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Thursday 5 November 2026
Commentary: AOI locks in China's InP substrates for AI optics, but export controls threaten supply
AI data centers are accelerating demand for high-speed optical communications, extending competition in the optical transceiver market beyond chips and module manufacturing to critical upstream materials. Indium phosphide (InP), a key substrate for high-speed optical lasers and optoelectronic devices, is increasingly sought after as 800G and 1.6T transceivers gain traction...
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Friday 6 November 2026
Why US midterm sweep could cost China's AI exports more than it gains
A slower US build-out of AI infrastructure after the Democratic Party's midterm sweep could cost China more economically than it gains strategically, Bloomberg Economics said, because the hardware export boom propping up China's growth this year rests on US data center construction.
Friday 6 November 2026
Samsung, SK Hynix eye AI inference boom as South Korea's SSD exports soar 584%
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are expanding their high-value NAND flash portfolios to meet growing demand for high-performance, high-capacity enterprise solid-state drives (eSSDs). The proliferation of AI agents and long-context services is increasing the need for key-value (KV) caching, prompting both companies to develop next-generation SSDs and tiered memory technologies to reuse AI computation results more efficiently.
Friday 6 November 2026
DDR, LPDDR revenue growth outpaces HBM as DRAM market nears US$200 billion
Revenue from conventional DDR and LPDDR memory grew faster than that from high-bandwidth memory (HBM) in the third quarter of 2026, as global DRAM revenue surged 369% year over year to nearly US$200 billion, according to Counterpoint Research.
Friday 6 November 2026
Taiwan-US teams target Navy unmanned boat tender
As Taiwan's drone procurement program moves forward, the Navy is preparing to acquire more than 1,300 small suicide unmanned boats, with a budget approaching NT$30 billion (US$913 million). The tender could launch as early as the end of 2026, prompting local and overseas suppliers to form partnerships and showcase their capabilities at this week's Taiwan Ocean Technology and Unmanned Vehicle Show.
Friday 6 November 2026
Hua Hong Grace eyes silicon photonics expansion as AI chip shortages lift pricing power
China's second-largest contract chipmaker, Hua Hong Grace Semiconductor, is expanding into silicon photonics and power management chips to capitalise on AI infrastructure demand, following record third-quarter 2026 revenue and a 147.1% surge in profit.
Friday 6 November 2026
China's LCD cuts and price hikes threaten Samsung TV profits
Samsung Electronics' TV business faces the prospect of prolonged losses as Chinese panel makers, including BOE Technology Group (BOE) and TCL China Star Optoelectronics Technology (TCL CSOT), raise LCD prices, while Samsung grows increasingly dependent on China and lacks suitable alternative suppliers.
Friday 6 November 2026
Naver's Nvidia-backed AI factory faces crucial test after US$9 billion deal
Naver is preparing to launch its Nvidia-backed AI factory business after securing an infrastructure agreement with Brookfield worth up to US$9 billion. With OpenAI and Anthropic seen as potential customers for AI computing services in South Korea, the company now faces the challenge of securing contracts that can support its expansion and cover rising operating costs.
Friday 6 November 2026
AMD teams up with FuriosaAI, MangoBoost to build Seoul AI cluster
AMD has signed an agreement with South Korean companies FuriosaAI and MangoBoost to build a heterogeneous AI computing cluster in Seoul by spring 2027, while separately discussing potential cooperation with DEEPX on low-power AI chips for robotics and industrial applications.
Friday 6 November 2026
India's premium shift shields Apple from decade-low smartphone slump
India is now an important market for Apple in two ways. It is a growth market where the company set an all-time revenue record in the September quarter, even as overall smartphone shipments fell to a decade low. It is also a production base that, according to industry estimates, assembles roughly one in four iPhones.
Friday 6 November 2026
US midterm elections shake-up leaves Samsung, SK Hynix facing AI data center risks, CHIPS Act opportunities
The Democrats' sweeping victory in the November 2026 US midterm elections, securing control of both chambers of Congress, has prompted South Korean industries to reassess the implications for investment, trade, and technology policy. With South Korea and Taiwan both heavily dependent on semiconductors, AI, and electronics, Washington's policy direction carries significant consequences for their technology sectors.
Thursday 5 November 2026
Qisda revenue rises 13% in October as AI businesses accelerate
Qisda posted October consolidated revenue of NT$19.39 billion (US$590.8 million), up 13.47% year-over-year but down 1.85% from September, as its AI infrastructure, AI solutions, and smart manufacturing, and AI healthcare businesses all recorded double-digit growth from a year earlier.
Thursday 5 November 2026
SDC auto OLED shortage leads Li Auto to ship new Mega with LCDs
Samsung Display (SDC) is facing a shortage of automotive OLED panels supplied to Chinese EV maker Li Auto, prompting Li Auto to temporarily ship some new Mega vehicles with LCD panels. Strong vehicle sales have driven demand for high-specification displays beyond expectations, potentially giving SDC's automotive OLED business fresh momentum.
Thursday 5 November 2026
Apple opens AI beta in China with Qwen-integrated Siri
Apple has opened testing of its China-specific Apple Intelligence service with the iOS 27.3 developer beta released on November 4, integrating Alibaba's Qwen model into Siri. The full version is expected in December, as Apple works to close the gap in its generative AI offerings in China.
Thursday 5 November 2026
South Korea's Moreh claims AMD MI355X delivers over twice Nvidia B200's inference throughput
South Korean AI software developer Moreh says AMD Instinct MI355X GPUs running its inference software delivered more than twice the throughput of Nvidia B200 GPUs in company tests, as South Korea moves ahead with plans to build AI infrastructure combining AMD processors with locally developed chips.
Thursday 5 November 2026
Naver Cloud ramps up use of AMD EPYC, citing high Intel CPU costs
South Korean cloud services provider Naver Cloud now runs AMD EPYC processors in about 35,000 servers and plans to deploy 144-core fifth-generation EPYC chips in its public cloud services in the second half of 2026. The company turned to AMD after high prices for Intel's higher-core-count processors slowed its server expansion.