Memory price increases force downward revision of smartphone shipments with first-quarter 2026 global smartphone AP shipments estimated to decrease by 8.7% year-on-year, and full-year 2026 volumes estimated to drop by 5.4% on year.

Memory design IC company Elite Semiconductor Microelectronics Technology (ESMT) reported a fourth-quarter 2025 profit of NT$1.033 billion (US$32.5 million), up 394.75% year-on-year and the highest quarterly level in four years, helping the company return to profitability for the full year. Chairman M.C. Chang said that this memory cycle is the most intense in the past 30 years. Contract prices in the first half of 2026 are expected to rise by at least multiples, and the benefits from price increases are still only in the early stages of the uptrend. Therefore, the top priority this year will be securing additional production capacity from partners.

Wistron chairman Simon Lin highlighted that the critical gap for Taiwan’s artificial intelligence (AI) development in 2025 and 2026 is talent. Not only are Taiwanese companies urgently seeking skilled workers, but major international companies — including Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Qualcomm, and Broadcom — are actively expanding their recruitment efforts in Taiwan.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company’s Terafab Project, aimed at producing artificial intelligence (AI) chips, will launch in five days, signaling an expansion beyond Tesla’s core electric vehicle (EV) business into semiconductor manufacturing.