DIGITIMES Asia news

Monday 30 March 2026

Phison and Intel go hybrid to keep China's AI lobster craze from burning out

The recent craze for OpenClaw "lobster raising" in China has sparked massive token consumption, with Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) calling it the first killer app of AI agents. In response, Phison teamed up with Intel to introduce a "hybrid lobster solution" that addresses soaring cloud costs and security risks, selling out its initial batch on Chinese e-commerce platforms

Commentary: US chip security act ends China's special AI chip supply

Monday 30 March 2026

Huawei PanguLM lead exits, reviving model controversy

Monday 30 March 2026

Toshiba, Rohm, Mitsubishi Electric, and partners begin talks on integrating Japanese power device and semiconductor businesses

Monday 30 March 2026

SEMICON China 2026: JCET CEO makes the case for atomic-level packaging to carry Moore's Law forward

Monday 30 March 2026

LATEST STORIES

Monday 30 March 2026

China's chip equipment and supply chain scale up on AI demand, look overseas

SEMICON China 2026 opened in Shanghai, highlighting how AI demand is reshaping the global semiconductor industry and accelerating China's domestic supply chain

Monday 30 March 2026

Passive component maker Tai-Tech wins US client, scales Malaysia plant for AI server, EV demand

Taiwan inductor maker Tai-Tech has begun mass production at its Malaysia plant, targeting customers shifting supply chains away from China. The facility has secured a qualification from a US networking equipment provider, supporting new AI-related orders and expected volume growth from 2026

Monday 30 March 2026

Microloops expands liquid cooling capacity in China and Vietnam to meet rising demand

Cooling module manufacturer Microloops announced plans to expand its liquid cooling plate production capacity in Vietnam and China to address growing demand for liquid cooling solutions. Currently, Microloops' monthly liquid cooling plate output in China stands at 5,000 units, but by 2026, combined capacity across both locations is expected to reach 40,000 units, reflecting the rapid adoption of server liquid cooling technology

Monday 30 March 2026

China builds open RISC-V chip platform with Xiangshan, Ruyi OS

China's Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) launched next-generation chip and operating system co-development alongside the debut of the Xiangshan open-source processor and Ruyi native OS at the 2026 Zhongguancun Forum

Monday 30 March 2026

Samsung reportedly shifts Xi'an plant to 236-layer NAND

Samsung Electronics has reportedly begun mass production of 236-layer NAND flash at its Xi'an plant in China, marking a key step in its transition to higher-layer memory as demand from artificial intelligence applications accelerates

Monday 30 March 2026

China's semiconductor capacity share to reach 32% by 2030

The global semiconductor industry is undergoing a structural transformation. SEMI estimates that in 2025, capital expenditures (CapEx) by the four largest US cloud service providers (CSPs) will reach US$400 billion, more than twice the total semiconductor industry CapEx. When including Chinese cloud providers and sovereign AI investments, global AI infrastructure spending could surpass US$1 trillion by 2027

Monday 30 March 2026

Sony raises PlayStation 5 prices amid memory costs spike

Sony Group's gaming subsidiary, Sony Interactive Entertainment, announced on March 27 that it would raise the global retail price of its flagship home console, the PlayStation 5, effective April 2. In Japan, the suggested retail price of the standard model will climb to JPY97,980 (approx. US$613), a steep increase of roughly 23%. A Japan-only version, introduced in 2025 without a disc drive and limited to the Japanese language, will remain unchanged at JPY55,000

Monday 30 March 2026

AI-driven memory market set to top US$600 billion on rising storage demand

The global semiconductor memory market is expected to surpass US$600 billion by 2026, as artificial intelligence accelerates a shift toward high-performance storage, according to industry executives

Monday 30 March 2026

China launches probe into US green product trade barriers

China's Ministry of Commerce has launched an investigation into what it describes as US trade barriers affecting green products, citing domestic trade law provisions that allow authorities to examine restrictive measures imposed by other countries

Monday 30 March 2026

Samsung invests in AI chip design startup to speed silicon and cut power use

Samsung Electronics has backed AI chip design startup Normal Computing in a US$50 million funding round, expanding its push into AI-driven electronic design automation and next-generation semiconductor architectures. The move targets faster chip development cycles and rising energy constraints in AI infrastructure

Monday 30 March 2026

Weekly news roundup: AI, supply chains, new entrants intensify global chip race

Below are the most-read DIGITIMES Asia stories from the week of March 23-27, 2026

Monday 30 March 2026

NeurIPS rule barring OFAC-listed institutions raises global collaboration concerns

NeurIPS' new rule barring institutions on the US Treasury Department's OFAC entity list from submitting papers, reviewing, or editing risks fracturing global AI collaboration, excluding major Chinese companies, and prompting academic backlash that could reshape cross-border research ties, the composition of leading AI conferences, and the governance of global science

Monday 30 March 2026

AI compression won't ease memory crunch, NAND shortage set to persist

AI-driven demand is tightening global memory supply, pushing NAND flash and server DRAM into shortages, price hikes, and capacity constraints. Server memory demand is expected to grow more than 40% in 2026, accounting for over half of total storage usage

Monday 30 March 2026

PLI incentives drive incremental gains in India's electronics and automotive manufacturing

India is reporting steady progress in expanding domestic manufacturing capacity across electronics, automotive, and other industrial sectors under its "Make in India" and production-linked incentive (PLI) programmes, with investments, output, and exports continuing to scale

Monday 30 March 2026

India roundup: India resets FDI policy as rising GPU costs reshape AI strategy

India is recalibrating FDI rules, semiconductor incentives and AI policy while expanding power capacity and attracting global players like Tesla, Keysight and DNP. Data center ambitions are rising amid talks with Meta and Google. However, challenges persist, including rising GPU costs and declining smartphone shipments, highlighting a complex but accelerating industrial transformation

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