Market sources have identified Naura Technology as the principal beneficiary of China's initiative to achieve self-sufficiency in chipmaking equipment. Revenue for the Chinese fab toolmaker increased by 50.7% in 2023.

For the past 36 years, TechInsights (formerly VSLI) has formally evaluated semiconductor equipment companies based on customer feedback to recognize the best in the industry. TechInsights released its Customer Satisfaction Survey results for 2024 on May 17, with Adventest, EV Group, ASML, Technoprobe, and Edwards taking the top space of individual categories.

Indian SaaS company Zoho is reportedly planning to invest US$700 million in semiconductor manufacturing. If true, this could mark another case of an Indian company entering the semiconductor sector. In terms of funding, this investment should be in the IC backend domain.

AI models have now become the new battleground in China's tech industry, with the four leading giants—Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, and JD, or BATJ for short—all seeking to increase AI penetration and monetize traffic. In addition to search, video and text generation, AI is driving growth for these four giants as they use AI for ad placements.

The server supply chain is gearing up for Computex Taipei in June, with key players such as Quanta, Wiwynn, Foxconn, Inventec, Compal, and Supermicro all exhibiting their latest AI server solutions. Industry watchers will be paying keen attention to three aspects in particular: liquid cooling systems, power supplies, and cabinet designs.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. slashed prices for a clutch of artificial intelligence services by as much as 97%, spurring an immediate response from Baidu Inc. in potentially the start of a price war in China's nascent AI market.

Private 5G networks are hailed as the "promised land" of the next-generation connectivity revolution. While consumer-facing 5G services already offer more than adequate speeds for everyday use, it's in the enterprise sector where 5G's true potential lies, driving digital transformation across diverse industries.

Two senior US lawmakers blasted a Washington-based foundation for secretly accepting money from Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co., saying the move "flies in the face" of efforts to keep foreign adversaries from compromising US research.

Due to a lack of killer apps, 5G smartphone sales have been sluggish at the consumer end of the market, leading to a drop in momentum at wireless testing and certification lab Sporton International, says special assistant to the president David Chou. However, Sporton is optimistic about AI-enabled devices driving sales in the latter half of 2024.

The rivalry among China, Europe, and the US – the world's three largest EV markets – heats up as America and Europe are poised to raise tariffs on Chinese EVs. China has vowed to retaliate. The situation will likely impact Germany-based Volkswagen, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz the most.

LG Energy Solution has been progressing in the development of the 46800 battery.

The major Japanese automakers such as Toyota, Nissan, and Honda are planning cross-industry collaborations to develop new automotive technologies. The scope includes Generative AI (GenAI), semiconductors, application programming interfaces (APIs), LiDAR, simulation, cybersecurity, high-definition 3D maps, and more.

Blue carbon refers to the carbon captured by the world's oceanic and coastal ecosystems. Protecting and restoring coastal ecosystems like mangroves and seagrass meadows has been heralded as a way to achieve net-zero emissions goals by storing vast amounts of "blue carbon."

Indian solar energy company Orb Energy has reduced its reliance on Chinese components by over 20% in recent years, in line with the general trend of diversifying supply chains.

Veolia Water Technologies, a subsidiary of Veolia and a leading specialist in water treatment technologies and services, announces on May 15 the inauguration of its first ion exchange regeneration facility in China. The facility features state-of-the-art technology to efficiently recycle spent ion exchange resins, promoting resource optimization and sustainability.

Tron Future Tech, a Taiwanese startup founded in 2018, has emerged to be a prominent leader in Taiwan's low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite and Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) markets. At the core of the success is the company's independently developed Active Phased Array (AESA) radar technology. Recently, Tron Future announced that it has secured NT$900 million (approx. US$32.4 million) in a Series A funding round led by the government-backed Taiwania Capital and the CID Group, and joined by Industrial Technology Investment Corp. (ITRI's venture capital), Taya Venture, and Taiwan Cooperative Venture Capital.

Taiwan's recent efforts to build its own "Starlink" have received growing attention as satellite communication has proven itself inalienable to wartime resilience, but to what degree are the ongoing government-backed satellite programs geared for modern warfare?

Taiwan's entry into space exploration reached a historic milestone with the successful deployment of Triton, its first domestically developed meteorological satellite, in 2023. This achievement signifies Taiwan's technological prowess and paves the way for groundbreaking advancements in meteorological forecasting capabilities.

As demand in the mobile phone market recovers, panel makers have seen related AMOLED panel prices increase slightly in May, while prices for mobile LCD panels continue to fall.

OLED panels used for external screens/monitors remain dominated by the two major South Korean panel manufacturers, Samsung Display (SDC) and LG Display (LGD), becoming a new growth driver for both firms with an annual shipment growth of around 20%.

With its factory utilization rates reaching 70-80%, polarizer manufacturer Cheng Mei Materials Technology (CMMT) anticipates double-digit sequential revenue growth in the second quarter, driven by new orders from South Korea and China.