Nvidia's record revenue, profit, and margins are masking growing strain across its supply chain, as increasingly compressed product cycles and surging AI demand force suppliers to accelerate development, boost spending, and manage rising quality risks, according to executives and industry observers tracking preparations for the company's next-generation AI platforms.

China's three major telecom operators introduced token-based billing plans in May as they packaged large-model inference resources into standardized products for consumers, developers, and enterprises, signaling a shift toward mass-market AI compute services. China Telecom rolled out a nationwide group-level token package on May 17 with tiered plans for individual and household users, developers, small and medium-sized enterprises, and ecosystem partners; its lowest-priced individual plan costs CNY9.9 (US$1.46) per month for access to 10 million tokens.

Samsung Electronics and its union signed a provisional agreement late at night, about an hour before a scheduled May 21 strike, averting an industry estimate of more than KRW100 trillion (approx. US$66.8 billion) in supply chain disruption. The deal eases an immediate labor crisis but leaves unresolved structural conflicts and rising personnel costs.

Looking ahead to 2026, AUO said the global economy is stabilizing and returning to growth, but that international trade disputes and regional conflicts still pose risks. It added that the consumer electronics market is also being weighed down by AI-driven inflation and weak demand, creating more uncertainty for an industry recovery.

Taiwan's Executive Yuan will formally establish a special committee on national strategies in AI, which will be headed by the Premier and tasked with coordinating, promoting and overseeing AI policy nationwide. In addition, the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) will take the lead in drafting Taiwan's first guidelines for national AI development, which will be submitted to the strategy committee for review.

BenQ Qisda Group will participate in COMPUTEX 2026 under the theme "AI In Action," showcasing how artificial intelligence (AI) is being applied in real-world deployments. BenQ Qisda will bring together group companies to showcase a comprehensive AI portfolio ranging from computing infrastructure to industry solutions.

At AMD AI DevDay 2026 in Shanghai, AMD CEO Lisa Su and 01.AI founder Kai-Fu Lee outlined what could become the next major shift in artificial intelligence: the transition from generative AI chatbots to autonomous AI agent systems. Their discussion focused on AI agents, multi-agent collaboration, open-source ecosystems and next-generation AI computing infrastructure, signalling a broader industry shift from "question-and-answer" AI towards systems capable of independently executing enterprise goals.

Khgears International said it would intensify a robotics push in 2026 by expanding from industrial robot gears into humanoid robot components and by seeking a strategic alliance with a Tier 1 supplier tied to one of Japan's four major robot families, executives said after a shareholders' meeting on May 21. The precision gearmaker reported that smart transmission products accounted for a record 12% of revenue in the first quarter of 2026 and expects smart transmissions to represent more than 10% of full-year revenue in 2026, up from about 7% in 2025.

Taobao is shifting its cross-border strategy from low-priced transactions to customer lifetime value by using artificial intelligence to surface latent demand and improve localized recommendations, the platform announced as it expanded into more than 200 markets and saw rapid growth in overseas downloads. Executives said the app ranked No. 1 in downloads across 16 overseas markets in April 2025 and that the overseas business had entered a phase of rapid growth.