To align with global space industry development trends and establish comprehensive solutions for Taiwan's space industry, Taiwan Accelerator Plus (TAcc+), a Taiwanese government-sponsored startup accelerator has formed cooperation with international accelerators and organizations to invite overseas SpaceTech startups to visit Taiwan for a whole month, starting August 15.
With tensions between Washington and Beijing taking center stage, concerns emerged regarding the status of supply chains and the competitive landscape among various Asian countries. To gain a more profound understanding of this situation, DIGITIMES conducted the "Asia Supply Chain: ASC 250 Rankings," with a specific focus on the Asian ICT industry chain and an analysis of the operational performance of nearly 5,000 companies.
A Taiwan-US supply chain partnership forum held in Taipei alongside the US Business Day on September 19 saw delegations of government and corporate representatives from both sides exploring investment and cooperation opportunities in the fields of cybersecurity, 5G communication and electric vehicles. Key American delegates included Laurie Locascio, director of the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and concurrently the Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology, as well as Arizona governor Katie Hobbs and New Mexico governor Michelle Lujan Grisham.
With a population of 1.4 billion and an annual demand for more than 200 million smartphones, Africa is a big market. However, few have asked why it is that Transsion, a Chinese brand, enjoys a near monopoly in this market. Why did the Taiwanese companies miss out on the opportunity?
Taiwan's well-developed information and communication technology (ICT) industry has not only enabled supply chain players to grab business opportunities in the EV market, but also provide significant support to the drone industry. Many government agencies are actively planning relevant regulations and monitoring the Chinese supply chain and its impact on information security as part of their efforts to bolster Taiwan's drone industry and enhance its international influence in the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) arena.
Because of the US chip ban and the shortage of Nvidia's GPUs, many China-based cloud service providers (CSPs) have turned to domestically produced chips with higher energy consumption that require stronger heat dissipation solutions, for their AI needs. This is thus bringing new business opportunities to China's local cooling solution providers, according to sources in the cooling solution business.
In the past, the forefront of space development was primarily occupied by governments. However, in recent years, there has been a gradual shift towards private enterprises taking the lead, ushering in a new era of commercialization in space exploration. A prime example is SpaceX, which currently manages a constellation of approximately 4,000 low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, making it the global leader in satellite ownership among private companies and offering satellite services on a global scale.
The 2023 global smartphone market has very much been lackluster, with major brands all uncertain about their sales growth. Apple's iPhone 15 series is seen as the only stable contender in the market. Under these circumstances, Huawei's return to the 5G smartphone market, after being relegated to the sidelines for years, created a major buzz immediately upon its reveal.
Professor Alberto Sangiovanni-Vincentelli is a legend of the electronic design automation (EDA) industry, but his stories were seldom told. DIGITIMES Asia is privileged to have this exclusive interview to share his wisdom and insights for the semiconductor industry during uncertain times in Part 1 of the interview. In Part 2, he recounts the founding of the world's two largest EDA tool companies that he co-established, and shares some exciting tech innovation projects that he is currently engaging with:
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) technology has been a prominent feature at the Taiwan Aerospace and Defence Technology Exhibition (TADTE) 2023. The event gathered leading international defense contractors like Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman alongside newly emerging defense players like AeroVironment, which makes the Switchblade loitering munitions that gained prominence on the Ukrainian battlefield. Also Included at the exhibition are Taiwanese companies like Geosat Aerospace & Technology Inc. (Geosat) which has recently come under spotlight among a group of seven civilian drone manufacturers participating in a public tender to supply civilian grade reconnaissance drones for Taiwan's armed forces.
The semiconductor industry's correction period has already exceeded one year due to weak demand for smartphones and notebook computers. Nevertheless, there is a light at the end of the tunnel – applications created by generative AI are propelling robust growth for AI servers, but what comes as a surprise is the strong shipment growth seen by motherboard manufacturers.
The Taiwan Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition (TADTE) 2023 kicked off with 45 local companies, academic institutions, and entities participating in the Taiwan Space Pavilion, showcasing emerging space technologies such as satellite and rocket components. Taiwan's space industry, particularly in the low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite sector, is experiencing a robust surge in opportunities.
The commercial space sector is currently experiencing rapid growth, and Chun-Liang Lin, the former director of Taiwan Space Agency, emphasizes the importance for Taiwan to seize this momentous opportunity. Alongside the strategic planning of space industry hubs and the reinforcement of the supply chain, Taiwan should actively nurture a pool of space technology talent and establish a national team to effectively compete in the global market.
As the smart home ecosystem continues to expand and the AI application trend rages on, many traditional Chinese home appliance makers like TCL, Hisense, Midea, and Gree are observing the massive business opportunity in the vertical application market. Thus, they are deepening their involvement in smart home application scenarios like edge computing AI chips and MCUs.
V. Lee, the Foxconn representative in India, said in a LinkedIn post that the group aims for another doubling of employment, FDI, and business size in India. Lee did not elaborate on the timeline of Foxconn's expansion plan in India. According to Reuters, Foxconn employs 40,000 people in India.
Apple is announcing that its Apple Watch 9 is the first to achieve carbon neutrality. Supply chain sources pointed out that it has been collaborating with customers to promote carbon neutrality for at least five years. Apart from continuing to promote net-zero carbon emission projects, supply chains are also participating in customers' "green investments." This commitment involves not only financial contributions but also active participation, and isn't just for customer orders; it's also for long-term corporate sustainability.
According to the most recent data from the Satellite Industry Association (SIA) , the global space economy was estimated to be valued at US$384 billion in 2022, with the satellite industry contributing significantly at 73.1% (approximately US$280.8 billion) of this total.
Ukraine's resilience at war with Russia is notable. Low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites and drones have played pivotal roles, drawing worldwide attention to the technological potential embedded in these innovations.
Competition between the Arm architecture and open-source instruction set architecture (ISA) RISC-V has heated up recently and become a focal point as TSMC invests in Arm. Premium and strategy flexibility are the two main topics in the race.
Tata Electronics, the subsidiary of Tata Group engaged in iPhone case manufacturing, generated revenues from mobile phone parts manufacturing but incurred huge losses.
Will it take until the second half of 2024 for the general-purpose server market to recover? According to Inventec, the industry's leading server motherboard manufacturer, it is still too early to tell when the market will break out of its slump: although high expectations abound, the number of orders actually placed tells a different story. Most likely, the market will need to wait until the third quarter of 2024 for a rebound.
In Part 1, Gallagher mentioned that it will take two to three quarters to address the supply chain inventory issues. However, new challenges like geopolitics and supply chain/market regionalization are also just beginning. Who will be the one to emerge in this next generation? During the conversation between Avnet CEO Phil Gallagher and DIGITIMES founder Colley Hwang, they offered a basic direction for thought.
