Solid state drive (SSD) controller start-up SandForce has closed US$21 million in series C funding. Led by new investor TransLink Capital, the round also included new investors UMC Capital, LSI, Red Maple Ventures, Darwin Ventures and A-Data Technology.

Intel will release a US$120 solid-state disk (SSD) drive positioned as a server "boot drive" with only 40GB of capacity, but the drive could also be used in low-end laptops PCs and netbooks.

Exports hit a one-year high of US$19.8 billion in October 2009, as a recovery in the world's economy boosted demand for Taiwanese-made electronics, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Finance.

Taiwan Vice Premier Eric Chu has said a breakthrough in the negotiations with Beijing on cross-strait financial regulation was expected in a matter of days.

The increase in GDP has not translated into jobs yet because of firms' strong tendency to work each employee harder early in a recovery before hiring more of them.

Applied Materials has acquired substantially all the assets, including the intellectual property, of Advent Solar for an undisclosed cash amount. Advent Solar is a developer of advanced technology for crystalline silicon (c-Si) PVs.