Japan has drawn up a plan for more than JPY370 trillion (approx. US$2.33 trillion) in combined public and private investment across 17 strategic sectors, including AI and space, through fiscal 2040, which runs from April 2040 to March 2041.
Microsoft sources roughly 70% of the hardware content in its cloud infrastructure from Taiwan and the wider Asia-Pacific region, executives said at the OCP APAC 2026 summit here. The company is shifting from buying discrete components to co-designing entire AI systems from the silicon up.
Taiwan's National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) announced the winners of its annual Future Tech Award on August 10, with the aim of encouraging the licensing and commercialization of breakthrough research projects. Among the selected technologies were Academia Sinica's 20-qubit superconducting quantum computer and quantum chip process development project, headed by distinguished research fellow Chii-dong Chen, and research into complementary field-effect transistors and other advanced stacked transistors, led by Chee Wee Liu of the Department of Electrical Engineering at National Taiwan University (NTU).
Novatek, a Taiwan-based display driver integrated circuit (DDI) supplier, said at its August 6 investor conference that second-quarter 2026 revenue and gross margin exceeded expectations, supported by stronger customer orders across all three major product lines and a sharp sequential increase in profit.
The latest indication of global demand for AI hardware comes not from a hyperscaler capex presentation, but from unaudited monthly filings in Taipei. Major Taiwanese companies across the AI server supply chain, including server assembly, cooling, power, networking, and testing, reported combined July revenue of NT$2.59 trillion (US$80.34 million), according to the filings.
Taiwanese power management IC (PMIC) maker Global Mixed-mode Technology (GMT) said at a recent investor conference that its revenue and profit for the second quarter of 2026 were close to expectations. Looking ahead to the third quarter, the company said wafer manufacturing and back-end testing capacity remain extremely tight, leaving little room to offer customers additional supply beyond already secured volumes.
Taiwanese display driver IC (DDI) maker Fitipower Integrated Technology's Chairman Young Lin said the company will roll out several new products for sampling and mass production in 2026, laying the groundwork for continued revenue growth. He added that the e-paper and electronic label markets are a major focus, with Fitipower hoping for sequential quarterly growth this year. However, he said end-market demand is not yet strong and still requires caution.
Chinese AI GPU developer Moore Threads is preparing a Hong Kong listing after first-half revenue jumped 147.42% year on year to CNY1.74 billion (approx. US$258 million), supported by stronger AI infrastructure demand and faster commercialization of its computing platforms. Its net loss narrowed 95.73% to CNY11.56 million, from CNY271 million a year earlier.
China's State Council has released a revised version of the regulations on the protection of IC layout designs, set to take effect on October 15, 2026. It is the first full overhaul since the rules were issued in 2001, adding protection for photonic and quantum IC designs, increasing punitive damages for intentional infringement, and improving systems for layout design registration, licensing, and rights enforcement.
