Taiwan became Thailand's third-largest trade partner in the first half of 2026 as AI growth and geopolitical shifts accelerate Taiwanese investment in the country, Taiwan Representative to Thailand Peter Lan said. Around 200,000 Taiwanese businesspeople are now based in Thailand, with the pace accelerating under the China+1 trend.

JPP Holding's Thai operating arm, Jinpao Precision Industry, joined Praksa subdistrict authorities in Samut Prakan Province, Thailand, on October 31 to hold the finals of the Jinpao–Praksa automation and robotics innovation competition, strengthening its efforts to develop AI and smart-manufacturing talent locally. Chairman Chung Kuo-sung said corporate philanthropy should involve long-term engagement with local communities rather than one-time donations.

MediaTek's latest earnings call focused heavily on its data-center ASIC business, as CEO Rick Tsai and CFO David Ku addressed market rumors about delays to its second AI accelerator ASIC project, EMIB packaging yields, and the identity of its second customer. The company said its major customer's second-generation project remains on track for mass production in the first quarter of 2028, while the second customer will also begin contributing revenue in 2028.

Lite-On Technology will continue increasing capital expenditure in 2027 as cloud service providers (CSPs) pour money into the artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure race, president Anson Chiu said. He warned that CSPs that stop investing to secure market share will pay an even higher price for falling behind in the irreversible AI era.

Dixon Technologies is pursuing separate partnerships for servers, optical communications, and advanced semiconductor packaging as it seeks a role in AI infrastructure manufacturing, although its most ambitious silicon-photonics plans remain at the evaluation stage.

Dixon Technologies is counting on smartphone joint ventures, expanding IT hardware production, and locally made components to turn a sharp sales increase into stronger earnings, as rising memory costs inflate revenue without a corresponding rise in manufacturing volumes.

Indian consumer electronics brand Mivi has inaugurated an INR2 billion (approx. US$21.05 million) research, development, and manufacturing facility at E-City in Tukkuguda, Hyderabad, giving the audio-focused company a monthly capacity of 500,000 earbuds and 75,000 soundbars as it pushes into smartphones.

Meta is accelerating its humanoid robotics ambitions through a partnership with Chinese robotics company Fourier, having developed an initial prototype and begun work on a second version as it explores the potential of AI-powered household assistants.

This week’s coverage highlights intensifying competition and capacity constraints across the global semiconductor industry. Taiwan faces debate over whether public R&D funding should prioritize universities and talent development. Micron workers receive unusually large bonuses amid unresolved labor negotiations. India is expanding state-level semiconductor incentives, while KLA reportedly considers local manufacturing. Memory shortages may persist through 2030, and SK Hynix is investing beyond memory. Server CPU demand is projected to surge, with AMD potentially surpassing Intel in revenue.

Lite-On Technology reported record net profit for the third quarter of 2026 as demand for AI infrastructure boosted its cloud and power businesses. The Taiwanese electronics supplier posted consolidated revenue of NT$57.4 billion (US$1.8 billion), up 9% quarter-over-quarter and 28% year-over-year, while executives said AI-related revenue had exceeded 30% of the company's year-to-date total.

Nvidia's robotics partnerships in South Korea are moving beyond initial agreements, with LG Electronics beginning partial operations at its robot-training Data Factory and LG Innotek expanding cooperation on sensing technologies. Hyundai Motor Group, another Nvidia partner, has also outlined new steps toward building AI infrastructure for robotics and autonomous driving.

South Korean companies showcased humanoid robot components, dual-arm machines, and autonomous driving systems at FIX 2026 in Daegu, offering a look at how developers are bringing automation into factories and transportation. The technologies ranged from robotic hardware under development for manufacturing applications to an autonomous taxi service already carrying paying passengers.

As part of its efforts to harness AI for tangible benefits, Foxconn is integrating AI models, computing infrastructure, factory management, and automation equipment to build a model for smart manufacturing that can be replicated across sites. The company has already achieved initial results in applying AI to injection molding, computer numerical control (CNC) machining, surface-mount technology (SMT) processes, and production scheduling, with further plans to use digital twins and physical AI in process optimization, factory design, and automated system deployment.

