DigiTimes Nachrichten

 

As demand for AI data centers, high-speed transmission, and cloud infrastructure continues to rise, the fiber-optic industry has once again become a focal point in the global market, with China's supply chain playing a critical role in the expansion. From heavy reliance on overseas technology and materials to building a complete industrial cluster and becoming a major global supplier, China's fiber-optic industry has undergone nearly half a century of technological catch-up and supply-chain growth....

A Taiwan Intellectual Property Office report released in 2026 showed that AI demand accelerated a global patent race in data center and server cooling technologies, with Inventec, Foxconn, and Quanta emerging among Taiwan's top patent holders. The report analyzed 8,449 published and announced patent families from 2015 through 2024 and found cooling-related patent families grew at a 17% compound annual growth rate over the past decade, and entered a distinct growth phase in 2022 when annual filings first exceeded 1,000....

China's Luxshare is accelerating its push into the global automotive supply chain through a proposed acquisition of BeijingWest Industries International Limited, marking another major step in its transition from a consumer electronics assembler into a global automotive Tier 1 supplier....

Samsung Electronics is reportedly reviving delayed semiconductor initiatives across next-generation NAND flash, compound semiconductors, advanced packaging, and substrates — areas it set aside after more than a year of prioritizing DRAM design and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) competitiveness. The move signals a shift from catch-up mode back toward longer-term technology investment....

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping struck an optimistic tone at their summit in Beijing on Thursday, though their opening remarks quickly revealed competing priorities....

Pegatron announced its first-quarter 2026 financial results on May 13, with profit down more than 60% compared with the same period a year earlier, while earnings per share (EPS) hit its lowest level for the same period in nearly seven years....

Google announced Gemini Intelligence in the US on May 13, further integrating Gemini's AI capabilities into Android. The move pushes Android from a traditional operating system toward a "smart system," but in China, local AI ecosystems leave little room for Gemini Intelligence to gain traction....

The ongoing Samsung Electronics labor dispute highlights sharply different labor models in South Korea and Taiwan, where firms such as TSMC operate with minimal union presence and rely instead on compensation-driven workforce stability. Industry observers say the Samsung conflict reflects broader tensions over profit sharing during the AI-driven semiconductor upcycle, while Taiwan's tech sector continues to favor high mobility and individual incentives over collective bargaining....

Google's The Android Show 2026 reframed its Android and AI strategy around Gemini Intelligence, signaling a shift toward premium hardware as the primary battleground for AI. The move integrates Gemini across devices and partners, aligning Google with an Apple-like model that places the hardware layer at the center of AI rollout....

Appier, an AI-native Agentic AI-as-a-Service company, reported on May 13 that first-quarter 2026 revenue and profit reached record highs and that it expects second-quarter 2026 results to exceed prior guidance as scaled Agentic AI deployments expand operating leverage. The firm said the strong start to the year was driven by go-to-market execution across key verticals and broader adoption of Agentic AI, which it said laid a firmer foundation for profitability....

Swancor Holding is continuing its push into high-value materials, with aerospace composites and AI robot-related businesses now accounting for 14% and 4% of revenue, respectively. Alongside these contributions, the company is targeting the AI server supply chain with its M8 copper-clad laminate (CCL) materials, which have already entered the customer testing phase, though shipment volumes currently remain low....

Asus Computer Inc. reported first-quarter 2026 brand revenue of NT$194.051 billion (US$6.19 billion), a record high and a 44% increase year on year, driven by surging AI server demand and stable notebook shipments. The company's co-CEOs, S.Y. Hsu and Samson Hu, raised the full-year server revenue growth target to "at least double," up from a prior 50% to 100% range....

Despite weakness in the personal computer market, surging DDR5 memory prices, and tight CPU supply, ASMedia Technology posted record results in the first quarter of 2026, underscoring early gains from its shift beyond PC connectivity chips into custom silicon, artificial intelligence infrastructure, and automotive electronics....

SoftBank is committing JPY1 trillion (US$6.34 billion) through fiscal 2030 to make artificial intelligence, data centers, and energy infrastructure its next growth engines, according to company materials as well as Bloomberg and Nikkei reports....

Sony announced on May 13 that it will launch the Xperia 1 VIII flagship phone as it seeks to reclaim market share amid intensifying competition in the premium smartphone segment. The company said the device debuts a new AI photography assistant powered by Xperia Intelligence and a redesigned telephoto image sensor aimed at improving detail and high-resolution performance for distant subjects....

Wieson Technology said on May 12 that its first quarter 2026 results lagged expectations as soaring global memory costs and chip shortages delayed customer shipments, and intensifying competition plus inventory digestion in China's auto market weighed on performance. The electronics components maker reported consolidated revenue of NT$704 million (US$22.33 million) in the first quarter of 2026, down 24.95% year-on-year, with gross margin at 21% versus 27% a year earlier, operating margin at around 2%, and earnings per share of NT$0.13, down from NT$0.86 in the same period of 2025....

Etron Technology is seeing momentum extend beyond its core memory business, as subsidiaries built over the past several years begin to bear fruit in robotics, edge computing, and privacy-focused applications....

The memory market is entering a new growth cycle as artificial intelligence demand reshapes supply and pricing, with DRAM prices still rising 10% to 20% a month, according to Nicky Lu, chairman of Etron Technology....

Rising memory prices are reshaping the global PC market: stronger first-half notebook shipments are propping up revenue, but surging component costs threaten gross margins and are prompting cautious second-half planning by ODMs and brands, which are increasingly pivoting toward AI servers for relatively better profitability despite similar inflationary pressures and uncertainty....

Nan Pao Resins Chemical reported net profit attributable to the parent company of NT$790 million (approx. US$25.08 million) for the first quarter of 2026, up 8.4% year over year, with earnings per share (EPS) of NT$6.55, up 8.3% from the first quarter of 2025. Supported by revenue growth, continued optimization of its product mix, and improved operating efficiency, the company's operating margin reached 17.6%, up 1.2% from the first quarter of 2025 and 1.4% from the fourth quarter of 2024....