The Taiwanese Executive Yuan’s 2026 Science and Technology Advisory Meeting concluded with Taiwan’s top technology firms represented by new leaders, including TSMC’s Cliff Hou and MediaTek’s Rick Tsai. President Ching-te Lai emphasized that 2026 marks a critical year to strengthen Taiwan’s semiconductor capabilities and advance AI projects alongside the biotech, defense, and SME sectors.

CES 2026 opened on January 6 (Pacific Time), offering not only a snapshot of technology trends but also a clear signal of shifting industry power. Ahead of the show, industry watchers had widely expected Japanese and South Korean brands to scale back. DIGITIMES on-site reporting confirms that Samsung Electronics and SK Group — both major Central Hall exhibitors in 2025 — were absent from the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) this year, with their former prime locations taken over by Chinese companies led by TCL.

China’s brain–computer interface (BCI) unicorn BrainCo has completed a funding round of about CNY2 billion (US$286 million), making it the world’s second-largest single BCI financing, behind only Neuralink’s US$650 million raise in mid-2025.