South Korea’s vibrant startup ecosystem is advancing the country’s smart city ambitions through AI-driven infrastructure. Uniqconn—a CES 2026 Innovation Awards Honoree—and Warp Solution have proposed blueprints for distributed AI infrastructure and battery-free smart cities, respectively, aiming to address massive national computing demands and reduce maintenance costs for urban traffic sensors.

Semiconductor industry insiders report that memory shortages and price surges have intensified alongside AI industry growth, pushing some memory prices into an “hourly pricing” model. This development spells a survival nightmare for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) lacking bargaining power.

As the US–Iran war threatens to drive up global energy prices, concerns have been growing regarding Taiwan’s energy supply, which is highly reliant on imported liquified natural gas (LNG) for generating electricity. Taking into account shipping times from the Middle East, industry experts expect that real impacts on Taiwan’s oil and gas imports from the current conflict will begin after March 15. Oil and gas inventories are secure for now, as fuel already loaded and en route will ensure stable short-term supply.

Compal Electronics president and CEO Anthony Peter Bonadero said the company anticipates PC shipments in the first quarter of 2026 will fall 15-20% quarter-over-quarter and that Compal is accelerating a structural shift with a goal of non-PC revenue reaching 40% in 2026.