The global economic landscape underwent three major transformations in 2025: the Great Rebalancing, the evolution of the AI supercycle, and a US industrial revival driven by national security considerations

Post-pandemic inventory digestion for mature semiconductor processes has come to an end. Market conditions have rebounded amid tariff-hedging and precautionary stocking, driving Taiwan's leading packaging lead frame supplier, Chang Wah Technology, to see rising demand for high-end products in the second half of 2025. The company has also accelerated capacity expansion plans across Taiwan, China, and Malaysia

Japanese semiconductor firms are pivoting toward advanced packaging and alternative lithography as TSMC extends its scale advantage in artificial intelligence chips. TSMC's 3nm and 2nm capacity is largely locked in. Advanced packaging now contributes a growing share of sales. The company is on track to see annual revenue exceed US$250 billion around 2029 or 2030. That widening gap has pushed Japanese companies to focus on panel-level packaging and nanoimprint technologies. Both emerged at SEMICON Japan 2025 as key levers to bypass manufacturing bottlenecks and secure a foothold in the fast-expanding AI accelerator supply chain

Artificial intelligence continues to be the central force behind the upcoming productivity revolution. Yet in the US, foundational energy constraints threaten to stall progress. The primary obstacle is not a shortage of semiconductor chips or inadequate computing capacity. It is a more fundamental resource: electricity. Increasing demand from AI data centers (AIDCs) is straining the nation's electric grid. It is testing the limits of social tolerance

The global semiconductor market is projected to reach US$1 trillion as early as 2026, significantly ahead of previous industry forecasts targeting 2030. The World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) forecast, released in December 2024, expects growth to be driven predominantly by logic chips, including GPUs and AI accelerators. Memory markets are poised for the steepest increase

The biggest recent news in AI chip development is Nvidia's non-exclusive technology licensing agreement with Groq. Nvidia invested US$20 billion to acquire Groq's technology license and onboard its core engineering team

On December 30, Chinese AI company Z.ai launched a share sale to raise HK$4.35 billion (approx. US$560 million), aiming to become the first large language model (LLM) developer listed in Hong Kong amid a tech IPO surge, with a scheduled listing for January 8, 2026. Meanwhile, Z.ai has recently launched its latest open-source model, GLM-4.7, signaling a shift toward enterprise-focused AI and broader global adoption. As the company prepares for a 2026 IPO, the release highlights the growing influence of independent developers in a market increasingly shaped by hyperscale competitors and ecosystem distribution

When the Manhattan Project mobilized the full weight of the American state in 1945 to unlock atomic energy, it revealed something humanity had not fully grasped before: once a scientific breakthrough is absorbed into national strategy, its impact can far exceed any single industry or technology. Eighty years later, the US is attempting to recreate that logic—this time around artificial intelligence (AI)

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

TSMC is navigating a complex landscape of export controls and domestic competition as speculation grows around its second Kumamoto factory. The key question: will the Japanese facility produce advanced 2nm chips to fuel the nation's artificial intelligence ambitions

After briefly approaching a US$5 trillion market capitalisation, Nvidia spent 2025 deploying capital at an unprecedented pace, backing Groq, OpenAI, Nokia, Synopsys, and Intel through technology deals, equity stakes, and strategic partnerships. The objective is straightforward: convert AI-driven cash inflows into a durable, structural influence across the AI ecosystem

In recent years, Foxconn has steadily expanded its ambitions in electric vehicles, moving beyond its traditional role as a platform provider and contract manufacturer toward the consumer-facing end of the market. Through its subsidiary Foxtron—operating under the formal name Hon Hai Advanced Industry—the group has begun directly running an EV business in Taiwan. Earlier this month, Foxtron hosted an online launch event, unveiling three new EV models simultaneously

After attending the 2025 Guangzhou Auto Show, DIGITIMES analyzed the latest strategies unveiled by leading automakers and suppliers in two pivotal areas: energy replenishment technologies and advanced intelligent driving. The conclusion was hard to miss. Chinese carmakers have accumulated deep technical capabilities in both domains and are moving steadily toward a long-held ambition: making electric vehicles refuel as quickly as gasoline cars, while bringing high-level autonomous driving into everyday use

J.K. Wang, a veteran leader in the semiconductor industry and former COO of TSMC, shared insights on TSMC's large-scale wafer fab mass production during his first media interview since retirement. Speaking on DIGITIMES' IC Broadcasting podcast, Wang highlighted how TSMC's success stems from meticulous teamwork rather than any single individual

Dublin-based semiconductor startup CHIPX plans to build an 8-inch gallium nitride on silicon carbide wafer fabrication plant in Malaysia to meet rising demand from artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and high-voltage power electronics, CEO and founder Chinmoy Baruah told DIGITIMES Asia. The project aims to establish a front-end manufacturing presence in Southeast Asia, with the company expecting to reach key milestones beginning in January 2026