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Tuesday 30 June 2026
OpenAI IPO filing exposes US$665bn spending web and Altman conflict risks

OpenAI has confidentially filed for an initial public offering with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), setting the stage for closer scrutiny of its related-party transactions and potential conflicts of interest involving CEO Sam Altman's extensive personal investment portfolio.

Tuesday 30 June 2026
China's LineShine puts Beijing back on top of supercomputer race

A name largely absent from the global supercomputing stage for years returned to the spotlight at ISC 2026 in Hamburg, Germany.

Tuesday 30 June 2026
Halos signals Nvidia's bid to make safety certification the robotics gateway

Nvidia does not make robots, but it is becoming a key force behind embodied intelligence companies. At Automate 2026, North America's largest industrial automation show, on June 22, Deepu Talla, vice president of Nvidia's robotics business, said on stage that the company hired 18,600 man-years of engineers to bring the safety architecture of autonomous driving to robots.

Tuesday 30 June 2026
Anthropic tops global unicorn list as China shifts to hard tech

Hurun Research Institute released its Hurun Global Unicorn List on June 25, a ranking covering 1,603 companies across 52 countries and 299 cities. The number of companies is up 5.3% from the prior year, while total global unicorn value has surged 43% year on year to US$8 trillion, far outpacing growth in the number of companies.

Tuesday 30 June 2026
Hyundai says one year of output beats Tesla's 10-year sales; manufacturing capacity crucial in physical AI race
Amid the ongoing AI race between the US and China, industry players in South Korea are now focusing on physical AI as a competitive factor, with manufacturing momentum as a core advantage, according to Park Min-woo, head of Hyundai Motor's Advanced Vehicle Platform (AVP) division and CEO of 42dot.
Tuesday 30 June 2026
Commentary: Apple raises prices, markets flinch— but demand proves more resilient than feared

Apple's latest round of price increases for Macs, MacBooks, and iPads has unsettled investors and weighed on Asian technology markets, but the reaction may be disproportionate to the likely impact on demand. While higher prices will inevitably slow some purchases, Apple's premium positioning, loyal customer base, and selective pricing strategy suggest the broader implications for shipments and the supply chain are likely to remain manageable.

Tuesday 30 June 2026
Red Hat sees cloud-to-edge shift in Taiwan AI deployment

Enterprises are increasingly moving AI deployments from public cloud to on-premises systems as demand rises for data sovereignty, compliance, and local data control. Irene Sun, general manager for Red Hat Taiwan, said the same shift is taking hold in Taiwan, where companies are paying far more attention to who controls critical data, core models, and computing environments.

Monday 29 June 2026
Baidu subsidiary Kunlunxin seeks US$50B IPO valuation, asks investors to buy its chips

Kunlunxin, the semiconductor subsidiary of Chinese search engine giant Baidu, is targeting a US$50 billion valuation for its Hong Kong public offering. The company is also asking investors to commit to buying its chips as a condition of participation, according to The Information, underscoring the competitive dynamics shaping chip makers as Beijing moves to strengthen its domestic AI supply chain.

Monday 29 June 2026
Chengxi approved for Taipei Exchange listing as AI reshapes customer service

Chengxi Information said on June 26 that the Taipei Exchange board approved its listing application, with Mega Securities serving as the lead underwriter. The company also held its shareholders' meeting the same day, approving the 2025 financial report and a profit distribution plan that includes a cash dividend of NT$5.3 per share and a payout ratio of more than 80%.

Monday 29 June 2026
Taiwan optics makers eye humanoid robot vision market as deployments accelerate
As physical AI enters a pivotal growth phase in 2026, deployment of robotic systems is rapidly accelerating across the industry. Beyond established applications such as inspection, healthcare, and service robots, humanoid robots are emerging as a major demand driver. As AI moves toward practical deployment, demand for robot vision modules is expected to rise sharply, with volume production set to accelerate.
Monday 29 June 2026
AI demand drives Foundry 2.0 market revenue up 23% in 1Q26, says Counterpoint
Global revenue for the semiconductor industry's "Foundry 2.0" market reached US$86 billion in the first quarter of 2026, up 23% year-over-year, driven by strong demand for AI accelerators and advanced packaging, according to Counterpoint Research.
Monday 29 June 2026
China makes AI power a national priority in new five-year energy plan

Generative AI is driving a sharp rise in electricity demand from data centers and AI computing infrastructure, prompting China to release its 15th Five-Year Plan for the Construction of a New Energy System (2026–2030). The plan incorporates AI power demand into China's national energy strategy for the first time, calling for closer coordination between electricity supply and computing capacity to support AI, advanced manufacturing, and other strategic industries.

