On August 7, 2025, Washington dropped the hammer. A fresh wave of "reciprocal tariffs" crashed into Taiwanese imports, sending shockwaves through an already jittery tech ecosystem. Yet amid the chaos, one man's diplomatic gesture may have carved out salvation for his supply chain: Apple CEO Tim Cook's strategic audience with President Donald Trump appears to have secured a crucial verbal exemption for Apple's offshore components, throwing a lifeline to the company's embattled Taiwanese partners. While Taiwan's ICT export powerhouse enjoys some shelter under Annex II exemptions, Cook's intervention offers a rare glimmer of hope in an increasingly treacherous trade landscape
TSMC is dealing with a high-stakes internal security breach after several employees were dismissed over attempts to leak confidential information regarding its 2nm process technology, according to a report from Nikkei Asia
China's electronics manufacturing sector has surged over the past decade, driven by the Made in China 2025 (MIC2025) initiative and strong demand from global brands like Apple and Tesla. Domestic contract manufacturers, including Luxshare Precision, Lingyi iTech, and Lens Technology, have increasingly captured business once dominated by Taiwanese firms. Luxshare's rise, led by chairwoman and co-founder Wang Laichun, often called "the female Terry Gou," embodies China's transformation from basic assembly operations to full-system, high-value manufacturing
As product iteration cycles come increasingly under client control and the manufacturing technology gap narrows, competition among electronics manufacturers, including Foxconn, has intensified. The window of opportunity for exclusive or custom-designed products is shrinking, and this dynamic is now unfolding across the AI server integration market
AI data center chipmaker Astera Labs will showcase its next-gen interconnect technologies at this week's Open Compute Project (OCP) APAC event. In an exclusive interview with DIGITIMES, Chris Petersen, a fellow of Technology and Ecosystems at Astera Labs and UALink director, offers an in-depth analysis of high-speed interconnect prospects and UALink's key role in the cloud AI ecosystem
The Open Compute Project APAC Summit (OCP APAC) will officially open in Taipei in early August 2025. American IC design giant Broadcom, which holds a critical position in cloud AI application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and networking chips, is one of the event's key exhibitors
Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently made headlines with a large order placed with Samsung Foundry. Aside from the reported eight-year contract valued at US$16.5 billion, speculation about Samsung adopting 2nm process technology for this deal remains unconfirmed
Samsung's major AI chip contract with Tesla has sparked heated discussions, with Elon Musk pledging to personally step in to help Samsung improve production efficiency while hinting at an even higher contract value
The strategic share swap between Foxconn and Teco Electric & Machinery Co., Ltd. marks a significant escalation in Taiwan's AI data center server industry. Traditionally focused on motherboard and rack assembly stages, Taiwanese firms are now aggressively expanding into L12 system integration, targeting rapid deployment solutions for AI data centers
Samsung Foundry has secured an eight-year, US$16.5 billion contract to manufacture Tesla's next-generation AI6 chip. The move is seen as a major strategic win that comes just as Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan signaled potential delays or cancellation of its 14A (1.4nm) process roadmap
Foxconn and Teco Electric & Machinery unveiled a strategic alliance on July 30 via a share swap deal, marking a shift in focus toward the booming global AI data center (AIDC) industry. Contrary to earlier speculation about electric vehicle powertrain collaboration, the companies are teaming up to develop standardized, modular AI data centers. Their debut project is expected to tie into the US-led "Stargate" initiative, a large-scale AI infrastructure buildout
As artificial intelligence and high-performance computing enter a phase of explosive growth, the limitations of traditional chip manufacturing and the slowing of Moore's Law have pushed the semiconductor industry toward a new frontier: advanced packaging technologies. Increasingly, performance gains are no longer coming from silicon alone, but from how chips are assembled and connected
Chinese robotics startup Unitree Robotics has launched its latest humanoid robot, the R1, at just CNY39,000 (US$5,430) — the lowest price to date in China's humanoid robot market. The company is reinforcing China's broader push to bring high-performance, low-cost robots into the consumer mainstream, narrowing the gap between industrial automation and everyday accessibility
With the 2025 OCP APAC Summit set to kick off next week in Taipei, industry attention is turning toward the next wave of AI and high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure
Just four months into his tenure, new Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan has introduced a decisive shift in strategy. During the company's second-quarter 2025 earnings call, Tan suggested a potential pause in the development of Intel's 1.4nm (14A) process, a move that effectively dismantles the IDM 2.0 vision championed by former CEO Pat Gelsinger over the past four years. For the first time in years, Intel no longer appears fixated on directly challenging TSMC
Tesla is developing an integrated approach to supply chain decarbonization spanning battery production, manufacturing processes, and energy systems as automakers face increasing pressure to reduce emissions across entire value chains rather than just vehicle operations
