As AI and data centers scale rapidly, energy has become the real constraint. One of the most overlooked aspects of this challenge is how efficiently we use the electricity we already produce. At CES 2026, Sentistic today announced Sentistic Pulse, a software solution designed to reduce unnecessary energy use in buildings by enhancing how motion sensors interpret occupancy and operate lighting and HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) systems.With tens of millions of motion sensors deployed every year, software-level improvements that integrate into existing sensors can have a meaningful impact on how efficiently energy is used across today's building infrastructure. Sentistic Pulse fits into any motion sensor, improving performance through software and delivering up to 25% additional energy savings, while also improving comfort.Energy is often used longer than needed because motion sensors typically wait longer than necessary before switching systems off, in order to avoid turning lights or HVAC off too soon. The result is that systems stay on even after people leave, and energy use increases to maintain comfort.Sentistic Pulse solves this by improving how motion sensors interpret occupancy, allowing systems to respond to real presence rather than conservative delays. Lights stay on when people are present and turn off sooner when spaces are empty. HVAC systems respond to actual occupancy, not fixed safety delays. Users no longer need to wave to retrigger the lights, and comfort is improved rather than compromised.By reducing unnecessary runtime, Sentistic Pulse enables more efficient use of electricity already produced, one of the fastest ways to relieve pressure on the energy system as AI continues to scale. Sentistic is already working with multiple motion sensor OEMs and brands on integration, highlighting strong industry interest in scalable, software-based efficiency improvements."With energy becoming the real constraint behind AI growth, efficiency matters more than ever," said Justin Groot, Founder & CEO of Sentistic. "Sentistic Pulse is designed to deliver that efficiency at scale."Sentistic Pulse first public demonstrations will be shown at Light+Building in Frankfurt in March.

iCatch Technology announced a joint launch with its long-term partner Jet Opto (a Tier-1 automotive supplier) of a 4K automotive AI imaging solution designed to meet stringent European OEM requirements. Powered by iCatch's CR3 automotive AI imaging SoC, the solution has successfully passed validation by European automakers and is scheduled to enter mass production by the end of Q1 2026.At the core of the 4K OEM-grade imaging solution is iCatch's CR3 automotive AI imaging SoC, featuring the 8th-generation ThetaEye AI Image Signal Processing (ISP) engine, paired with a 4K LTM image sensor. This combination is engineered to address Europe's complex road conditions and diverse lighting environments, delivering high-quality, stable automotive imaging performance.Leveraging advanced imaging technologies integrated into the CR3 SoC, the solution delivers excellent high dynamic range (HDR) performance and supports LED Flicker Mitigation (LFM) to suppress flicker caused by LED streetlights, traffic signals, and other artificial light sources. Even under nighttime driving, high-speed motion, or extreme contrast conditions, the system maintains clear, stable, and reliable image quality - meeting the stringent safety and quality standards required by European OEMs for in-vehicle imaging systems.iCatch Technology and Jet Opto have maintained a close and long-standing collaboration in advanced imaging and automotive system development, continuously expanding their footprint in automotive imaging applications. Through this partnership, Jet Opto - acting as a Tier-1 supplier - has successfully introduced the jointly developed 4K OEM dash camera solution into the European automotive supply chain. The solution responds to growing market demand for high-resolution, high-reliability imaging while ensuring accurate recording of critical driving events, further enhancing vehicle safety and system value.With years of deep expertise in the automotive imaging market, iCatch Technology continues to invest in ThetaEye AI ISP technologies purpose-built for AI-based image analysis. The 4K imaging solution based on the CR3 automotive AI SoC supports 4K HDR video processing, H.264/H.265 encoding, and real-time data transmission, enabling seamless integration with a wide range of ADAS and intelligent in-vehicle applications. The CR3 platform has already been adopted by multiple automotive imaging and system manufacturers across Japan, Korea, and Europe, with several mass-production projects currently underway.In this collaboration, Jet Opto demonstrates its comprehensive one-stop Tier-1 service capability, covering early-stage software development, hardware engineering, optical module design, industrial design (ID) and mechanical integration, highly customized system integration, and in-house manufacturing. This end-to-end capability enables automotive OEM customers to accelerate product development from design validation through volume production.Weber Hsu, President of iCatch Technology, stated that Jet Opto is one of iCatch’s most important long-term partners in the automotive AI imaging field, and through deep collaboration across image sensing, AI image processing, and automotive system integration, the two companies have successfully brought a European OEM-compliant 4K pre-installed imaging solution into mass production, further strengthening iCatch’s global footprint in the automotive AI vision market.Jerry Lin, Chairman and President of Jet Opto, added that the long-standing partnership with iCatch has enabled both teams to accumulate extensive experience in optical modules, AI image processing, and automotive system integration, and that this 4K OEM-grade imaging solution demonstrates Jet Opto's Tier-1 strengths in system integration and volume delivery, helping European automakers deploy higher-quality and more reliable imaging applications in premium vehicle platforms.Looking ahead, iCatch Technology and Jet Opto will continue to deepen their collaboration in AI imaging and edge computing, expanding into broader automotive and intelligent vision applications to deliver smarter and safer AI imaging solutions to the global automotive market.

