Although AI has made tremendous progress in the digital domain, intelligence in the physical world still faces many challenges. Robots need to perceive 3D space, manipulate objects, and understand physical rules, all of which require enormous investments of manpower and resources. Dr. Jim Fan, head of Nvidia's robotics business and co-head of the GEAR lab, recently posted on X criticizing the current state of the robotics industry. Looking back at developments in robotics in the year now coming to an end, he argues that the robotics field remains in a state of chaos, and that its development direction may be wrong.

The rapid expansion of AI data centers is triggering unprecedented electricity demand, placing Taiwan's power grid under growing strain. Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) Chairman Wen-sheng Tseng warns that land scarcity, urban density, and climate risks are converging into a critical infrastructure challenge.

Facing US restrictions on high-end computing products, China is restructuring its AI chip industry by advancing GPU, TPU, and NPU technologies simultaneously. Domestic firms struggle to match Nvidia's software ecosystem but seek breakthroughs with TPUs for efficiency and NPUs for edge applications.

Taiwan Mobile (TWM) has accelerated its AI application deployment, positioning self-developed AI solutions as a key growth engine for future operations. The company's president, Jamie Lin, highlighted that TWM's proprietary AI offerings, including large language models (LLM) and automatic speech recognition (ASR) technologies, are expected to achieve triple-digit growth by 2026.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has openly criticized the integration performance of the company's AI assistant, Copilot, especially its connection with email platforms such as Gmail and Outlook. According to PYMNTS, which cited a report by The Information, Nadella personally reviewed the product and has demanded accelerated improvements from the engineering team.

Traditional encryption systems are facing challenges as AI and quantum computing advance. In early 2025, international financial institutions and automotive supply chains began adopting post-quantum cryptography (PQC) to prepare for potential threats posed by quantum computers. Now, AI data centers and industrial applications are also integrating PQC.

Backed by South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) and the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA), a new cohort of Korean startups are accelerating their push into global markets, highlighting how "digital content" now extends far beyond traditional games and films into generative AI, extended reality (XR), human-machine interface (HMI), digital healthcare, and educational technology.

Cybercriminals are turning the holiday shopping season into a lucrative target, exploiting peak online transaction periods with automated attacks, counterfeit domains, and underground promotions of stolen data, according to Fortinet's 2025 Holiday Cyber Threat Report.

Apple has confirmed it will release a new generation of Siri in 2026, marking a major software update and a renewed effort to compete in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector. The move follows a cautious approach by Apple compared to faster developments by competitors.

Sun Tech, a third-party payment brand under Softstar Entertainment, submitted its application on December 17, 2025, to list on the Taiwan Exchange's Emerging Stock Board (ESB). The company will hold a pre-listing earnings call on December 29, 2025, to outline its future business strategies and growth drivers, with the official ESB debut scheduled for January 5, 2026.

Enterprises are rapidly adopting AI agents—autonomous AI applications capable of decision-making. But this shift exposes them to new cybersecurity risks. Simon Tai, managing director for Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan at SailPoint, revealed that up to 80% of companies have experienced AI agents performing unexpected actions, highlighting a critical gap in governance mechanisms for non-human identities.

Line go, a leading Mobility as a Service (MaaS) platform in Taiwan, has integrated seven key transportation services into a single digital ecosystem, now serving over 4.8 million users nationwide. The company recently obtained dual international ISO certifications for information security and privacy protection as it rapidly expands its service offerings and technological capabilities.

AI is reshaping global industries, but for smart healthcare startups, the biggest challenge remains how to translate technology into real-world clinical markets beyond isolated experiments. On December 18, the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) and international venture accelerator SparkLabs Taiwan co-hosted the Smart Health Capital Forum, bringing together representatives from medical startups, global pharmaceutical companies, and tech firms to share practical experiences in launching AI medical products and discuss balancing commercialization with clinical application.

As generative AI accelerates a new era of data-driven applications beyond big data, the quality and governance of data have emerged as decisive factors for success. In response, Taiwan's data community has taken a significant step toward standardization and trust by establishing the Taiwan Data Management Association (TDAMA) on December 16, 2025, aiming to address the long-standing lack of data governance standards across Taiwan's industries

Saudi Arabia is promoting the idea of "data embassies" to draw global investments in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, aiming to become the first G20 country with a comprehensive legal framework to protect foreign data sovereignty. The concept, reported by CNBC and Bloomberg, envisions data centers on Saudi soil governed by the laws of the data-owning country, similar to diplomatic embassies.

TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, have signed binding agreements to create a new US-based joint venture that will be majority-owned and controlled by American investors, TikTok CEO Shou Chew said in an internal memo to employees. The transaction, which is expected to close on January 22, 2026, is designed to secure the video-sharing platform's long-term operations in the US amid persistent national security scrutiny from Washington.

Even as the enterprise sector remains reluctant to adopt AI due to potential reputational damage or legal risks from LLM hallucinations, cybercriminal groups have long abandoned these worries. For hackers, AI errors simply mean they need to try again, leading them to rapidly adopt new technologies that have now enabled cyberattacks on a fully industrial scale.

Taiwan Premier Cho Jung-tai recently announced the government plans to invest NT$31.1 billion (US$992.95 million) in 2026 for 10 major AI infrastructure initiatives, including a government-subsidized project to advance the country's AI software sector. The software initiative aims to encourage all industries to adopt intelligent applications, transforming Taiwan into a truly smart technology island.

As 2025 draws to a close, leading cybersecurity firms are publishing their forecasts for 2026 trends, and their conclusions are strikingly aligned. Analyses from Check Point, Fortinet, and Trend Micro point to a pivotal shift: artificial intelligence will evolve from a mere "assistive tool" into an autonomous agent capable of independent decision-making.

At the startup expo COMEUP 2025 that took place in Seoul last week, Taiwan's emerging companies, including Infinitix and SurveyCake, showcased plans to deepen their footprint in South Korea's growing AI and consumer markets. Led by the National Development Council (NDC) and local startup communities under the Startup Island Taiwan brand, these firms aim to leverage South Korea's vibrant tech ecosystem for expansion.

Taiwanese startup accelerator AppWorks and South Korea's SparkLabs participated in COMEUP 2025, a prominent startup event in Seoul, underscoring growing collaboration between the two Asian technology hubs. Both economies aim to help startups overcome geographic barriers and jointly expand their presence in global markets as artificial intelligence gains momentum worldwide.

Smart building solutions provider Ezcon has announced the launch of its fully integrated smart building solution, developed in conjunction with major partners Intel, Aopen, Advantech, Aspeed Technology, and Schneider Electric. According to Ezcon CEO Benny Chou, the move aims to address low-cost competition from Chinese suppliers and fragmented systems in the Taiwanese market by introducing high-spec hardware and API integration to facilitate after-sales maintenance and cross-system interoperability.

Driven by the rise of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), competition across computing power, data, and applications is intensifying, prompting countries to adjust their technology strategies in a bid to secure a leading position in industrial competition over the next decade.