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Dec 18
Why OpenAI is courting AWS chips—and what it signals about cracks in its AI expansion
OpenAI is reportedly in negotiations with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to secure funding and collaborate on AWS's in-house developed application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). The move comes as OpenAI faces challenges scaling its existing AI partnerships into broader commercial deployments, prompting questions about the strategic significance of this potential alliance.
The PC market has been heavily impacted by memory supply disruptions. In response, Acer Group's subsidiary Acer Gadget has partnered with Quanta Group's RoyalTek and Taiwan's leading auto parts retailer New Focus Auto (NFA) to launch smart in-vehicle products.
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Inc. and founder of xAI, recently declared that if xAI survives the critical next two to three years, it will surpass competitors like OpenAI and Google by harnessing massive GPU computing power. Speaking at an all-hands meeting at xAI's San Francisco headquarters, Musk outlined an aggressive expansion plan for the company's AI infrastructure and emphasized its substantial financial backing.
Wistron's board approved a new investment plan on December 19 to expand AI server and networking production. The company will build a new factory in Vietnam for network products and increase AI server capacity at its Hsinchu campus. To support this growth, Wistron authorized up to NT$21.528 billion (approx. US$683 million) for machinery and facility upgrades at Hsinchu, aiming to meet rising AI demand.
Taiwan's Amtran Technology is reshaping its growth trajectory, pivoting from scale-driven contract manufacturing to a profit-focused strategy built around high-value products—a shift now clearly reflected in its financial performance and product mix.
Amid sustained investments in AI computing infrastructure fueled by cloud service providers (CSPs) and large data centers, a structural differentiation has quietly emerged in the supply chain for power supplies. Due to differences in power architecture and site conditions between cloud-based hyperscale AI data centers and edge AI applications, power supply makers have adopted different approaches, leading to different timelines in realizing benefits.

At the HAIC2025 Artificial Intelligence Innovation Conference in Kunshan on December 18, Dawning Information Industry Co. (Sugon) unveiled its scaleX 10,000-accelerator supercluster, marking the first physical debut of a domestically developed AI cluster at this scale.

Apaq Technology reported a sharp rise in demand for solid capacitors, fueled primarily by AI servers and AI PCs, during an investor briefing on December 17. General Manager ST Lin stated that existing production lines for V-Chip, CAP, and Hybrid capacitors are now operating at full capacity, contributing to record revenue and profitability in the third quarter of 2025.

Eternal Precision Mechanics, a subsidiary of LCY Technology (Eternal Materials), has quietly become one of the most dominant players in the global semiconductor equipment supply chain.

Rafael Microelectronics is positioning optical communications and custom ASIC services as the twin pillars of its growth strategy heading into 2026, as the company accelerates its transition from a niche receiver-chip supplier into a broader high-speed signal transmission solutions provider.

As AI workloads reshape data center design, performance is no longer defined solely by computing power. Thermal management has emerged as an equally decisive battleground. Unlike traditional CPU-centric systems, modern AI servers rely heavily on GPUs and specialized accelerators, each drawing hundreds of watts per chip. The resulting thermal density far exceeds the limits of conventional air-cooling, turning heat dissipation into a core infrastructure challenge rather than a peripheral engineering concern.

Shihlin Electric is experiencing robust growth driven by expanding AI computing power needs and accelerated investment in power infrastructure. At HCT Logistics' smart electric vehicle (EV) launch event on December 18, 2025, Shihlin Electric showcased its commercial electric logistics fleet developed with CMC, alongside an integrated solar, charging, and energy storage power system.