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The 2026 US National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), signed at the end of 2025, introduces significant new business prospects for Taiwanese companies by emphasizing Taiwan's security and cooperation in defense procurement. Key provisions include a US$1 billion Taiwan security cooperation initiative and authorization for the US Department of Defense (DoD) to establish a joint unmanned systems program with Taiwan starting March 1, 2026, focusing on co-developing drones and counter-drone technologies....

Joseph Liow, dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, said in a recent public lecture that technology is no longer merely an engine of economic growth but has become a core instrument in great-power competition. For Taiwan, which sits at the center of the semiconductor industry and global supply chains, Liow said the rules of competition have fundamentally changed....

CXMT, a leading Chinese DRAM maker, is expanding aggressively but faces significant production and regulatory hurdles, ChosunBiz reported, citing industry sources. Despite rising global memory demand, the company's wafer output has hit capacity limits, with yield issues and US export restrictions constraining further growth....

Demand for AI servers' power management chips is surging, tightening supply and demand in the 8-inch wafer foundry market. Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC) plans to raise prices for 8-inch power device foundry services starting in March....

Taiwan's export value in January 2026 surged 69.9% year-on-year, surpassing the NT$2 trillion (US$63.7 billion) mark for the first time, largely due to differences in the number of working days between the Lunar New Year periods in 2025 and 2026. Strong shipments of AI servers and high-performance chips have prompted foreign banks to forecast Taiwan's GDP growth could reach 8.0% in 2026. If realized, this would mark a second consecutive year of above-8% expansion, following 2025's 8.63% growth....

Leading IC substrate maker Unimicron Technology announced that chairman Tzyy-jang Tseng is stepping down upon reaching retirement age. The company said the leadership change was triggered by a representative change by corporate director United Microelectronics (UMC)....

US President Donald Trump has requested a fiscal year 2027 defense budget of US$1.5 trillion. This represents a nearly 50% increase from fiscal year 2026's roughly US$1 trillion. Trump's goal is clear: rebuild a strong military. Experts expect the budget to significantly boost procurement for expanded naval fleets, advanced aircraft, and new nuclear missile programs....

In a development few would associate with the world's largest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) has expanded an environmental initiative that now encompasses roughly one million rehabilitated bees across its major Taiwan campuses....

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) has greenlit a massive $44.96 billion capital budget following a historic board meeting in Kumamoto, Japan....

ByteDance has officially launched Doubao 2.0, a next-generation AI family that promises GPT-level intelligence at a disruptive price point. However, the celebration was short-lived as Hollywood giants, led by Disney, immediately filed a legal strike against the platform for what they call a "virtual smash-and-grab" of copyrighted characters....

China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) issued a set of guidelines on February 12 aimed at regulating pricing throughout the automotive production process, as part of the government's efforts to curb destructive price slashing in the electric vehicle (EV) market....

GaAs foundry leader Win Semiconductor forecasts explosive growth in the 1.6T optical communication module market in 2026, expecting a 2-3x increase in demand driven by satellite and optical communications sectors....

Nvidia outlined its role in advancing two major manufacturing trends—AI Factory and Physical AI—at SEMICON Korea 2026, emphasizing that it views South Korea as an important strategic outpost for collaboration as the country accelerates AI-driven industrial transformation....

Chinese tech giant ByteDance is rapidly scaling its in-house chip development efforts, with its chip R&D team now exceeding 1,000 employees, signaling a strong push into AI hardware. According to a recent report by 36Kr, the company's investment in AI chip technology is accelerating quickly....

Artificial intelligence-driven growth in the semiconductor industry has drawn increasing public attention. SEMICON Korea, organized by SEMI, continues to expand in scale. The 2026 exhibition featured 550 participating companies and more than 2,400 booths, with pre-registered attendance reaching 75,000....

One of the biggest stories in Taiwan's auto market toward the end of 2025 is Foxtron's official announcement to acquire 100% of Luxgen, with the deal expected to close in the first quarter of 2026. This move marks Foxtron's shift from solely product design and development toward vertical integration, gaining full control over its brand and distribution channels—the critical "export gateway."...

AMD's EPYC server processors captured a record 41.3% revenue market share in the server segment in the fourth quarter of 2025, Mercury Research reported, driven by accelerated adoption in cloud and enterprise markets. The gain marks a significant shift in the composition of vendor revenue in the quarter....

Hard disk drive (HDD) contract prices rose approximately 4% sequentially following the conclusion of fourth-quarter 2025 negotiations, marking the largest quarterly increase in nearly eight quarters. Industry supply chain sources expect the upward trend to continue as artificial intelligence development fuels sustained demand for massive data volumes....

Taiwan has officially signed a final trade agreement with the US, concluding bilateral negotiations. Under the deal, Taiwan will receive most-favored-nation (MFN) treatment if Washington imposes "Section 232" tariffs on semiconductors and related derivative products. Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said the agreement will serve as a foundation for advancing President Ching-te Lai's "economic resilience" strategy and expanding Taiwan's international economic influence....

Memory chip shortages and soaring prices could constrain shipments of consumer electronics in 2026, including smartphones, PCs, notebooks, and TVs, while Netronix, the world's largest e-reader original design manufacturer (ODM), expects e-reader shipments to hold steady or grow 5–10% if market impacts remain manageable. Hsin-yung Lu, Netronix president, cautioned that significant retail price increases might dampen consumer demand....