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Tuesday 27 January 2026
Lightmatter partners with GUC and Cadence to break AI bandwidth barriers
Lightmatter has announced parallel collaborations with Global Unichip Corp. (GUC) and Cadence to accelerate the deployment of Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) in data centers. By integrating Lightmatter's photonic technology with GUC's ASIC capabilities and Cadence's design IP, the trio aims to eliminate the connectivity bottlenecks that are restricting hyperscale AI workloads.
Tuesday 27 January 2026
Taiwanese chipmakers eye Europe and US as visual AI market in China gets saturated
Taiwanese semiconductor companies specializing in visual AI technologies are pivoting away from the Chinese market, increasingly focusing on Europe and the US amid growing challenges in China. These firms are advancing comprehensive solutions encompassing SoCs, ISPs, sensors, and algorithms to maintain competitiveness.
Tuesday 27 January 2026
US shows endorsement of Taiwan industry by granting MFN status on Section 232 tariffs, Taiwan officials say
Taiwan's finance minister and central bank governor have welcomed the US promise to extend most-favored-nation treatment under Section 232 tariffs, calling it a strong endorsement of Taiwan's industries in the trade negotiations between the two countries.
Tuesday 27 January 2026
Chinese GPU startup Iluvatar CoreX lays out roadmap targeting Nvidia's Rubin
Chinese GPU startup Iluvatar CoreX has unveiled a multi-generation product roadmap that it says could see its fourth-generation architecture surpass Nvidia's upcoming Rubin platform by 2027, marking one of the latest efforts by domestic Chinese chipmakers to advance their AI computing capabilities.
Tuesday 27 January 2026
Apple, Qualcomm rethink heavy reliance on TSMC as costs rise

Even as TSMC retains a clear technological lead in advanced process nodes, Apple and Qualcomm are reassessing how heavily they rely on a single foundry. Qualcomm has confirmed plans to return to a dual-track strategy for its processor system-on-chip products, placing orders with both TSMC and Samsung Electronics.

Tuesday 27 January 2026
Microsoft's Maia 200 volumes set to jump more than tenfold from Maia 100 levels, DIGITIMES says
Microsoft introduced Maia 200 on January 27, 2026, its latest in-house AI accelerator, as part of a broader effort to optimize cloud infrastructure for inference-heavy workloads. Analysts see the move as aimed at lowering costs, reducing reliance on external chip suppliers, and strengthening control over Azure's AI hardware stack.
Tuesday 27 January 2026
Nvidia pours US$2 billion into CoreWeave for AI infrastructure expansion
Nvidia and cloud computing firm CoreWeave have announced an expanded partnership to build more than 5 gigawatts of AI "factories" by 2030, aiming to support the rapid growth of artificial intelligence workloads worldwide. As part of the deal, Nvidia invested US$2 billion in CoreWeave Class A common stock at US$87.20 per share, reflecting confidence in CoreWeave's team, strategy, and cloud platform built on Nvidia technology.
Tuesday 27 January 2026
Commentary: Behind the scenes of Jensen Huang's China trip
While global political and economic elites were still exchanging remarks at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang exited and flew straight to Shanghai.
Tuesday 27 January 2026
Microsoft launches Maia 200 AI chip, mass production progress draws attention
Microsoft officially introduced its second-generation AI accelerator, Maia 200, on January 27, marking its continued efforts in chip development since 2019. The new chip emphasizes improved inference performance and is produced with TSMC's advanced 3nm process technology.
Monday 26 January 2026
Lisa Su's toughest call: scrapping AMD's server roadmap

Jodi Shelton, co-founder and CEO of the Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) and Shelton Group, recently launched a new podcast, A Bit Personal. Following its January 16 debut episode featuring an in-depth conversation with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, the series' second episode, released on January 23, spotlighted AMD CEO Lisa Su.

Monday 26 January 2026
HVDC 800V supply chain gains attention as cloud AI seeks better power efficiency, but entry barriers remain high
The growing emphasis on power efficiency in cloud AI computing has drawn focus to the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) 800V supply chain, presenting notable opportunities and challenges within the semiconductor industry. According to sources from integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) and IC design houses, the market is currently dominated by established European and US players, making entry difficult for smaller companies.
Monday 26 January 2026
Memory innovation demand urgent as startups and SMEs gain opportunities
The memory industry is currently facing significant demand shortfalls, bringing renewed attention to the long-developed concept of "compute-in-memory." Leading memory manufacturers are actively investing in related technology development. At the same time, major players are also focusing on startup teams in the market, aiming to secure innovation through strategic investments. Companies like d-Matrix and TetraMem have demonstrated promising growth potential.
Monday 26 January 2026
Cmsemicon enters NOR Flash with first SPI NOR chip, expands beyond MCUs
Cmsemicon Semiconductor has released its first low-power SPI NOR Flash chip series, marking the Shanghai-listed chip designer's initial entry into the non-volatile memory segment. The launch fills a gap in the company's Flash product lineup and aligns with its "MCU+" strategy of pairing MCUs with complementary chips.
Monday 26 January 2026
MIPS expands RISC-V processor platform with ARC IP integration

MIPS is repositioning itself within the RISC-V ecosystem following the integration of the ARC Processor IP business acquired from Synopsys, moving beyond a CPU-centric model toward a broader processor platform that combines CPUs, NPUs, DSPs, and software tools.

