As AI server supply chains move into the component stocking phase, the market for high-end passive components has heated up sharply, with tight supply of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) drawing close attention across the industry. Taiwan passive-component makers posted strong revenue in the second quarter of 2026, and with order backlogs at major MLCC suppliers in Japan and South Korea rising rapidly, Taiwan firms are expected to capture spillover orders from AI server applications in the second half of the year.

The rise in global defense budgets has led to new opportunities for mainstream automakers as they seek to diversify their operations, yet the move into military and defense-related manufacturing presents another set of hurdles to overcome. These include lengthy certification cycles, highly fragmented specifications, and uncertainties surrounding policy continuity.

Ed Chi, vice president of research at Google DeepMind, said AI’s next milestone will be its evolution from the fast, pattern-recognition-oriented thinking associated with System 1 toward the deeper reasoning capabilities of System 2. As large language models evolve into large reasoning models, the industry is now entering a new era of AI agents.

Egis Technology on July 9 said it sold part of its stake in iCatch Technology as part of a routine adjustment to its group equity holdings. The IC design company said the move was intended to improve capital efficiency and optimize its ownership structure, while Egis remained an important shareholder with about 12% of iCatch after the transaction.