Taiwan’s drone supply chain is notching fresh wins, with downstream players such as Thunder Tiger and Taiwan’s Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) continuing to secure orders while upstream suppliers, especially chipmakers, are quietly expanding their deployments and market share. For military and commercial drones in particular, Taiwanese chip vendors are now working closely with local customers as well as customers in Europe and the US to integrate a range of on-board image-processing and AI recognition modules, plus applications such as flight control and ground control stations.

Micro-Star International (MSI) said its gross margin recovered to 15% in the first quarter of 2026, after tariff costs, foreign exchange swings, and memory price surges weighed on profitability last year. Inventory clearing and more stable end-product pricing supported the rebound.

Amkor Technology Korea is considering investing about KRW1 trillion (approx. US$650 million) to expand its chip packaging and testing facilities in the South Korean city of Gwangju, according to Korean media reports and city officials. The company has not officially announced the plan.

Applied Materials said artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the global semiconductor industry and could drive years of heavy investment in chipmaking, packaging, and materials engineering. The shift matters far beyond one company, because AI demand is increasing worldwide and is expected to influence data centers, device costs, energy use, and the pace of technology development.

Applied Materials is expanding manufacturing and research in Singapore as artificial intelligence (AI) drives a wider shift in semiconductor planning, supply chains, and investment. The move highlights how AI demand is influencing chipmakers, equipment suppliers, and global customers, with implications for production capacity, regional innovation hubs, and technology markets worldwide.

Estimated 2Q26 Chinese enterprise smartphone shipments to decrease by 17.8% YoY; Smartphone shipments in the Chinese market will decrease by 5.4% YoY