Taiwan's outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) sector is entering 2026 with relatively modest revenue growth, but market behavior suggests a far more significant structural shift is underway.

TSMC said its COUPE silicon photonics platform is set to enter volume production this year, as rising demand for high-speed interconnects in AI data centers pushes optical technologies closer to commercial deployment.

By late March, Taiwan's equity market is offering a more nuanced read of the AI infrastructure boom. While accumulated revenue and year-over-year growth through February continue to point to strong structural demand, recent share price movements suggest that the market has begun to recalibrate expectations. The result is a growing divergence between backward-looking financial data and forward-looking capital market signals.