Monday 29 June 2026
Weekly news roundup: South Korea takes physical AI push from policy to practice; Europe aggressively pursues non-red supply chains
Below are the most-read DIGITIMES Asia stories from the week of June 22-28, 2026:
Monday 29 June 2026
Foxlink appoints Freddy Kuo president, targets AI factory transformation
Cheng Uei Precision Industry (Foxlink) announced on June 24 that its board of directors has approved the appointment of Freddy Kuo as company president. Speaking publicly for the first time in his new capacity on June 26, Kuo outlined the group's artificial intelligence (AI) transformation strategy, saying the company will evolve from a traditional electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider into an "AI factory," using smart manufacturing to redefine its global competitive position.
Monday 29 June 2026
US AI restrictions face scrutiny as Chinese models gain ground

Chinese artificial intelligence developer Zhipu AI, also known as Z.ai, is narrowing the performance gap with leading US AI companies in cybersecurity-focused models, underscoring intensifying technological competition as Washington tightens oversight of advanced AI systems.

Monday 29 June 2026
Physical AI's next hurdle is not walking, but grasping

As Physical AI moves closer to commercial reality, its global impact may depend less on humanoid robots that can run or dance and more on their ability to safely grasp, lift, and manipulate objects. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor said the central challenge is touch, force, and real-world control, not simply bigger models or faster computing.

Monday 29 June 2026
Onsemi's Synaptics acquisition intensifies competition for physical AI leadership
Onsemi's acquisition of Synaptics underscores how global chipmakers are racing to build broader edge AI platforms, with implications that could ripple through data centers, industrial systems, and connected devices. The deal signals a push toward integrated hardware stacks amid intensifying worldwide competition across the AI supply chain.
Monday 29 June 2026
Goertek's 12-inch AR wafer fab could double waveguide output, cut AI glasses costs
Goertek has begun mass production at China's first 12-inch AR optical wafer fab, a milestone that could cut waveguide costs, strengthen the domestic AI smart glasses supply chain and speed up mass-market adoption.
Monday 29 June 2026
Taiwan electronics sector stays upbeat as AI demand lifts exports
Taiwan's electronics-machinery sector is heading into the second half of 2026 with cautious optimism, as global demand for AI infrastructure, high-end semiconductors, and cloud services continues to support trade. The latest survey suggests the benefits are spreading through supply chains, with implications for manufacturers and consumers worldwide.
Monday 29 June 2026
AIC sees double-digit growth as AI infrastructure shifts to rack-level systems
AIC said the global shift from single-server AI computing to rack- and system-level integration is driving coordinated storage, compute, and networking design as a key trend in AI infrastructure worldwide. The server rack maker said it will continue deepening technology and global customer ties, while expecting full-year 2026 revenue to keep growing by double digits.
Monday 29 June 2026
LG expands data-center liquid cooling push, eyes Taiwan server partnerships amid AI infrastructure boom
As AI infrastructure pushes server power consumption to unprecedented levels, liquid cooling is rapidly moving from an alternative technology to a data-center necessity. Amid fragmented industry standards, LG Electronics is expanding its liquid-cooling portfolio while leveraging broader group resources and exploring partnerships with Taiwanese server makers to strengthen its position in the fast-growing market.
Monday 29 June 2026
India roundup: Global tech giants deepen India investments
India is attracting fresh technology investment as global companies expand AI, cloud and semiconductor commitments, reinforcing the country's growing role as a strategic manufacturing and digital infrastructure hub.
Monday 29 June 2026
Qualcomm stirs AI data center competition with CPUs, ASICs, and accelerators
Qualcomm officially unveiled its Dragonfly data center platform at this week's annual investor day, laying out a four-pronged push into cloud AI that spans SerDes, PAM4 DSP, and other connectivity technologies gained through its Alphawave acquisition; ASICs; AI accelerators; and CPUs. The company also said its Modular acquisition added key assets for an AI software stack.
Monday 29 June 2026
LinkCom leans into AI networking and high-power power modules to drive growth
LinkCom Manufacturing held its 2026 annual general meeting and said rapid AI adoption is driving demand for its magnetic components in high-speed networking, AI data-center power, silicon photonics power systems and LEO satellite ground receivers, and that the firm will pursue AI-related opportunities. The meeting outlined a medium- to long-term strategy focused on AI applications, high-power power modules and smart module solutions to convert technology into revenue growth.
Monday 29 June 2026
Commentary: Jack Ma's rice-field message and Alibaba's new AI confidence
Jack Ma recently made a rare public appearance with senior executives from Alibaba and Ant Group at a rice-planting event outside Hangzhou. Although Alibaba chairman Joseph Tsai was absent, CEO Eddie Wu, chief scientist Jingren Zhou and Ant Group chairman Eric Jing were photographed planting rice seedlings alongside the company's founder.