China's foundry sector is charting a different course as the global semiconductor market remains focused on AI GPUs, the 2nm process node, and advanced packaging. Led by Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC) and Hua Hong Semiconductor, domestic Chinese foundries have not stalled under US sanctions; instead, they are accelerating efforts to build a China-specific foundry ecosystem amid the AI boom, recovering demand for mature nodes, and a push for supply-chain self-reliance

In April 2024, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) executed one of the most significant overhauls of its military architecture in decades. The former Strategic Support Force was disbanded and reorganized into three distinct branches: the Military Aerospace Force, the Cyberspace Force, and the Information Support Force. Together with the existing Joint Logistics Support Force, these constitute a new four-branch support structure — one designed not merely to support terrestrial warfare, but to dominate the space domain itself

On May 14, Xi Jinping opened his summit with Donald Trump in Beijing by invoking the Thucydides Trap — the idea that a rising power and an established hegemon are structurally destined for conflict. Then he turned to Taiwan. If not handled properly, he warned, the two countries face clashes and even conflicts

The ongoing Samsung Electronics labor dispute highlights sharply different labor models in South Korea and Taiwan, where firms such as TSMC operate with minimal union presence and rely instead on compensation-driven workforce stability. Industry observers say the Samsung conflict reflects broader tensions over profit sharing during the AI-driven semiconductor upcycle, while Taiwan's tech sector continues to favor high mobility and individual incentives over collective bargaining

OpenAI's deep partnership with chipmaker Cerebras has taken a public turn as Cerebras prepares to list in the US, a development that underscores OpenAI's effort to restructure its compute supply chain without abandoning existing suppliers. The listing arrives amid OpenAI's ongoing legal dispute with Elon Musk

Over the past 15 years, several major technological paradigms have crossed the commercial threshold from "zero to one" and into mass adoption

As AI server orders surge, system assembly makers are finding that more business does not always mean better profits. High-priced GPUs and soaring memory costs are pushing up revenue without lifting manufacturing fees at the same pace, leaving original design manufacturers (ODMs) facing lower gross margins as assembly orders grow

Against a backdrop of persistently high tensions between the US and China, the upcoming Trump-Xi summit is being closely watched not only for its implications for trade, technology controls, and geopolitics, but also as a key signal of how both sides are reassessing the remaining areas where cooperation may still be possible

The global space and defense industry is undergoing a strategic transformation — from treating space as a force multiplier to claiming it as a domain of sovereign control

Ahead of the expected Trump-Xi summit in Beijing, the US and China are first holding preparatory talks in South Korea, placing trade, technology, and semiconductor export controls at the center of the negotiation track

SEMICON SEA 2026 drew heavy crowds, underscoring Southeast Asia's emergence as an indispensable "strategic hub" in the global AI compute supply chain. The region's semiconductor players are now moving from "capacity substitution" to "technological self-reliance" in what is shaping up to be a long-distance race

A DIGITIMES Research observation at the 2026 Taipei International Auto Electronics Show found that Taiwan's automotive electronics industry is steadily shifting from supplying individual components toward integrated systems spanning autonomous driving sensors, in-cabin safety, autonomous logistics vehicles, and localized supply-chain integration

On May 6, Elon Musk was in several places at once: confronting OpenAI in court, announcing on X that xAI would no longer operate as an independent company, and handing over a large share of his AI compute to another AI firm, Anthropic. Three years after Musk gathered 12 researchers from DeepMind, Google, and OpenAI to found xAI with the stated goal to "understand the universe," he has now moved to shut it down

As the semiconductor industry grapples with the growing energy demands of artificial intelligence, Cyient Semiconductors is repositioning itself away from being a primarily semiconductor engineering and ASIC services provider and toward a more product-oriented hybrid model centered on intelligent power and proprietary semiconductor products

DIGITIMES senior analyst Luke Lin said Warren Buffett's investment in Apple should be viewed not simply as a stock trade, but as a bet on the company and its leadership under CEO Tim Cook