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Worldwide semiconductor manufacturing equipment sales rose 15% to a record US$135.1 billion in 2025 from US$117.1 billion a year earlier, driven by investment in advanced logic, memory, and AI-related capacity expansion, SEMI, the global semiconductor industry association, said....

Apple is accelerating development of next-generation wearable hardware, with plans to launch its first smart glasses as early as 2027, Bloomberg reported. The initial product will not include a display, reflecting a focus on hands-free operation and ecosystem integration as the company moves into a market led by Meta Platforms and EssilorLuxottica....

Pegatron on April 10 reported March revenue of NT$83.97 billion (US$2.6 billion), rebounding more than 20% from February's low of NT$67.98 billion, as production normalized after a shorter working month....

Qualcomm is reportedly exploring a partnership with China's Changxin Memory Technologies (CXMT) to develop custom DRAM tailored for smartphones, a move that reflects mounting pressure across the mobile supply chain as memory shortages and rising costs reshape industry dynamics....

Rising geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran in late February 2026 drove a sharp rally in global crude oil and petrochemical feedstock prices, including ethylene and propylene, lifting prices across the petrochemical chain. Against expectations of potential supply disruptions, customers moved quickly to rebuild inventories, boosting first-quarter revenues for Taiwan's major petrochemical producers, according to earnings releases on April 10....

The San Francisco home of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman appears to have been targeted twice in three days. In both cases, no one was injured. Police arrested suspects in both incidents at the scene, though their motives remain unclear....

Japan is accelerating efforts to rebuild a domestic advanced semiconductor ecosystem, with Rapidus at the center of a state-backed push spanning 2nm logic, advanced packaging, and AI chip demand creation....

Arizon RFID Technology saw its performance in 2025 impacted by a 20% contraction in the global RFID market last year, with the company posting full-year revenue of NT$3.953 billion (approx. US$124 million), down 14.3% year-over-year. Meanwhile, gross margin fell by 9.9% year-over-year to 22.3%, net profit after tax plunged 73.4% year-over-year to NT$225 million (approx. US$7 million), and earnings per share stood at NT$3.0. Despite the overall market shrinkage, however, Arizon increased its market share by roughly 2pp....

Taiwan's National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) chair Cheng-Wen Wu recently told the Legislative Yuan that Taiwan's robot development strategy aims to deploy machines for heavy and hazardous tasks. The government plans to invest NT$20 billion (US$629.4 million) in a smart robot industry promotion program, prioritizing sectors such as dangerous work environments, caregiving, food service, and healthcare....

Taiwan has formally launched its first national-level robotics hub, signaling an ambitious effort to build a globally competitive industry around intelligent machines. The National Center for AI Robotics, led by the National Institutes of Applied Research, is based in the southern innovation cluster of Shalun and was inaugurated on April 10....

Taiwan has formally inaugurated its first national-level robotics hub. The National Center for AI Robotics, established under the National Institutes of Applied Research, is a strategic bet on converting academic research into globally competitive companies. The center is expected to anchor the island's push to build a world-class intelligent robotics industry....

The global automotive supply chain is undergoing a significant transformation driven by electrification and autonomous driving trends, shifting from traditional mechanical parts procurement toward in-house development or partnerships with tech giants. South Korea's Hyundai has recently changed its sourcing approach by expanding open tendering and reducing the number of Tier 1 suppliers....

Taiwan's Gudeng Precision Industrial is set to sustain double-digit revenue growth in 2026, buoyed by robust demand for EUV reticle pods and FOUP wafer carriers as advanced-node production and AI-driven applications accelerate across global semiconductor markets....

The headline numbers for Taiwan's listed tech companies in the first quarter of 2026 are strong, but a sector-by-sector breakdown of 238 companies reveals a story far more nuanced than the AI-server narrative dominating the financial press. Growth is heavily concentrated, structurally bifurcated, and in some cases, arithmetically misleading....

Taiwan-based chip designer MediaTek reported record monthly revenue in March 2026, highlighting how new growth drivers are helping cushion a weakening smartphone market....

Taiwan's exports rose to a record high in March, supported by demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and memory-related products, according to the Ministry of Finance....

Taiwanese display driver IC (DDI) manufacturers have reported broadly declining revenues for the first quarter of 2026, reflecting ongoing challenges in the small- and mid-size segments. Novatek posted NT$23.145 billion (US$728 million), down 14.7% year over year; Raydium recorded NT$5.437 billion, down 6.7%; Fitipower had NT$4.501 billion, down 3.4%; Ilitek reported NT$3.918 billion, down 14.4%; and FocalTech saw NT$2.474 billion, down 17.3%. Only Sitronix bucked the trend, posting a robust 23% year-over-year increase to NT$5.329 billion....

China's push for AI self-sufficiency is lifting Hygon Information Technology from a server CPU supplier into a broader AI compute platform player. Its "CPU + DCU (Deep Computing Unit)" strategy is now taking shape, positioning the company to serve both general-purpose and AI workloads in a market racing to localise computing power....

Taiwan's semiconductor supply chain posted stronger-than-expected results in the first quarter of 2026, as artificial intelligence (AI) demand accelerated the adoption of advanced nodes and advanced packaging, lifting both foundries and equipment suppliers....

Below are the most-read DIGITIMES Asia stories from the week of April 6-April 13, 2026:...