Wiwynn lands major L12 assembly order from YTL

Wiwynn chair Emily Hong highlighted three major trends driven by AI in the server industry. First, computing power is propelling technological development; second, new markets and customers are emerging; third, the scope of server services is expanding. As an example, Wiwynn recently secured a data center order from Malaysia’s YTL Corporation Berhad, marking its first leap from level 11 (L11) to level 12 (L12) assembly. This represents a significant advancement for Taiwanese server system integrators.

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Novatek’s mobile OLED TDDI mass production boosts 2Q25; no negative impact from tariffs thus far

Display driver IC giant Novatek held an investor conference on May 7 and shared its outlook for the market. Novatek vice chairman and president Steve Wang announced that revenue in the first quarter of 2025 grew compared to the previous quarter and increased year-over-year. This growth was mainly driven by China’s provincial subsidies for device upgrades and early tariff-driven stockpiling, which led consumer applications to outperform past periods and pushed revenue toward the upper end of guidance. Gross margin also reached the high end of forecasts, primarily due to effective cost control in wafer fabrication.

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TSMC supplier cost-cutting rumors denied by MIC amid tariff uncertainty

In response to the upcoming announcement of semiconductor chip tariff policies by the US government, Hsin-Ming Kao, chairperson of Marketech International (MIC), which has close ties with TSMC and is responsible for the turnkey project at TSMC’s Arizona plant, stated that MIC essentially follows TSMC’s lead in all strategic deployments. She stated that they will wait for US President Donald Trump’s announcement before assessing further, adding that she believes Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs should already have contingency plans in place, as the minister is quite familiar with the industry.

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Tariffs rock auto sector, but Nuvoton sees swift recovery amid demand surge

The global automotive industry faced significant disruption in the first quarter of 2025, impacted by US tariffs that reverberated throughout supply chains. Despite this turbulence, microcontroller unit (MCU) manufacturer Nuvoton Technology reported early signs of stabilization. Several clients have begun restocking inventories, suggesting a gradual recovery in the sector. Beyond automotive applications, Nuvoton capitalized on tariff-driven demand increases in computing and consumer applications, with clients accelerating orders. This strategic shift helped the chipmaker return to profitability, marking a notable comeback.

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SK Hynix to end DDR4 production by 2Q26, sparks supply crunch

The two major South Korean DRAM manufacturers are each preparing to discontinue their older DDR4 production lines. Following Samsung Electronics’ early April announcement of its end-of-life (EOL) plan, SK Hynix recently notified suppliers with an EOL letter regarding DDR4 chips. The company plans to phase out 8GB and 16GB DDR4 chips produced using the 1z nanometer process, officially entering the discontinuation stage by April 2026.

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