The data center industry is undergoing its largest structural transformation in the past decade due to the rapid development of generative AI. As AI models drive growing demand for GPUs, high-speed connectivity, and high-density computing, data center requirements are evolving beyond traditional colocation services to encompass comprehensive upgrades in power supply, cooling, networking, and overall infrastructure architecture. At the recent DIGITIMES 2026 Enterprise Data Center Forum, Chunghwa Telecom Senior Engineer Hsueh Jen-Hao presented "Meeting the AI Challenge: The Evolution of Data Center Requirements and Infrastructure Upgrade Strategies," outlining Chunghwa Telecom's key strategies for responding to the AIDC (AI Data Center) trend and helping enterprises plan their AI computing capacity. Hsueh Jen-Hao noted that power demand per rack has surged from the traditional 2 kW to 5 kW range to 100 kW and even 200 kW. This underscores that the AI era is driving not merely an upgrade of data center equipment, but a paradigm shift across data center design, cooling architecture, energy management, and cross-border network connectivity. AI Servers Drive Higher AIDC Service StandardsHsueh Jen-Hao described AIDC as a "five-star hotel," illustrating the fundamental transformation in the nature of data center services. As AI servers are high-value, power-intensive, and highly sensitive to environmental conditions, data centers must not only operate around the clock without interruption, but also maintain stable temperature and humidity levels, power supply, and network quality, while adjusting environmental conditions in accordance with customers' SLA requirements.To meet the operating environment required by AI servers, Chunghwa Telecom is also upgrading the infrastructure of its data centers. Hsueh Jen-Hao noted that with a single rack often weighing more than 1,250 kilograms, data center floor loading requirements have increased significantly from 500 kg/m2 to 2,000-2,500 kg/m2. Structural specifications are now approaching those of heavy industrial facilities, redefining the conventional concept of an IT data center. Furthermore, the rapid rise in rack power consumption has pushed cooling requirements beyond the limits of traditional air-cooling systems. From Air to Liquid Cooling: Chunghwa Telecom Delivers Customized SolutionsAI computing has driven a dramatic increase in rack power density, from 30 kW-132 kW for NVIDIA H100 clusters to 140 kW per rack for the liquid-cooled GB200 NVL72 architecture. In response to this trend, traditional downflow air-conditioning systems and fan-wall cooling systems, which can support only up to approximately 20 kW, are gradually becoming unable to meet the cooling requirements of next-generation servers.To address the surge in cooling demand driven by AI computing, Chunghwa Telecom is actively introducing liquid-cooling technologies and tailoring solutions to individual customer requirements. From facility planning and design to project management, Chunghwa Telecom offers one-stop services to deliver the essential infrastructure needed for high-density AI computing, including cooling systems, power distribution, and power backup mechanisms. Through flexible modular designs, the data centers can be expanded alongside customers' business growth, satisfying the requirements for large-scale computing and data processing. Hsueh Jen-Hao noted that driven by both the thermal demands of AI servers and international regulations incorporating data center energy performance, liquid cooling solutions are gradually becoming a standard configuration for AIDCs. AIDC Ecosystem Expansion: Green Energy, All-Photonics Networks, and Submarine CablesIn response to the AI wave and the growing adoption of innovative applications, Chunghwa Telecom is not only enhancing cooling technologies within its data centers, but is also pursuing a comprehensive strategy spanning energy, networking, and submarine cable infrastructure. First, Chunghwa Telecom launched its Green Energy AIDC initiative in 2020. As of 2025, approximately 40% of the electricity consumed by its data centers came from renewable energy sources. The company aims to achieve its sustainability goal of powering data centers with 100% renewable electricity by 2030. Second, as cross-regional collaboration and data exchange continue to expand rapidly, high-bandwidth, low-latency connectivity has evolved from a competitive advantage into a fundamental requirement for data centers. To support the development and advancement of internet technologies, Chunghwa Telecom is promoting reference architectures, frameworks, and specifications for next-generation ICT infrastructure centered on all-photonics networks (APN), meeting the increasingly stringent requirements of innovative applications and AI computing for power efficiency, bandwidth, and latency. In addition, Chunghwa Telecom is Taiwan's first and currently only telecommunications operator to serve as a board member of the IOWN Global Forum.Hsueh Jen-Hao noted that the attractiveness of a data center location is directly proportional to the availability of local submarine cable resources. The continued growth of data centers in Hong Kong and Singapore, for example, is largely attributable to their roles as major international submarine cable hubs in Asia. To this end, Chunghwa Telecom has continued to invest in Taiwan's submarine cable infrastructure. On the international front, in addition to the completed SJC2 submarine cable system, the APRICOT system is also scheduled for completion in 2027. To enhance domestic network resilience, the Taiwan-Penghu-Kinmen-Matsu No. 4 submarine cable is expected to be completed in 2026. As these submarine cable projects come online, they will not only significantly strengthen Taiwan's international connectivity, but also provide a solid infrastructure foundation for cross-border AI computing and the deployment of international data centers.From floor loading capacity and liquid-cooling technologies to renewable energy initiatives, all-photonics networks, and submarine cables, Chunghwa Telecom's data center investments in recent years may appear to span different domains. However, they are all guided by the same strategic objective: systematically strengthening data center infrastructure to support enterprise AI adoption, ensure uninterrupted operations, and enhance Taiwan's competitiveness in the AI era. 

