joining the market. Broadcom projects that production capacity constraints will gradually be resolved by 2027.

Wednesday 25 March 2026

Taiwan drone camera demand stalls over unclear specifications

Imaging technologies are expanding beyond time-lapse photography and consumer applications into higher-barrier military uses as the industry repositions in the post-pandemic era.

Tuesday 24 March 2026

MediaTek's Airoha takes on US giants in optical comms DSP chip arena

The expansion of AI data centers is creating new business opportunities that are opening the door for upstarts to challenge industry leaders. A prime example is the four-level pulse amplitude modulation digital signal processing (PAM4 DSP) chip market for optical communications, which is shifting from a duopoly dominated by US leaders Marvell Technology and Broadcom to a more diversified vendor landscape. MediaTek's subsidiary Airoha is now striving to climb this competitive ladder.

Tuesday 24 March 2026

Alibaba unveils XuanTie C950 and C925, advancing RISC-V into AI and edge computing

Alibaba's DAMO Academy has introduced two new RISC-V processors—the flagship XuanTie C950 and the energy-efficient C925—marking a significant step in pushing the open-source architecture into both high-performance AI and edge applications.

Tuesday 24 March 2026

Japan exits the living room: TCL nears deal to acquire Sony's TV business

Sony's deal to sell off a majority stake of its television business to rival TCL is reportedly nearing completion. The proposed US$1 billion transaction reflects the long decline of Japan's television giants at the hands of rising Chinese competitors like TCL.

Monday 23 March 2026

Kinpo targets product mix upgrade in 2026 with server, EV charger, and automotive electronics growth

Kinpo Group held an investor conference on March 19, where General Manager Chen Wei-Chang expressed optimism for the second half of 2026 and projected a balanced revenue distribution between the first and second halves of the year. The company's server, EV charging station, SSD storage device, and mobile payment businesses have all entered mass production.

Monday 23 March 2026

Aluminum foil costs push capacitor prices higher in Taiwan and Japan

Following earlier price increases for tantalum capacitors and inductors, the aluminum capacitor supply chain is now seeing further price adjustments. Taiwanese manufacturers say end-market demand remains strong only in the AI sector, while upstream raw material prices — metals in particular — continue to climb, nearing a critical cost threshold for suppliers. The passive components industry's "cost defense battle" has now spread from inductors and chip resistors to aluminum capacitors.

Saturday 21 March 2026

AI robot fingertip sensing set to drive next tech breakthrough

The future of AI robot computing power is expected to shift significantly toward edge devices, with dexterous robotic hands playing a critical role as the core endpoint. Industry experts observe that the next major breakthrough in AI robotics will come from integrating sensing and real-time computing capabilities into these agile hands.

Saturday 21 March 2026

Supermicro reshuffles its board as scrutiny deepens

Super Micro Computer Inc. (Supermicro) has announced a swift and significant restructuring of its executive leadership following the unsealing of a federal indictment charging its co-founder and other high-level employees with orchestrating a massive scheme to illegally export advanced AI technology to China.

Friday 20 March 2026

UK-Taiwan R&D ties scale up with Foxconn, Turing Space, NSYSU

Taiwan has long leveraged its manufacturing strengths to carve out a place in the global supply chain. Now, it is going further. With research and development reach expanding overseas, the country is shifting from contract manufacturing to joint innovation. The UK-Taiwan Innovative Industries Programme (I2P), run under the British Office Taipei and ITRI, has hit a record scale in 2026, with 17 research and development teams taking part in bilateral exchanges.

Friday 20 March 2026

TPK profit jumps as OLED tablets lift touch module pricing

Touch panel maker TPK Holding reported a sharp increase in profitability in 2025, as a shift in product mix and lower depreciation costs lifted margins, while higher-priced touch modules for OLED tablets are expected to continue supporting revenue.

Friday 20 March 2026

The 'golden triangle': Inside Taiwan's industrial engine to win the AI robotics race

The next front in the global AI race may not be a data center. It could be a robot. Taiwan has quietly staked its claim — and it's building the industrial machinery to back it up.

Thursday 19 March 2026

Strong quarter for Jabil fueled by smart infrastructure and automotive demand

Jabil delivered fiscal second-quarter results that topped its own expectations, buoyed by sustained strength in its Intelligent Infrastructure business and a stronger-than-anticipated showing in Regulated Industries.

Wednesday 18 March 2026

Nvidia partners with chipmakers to advance industrial robotics

At Nvidia's GTC 2026 conference, major chipmakers — including Texas Instruments (TI), Infineon Technologies AG, NXP Semiconductors, Analog Devices (ADI), and Synopsys — announced new collaborations centered on robotics built around Nvidia's platform. Robotics is now the defining focus for IDM firms and the broader industrial control chip ecosystem.

Wednesday 18 March 2026

IBM completes Confluent acquisition to power real-time AI data

On March 17, IBM completed its acquisition of Confluent, Inc., the data streaming platform used by more than 6,500 enterprises — including 40% of the Fortune 500 — to power real-time operations. Under the agreement, IBM acquired all issued and outstanding common shares of Confluent for US$31 per share in cash, representing an enterprise value of approximately US$11 billion.

Wednesday 18 March 2026

Apple adopts MediaTek Wi-Fi chip for MacBook Neo to save costs, say sources

Apple's recently launched affordable MacBook Neo has been found to use MediaTek's Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips instead of Broadcom or Apple's own N1 chip, according to teardown reports. Industry insiders assess that Apple likely made this decision to reduce costs while buying time to improve its in-house N-series chip specifications.

Wednesday 18 March 2026

Intel unveils Core Ultra 200HX Plus processors with up to 8% gaming boost

Intel on March 17 launched its Core Ultra 200HX Plus series mobile processors, expanding its high-performance lineup for gaming, content creation and workstation applications. The new series includes the Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus and Core Ultra 7 270HX Plus, featuring architectural refinements and support for a new Binary Optimization Tool aimed at improving native performance in select workloads.

Wednesday 18 March 2026

Exclusive: AI server supply chain hits hidden stalemate as CSPs and manufacturers favor price hikes over expansion

Geopolitical tariff conflicts combined with the outbreak of Middle East hostilities have pushed even the booming AI server and data center industry—and its supply chain—into a subtle deadlock. Supply chain insiders reveal that despite ample funding, major cloud service providers (CSPs) are hesitating to back suppliers' capacity expansions amid shortages.

More IT components, peripherals coverage