Overview

• Speaking ahead of the Semicon trade fair in Taipei, President Lai Ching-te called for deeper international cooperation, citing intensified competition driven by rapid advances in artificial intelligence.
• Taiwan will invest more than NT$100 billion (about €2.8 billion) to upgrade AI infrastructure and prioritize research in quantum computing and robotics, with plans to attract foreign firms to establish R&D centers on the island.
• TSMC is building its first European semiconductor factory in Dresden in partnership with Bosch, Infineon and NXP, a move aimed at improving the resilience of Europe’s chip supply.
• Reporting underscores ongoing geopolitical risk as China claims Taiwan and the island sits on vital shipping routes, raising concerns that any conflict would hit global supply chains hard.
• Semicon organizers expect around 1,200 companies from 56 countries, including 18 firms in a German pavilion, with Saxony’s economics minister Dirk Panter slated to attend.