The annual Nvidia GTC conference will be held from March 17 to 21, 2025, in San Jose, California. Due to rapid upgrades in AI hardware and software and widespread applications, the event's scale is expected to exceed that of 2024. CEO Jensen Huang has once again secured the SAP Center, which can accommodate nearly 20,000 attendees, for his keynote speech on the 19th.
Honor Seiki forecasts double-digit revenue growth by 2025, though profits will see modest gains due to expansion costs. General Manager Zheng Jun Chen said aerospace and hydrogen energy will be key growth drivers, with new capacity in 2026 pushing operations to record levels.
Since taking office, US President Donald Trump has wielded tariffs aggressively, drawing industry attention. Honor Seiki's General Manager Zheng Jun Chen sees limited immediate impact on the high-end aerospace tooling firm, expecting any fallout to take several years. Instead, he is eyeing opportunities in post-war reconstruction should the Russo-Ukraine war end.
Electronic shelf label (ESL) products, which experienced a downturn in 2023, have shown a steady recovery in 2024, with projections indicating a stronger surge in the second half of 2025. Chip manufacturers believe that given the expanding global retail market adoption of four-color ESLs, overall demand will continue to rise through 2025, maintaining momentum in replacing older products and traditional paper labels.
Just one month into his presidency, US President Donald Trump has commanded global attention with his rapid-fire initiatives. The impact of his second-term policies has upended traditional expectations, with industry sources revealing that five major Taiwanese electronics manufacturers are exploring investment opportunities in Texas in response to Trump's tariff threats. However, TSMC maintains a measured stance, carefully monitoring developments.
Taiwan's appeal as a business destination for German companies is showing signs of strain, with investment sentiment hitting a seven-year low amid concerns over energy transition and import restrictions, according to a new business confidence survey.
A recent meeting between Apple CEO Tim Cook and US President Donald Trump led to the president announcing that Cook plans to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the US and relocate Apple's production lines from Mexico to the US. However, industry experts suggest this move might be a strategic delay tactic by Apple.
DeepSeek has enabled industries to accelerate AI applications more affordably. However, supply chain operators caution that without a mature industry and technological foundation, AI's potential may remain unrealized.
Foxconn, through its subsidiary New Wing Interconnect Technology (Bac Giang), has acquired a 25% stake in Goertek Electronics Vietnam for US$50 million, announcing the deal on the evening of February 21. Foxconn stated that the investment is primarily strategic.
On February 21, leading ASIC design service and silicon intellectual property (IP) provider Faraday held its earnings call. The company's fourth quarter of 2024 gross margin declined by 3.6% due to product mix impacts, causing a 26.2% year-over-year decrease in after-tax net profit, marking the lowest point in three and a half years. The company's full-year after-tax net profit stood at NT$236 million (approx. US$7.1 million), also a decline compared to 2023.
In a strategic move to bolster its presence in the rapidly evolving data center market, Flex announced the launch of a new 400,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Dallas. This significant expansion is designed to enhance the company's production capacity and efficiency for its grid-to-chip data center power infrastructure solutions, including power pods, power distribution units, and low-voltage switchgear.
President Donald Trump told a gathering of governors that Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook plans to shift manufacturing from Mexico to the US, a move that the iPhone maker hasn't publicly discussed.
Singapore-based electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider Venture Corporation posted sales of SGD2.7 billion (approx. US$2.05 billion) for fiscal 2024, marking a 9.6% decline from the previous year. Net profit fell 9.3% year-over-year to SGD245 million, though the profit margin grew to 9% from 8.9% in 2023.
Catcher Technology (Catcher) has officially entered the realm of aerospace precision metal processing, having achieved certification for the AS 9100 aerospace quality management system in January 2025. A certification ceremony was held on February 19, 2025, conducted by the American Systems Registrar (ASR ASIA) at their Ren'ai facility.
As the world adjusts to the evolving landscape of Trump 2.0's new policies, the global manufacturing sector finds itself at the precipice of another significant restructuring. While the turbulence of both the Trump 1.0 and Biden administrations over the past eight years left a lasting impact, the latest wave of policy changes still reverberated through component suppliers. With market share expansion in China remaining a priority, some smaller companies have already begun quietly repositioning their assets in response to shifting dynamics.
Dixon Technologies, India's largest electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider, is pushing to build a US$3 billion display fabrication unit, contingent on government support through the India Semiconductor Mission 2.0 (ISM 2.0).
India-based OSAT Kaynes Semicon is securing customers in its foray into the semiconductor business. Tesla steps up entry in India but faced criticism over its potential local manufacturing prospect.
Lenovo has announced a leadership transition, with Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Wai-ming Wong and Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer (CLO) Laura G. Quatela set to retire on March 31. However, both will remain involved as non-executive directors on Lenovo's board, with Wong joining the Audit Committee and Quatela taking a seat on the Nomination and Governance Committee.
Recently, GlobalFoundries (GF) announced an executive reshuffle, fueling speculation that Thomas Caulfield, the company's current CEO, will be appointed as GF's executive chairman on April 28. This move has prompted rumors that Caulfield could soon replace Pat Gelsinger as Intel's CEO. At the same time, swirling reports suggest TSMC may be eyeing a takeover of Intel's wafer fabs, sparking fresh discussions about GF potentially stepping in to help TSMC by taking control of Intel's older facilities.
Statistics from the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) indicate that Taiwan's overseas production ratio in January was 44.8%, a year-over-year decrease of 4.2pp. If Taiwan's major server ODMs relocate abroad or if TSMC increases its investments in the US, this indicator will certainly reverse and rise.
Fueled by strong demand from mobile phone and security control (SEC) clients, TSMC's optical component manufacturing subsidiary, VisEra, reported a robust performance in the fourth quarter of 2024. This surge helped propel the company's full-year revenue to surpass the NT$10 billion (approx. US$305.51 million) milestone, setting a new record in its history.
Ant Group is recruiting developers for AI-equipped humanoid robots as it prepares to enter the field. According to Chinese media outlets Jiemian News and South China Morning Post, Shanghai Ant (Mayi) Lingbo Technology, an Ant Group subsidiary, is hiring humanoid robot systems and application software engineers, hardware architecture engineers, motion control software engineers, and finished machine/hardware specialists, for job positions in Shanghai and Hangzhou.
The surge of artificial intelligence (AI) is prompting Taiwanese networking companies to seize emerging opportunities. Accton is actively expanding into areas such as all-optical communications and AI accelerators, while Senao Networks has teamed up with Intel to enter the standard server market. Sercomm is also diligently exploring growth potential in sectors like the smart grid and the Internet of Things (IoT).
Google is reportedly preparing to open its first self-owned retail store outside the US, with India as its chosen market following Apple's retail strategy. However, the company must first meet local sourcing requirements before moving forward.
