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China is pushing ahead with its semiconductor materials strategy. Shanghai, one of the country's leading cities, has included brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) and fourth-generation semiconductors among its priority future industries, signaling early preparation for a new materials era beyond third-generation semiconductors.

Tencent CEO Pony Ma sharply criticized the Doubao phone as "extremely unsafe and irresponsible" at the company's year-end meeting in late January 2026. However, recent reports from China's supply chain reveal that ByteDance launched the official version project of its Doubao phone assistant at the end of 2025, aiming to release a next-generation model in the second quarter of 2026.
Memory packaging giant Powertech Technology is aggressively expanding into fan-out panel-level packaging (FOPLP), with chairman Duh-Kung Tsai optimistic about the AI industry. Amid ongoing memory shortages and rising demand for advanced packaging, Powertech aims to become the top partner outside the TSMC ecosystem, expecting a significant revenue surge in 2027-2028 as FOPLP capacity reaches full utilization, contributing NT$3 billion (US$95 million) monthly.
Salesforce has released its outlook on artificial intelligence (AI) trends for 2026, describing the year as a turning point for the emergence of what it calls the "agentic enterprise." Citing its latest research, the company said that AI adoption by chief information officers has increased by 282%. However, concerns around data reliability and governance remain the primary constraint on scaling enterprise automation.
Apple has taken a significant step in the intensifying AI competition with Meta Platforms and Alphabet by acquiring Israeli startup Q.ai, a move that underscores its effort to rebuild momentum in artificial intelligence. Reuters reported the acquisition, citing sources who said the deal is valued at about US$1.6 billion, while the Financial Times put the price closer to US$2 billion. If confirmed, the transaction would rank as Apple's second-largest acquisition, after its 2014 purchase of Beats Electronics.
Vacuum coating film maker Univacco Technology plans to begin mass production at its new Vietnam facility in the first half of 2027. The overseas factory is designed to take advantage of tariff benefits, lower manufacturing costs, and an ample labor supply, supporting the company's efforts to strengthen competitiveness in international markets.

Generative AI (GenAI) is driving a surge in computing demand, pushing data center competition beyond server performance toward infrastructure efficiency and deployment density, with power architecture emerging as a central focus of the next upgrade cycle.

ByteDance and Alibaba are intensifying their battle for AI dominance in China with planned releases of new flagship models around the 2026 Lunar New Year. This competition marks one of the most significant tech rivalries in the country's booming AI sector.
The year 2026 will be a critical year for large-scale rollout of edge AI. Supported by multinational firms and the Ten Major AI Infrastructure Projects initiative, IPC vendors are undergoing a transformation from hardware suppliers to edge AI solution providers. The Taiwanese government plans to support 1 million small- and medium-sized enterprises in digital transformation to enhance competitiveness. Policy measures include training 500,000 cross-disciplinary AI talents by 2040 and investing billions in venture capital.

US export controls are accelerating China's localization of data-center AI chips, with shipment data now pointing to rapid commercial scaling. Across more than a dozen domestic brands, at least nine Chinese AI chip vendors have shipped or secured orders exceeding 10,000 units, spanning platforms backed by major technology groups and a growing group of startups.

Server rail maker King Slide Works benefited in 2025 from strong demand for high-end GPU/ASIC platforms, putting its server business at the forefront of its growth. Server rails account for roughly 90% of King Slide's total revenue and are linked to applications such as high-performance computing (HPC) and large AI model servers.