Inergy Technology said strong demand for AI server cooling and power management pushed the share of server-related applications to 47% of revenue in the second quarter of 2026, with shipments of system-on-chip (SoC) cooling fan driver ICs set to ramp up in the second half of 2026 and battery backup unit (BBU) demand expected to keep rising as AI moves toward high-voltage direct current power architectures.
Humanoid robots have entered a clear new phase since agentic AI emerged in 2025, with DIGITIMES analyst Zouhao Shen saying the category is now moving toward a three-tier hardware architecture of the brain, cerebellum, and peripheral nerves. He said the shift is reshaping the market and setting the stage for rapid growth through 2030.
The inference economy has arrived, and Taiwan's tech industry must transition from the "knowledge economy" to the "inference economy," DIGITIMES chairman Colley Hwang said on August 20 at a forum exploring future trends in the semiconductor industry. He also warned that Taiwan's AI data center capacity is about one-sixth of South Korea's.
High PC hardware prices are pushing gamers to delay full-system replacements and redirect their budgets toward targeted upgrades, driving strong demand for high-margin peripherals and gaming monitors, according to the latest data from market intelligence firm CONTEXT.
More than half of Taiwanese companies surveyed by TAITRA reported being negatively affected by the US-Iran conflict, with rising costs emerging as the biggest concern as geopolitical tensions disrupt energy, raw material, and supply chain conditions.
TBI Motion Technology returned to profit in the second quarter of 2026, with strong demand extending order visibility into 2027. The Taiwan-based transmission component maker is also expanding into humanoid robotics and will showcase a lower-limb module at an automation exhibition this week.
Ethernet chipmaker IC Plus said on August 17 that its operations in 2026 have improved significantly after Airoha Technology took a stake and joined its management, while resources from MediaTek also provided substantial support. The company said it turned profitable in the first half of the year.
Niche printed circuit board (PCB) maker EISO Enterprise said that 2026 industry demand has returned to post-pandemic highs as AI applications spread across multiple segments, while chairman Jian Rong-kun said the chance of a market reversal or an AI bubble burst remains low. But since 2025, shortages and price increases in high-frequency, high-speed copper-clad laminate (CCL) have remained a shared operational challenge for PCB makers.
