Samsung Electronics' total advances received rose 70.4% in the first half of 2026, while memory suppliers and their largest customers increasingly turn to multi-year agreements to secure supply and improve demand visibility.
As global AI investment continues to expand and US-China geopolitical pressure intensifies, how Taiwan and South Korea can preserve their semiconductor and manufacturing advantages has become a focal point. DIGITIMES and IC975 chairman Colley Hwang said the two sides should look for complementary strengths, work together to help Vietnam, Malaysia, and other countries develop, and first increase corporate exchanges to build a positive environment for cooperation.
SK Hynix's production workers' union has approved a revised pay agreement that raises the cash share of employee profit-sharing bonuses, ending weeks of uncertainty after members rejected the previous proposal by just 25 votes.
Global cloud service providers are continuing to expand AI infrastructure, driving a surge in demand for high-frequency, high-speed PCBs and making copper-clad laminate (CCL) upgrades increasingly critical to system performance. With both PCB layer counts and material specifications rising, Taiwan suppliers including Elite Material (EMC), Taiwan Union Technology (TUC), Iteq, Nan Ya Plastics, and Ventec are expected to sustain strong shipments through the second half of 2026.
As AI servers drive demand for higher-speed optical interconnects and co-packaged optics (CPO) moves toward volume production, silicon photonics testing is shifting from component-performance verification toward wafer-yield protection and earlier risk screening.
AI, high-performance computing, and advanced packaging are accelerating demand for glass substrates, but smaller through-glass vias are making conventional filling methods harder to use. Geckos is promoting a copper paste process with vacuum printing as an alternative that could improve yield, lower costs, and support denser interconnects.
