Merck has announced plans to invest over EUR70 million(US$72.53 million) to construct a new advanced materials development center (AMDC) at its Shizuoka site in Japan. This latest investment brings Merck's total investment in the Shizuoka site to over JPY120 million since 2021.
Topoint Technology, a manufacturer of PCB drill bits, is preparing to commence mass production at its new factory in Thailand in 2025. This facility will provide drilling services to local PCB operations overseen by Taiwan-based companies.
Etron Technology's subsidiary eYs3D Microelectronics has achieved new milestones in visual sensing technology with the launch of multi-sensor control chips for robots and unmanned vehicles. The company's solution includes a proprietary AI platform featuring multimodal vision-language model (VLM) capabilities, providing clients with a comprehensive reference design for testing.
Kioxia, which recently listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), has announced plans to double its market share in AI-focused NAND products. President Nobuo Hayasaka highlighted the surging demand for AI-driven applications as a primary growth driver. He also called on major shareholders Bain Capital and Toshiba to reduce their stakes within three years to bolster Kioxia's operational independence.
TSMC chairman C.C. Wei recently relayed Tesla CEO Elon Musk's view that Tesla should bet its future on multifunctional robots instead of electric vehicles. This echoes Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's recent comments highlighting humanoid robots as one of the few robot categories suitable for high-volume manufacturing.
The edge AI computing sector reached a crucial maturity milestone in 2024, with 2025 expected to witness large-scale edge AI implementation, according to Etron Technology chairman Nicky Lu.
Nvidia faces growing competition from ASIC chip developers, as Broadcom, Google, and AWS advance their development efforts in AI chips, according to industry sources.
Rapidus, a Japanese company targeting the mass production of 2nm chips, has announced the delivery of Japan's first extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machine, the NXE:3800E, which will be installed at its Innovative Integration for Manufacturing (IIM-1) foundry under construction in Hokkaido. The company plans to introduce multiple units in the future.
Automotive PCB manufacturer Chin Poon is maintaining a cautious outlook for 2025, projecting flat market conditions amid the global automotive market slowdown and client pessimism. With market recovery uncertain, the company plans to strategically expand its focus on communications and industrial control segments in the coming year.
Stringent regulations and restrictive land use policies have severely limited Taiwan's solar power development, failing to meet the semiconductor industry's growing demand for green energy, according to Norman Tsai, chairman of both the Taiwan Photovoltaic Industry Sustainability Association (TPISA) and INA Energy.
At a Bluetooth audio technology seminar on December 18, 2024, Airoha discussed current trends and provided perspectives on market development and competition. The company emphasized the increasing importance of integrating AI into Bluetooth devices to meet customers' demands for "hearing clearly and speaking distinctly."
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