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Taiwan's innovation engine ran hot in 2025. The Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) announced on February 26, 2026, that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) topped Taiwan-based invention patent applicants for the 10th consecutive year, filing 1,485 applications....

US cloud service providers (CSP) continue to invest heavily in artificial intelligence (AI), with Nvidia's latest fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings report showing record-high revenue, highlighting ongoing strong demand for AI infrastructure. Benefiting from the AI boom, Wiwynn reported consolidated revenue of NT$950.66 billion (US$30.46 billion) in 2025, up 163.7% year over year, with AI products accounting for more than half of sales....

Since mid-February, Meta Platforms has unveiled multi-year strategic partnerships with leading chipmakers Nvidia and AMD, underscoring an ambitious US$100 billion capital expenditure plan for 2026. The investment signals more than a race for computing power: it marks a decisive push to translate AI breakthroughs into scalable, real-world applications....

Yageo CEO David Wang said that although seasonal factors reduced working days from the previous quarter, capacity utilization is expected to rise by 3-5pp sequentially, supported by sustained AI demand and strong order intake. Revenue, gross margin, and operating margin in the first quarter of 2026 are all projected to increase slightly from the fourth quarter of 2025....

As AI-driven demand continues to lift global semiconductor output, TSMC is accelerating the localization of electroplating additives used in advanced packaging to secure a stable supply. Through four measures — production line guidance, equipment optimization, quality inspection, and sample validation — the company has supported Japanese suppliers in establishing production in Taiwan, cutting production cycles from 60 days to 20 days and improving logistics efficiency by 90%....

Anthropic PBC, a leading AI developer, has released the third version of its Responsible Scaling Policy (RSP), updating its voluntary framework for mitigating catastrophic AI risks while signaling a shift in priorities toward competitiveness and economic growth, according to a company blog post and Bloomberg reporting. The policy change comes as Anthropic navigates a growing dispute with the US Department of Defense over the use of its AI technology in military applications....

Samsung Electronics on February 26 unveiled its flagship Galaxy S26 series, but industry attention has quickly shifted to what sits inside: mobile DRAM. According to market sources, roughly 50% of the initial shipments will use memory supplied by Micron, with the remainder provided by Samsung's Device Solutions (DS) division....

Taiwan's IC design landscape is undergoing a massive structural shift. Early 2026 revenue data reveals a dual-track performance: while established consumer giants navigate a high-base stabilization phase, specialized leaders in Intellectual Property (IP) and AI-optimized storage are capturing explosive value from the ongoing AI infrastructure wave....

Lite‑on Technology reported strong 2025 operational results and forecast sustained double‑digit quarterly growth for 2026, while flagging consumer and ICT demand headwinds that will be tempered by investments in capacity and AI‑related businesses. President Anson Chiu said full‑year revenue, gross margin, and operating margin are expected to exceed 2025 levels, and that first‑quarter revenue should register both year‑over‑year and sequential gains....

Japan is planting its flag in India's semiconductor sector — and doing so fast. The market is projected to reach US$110 billion by 2030, and Japanese firms are racing to claim a piece of it....

AI chip startup SambaNova Systems has introduced its fifth-generation processor, the SN50, positioning it as a direct alternative to Nvidia’s Blackwell B200 for large-scale AI inference. The company claims up to 5x peak speed in agent-based workloads and up to an 8x total cost advantage in certain deployments....

As AI dominance drives computing costs to unprecedented heights, a surprising truth is emerging at the front of quantum technology: the future of AI may depend not on replacing classical computers, but on a subtle, yet astronomically valuable, incremental improvement....

Advanced Power Electronics Co. (APEC) said high-power AI servers are driving demand for medium- and high-voltage power devices, and expects demand for high-voltage components to recover in 2026. Cooling fans used in AI and general-purpose servers are also recording strong growth. In 2025, fan products accounted for 27% of total revenue, and the company expects further expansion in 2026....

Despite persistent noise in the memory market, leading memory chipmaker Macronix reported a sharp surge in profitability in January 2026. The company posted preliminary pre-tax net income of NT$304 million (US$9.73 million) for the month, up 195% year on year. Net income attributable to the parent reached NT$271 million, also up 195%, with earnings per share of NT$0.15....

Semiconductor test interface maker WinWay reported record 2025 revenue and profit driven by demand from AI, high-performance computing, and ASIC markets, and announced a NT$3.499 billion (approx. US$111.7 million) expansion, including a new factory in Renwu, Kaohsiung....

A new era of automated geopolitical warfare has arrived in East Asia. In its recently published "Disrupting Malicious Uses of AI" report, OpenAI reveals that Chinese state-sponsored actors have moved well beyond simple bot networks. They are now deploying artificial intelligence as a strategic "operational manager" — coordinating complex "cyber special operations" (wǎngluò tèzhàn) against Japan's leadership and Taiwan's digital sovereignty....

As generative AI drives rapid expansion in data centers and high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure, the importance of interconnect technology is evolving from traditional signal transmission to power delivery and system integration. Connector and cable maker BizLink Holding has seen a significant shift in its business structure, with HPC and semiconductor segments already accounting for over 51% of total company revenue by the third quarter of 2025, reflecting growth momentum shifting toward AI infrastructure and semiconductor equipment sectors....

Samsung Electronics will halt 2D NAND flash production at its Hwaseong Line 12 and convert the facility into a 1c DRAM end fab, formally exiting planar NAND manufacturing and reallocating capacity toward advanced memory nodes....

Nvidia's ability to sell high-performance AI chips in China has been sharply limited by US export licensing rules, which have restricted shipments of its H20 and H200 products. The controls have already forced Nvidia to take a US$4.5 billion inventory charge and have left the company uncertain about future revenue from China. Meanwhile, local competitors, some strengthened by recent IPOs, are expanding rapidly, potentially reshaping the global AI market....

Europe's auto market stumbled at the start of 2026. Overall vehicle sales fell 3.9% in January from a year earlier, as most major manufacturers reported declines and consumer demand remained uneven....