Nvidia has won a CPU supply order from AI startup Modal, challenging Intel and AMD in the server CPU market as it expands beyond GPUs into general-purpose computing. Although Modal's annual revenue is below US$1 billion, and neither the order's value nor its deployment scale has been disclosed, the deal underscores a broader shift in AI infrastructure competition toward full-stack system integration.

India's "Make in India" policy is driving demand for smart manufacturing and machinery. As such, Taiwanese machinery manufacturers are positioning themselves to seize the opportunities presented by the country's manufacturing push.

South Korean robot makers are taking different routes into industrial humanoids: Tesollo is building dexterous hands, AeiROBOT is preparing bipedal systems for shipyards and construction sites, and HD Hyundai Robotics is developing a dual-arm platform that may eventually gain wheels and legs.

Western Digital has made clear how it intends to meet a sharp rise in hard-drive demand while a rival expands output: it will not build more drives. On its October 22 earnings call, the company said it will keep raising price per terabyte, pack more data into each drive, and spend its capital on recording heads and disk media rather than assembly capacity. That leaves its growth dependent on how quickly it moves to heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR), a technology in which Seagate is already shipping at scale.

Western Digital argues that demand for hard drives depends less on the current wave of AI spending than investors fear. On its fiscal first-quarter earnings call on October 22, the company said demand for disk storage now comes from four separate sources: cloud services, model training, inference and AI agents, and physical AI. Each, it said, could offset weakness in the others. The company is also trying to move hard drives into faster AI workloads that are currently served by flash memory.

Unitree Robotics continues to expand production of its humanoid robots but still faces challenges in production capacity and artificial intelligence (AI) technology as it works to scale up production for widespread adoption.

Western Digital's fiscal first quarter showed a hard-drive business turning demand into profit faster than into sales. Revenue for the three months ended October 2, 2026 rose 55% from a year earlier to US$4.38 billion, while GAAP gross margin climbed to 57.8% from 43.5%, according to the results release the company filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on October 22. Its guidance indicates margins will widen further in the December quarter.

AUO is entering the next chapter of its transformation as Chairman and CEO Paul Peng establishes a "quasi-holding company" model, turning its three major operating pillars into separate corporate entities to sharpen performance evaluations and resource allocation while distinguishing core from noncore businesses.

Clivet, the Italian climate-control company owned by Midea, is applying its refrigeration expertise to the AI data center market, introducing a redesigned compressor as part of a broader cooling portfolio. The push builds on established air-conditioning technologies while addressing demands for efficient operation and uninterrupted cooling in high-density computing facilities.

Apex Science & Engineering is expanding its optoelectronics business in automotive and medical markets, with booked but undelivered orders worth approximately NT$105.7 million (US$3.24 million). Exports have accounted for 73% of the division's sales since the start of 2026, highlighting its exposure to international demand as it develops display modules for industrial, consumer, and public-sector applications worldwide.

According to reports from Financial News, ETNews, News1 and Yonhap, Samsung Electronics' postponement of an event has intensified scrutiny of internal communications, bonus disparities, and preparations for 2027 wage talks as DX employees challenge compensation arrangements favoring the memory-focused DS division, while unions contest who should represent workers in negotiations expected to begin integrating demands in December.

Unitree Robotics unveiled its new H2-X humanoid robot on October 21, showcasing martial arts combat, landings from height, and vehicle rescue as China's humanoid robot production accelerates. China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said humanoid robot output exceeded 40,000 units in 1H26 and is expected to surpass 100,000 units for the full year, signaling the industry's shift toward large-scale production and broader applications.

Tesla's move into early production of its Optimus humanoid robot has exposed an unusual challenge in scaling embodied artificial intelligence (AI): the company may need to manufacture thousands of robots before it can generate enough training experience to make them commercially useful.

Bear Robotics, the robotics subsidiary of LG Electronics, is adopting a dual-track production strategy by expanding outsourcing from South Korean partners to manufacturers in China. The move is aimed at supporting rising shipments and lowering manufacturing costs, with some robots made in China already shipped to the US.

IBM's third quarter went some way towards answering whether the deal slippage that hit its second quarter reflected weaker demand or delayed timing. Revenue rose 5% year on year, or 6% at constant currency, to US$17.1 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, an acceleration after a second quarter that led the company to cut its full-year outlook in July.

Memory module maker GoldKey Technology posted record third-quarter 2026 profit, with net income topping NT$1 billion (approx. US$30.9 million) for the first time at NT$1.03 billion, up 6.2% quarter-over-quarter. However, the conversion of convertible bonds increased its share capital, pushing earnings per share down to NT$9.14 from NT$10.17 in the second quarter.

Chief Telecom has begun construction of its new AI data center in the Huwei section of the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP), with an investment of NT$3.3 billion (US$101.8 million). Chairman Jerry Shao said the facility's reservation and contract rate has exceeded 50%, with international cloud service providers (CSPs) and fintech companies making up most of the customers.

Precision gearmaker Khgears International is expanding into humanoid robot joint components and expects its newly developed differential reducer to enter mass production in 2027. The company said shipments for new projects should remain strong through the fourth quarter of 2026, after reporting September revenue of NT$336 million (US$10.3 million), up 27.61% year on year.

3M Chairman and CEO Bill Brown outlined the latest progress in the company's expanded beam optics (EBO) technology during its third-quarter earnings call, highlighting a contract manufacturing agreement with Taiwan's Largan Precision and the technology's potential US$2 billion market opportunity.

Executives from Chinese nickel producers plan to meet as early as October 20 to seek coordinated production cuts at Indonesian processing plants as weaker prices and rising costs pressure margins. The talks could affect global nickel and battery supply chains, but their timing and outcome remain uncertain amid ongoing policy challenges in Indonesia.

Apple announced new and expanded US supplier partnerships on October 20, 2026, including plans to commit up to US$100 million to titanium producer Perryman Company over three years and broaden its camera-technology partnership with Qnity Electronics.

Racing Electric Instrument (REI), which built its business on defense and aerospace motors, is expanding into the commercial unmanned vehicle market, targeting power systems for drones and robots. REI chairman Chieh-tsun Lai said the company's experience in designing, manufacturing, and validating motors for highly demanding defense and aerospace applications gives it advantages over conventional industrial motor suppliers.

Toppan Holdings and Japan's Keio University have completed a proof of concept for technology that combines quantum computers with generative AI to support manga and anime production, and have launched follow-up research. The research team generated images through quantum circuits and used AI for background completion, coloring, and resolution enhancement, demonstrating the feasibility of applying quantum technology to content production.

Taiwan's export orders totaled US$114.21 billion in September 2026, up US$11.25 billion, or 10.9%, from the previous month, according to data released by Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) on October 20. After seasonal adjustment, orders rose 1.1%. Compared with September 2025, export orders increased US$42.87 billion, or 62.4%, while growth in New Taiwan dollar terms reached 69.5%.

Contrel Technology and FSE jointly showcased dual-core laser micromachining and plasma process technologies at TPCA Show 2026, targeting advanced packaging and high-end substrate manufacturing. The companies' solutions span key processes from surface treatment and residue removal to laser trimming, debonding, grooving, and cutting.