Samsung Electro-Mechanics is set to increase its AI server multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) production by expanding capacity at its Calamba City plant in the Philippines starting early 2026, as utilization rates at its current factories approach full capacity. This expansion aims to support the growing demand in the AI supply chain.

The race to claim a stake in the space economy is accelerating. As nations around the world ramp up plans for low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite constellations, roughly 70,000 satellites are expected to launch within the next five years. LEO systems promise to solve persistent gaps in connectivity—from remote communities and ocean routes to aviation corridors and disaster zones—while competition for limited orbital slots has drawn intense interest from governments and commercial operators alike.

Giga Computing, a subsidiary of Gigabyte Technology, has entered a strategic partnership with India-based electronics manufacturing services provider Syrma SGS Technology to begin local production of Gigabyte server products in Tamil Nadu, the companies announced on Thursday. The move aligns with India's "Make in India" policy and is intended to expand Giga Computing's supply chain footprint in South Asia.

Costs for copper foil and electronic-grade glass fibre cloth are climbing at the same time that AI infrastructure build-out is fuelling strong demand for high-frequency, high-speed PCBs, creating a favourable window for copper-clad laminate (CCL) suppliers to raise quotations.

After Yageo's subsidiary KEMET raised prices on its tantalum capacitors twice in less than six months, Panasonic, currently ranked as the fourth largest supplier, also decided to increase its quotes and has informed its distributor and direct customers that the new prices will take effect on February 1, 2026, with adjustments on certain specifications of capacitors reaching up to 30%.

As the surge in AI compute drives a shift in data-center power design, backup battery units (BBUs) have secured adoption from at least three cloud service providers, boosting their presence in high-end AI servers and prompting interest in electric double-layer capacitor (EDLC) solutions within passive components.

Recent market rumors indicate that Meta is negotiating to deploy Google's seventh-generation TPU "Ironwood" in its data centers by 2027, with procurement potentially reaching tens of billions of US dollars. This move signals confidence that Google will become a leading ASIC chip supplier, challenging Nvidia's dominance and securing the second spot in the AI accelerator market.

FitTech has had weak performance since 2023. It posted a net loss attributable to the parent of NT$290 million (approx. US$9.2 million) for the first three quarters of 2025, although a sharp improvement from 2024. The company has started in LED testing and is optimistic about its DFB and FEL foundry testing business in optical communications for 2026. Strong customer demand has clarified order visibility, and 2026 is expected to see multiple-fold growth. With new product layouts entering the harvesting stage, FitTech aims to turn profitable as early as the second quarter.

Nan Ya Plastics, a subsidiary of Formosa Plastics Group, has notified customers of an 8% price increase across its entire copper-clad laminate (CCL) and prepreg (PP) product lines to reflect rising upstream raw material costs. The adjustment took effect for shipments dated November 20, 2025.

Power management IC (PMIC) supplier Anpec Electronics held its investor conference on November 24, 2025, stating that multiple product lines for 2026 have already passed the design-in stage and are about to enter mass production. Although the 2025 comparison base is already relatively high, the company still hopes to achieve double-digit growth in 2026.

The surge in global AI infrastructure demand is driving major upgrades in PCB material specifications, but it has also exposed supply shortages of critical upstream materials such as high-end glass fiber, HVLP4 copper foil, and coated drill bits from Japanese suppliers. This is creating hidden bottlenecks in AI server shipments.

A new McKinsey report says the global semiconductor landscape is undergoing a dramatic divergence, with the US emerging as the center of leading-edge computation while Europe pivots toward securing industrial supply chains. As 2025 nears its end, the firm notes that a clear pattern has formed in the wave of greenfield Foreign Direct Investment (FDI): the US is consolidating the future of advanced logic production, and Europe is focusing on technological security and manufacturing continuity.

While TSMC is actively building and expanding 2nm fabs and MediaTek's chips are advancing to the 3nm process node, the long-overlooked 0.18-micron technology is unexpectedly making a comeback. IC design industry experts state that 0.18 microns and even 28nm are mature processes still widely used in China. More importantly, 0.18 microns offers extensive room for innovation and has become a sweet spot for academic paper publications.

Image processing SoC maker Jeilin held a pre-listing performance briefing on November 24, announcing plans to launch a new product platform in response to rapidly growing AI-driven image recognition demands in 2025. The company aims to enter the high-end market with upgraded versions of its traditional digital camera, ecological tracking camera, and action camera products, while also targeting security, drone, and other innovative AI application fields.

Murata Manufacturing sued Chinese RF front-end leader Maxscend Microelectronics in a German court over alleged patent infringement involving RF filters, marking an escalation of the China-Japan semiconductor patent dispute into Europe.

With the wave of generative AI applications driving rapid upgrades in high-performance computing architectures and data center networks, market demand for ultra-high bandwidth, lower power consumption, and higher reliability products is increasing. This trend is creating leapfrog growth opportunities for the semiconductor and optical communications industries.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics (Semco) has reportedly locked in supply contracts for ABF substrates with major technology companies such as Alphabet, Tesla, Apple, Amazon Web Services, and Broadcom, leaving its 2026 production almost fully booked, according to South Korean outlets Chosun Biz and EBN. This confirms strong demand for the components used in advanced semiconductor packaging.

Japanese ceramics firm NGK Insulators has announced plans to triple its production capacity of support wafers by fiscal year 2027 (April 2027-March 2028). More specifically, these refer to double-sided polished alumina ceramic HICERAM Carriers used in chiplet packaging.

Doosan Electronic Business Group (Doosan Electro-Materials) is on track to become the exclusive supplier of copper-clad laminate (CCL) for Nvidia's next-generation AI chip, Rubin, following Taiwan competitor Elite Material Co. (EMC)'s failure to pass quality certification for the Nvidia Blackwell GB300 compute tray.

Electronics components distributor Audix saw its manufacturing division revenue drop 13% year-on-year in the first three quarters of 2025. Its share of voice coil motor (VCM) products is also declining, affected by weak end-market demand and China's rare earth export controls. Audix stated that it has switched production lines to non-rare-earth magnets to reduce geopolitical impact and is simultaneously expanding AI server testing capacity, with revenue contributions expected to emerge gradually.

WPG Holdings, a major semiconductor component distributor, hit a new record with its operating profit exceed NT$5 billion (US$160.1 million) for the first time in the third quarter of 2025. AI-driven demand for servers and supply chain services has made core components and memory the two primary growth engines. Computing-related core components accounted for about 40%, and memory 27%.

South Korea's largest conglomerates are pouring resources into glass substrates, a next-generation semiconductor packaging material that promises better thermal stability and power efficiency. Samsung, SK, and LG have each launched aggressive commercialization plans, but industry experts warn that technical hurdles and uncertain customer demand may signal early signs of overinvestment.

Japan's leading glass fiber manufacturer Nittobo has announced plans to triple its T-Glass production capacity starting in early 2027 in response to surging demand for AI servers. Similarly, Mitsui Mining & Smelting has raised its output expansion for high-frequency substrate electrolytic copper foil, VSP, three times within the past year, reflecting intensifying pressure on critical upstream materials. Industry experts predict severe supply constraints for key materials between 2024 and 2027 that could affect AI hardware supply chains globally.

Price hikes are spreading across the passive component sector again. Following increases by several Taiwan-based suppliers, Guangdong Fenghua Advanced Technology (Fenghua Hi-Tech) has raised prices for distributors and direct customers, with new rates taking effect immediately and certain products rising by up to 30%. The move has sparked debate over whether the passive component sector is approaching a rare "once-in-a-decade" cyclical peak.