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Thursday 19 March 2026

AI and memory drive semiconductor output to surpass US$1 trillion in 2026

The global surge in AI demand and tightening memory supply have pushed prices higher, propelling the semiconductor industry into a new growth cycle. Global chief marketing officer and president of Taiwan at SEMI, Terry Tsao, said the sector's output is expected to break the US$1 trillion mark ahead of schedule in 2026, with projections reaching US$2 trillion by 2035, outpacing previous forecasts. However, he also highlighted talent recruitment as the biggest bottleneck facing the semiconductor industry over the next three years.

Thursday 19 March 2026

Groq anchors Nvidia's inference strategy; CPU redefines architecture for AI agents

As AI evolves from generating information to executing tasks, inference scenarios characterized by coding agents and requiring low latency and high throughput are ushering in the next phase of AI infrastructure commercialization. However, even powerful systems like Vera Rubin face challenges when confronted with extreme generation demands. While Nvidia remains the undisputed leader in throughput, traditional GPU architectures appear too heavy for ultra-low-latency token generation. This is why Jensen Huang moved quickly to secure IP licensing and talent from Groq ahead of Christmas 2025.

Thursday 19 March 2026

Tencent to double AI spending on 13% revenue growth as chip curbs reshape capex

Tencent is preparing a sharp escalation in artificial intelligence investment, with plans to more than double spending to over CNY36 billion (US$5.2 billion) in 2026, even as chip export restrictions have disrupted its earlier capital expenditure strategy.

Thursday 19 March 2026

AMD, Samsung deepen AI chip ties with HBM4 supply and foundry talks

AMD CEO Lisa Su met Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong on March 18, the same day the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to expand semiconductor cooperation, signalling a broader push into AI chips, memory, and foundry services.

Thursday 19 March 2026

Strong quarter for Jabil fueled by smart infrastructure and automotive demand

Jabil delivered fiscal second-quarter results that topped its own expectations, buoyed by sustained strength in its Intelligent Infrastructure business and a stronger-than-anticipated showing in Regulated Industries.

Thursday 19 March 2026

Column: OpenClaw pulls AI from cloud to the edge

OpenClaw's rapid rise has pushed "lobster-raising" from a niche developer trend into a cross-industry race spanning chips, hardware, and end devices.

Thursday 19 March 2026

Micron forecasts record revenue as memory supply tightens

Micron Technology projected record third-quarter revenue after posting a sharp rise in fiscal second-quarter results, as artificial intelligence (AI) demand and constrained supply continue to drive pricing gains across memory markets.

Thursday 19 March 2026

Column: OpenClaw ignites China's AI agent land grab

OpenClaw's "lobster-raising" wave is moving from developers into China's internet and software sectors at speed in early 2026. Unlike earlier large-model races centred on parameters and compute, this AI agent cycle is defined by a single question: who controls the user entry point?

Thursday 19 March 2026

Analysis on Micron's strategic pivot: de-commoditizing the memory industry

The most significant revelation from CEO Sanjay Mehrotra during Micron's earnings call was the structural shift in how the company engages with its largest customers.

Thursday 19 March 2026

Micron delivers record-breaking 2Q26 financial results driven by AI demand

Micron Technology has reported blockbuster financial results for its second quarter of fiscal 2026, ending February 26, 2026, setting new company records for revenue, gross margin, and earnings per share. The results highlight the increasingly strategic role of memory and storage in the artificial intelligence (AI) era.

Thursday 19 March 2026

Samsung, AMD expand AI memory and compute partnership with MOU to align HBM4 supply and DDR5 support

Samsung Electronics announced it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with AMD to expand its strategic collaboration on next-generation AI memory and computing technologies.

Thursday 19 March 2026

AMD deepens ties with Naver in bid to expand AI infrastructure

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is set to deepen its collaboration with Naver Corporation after CEO Lisa Su visits South Korea, with the companies signing an MOU to jointly develop GPU and infrastructure technologies for large-scale AI models.

Thursday 19 March 2026

Analysis: China's on-device AI chipmakers rush to supply OpenClaw, race for edge AI silicon leadership

OpenClaw is forcing a rethink of the AI hardware stack, shifting the locus of deployment from cloud-based interaction to autonomous, always-on agents running locally on devices.