Monday 26 January 2026
MIPS accelerates S8200 RISC-V NPU timeline

MIPS has accelerated the development timeline of its S8200 neural processing unit, a RISC-V–based NPU designed for real-time, low-latency edge AI, as the company continues to advance its strategy around what it calls "Physical AI," following its integration into GlobalFoundries.

Monday 26 January 2026
Weekly news roundup: strategy shifts, supply chain realignments, scaling limits
Below are the most-read DIGITIMES Asia stories from the week of January 19-25, 2026.
Monday 26 January 2026
India roundup: India's semiconductor ambitions face hurdles echoing SEA as local IC design sector strives to grow
With Micron's ATMP facility moving into commercial production and fresh investments from domestic players, India's semiconductor push is gaining firmer footing. However, despite its deep talent pool, the country's IC design sector continues to face challenges in building global competitiveness.
Sunday 25 January 2026
Nvidia's China AI chip share falls to 8% as local rivals ramp up

Tighter US export controls on advanced artificial intelligence chips are accelerating China's push to develop domestic chip technologies and expand its semiconductor supply chain, according to recent research. The shift is contributing to structural changes in the global AI chip market.

Sunday 25 January 2026
Fan motor demand drives growth for Taiwan analog chip makers
As 2026 begins, demand for fan motors remains strong. On top of continued cooling needs driven by cloud servers, new fan upgrade and increased usage requirements are emerging across the edge computing segment. AI PCs are driving more dual-fan designs, while automotive and industrial control sectors are also expanding their fan usage. The motor driver IC opportunities behind these trends are expected to become a major development focus for many Taiwanese analog chip makers in 2026. Weltrend Semiconductor, Global Mixed-mode Technology (GMT), and Anpec Electronics are all expected to see stable support for their operations this year.
Friday 23 January 2026
SEALSQ, Gujarat govt, and Kaynes SemiCon sign MoU to establish India's first secure post-quantum semiconductor center
SEALSQ Corp, a developer of semiconductors and post-quantum technology solutions, announced on January 21, 2026, that it has signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Gujarat and Kaynes SemiCon Private Limited, a subsidiary of Kaynes Technology India Limited. The agreement outlines plans to develop India's first Secure Semiconductor Design, Test, and Personalization Center focused on post-quantum cryptography technologies.
Friday 23 January 2026
ASE Group's USI merges with EugenLight to expand silicon photonics module capacity in Vietnam
ASE Group's co-packaged optics (CPO) strategy is close to complete. In addition to launching advanced packaging solutions that integrate optical engines (OE) and application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), its subsidiary Universal Scientific Industrial (USI) is also expanding in optical communications. USI recently announced that it has completed the acquisition of a controlling stake in Chengdu-based EugenLight Technologies.
Friday 23 January 2026
India's semiconductor ambitions face hurdles echoing SEA as local IC design sector strives to grow
At the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, India's IT Minister outlined the country's efforts to boost its semiconductor industry, highlighting the emergence of 24 Indian IC design startups, with 18 benefiting from venture capital investments. This underscores India's drive to reclaim a significant role in integrated circuit design amid concerns over ongoing talent migration to foreign firms.
Friday 23 January 2026
Intel’s “better than guidance” quarter comes with a catch
Intel's latest financials highlight a fragile turnaround: while AI-linked data center demand and early traction in advanced manufacturing offer strategic promise, weak margins, volatile profitability, and cautious guidance suggest near-term pressure remains, keeping investor focus squarely on execution and the pace of recovery, which Intel attributed to tight supply across the industry.
Friday 23 January 2026
Lip-Bu Tan faces Intel's first real bottleneck of the AI era
Intel outlined an increasingly AI-centric roadmap across client PCs, data centers, and manufacturing. Still, executives cautioned that tight supply and early-stage foundry ramps continue to limit near-term revenue and profitability, keeping the company's turnaround highly dependent on execution through 2026.
Friday 23 January 2026
Intel slows its most ambitious node—and signals where the real battle is for now
Intel is sharpening its manufacturing strategy around yield improvement, selective capital spending, and differentiated advanced packaging, while keeping major 14A capacity investments on hold until customer demand is secured.