The semiconductor industry stands at one of its most pivotal moments. As AI drives explosive demand for computing power, chip manufacturing grows exponentially - die sizes are scaling, tolerances are tightening, and the margin for error has nearly vanished."Explaining the complexity isn't easy," says Ahmad Khan, President of Semiconductor Products and Customers at KLA. "Picture a six-lane highway. A decade ago, you could cruise down the middle, drift left or right - no problem. Today? Same highway, but cars are doing 200 miles per hour with gaps the width of a human hair between them. One wrong move causes catastrophe." This isn't traditional manufacturing anymore, he notes. "It's artisanal work. Exceptionally difficult work."KLA's philosophy in this environment is fundamental yet profoundly important: the company doesn't change the wafer - it observes it. That distinction defines KLA's entire approach. While other equipment modifies, deposits or etches, KLA provides the visibility and insights that allow customers to more tightly manage the complexity of semiconductor manufacturing. In this era where advanced wafers cost $15,000 to over $30,000 each and fabs produce 100,000 monthly, the ability to "see" every nanometer with absolute precision is essential.This capability is important for almost all semiconductor manufacturers, and particularly in Taiwan, which is home to nearly 90% of the world's advanced semiconductor production. The gravity of this ecosystem is one of the key reasons KLA recently opened its new Hsinchu headquarters and its largest Learning and Knowledge Services (LKS) Training Center - a combined US$15.5 million (NT$465 million) investment that underscores the company's commitment to staying close to customers.35 Years Strong: A $15.5 Million Vote of ConfidenceKLA's new Taiwan headquarters in Hsinchu's Tai Yuen Hi-Tech Industrial Park, with WELL certification. Credit:KLAThe investment breaks down to US$10.5 million (NT$315 million) for the new office and US$5 million (NT$150 million) for the training center. Located in Tai Yuen Hi-Tech Industrial Park Phase IX, the headquarters spans 10,000 square meters across two floors, accommodating up to 1,000 employees. The facility earned WELL certification - reflecting KLA's focus on employee wellbeing.KLA first set up shop in Taiwan in 1990. Khan himself has been coming here since those early days. "Back in the '90s, downtown Hsinchu had one hotel. One," he recalls. "The semiconductor sector was just getting started." What he found were engineers trickling back from Motorola, Texas Instruments, and Intel - talented people who returned when Morris Chang and other pioneers decided Taiwan was ready to build fabs."The transformation has been remarkable," Khan says, attributing the growth to what he calls "the Taiwan spirit" - relentless work ethic, intense collaboration, and a willingness to challenge conventions and push for excellence. "This industry is incredibly challenging," Khan acknowledges. "There's nothing harder. You can work yourself to the bone, pour in capital, and still fail completely. But so many of the players in Taiwan have figured it out and continue finding success. We’re honored to be a part of it."Today, KLA Taiwan employs roughly 1,800 people spread across Hsinchu, Kaohsiung, Tainan, Taoyuan, Linkou, and Taichung, with plans to surpass 2,000 by year-end 2026 as customer demand surges.KLA's Largest Training Center: Where Innovation Meets EducationThe LKS Training Center covers 2,950 square meters, including 825 square meters of Class 100 cleanroom, and features 14 classrooms, an AR/VR immersive learning center, four engineering labs, and a chemical analysis lab.With millions of configuration modes, KLA's systems can't simply be switched on. Customers often need PhD- and master's-level engineers who can dial in exact settings for their specific needs. That's one of KLA’s primary motivations for investing in training infrastructure close to customers.The new training center combines classroom instruction, hands-on practice, and immersive simulations to accelerate learning. Beyond training KLA's own people, it is also designed to help customers' fab teams sharpen skills and get to yield faster on new technologies.Building Talent for the Long HaulWhile the larger semiconductor industry continues to face a talent crunch, KLA emphasizes steady hiring and long-term career growth. The company runs disciplined forecasts to determine staffing needs, avoiding boom-and-bust waves.KLA Taiwan values talent development and their long-term career growth, building a young and dynamic team. Credit:KLAKLA's talent strategy rests on three