Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd (TSMC) signed an agreement with the Saxon Science Liaison Office Taiwan and TU Dresden on September 19 in Taipei to address the semiconductor talent shortage problem in Europe and prepare for its future operations in Germany.

India-based Continental Device India (CDIL Semiconductors) announced a comeback in the semiconductor manufacturing business, with two ATMP lines expected on board. The oldest discrete semiconductor provider in India is looking to capitalize on the rising demand for electronics and a growing ecosystem in India.

As the US-China conflict continues to intensify, Samsung Electronics' NAND Flash plant in Xi'an, China, is increasingly stuck in a process upgrade dilemma. On the one hand, with the semiconductor market evolving, the plant should adopt more advanced process equipment to meet market demand, but on the other hand, Samsung is hesitant to make new investments in the fab due to US semiconductor sanctions against China.

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.

DIGITIMES Research believes tight CoWoS capacity, which is needed for packaging HBM, will result in the supply of high-end AI servers falling short of demand by more than 35% in 2023, but high-end AI server shipments worldwide are still expected to grow fivefold from a year ago, according to the latest server report covering the AI server market.

The strategic importance of satellite communication, as demonstrated by Starlink during the war in Ukraine, has led to a surge of interest in low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication in Taiwan.

Preorders for the iPhone 15 lineup have begun after Apple's latest launch event. Carriers and retailers have all noted higher-than-expected preorder volumes, the most popular being for the 256GB Pro and Pro Max models. With the launch of the iPhone 15 series, monthly smartphone sales are expected to return to pre-pandemic levels for the fourth quarter of this year, with shipments reaching 500,000 phones per month.

Thanks to rising internet subscribers and data consumption, as well as more enterprises migrating to cloud and government initiatives for Digital India, India rapidly emerges as one of the major data center hubs, witnessing increasing investments in the sector.

Chaoji, a new EV charging standard developed by industry groups in China and Japan, has been certified by the Chinese government as a national standard.

China-based EV maker BYD has been scaling up in overseas markets. Besides the competition with Tesla, its entry into the Thai market has garnered much attention. Support from Taiwan-based automotive parts suppliers has become essential for the carmaker's ambition in foreign markets.

Amid a ramping up of import substitution, China may require EV suppliers to reduce sourcing of foreign-made components, a sign showing the global EV ecosystem may see a decoupling after the ICT supply chain

China-based battery manufacturer Gotion High-tech is poised to gain traction in the European market. The company recently launched its first battery product at its first European factory in Germany. It also aims to build another facility in Middle Europe with battery startup InoBat.

The Russo-Ukrainian War, extending beyond a year and a half, has resulted in a scarcity of natural gas supply, plunging several nations into an energy crisis. Experts highlight that due to geopolitical factors, there is a fundamental transformation in the global energy supply and demand landscape. This shift redirects the energy transition focus from achieving net-zero emissions to prioritizing security aspects.

The energy storage sector can be categorized into front-the-meter (FTM) and behind-the-meter (BTM). FTM systems require large-scale energy storage setups, while BTM systems primarily focus on medium and small-scale solutions, with lithium-ion batteries remaining the preferred choice for chemical energy storage. In Taiwan, the energy storage market has cooled off due to unclear policies, but in the US and Japan, the markets are flourishing. This has spurred Taiwanese companies to actively seek international opportunities.

Coplus has long been known as the "Apple of automobile lighting mods" with its industry leading design and R&D capacities. With V2X connectivity on the rise, Coplus plans to build connectivity into its components in two to three years with AI wheel lights, electronic rear view mirrors, and AI shock absorbers. In addition, the company will leverage big data to improve its design and manufacturing processes, as well as help users monitor component usage. Coplus is the first company from the Taiwan Innovative Board (TIB) initiative to file for stock market listing in 2023, and is expected to be listed in mid-October.

Automotive LEDs became the driving force of LED deliveries in the third quarter of this year. As more new cars are poised to be launched, suppliers are ramping up more actively. LED testing and packaging companies like Brightek Optoelectronic, Everlight and Edison Opto are all optimistic that the demand for automotive LEDs will stay on the growing track in the second half of 2023.

Taiwan-based Favite, dedicated to supplying AOI (automatic optical inspection) equipment, has newly incorporated AI into its products, while also applying them to microLED and microOLED production processes, able to inspect 100 million LEDs in just six minutes, according to Minnie Wang, company vice president and spokesperson.