26 Jan
Latest News and Trends

AUO shifts US strategy from manufacturing base to market leverage

As global industrial landscapes restructure, Taiwanese companies are making record investments in the US, driven by a strategic shift from cost-cutting to resilience in supply chain management. AU Optronics (AUO) chairman and CEO Paul Peng underscored the necessity for Taiwanese firms to transition from passive manufacturing bases toward leveraging the US as a critical market, innovation center, and capital platform.

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26 Jan
Latest News and Trends

Taiwanese precision optics reaps benefits of waveguide tech

Smart glasses have transitioned from being a concept to practical use and pricing. 2026 is expected to be major for AI wearable devices, especially after the compute power of multimodal AI models is deployed. The lightweighting of hardware carriers has become the core issue determining adoption rates. Waveguide technology, with its high light transmittance and thin-form advantages, is reshaping the value-chain distribution of the global optics industry.

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26 Jan
Latest News and Trends

The ASIC server wars begin as Nvidia squeezes the margins

ASIC servers are emerging as the most closely watched segment of the server supply chain heading into 2026. Nvidia remains the dominant force in AI servers and continues to ship the largest volumes of GPU-based systems. However, as Nvidia tightens its control over the supply chain through high server prices and increasingly standardized specifications, gross margins across the ecosystem are coming under pressure. Competition for ASIC server orders is intensifying as suppliers seek to protect and improve profitability.

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26 Jan
Latest News and Trends

iPhone 17 high-end model demand exceeds expectations as Taiwanese carriers struggle to meet supply

The iPhone 17 series has been on the market for over a quarter, yet Taiwan’s telecom channels still face significant shortages of high-end models. A check on local carrier websites shows that the iPhone 17 Pro Max is nearly sold out across all storage capacities, while the iPhone 17 Pro and new iPhone Air models with 512GB or higher storage remain extremely hard to find.

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26 Jan
Latest News and Trends

Ennostar’s Micro LED bet targets a bottleneck inside AI server racks

Ennostar Corp. is advancing its Micro LED technology from display applications to short-distance data transmission within AI server racks, aiming to achieve a significant boost in transmission speeds by 2026. The company plans to raise Micro LED data transfer rates from 1.25 Gbps to 3–4 Gbps and is collaborating with global partners to develop modules for high-speed intra-rack optical communication.

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26 Jan
Latest News and Trends

Humanoid robots edge toward mass production as Tesla aims for 2026 launch

As artificial intelligence, sensing, and motion-control technologies mature, humanoid robots are moving beyond concept demonstrations toward early-stage deployment. The shift was evident at CES 2026, where many systems moved from static displays to live demonstrations—such as competitive sparring and household tasks—underscoring gains in dynamic performance.

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26 Jan
Latest News and Trends

Commentary: Metalenses move from lab to market, reshaping optical design

As optical technology continues to push toward ever more extreme miniaturization, metalenses are emerging as one of the optical industry’s most closely watched inflection points heading into 2026. At the Consumer Electronics Show early this year, companies including MetaOptics and Kyocera showcased a range of wearable devices incorporating metalens technology, signaling that the long-promised shift from laboratory research to commercial deployment may finally be underway.

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26 Jan
Latest News and Trends

Analysis: Tariff talks spark fears of low-cost imports and origin washing in Taiwan auto sector

Taiwan’s Trade Representative Jen-ni Jenny confirmed that ongoing Taiwan-US trade negotiations have reached a critical point, with the US explicitly pressing for “full market access” for American-made vehicles and advocating that Taiwan adopt a “zero tariff” policy. This development, intended to establish parity in the Taiwan-US trade relationship, has sparked unease within Taiwan’s domestic automotive sector about its future viability.

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