A number of offices under the US Department of Defense, defense industry companies, and civilian military research institutions have proposed key emerging technologies that the US should strengthen in response to ongoing military competition worldwide. Going ahead, these technologies will lay out new blueprints for the US's national security, military operations, and strategy, and developments in the defense industry, and enhance the overall combat capabilities of the military's C4I automated command systems.
The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER) released the manufacturing business climate signals for July 2025 on September 2, 2025, revealing that out of 21 manufacturing sectors, 19 flashed "blue lights" indicating recession in its composite index. However, with 70% of Taiwan's exports falling under tariff-free electronic and tech products regulated by the WTO Information Technology Agreement (ITA), the strong shipments in electronics and AI servers have softened concerns over traditional industries facing difficulties.
The explosive growth of artificial intelligence (AI) is fueling a global boom in AI data centers, driving electricity demand to record highs. Taiwanese heavy electrical firms — Fortune Electric, Teco Electric & Machinery, Shihlin Electric, and Allis Electric — are vying for contracts by slashing delivery lead times and positioning themselves as turnkey suppliers of mission-critical power systems.
Shenzhen International Semiconductor & IC Exhibition, known as SEMI-e 2025, will take place September 10-12 at the Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center. The event is expected to draw thousands of chipmakers, equipment suppliers, and technology companies as the semiconductor industry continues to expand globally.
Many believe that generative AI will replace various creative jobs, but AI-generated content often contains flaws, which has unexpectedly given rise to a new gig economy focused on editing AI output.
Taiwanese AI vision solution provider Altek announced on September 4 that it has obtained AS9100 certification for quality management systems in the aerospace and defense industries. This achievement marks the company's successful entry into the global drone and aerospace supply chain and demonstrates its capabilities in high-reliability and high-safety manufacturing, as well as highlights the international competitiveness of its research and design abilities.
In response to security concerns over its Chinese founder's background, AI voice recording device maker Plaud issued a statement on September 2, 2024, clarifying that while hardware manufacturing is commissioned to Shenzhen Jizhi Connect Technology, data from Taiwanese users is stored exclusively on Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud platforms in the US. The company emphasized that user data will not be leaked to the Chinese government.
When Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Linko, New Taipei, recently offered a monthly salary of NT$650,000 (approx. US$21,145) to recruit a pathologist, it sparked widespread debate about physician shortages. The case underscores a critical challenge in healthcare: staffing gaps are not confined to nursing but extend to highly specialized physician roles.
South Korean telecom giant SK Telecom (SKT) is doubling down on its artificial intelligence (AI) investments in the wake of a major hacking incident. The company has officially begun construction of a large-scale AI data center in Ulsan, South Korea, which will become the country's largest dedicated AI facility outside the capital region.
Broadcom posted record earnings for the third quarter of fiscal 2025, topping Wall Street forecasts on revenue and profit, and disclosed a custom AI chip order exceeding US$10 billion from an undisclosed client. The deal is expected to materially lift its AI outlook in fiscal 2026, alleviating investor concerns over a potential slowdown.
The global artificial intelligence race has split into two distinct paths. While the US pours resources into developing artificial general intelligence—machines with human-like cognitive abilities—China focuses on embedding practical AI applications across industries through its "AI+" strategy.
Taiwan's bid to challenge global telecom incumbents with 5G Open RAN (O-RAN) is faltering, as network outages in automated factories undermine trust and local vendors struggle to monetize investments. Once championed as a bridge for Taiwan's IT sector to break into communications technology and loosen the grip of Nokia, Ericsson, and Siemens, O-RAN's commercial promise is now in doubt. Industry leaders and analysts see the emerging concept of AI-RAN as the sector's potential reset.
Google has reportedly been in talks with smaller CSPs to deploy its proprietary TPU chips alongside Nvidia Corporation's GPUs in data centers. This approach aims to reduce reliance on expensive Nvidia GPUs and accelerate scaling of Google's internal AI infrastructure.
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff revealed that the company has reduced its customer support workforce from 9,000 to 5,000 employees in the past eight months by implementing artificial intelligence (AI) agents, according to Business Insider. This change has allowed the company to handle all customer inquiries, including the estimated one hundred million potential clients previously unresponded to due to manpower limitations.
The rapid advancement of GPU power is driving demand for faster, higher-frequency data links in AI servers and hyperscale data centers. With transfer rates pushing 32 gigatransfers per second, PCB traces are hitting their physical limits, shifting the industry toward high-speed copper cabling and purpose-built connectors.
The Trump administration's tariff policy announced in April 2025 is reshaping global server supply chains, prompting Taiwan's leading EMS firms—Foxconn, Wistron, Quanta, Inventec, and Mitac—to accelerate US expansion. Concentrating investments in Texas and California, these companies aim to localize high-margin components while navigating rising costs and tariff-driven uncertainties.
MediaTek's much-anticipated AI PC chip with Nvidia has yet to launch, but the Taiwanese firm is making headway in Chromebooks. Industry insiders argue that if Chromebooks were treated as mainstream PCs, MediaTek's processors would already meet the bar for AI PC chips.
Acer Group's subsidiary, focused on medical imaging and AI healthcare solutions, made its debut at Acer's global "next@acer" event held in Berlin in 2025. The subsidiary, Acer Medical, showcased aiMed, an AI service platform specifically designed for medical environments that can instantly convert healthcare professionals' speech or text into structured medical records.
Ahead of IFA Berlin, Acer held its "next@acer" global product launch event, unveiling a range of new notebooks, tablets, mini workstations, monitors, and Wi-Fi routers. Among these, two major gaming notebook lines—Predator and Nitro—introduced fresh models targeting the competitive gaming market.
Apple is planning to launch its own AI-powered web search tool in 2026, stepping up competition with OpenAI and Perplexity AI. The company is working on a new system dubbed World Knowledge Answers that will be integrated into Siri, according to Bloomberg's sources. The technology may also eventually be added to Safari and Spotlight.
Acer is making a strong push into the AI inference market through strategic collaborations with MediaTek and Nvidia. On the eve of the Berlin IFA, Acer held its "next@acer" global product launch event, unveiling for the first time a Chromebook powered by MediaTek's Kompanio Ultra processor. This Chromebook integrates MediaTek's neural processing unit (NPU) and leverages Google AI Pro features to comprehensively enhance AI productivity, aiming to capture opportunities in AI inference.
US artificial intelligence (AI) startup Anthropic has secured US$13 billion in its series F funding round, tripling its valuation to US$183 billion and positioning it as the world's fourth-largest private company. The new capital aims to support growing enterprise demand, enhance safety research, and expand international operations.
The generative AI surge is accelerating at record pace, with computing power emerging as the decisive asset. As advanced AI chips grow scarce under tightening export controls, China is pursuing workarounds — from cloud platforms to supernode clusters and leasing models — to secure a self-sufficient computing ecosystem.
Japan's Anritsu has teamed up with US chipmaker AMD to launch an automated testing platform for next-generation high-speed transmission, targeting the surging demand from AI data centers. The solution, called System Board Passive Channel (SBPC) Analysis Master, enables consistent validation across diverse devices and environments.
