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Aug 28
Insight: China's next AI frontier is silicon, not smarter models
For the past two years, China's AI companies have competed on a single axis: whose model performs best. That contest is starting to give way to a harder one — whether those models can actually run, at scale, on chips made in China, as US restrictions on advanced AI chip exports raise the stakes of that question.
SiFive has introduced its BigSky SF-2U870 development server, positioning the 2U rack system as a platform for hyperscalers, software vendors and SoC developers to port server workloads to RISC-V, tune software and validate production-oriented data center designs.
As global net-zero efforts intensify, governments and major technology companies are investing in emerging nuclear technologies to meet the huge electricity demand from AI data centers and the semiconductor industry. Because nuclear power offers zero-carbon emissions, small modular reactors (SMRs) are drawing growing attention as a potential new power solution in the AI era.
Musk tackles key AI power bottleneck with in-house turbine foundry
Aug 31, 10:20
A move by SpaceX to manufacture turbine blades in-house could ease a global bottleneck in AI infrastructure, where power equipment is now as constrained as chips. If successful, the plan could speed data center buildouts, shift supply chains, and strengthen Musk's control over the timing of new energy capacity.
AI smart glasses race heats up as MEMS enable wearability
Aug 31, 10:19
Once mocked as "computers on the nose bridge," AI smart glasses have long suffered from a trade-off between advanced AI capabilities and lightweight comfort. However, this race is set for a major turning point in 2027. Future models promise to combine powerful AI, superior thermal management, and accessible price points, offering a wearing experience so seamless that users will barely notice they are wearing AI hardware.
India's semiconductor ambitions are expanding from packaging and testing to chip design, materials, mobile devices and data centers. New investments by CG Power, Infineon, Foxconn, Samsung and LG highlight rising industrial activity, while skills shortages, environmental constraints and import dependence remain challenges. Government incentives increasingly seek deeper domestic capabilities and higher value creation.
Universal Scientific Industrial (USI), part of ASE Technology Holding, is expanding its optical interconnect footprint for AI data centers. EugenLight Technologies, in which USI holds a controlling stake, has launched its ultra-high-power (UHP) external laser source form-factor pluggable (ELSFP) module series, targeting high-speed optical interconnect demand in next-generation AI compute clusters, high-performance computing (HPC), and high-density data centers, with mass production scheduled for the first quarter of 2027.
Nan Juen to ship Vera Rubin rails in August, ramp ASIC in September
Aug 31, 07:23
Server rail maker Nan Juen International (Repon) began shipping Nvidia's Vera Rubin rack products in August 2026, with ASIC server rack rails set for mass production in September. The higher average selling price of Vera Rubin rack rails, along with a growing number of end customers, is expected to lift the company's second-half performance.
Tex Year is widening its specialty chemicals business beyond LCDs and electronics into AI servers, in-vehicle electronics, Mini LED, and optical lenses, while also targeting optical communications, silicon photonics (SiPh), and advanced packaging. The company says the segment is set to become its second growth engine as demand shifts toward higher-value applications.
AI infrastructure is entering a phase in which GPUs are no longer the only constraint. Nvidia's Vera Rubin generation is pushing rack power high enough to force parallel changes in cooling, power delivery and data center design.
As embodied intelligence takes physical form amid widespread production-capacity expansion in the humanoid robot sector, it is becoming increasingly possible to envision a society in which the boundaries between human intelligence and machine activity grow progressively blurred under AI's expanding reach.
As society ushers in the agentic AI era, the AI infrastructure space is simultaneously undergoing intense competition that increasingly tests the limits of technology, as industry players vie for top-tier compute.