Smiths Interconnect, a Molex company, announces its top performing distributors in 2025. The Distribution Awards program honors distributors which have made a meaningful impact on the growth of Smiths Interconnect across its three key regions: the Americas, EMEA, and Asia.Award recipients in each region are selected based on their outstanding performance compared to the previous fiscal year and on outstanding local service and support. This year, the strong commitment and dedication shown by distributors worldwide have resulted in a larger group of recognized companies. Seven distributors in total have been distinguished for their exceptional achievements.In the Americas, FDH Electronic Products Group, LLC. has been named Distributor of the Year for the second consecutive year. This recognition reflects FDH's outstanding performance, strong partnership, and unwavering commitment to delivering exceptional service and support to its customers.Over the past year, FDH achieved impressive sales growth, demonstrating not only market strength but also a deep dedication to driving their mutual success. Their ability to navigate challenges, adapt quickly, and maintain focus on execution has been instrumental in delivering consistent results and strengthening the partnership.The second distributor recognized in the Americas as Highly Commended Distributor for Business Growth 2025 is Arrow Electronics.Through a focused and strategic customer approach, Arrow has delivered impressive business growth, reinforcing their position in driving market expansion and customer engagement.Arrow's commitment to collaboration, responsiveness, and execution has played an important role in achieving these results. Their team has consistently demonstrated the ability to identify opportunities, adapt to evolving customer needs, and deliver value across joint initiatives.In the EMEA region, Smiths Interconnect has recognized two distinct distributors for their outstanding growth throughout the year.RFMW Ltd is recognised for delivering the strongest growth in 2025 across the company's RF component product lines, reflecting exceptional commercial execution and deep customer engagement. Their results in key South European territories were achieved through a close, collaborative partnership that enabled both organisations to navigate a highly competitive landscape effectively.RFMW consistently converted design activity into revenue while expanding presence in target markets, demonstrating a shared commitment to technical excellence, partnership, and sustained value creation.For the Connectors product line, the top performing distributor was Heilind Electronics GmbH, which supported sales growth with a strong focus on the DAC countries.This success was also driven by well-managed inventory levels, enabling fast deliveries and reliable local support for customers.Last but not least, Asia was one of the most active areas from a distribution standpoint. Three key distributors were appointed: Fusoh Shoji Co., Ltd, Bizmile Co. Ltd, and Conn-Tek Electronics Inc.First, Fusoh Shoji Co., Ltd was named Distributor of the Year 2025 for the Fiber Optic and Components product lines. The company has demonstrated outstanding performance in expanding these product lines in Japan, playing a key role in strengthening its market presence and supporting a solid foundation for future growth.Meanwhile, in the Connectors product line, Korea's Bizmile Co. Ltd secured the Distributor of the Year 2025 title. Awarded for its outstanding contribution to business growth, design-in excellence, and value delivery, Bizmile demonstrated exceptional support to key accounts by driving significant growth through strong inventory commitment and strategic project support. The company also excelled in design-in activities, successfully contributing to major defense programs while consistently delivering measurable value to customers. Its strength in commercial execution, strategic account development, and an ecosystem-driven approach has enabled sustained growth, improved profitability, and strong future demand visibility.Rounding out the region's success, Conn-Tek Electronics Inc was named Distributor of the Year 2025 for the Semiconductor Test product line for the second consecutive year. This award recognizes Conn-Tek's exceptional performance across business growth, design-in excellence, and strategic market development. The company achieved remarkable revenue growth in both China and international markets while demonstrating strong leadership in design-in activities with key customers. Furthermore, Conn-Tek experienced significant expansion in high-value product segments—particularly with the DaVinci coaxial test socket—and successfully penetrated new customer markets. Its design-led, partnership-driven approach has delivered sustained growth, improved profitability, and enhanced strategic value across the Asia region.