Thursday 19 March 2026

Nvidia adopts Groq to tackle AI inference and expand global reach

At its annual GTC conference in San Jose, Nvidia unveiled a major shift in its AI hardware strategy: integrating technology from AI chip startup Groq to address growing demand in AI inference, while simultaneously preparing new products for global markets, including China.

Thursday 19 March 2026

Acer ITS makes 'healing economy' micro-payment push to expand beyond smart transport

Acer ITS is making inroads into the so-called "healing economy" market through micro-payment solutions, according to company president Ming-feng Yu. These cover new opportunities in smart city applications, such as self-service laundries, car washes, and temple donations, with micro-payment revenue forecast to double in 2026.

Thursday 19 March 2026

Column: Cheap tokens are masking an expensive problem

The cost of running an AI query has fallen by roughly 99% over the past two years. That should be a story about savings. Instead, it's a story about demand.

Wednesday 18 March 2026

Nvidia partners with chipmakers to advance industrial robotics

At Nvidia's GTC 2026 conference, major chipmakers — including Texas Instruments (TI), Infineon Technologies AG, NXP Semiconductors, Analog Devices (ADI), and Synopsys — announced new collaborations centered on robotics built around Nvidia's platform. Robotics is now the defining focus for IDM firms and the broader industrial control chip ecosystem.

Wednesday 18 March 2026

Asus, Foxconn take Taiwan smart city model global

Asus is teaming up with Foxconn and industry partners to develop a replicable "city-as-a-solution" model, positioning itself to capture demand as smart cities enter a fourth-generation AI City phase. The approach focuses on integrating group resources into scalable deployments that can be exported as complete city solutions.

Wednesday 18 March 2026

Nvidia reportedly preparing Groq AI chips for the Chinese market

Nvidia is preparing Groq AI chips for sale in the Chinese market, according to Reuters. The move signals the company's intent to remain competitive in the global inference chip market, particularly as Chinese chip firms move to fill the void left by US chips following export restrictions.

Wednesday 18 March 2026

Jensen Huang's survival playbook: Nvidia navigates the next AI frontier

At GTC 2026, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang delivered a blunt message to an industry fixated on raw compute: the next bottleneck in AI is not the chip — it is everything around it. From packaging and interconnects to geopolitics and supply chains, Huang mapped a future where performance gains depend on deep collaboration across the entire stack, even as global tensions strain the ecosystem holding it together.

Wednesday 18 March 2026

Tencent joins OpenClaw as sponsor after copy dispute, aligns with OpenAI and Baidu

OpenClaw founder Peter Steinberger accused Tencent of copying a GitHub open-source project without providing support, prompting Tencent on March 16 to announce it had become a sponsor alongside OpenAI and Baidu.

Wednesday 18 March 2026

How Meta's Manus acquisition ignited a new tech war

When Meta announced its US$2 billion acquisition of AI startup Manus, it was meant to be a victory lap for CEO Mark Zuckerberg. By bringing what it billed as the world's most advanced agentic AI under the Meta umbrella, the social media giant was expected to leapfrog OpenAI and Google. Instead, the deal has become a flashpoint for geopolitical tension. According to The New York Times and Alpha Spread, the acquisition is now entangled in investigations over "Singapore washing" and questions about the origins of its digital infrastructure.

Wednesday 18 March 2026

Nvidia GTC 2026: Memory, power, and deployment challenges reshape AI infrastructure

Amid tightening memory supply and surging demand for AI-ready infrastructure, hardware vendors are racing to redesign systems for the next phase of enterprise AI adoption — a shift thrown into sharp relief at Nvidia's GTC 2026.

Wednesday 18 March 2026

IBM completes Confluent acquisition to power real-time AI data

On March 17, IBM completed its acquisition of Confluent, Inc., the data streaming platform used by more than 6,500 enterprises — including 40% of the Fortune 500 — to power real-time operations. Under the agreement, IBM acquired all issued and outstanding common shares of Confluent for US$31 per share in cash, representing an enterprise value of approximately US$11 billion.

Wednesday 18 March 2026

OpenAI teams with AWS to target US govt AI contracts

OpenAI has signed an agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to provide its artificial intelligence tools to US government agencies for both classified and unclassified work, according to The Information and Reuters, as the company steps up efforts to secure defense and public-sector contracts.

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