Addressing Foxconn's structural competitive advantages at Hon Hai Tech Day (HHTD 2026), rotating CEO Michael Chiang emphasized that the electronics manufacturing giant's core differentiator lies in true vertical integration rather than mere vertical aggregation.

Marvell is reportedly in talks to acquire Lumentum, drawing attention across the optical communications supply chain. The deal would offer strong strategic synergies, particularly through Lumentum's expertise in critical optical transceiver components, but Lumentum's size and its contracts with major customers, including Apple, could make the acquisition difficult.

The outlook for AI neocloud providers has sparked a clash between Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who warned that more than 200 such companies could face large-scale failures or consolidation, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who said during an interview at the GTC Berlin conference that demand for neocloud services has exceeded expectations and current funding shortages will eventually be resolved.

MediaTek reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of NT$168.06 billion (US$5.17 billion), up 10.4% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) and 18.3% year-over-year, and projected fourth-quarter revenue growth of as much as 32% on accelerating shipments of AI accelerator application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). The Taiwanese IC design company disclosed the results and outlook at an investor conference on October 30, citing stronger-than-expected customer demand, improved capacity availability, and new smart-device platforms entering mass production.

Arm is expanding its business model from licensing Neoverse core IP and compute subsystem (CSS) technologies to selling finished server CPUs for artificial general intelligence (AGI) applications. Meta is a co-developer and primary customer, while OpenAI also plans to adopt the products. Customers can purchase processors directly, reducing the time and cost required to develop and deploy their own chips, while Arm can increase its chip sales revenue.

Hon Hai Tech Day 2026 (HHTD 26) continued to focus on next-generation AI infrastructure. Although the event featured slightly fewer robots than in 2025, it still maintained a dedicated robotics exhibition area where Foxconn and its partners showcased the latest developments in smart manufacturing technology. Participants included KUKA, ABB, and Yaskawa, which are among the four major robotics families, as well as Japanese passive-component manufacturer TDK. Taiwan-based companies including Hiwin, TM Robot, and TECO also joined the exhibition.

Taiwan's economy has stayed in "booming" territory for a record 10th consecutive month, according to the monitoring indicator compiled by the National Development Council (NDC), the government's monthly gauge of the business cycle. The streak, which began in December 2025, reflects continued strength in shipments of electronic and information and communications technology (ICT) products, and surpasses the previous high of nine straight months set from February to October 2021.

Foxconn chairman Young Liu said the company's core strengths are processing capabilities and vertical integration, as the manufacturer seeks to move beyond its long-standing image as a simple "Box Mover." At its 2026 Hon Hai Tech Day, Liu described an end-to-end model spanning design, components, assembly, software integration, and global logistics.

Foxconn Chairman Young Liu said at the opening of Hon Hai Tech Day 2026 (HHTD26) on October 30 that the company's core competitive strengths lie in its "processing capabilities" and "vertical integration," as the company seeks to dispel the perception that it is merely a "box mover" handling basic system assembly.

Marvell is reportedly in advanced talks to acquire Lumentum, a major laser supplier, in a deal that could be announced as early as next week if no other technology giant intervenes. Based on Lumentum's current market capitalization of approximately US$83 billion, the transaction would be Marvell's largest acquisition ever.

Nvidia is reportedly evaluating billions of dollars in credit support for UK neocloud provider Nscale to help cover power and construction costs for a data center in West Virginia. Nscale faces simultaneous pressure to accelerate the launch of the Nvidia chip-powered campus, which is expected to be used by AI startup Anthropic, while preparing for an initial public offering (IPO), underscoring how AI infrastructure competition is expanding from chip supply to financing and construction capabilities.

Delta Electronics approved plans on October 28 to establish a large manufacturing base in Penang, Malaysia, as the power and thermal management company expands overseas production to support customer demand. The site is expected to ramp up to capacity comparable to that of Delta's Thailand operations over five years, with space reserved for process research and development and a potential future R&D center.