To meet surging demand for heterogeneous chips, TSMC is expected to adopt a more agile mode of cooperation with OSATs. TSMC's majr foundry competitor Samsung Electronics has announced plans to build a new fab in the US state of Texas. Samsung is eyeing orders from major US chip vendors. China first-tier lithium battery makers have refrained from raising prices this year, but they are now looking to raise prices by 20% next year.
Notebook-use audio IC shortages are easing, with the supply shortfall expected to narrow next year, according to industry sources.
Mitac Holdings has expressed optimism about its operations next year, thanks to robust orders for servers, as well as recovery in demand for automotive and industrial tablets.
Microsoft has recently released the new inexpensive Surface Laptop SE, priced at US$249, and Windows 11 SE, suitable for entry-level CPUs, eyeing to penetrate into the education sector, which has been dominated by Chromebooks.
According to the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), the global semiconductor manufacturing revenue including wafer foundry and IC package and testing industries, grew 13.6% from US$501 billion in 2019 to US$570 billion in 2020, with Taiwan's corresponding revenues growing from US$86 billion to US$109 billion. With contribution of 20% for the global semiconductor industry, Taiwan is the world's second-largest semiconductor powerhouse next to the US, surpassing South Korea and Japan and leaving China far behind.
Aimed to facilitate transparency and traceability across global supply chains to enable a shift to a circular economy, Dutch startup Circularise was established in 2016 to provide solutions based on blockchain technology to bridge the information gap.
India may soon see commercial delivery services using drones, according to Skye Air, a startup company working with some of the largest eCommerce brands. The Indian government had recently revised rules regarding unmanned aerial vehicles, permitting companies to experiment with drones for delivering products like food, medicines, and even courier parcels.
Malaysia's Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MOSTI) aims to build a conducive startup ecosystem by launching Malaysian Startup Ecosystem Roadmap (SUPER) 2021-2023 and the MYStartup Platform.
GaN Systems has announced a strategic partnership with Universal Scientific Industrial (USI), a subsidiary of ASE Technology, to co-develop GaN power modules for the electric vehicle market.
Demand for cooling solutions has been driven by heterogeneous chips integration, according to thermal heat spreader maker Jentech Precision Industrial.
In the first 10 months of 2021, Vietnam's IT sector generated VDN2,560 trillion (US$112.78 billion), 9% higher than the same period in 2020. Local Vietnamese IT firms accounted for 11% of the revenue, or VDN292 trillion, according to Vietnamnet.