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is moving beyond a tool that simply answers questions and into the era of "agentic AI"—systems that make their own judgments and carry out tasks. A major event offering a comprehensive view of the latest currents in the global AI industry is once again coming to Seoul.DMK Global, COEX, and the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) announced that they will host "AI Summit Seoul & EXPO 2026" (AISE 2026) over three days, from August 19 (Wed) to 21 (Fri), at COEX in Seoul. The conference will take place in the Grand Ballroom, while a large-scale exhibition (EXPO) runs concurrently in Hall B. Since its inaugural edition in 2018, the industrial-AI-focused event—now in its ninth year—has established itself as an annual global AI event held in Seoul.The central theme this year is putting AI to real work, beyond mere adoption. As AI technology advances rapidly, companies now face a new challenge that goes beyond "whether to adopt AI" to "what authority to grant AI, and how to trust the results it produces." Generative AI has proven its value in producing answers and content; more recently, attention has turned to agent-based AI that independently makes decisions and takes action within enterprise workflows.Reflecting this shift, AISE 2026 has set its theme as "The Transformation Era: Beyond Adoption – Rise of Enterprise Agents." Rather than simply introducing technology, the event focuses on how AI agents are being applied in real business settings and how they are reshaping organizations and business models.The two-day conference, held in the COEX Grand Ballroom beginning August 19, is organized around six core themes: "AI Mega Trends," surveying fast-moving technology and market shifts; "AI Transformation," addressing changes to organizations and business models; "AI & Data," covering foundational challenges such as data labeling and MLOps; "Vertical Industry Use Cases," presenting real-world applications by sector; "AI + Robotics," exploring the convergence of AI and robotics; and the year's most talked-about theme, "Agent & Agentic AI."The global speaker lineup also stands out. Speakers include Steve Chien, a researcher at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) who studies autonomous AI capable of independent decision-making in space; Larry Heck, a Georgia Tech professor and leading authority on conversational AI; Maxim Afanasyev of Google Cloud; Hoifung Poon, a researcher at Microsoft Research focused on AI-driven scientific discovery; and Maxime Labonne, a researcher at Liquid AI and an expert in frontier small models.In addition, representatives from leading global technology and industry companies—including Genspark, Google DeepMind, Hyundai, DHL, Notion, IDEO, Mercedes-Benz, Seagate, Adobe, and ClickHouse—will take part to share proven use cases and technical insights across industries.Running alongside the conference, the exhibition (EXPO) takes place in COEX Hall B over three days, from August 19 to 21. Roughly double the size of last year's edition, it will feature more than 100 exhibiting companies and over 30 speech and workshop sessions. A key highlight is the opportunity to survey the entire AI value chain under one roof—from LLMs and generative AI to AI hardware and infrastructure (GPUs, NPUs, and more), robotics and autonomous technologies, and industry-specific solutions. Visitors can experience live demonstrations of products and solutions already in operation at exhibitor booths, across categories including Industry AI, Enterprise AI, generative AI, AI platforms and infrastructure, and physical AI and robotics.Exhibiting companies will run demos and consultations for decision-makers from Korea and abroad, and the program includes 1:1 business matching and networking parties connecting executives, developers, investors, and researchers. EXPO visitor registration is free until July 31 (Super Early Bird); from August 1 it moves to Early Bird pricing of KRW 10,000, and to a standard rate of KRW 20,000 thereafter.Supporting programs have also been strengthened. During the event, offerings include hands-on workshops for in-depth, practical learning with leading AI technologies and solutions from Korea and abroad; investment matching connecting startups with investors; and an AI experience zone. Beyond simple viewing, the event is designed to serve as a venue for experiencing technology firsthand and connecting AI companies with industry, investors, and talent.As AI spreads beyond individual services and solutions into every facet of enterprise operations, the event is expected to offer a chance to survey the latest trends at a glance and to gauge the potential for real-world adoption and commercialization.