pillars:Extensive Campus Recruiting: KLA hires substantial numbers of fresh graduates and promotes from within, building loyalty and institutional knowledge over time.80-90% Internal Promotion: The company thinks long-term when hiring, creating clear career paths from customer support teams to application teams and engineering teams . People can climb technical ladders or switch to management based on their strengths.University Partnerships: KLA engineers give tech talks and teach courses at leading local universities. The company sees it as paying forward, training the next generation who'll work across the industry.The company seeks candidates with physics, mechanics, math, and computer science backgrounds. "We're mainly physics folks because we deal in optics, photons, electrons," Khan explains. With the new facilities, KLA Taiwan is actively recruiting positions across application engineering, field service, R&D, customer support, and sales and marketing.Why Process Control Became Make-or-BreakAs die sizes grow and devices get more complex, process control has gone from important to mission critical. Each new node brings tighter design rules, smaller features, and narrower process windows. Customers are printing tinier features, and yield becomes inversely proportional to the smallest printable feature.The stakes are incredibly high, both technologically and financially. When something goes wrong, thousands of wafers stack up behind the problem, with each carrying enormous economic weight.The AI chip challenge compounds the problem: mobile chips packed 20 billion transistors, but today's AI chips contain hundreds of billions of transistors. Die sizes have exploded. The math is brutal - if you have 10 dies per wafer and one fails, you still have nine. But if you only get two giant dies per wafer and one fails, you've lost 50%. All AI chips use massive dies, creating brutal complexity for customers.KLA's comprehensive portfolio - from BBP optical inspection to e-beam platforms to overlay metrology - monitors thousands of parameters across more than 1,000 process steps. If one step fails, yield can very quickly drop to zero.The industry shift is clear: customers are buying significantly more process-control tools because they need yield faster. Khan describes it through a straightforward lens - As semiconductor manufacturing becomes harder, KLA's capabilities become more critical, especially when a single excursion can cost hundreds of millions of dollars.AI Integration and What's NextKhan frames AI not as a trend or fashion, but as an inevitable evolution. After millions of years of biological evolution produced human neural networks - networks that gave humanity its competitive edge - the next step was always going to be artificial neural networks. This wasn't any individual's invention; it was the natural progression of how intelligence develops and scales. The universe, he suggests, essentially selects for the species with the most connected neurons. Now that same principle is extending to how we use machines to amplify our own neural connections.KLA is integrating AI directly into its tools to sharpen defect classification and speed root-cause analysis. The technology also transforms service support: every engineer now essentially walks around with an expert in their pocket. When an engineer encounters a problem, the AI network can instantly surface solutions from decades of collective troubleshooting experience. Ultimately, AI is enabling faster solutions, more productive engineers and more satisfied customers.This matters because KLA's systems use AI, customers build AI chips, and AI is reshaping every part of the manufacturing chain. It's a fundamental transformation, not a passing phase.Looking ahead, KLA is developing panel-based inspection systems (volume production expected around 2028) and high-NA EUV systems. Khan, who's spent about 30 years in the industry, maintains the semiconductor industry hasn't peaked. His reasoning is straightforward: computing demand will always trend upward, not downward. Until the walls aren't made of silicon, there's room to grow.Join the TeamKhan sums up KLA's hiring philosophy simply: maintain a stable plan, partner with universities, train people well, and grow them over time. They become advocates, which brings company success—and through that success, customers succeed.For engineering graduates and professionals interested in joining KLA Taiwan's 1,800-plus team, opportunities span application engineering, R&D, customer support, and sales and marketing. To explore opportunities, you may visit our KLA Careers or follow KLA Taiwan Facebook Fan page.