{"text":[[{"start":12.08,"text":"Hi everyone! This is Cheng Ting-Fang, your host for this week’s #techAsia, saying hello from Taipei, where I am just recovering from several intensive days covering the annual SEMICON Taiwan industry show with my colleague Lauly Li."}],[{"start":26.12,"text":"“Packed” is really the word to describe the event. The exhibition halls were completely full, with booths spilling on to walkways, outside conference rooms and even next to escalators — basically wherever organisers could find space. Some exhibitors had to build two-storey booths because there simply wasn’t enough room on the ground."}],[{"start":45.12,"text":"But what caught our attention this year wasn’t just the size of the show. Chip equipment makers were out in force, showcasing their latest models for advanced manufacturing, packaging and testing. At the same time, we saw something else: material suppliers and some of the industry’s lesser-known “hidden champions” were becoming much more visible and much more vocal."}],[{"start":64.64,"text":"Trumpf, for example, is known in the semiconductor industry for supplying the powerful laser source inside ASML’s extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems, which are critical for cutting-edge chip production. Chief technology officer Berthold Schmidt said the company is tripling its EUV laser source capacity over two years and significantly expanding its presence in Taiwan to capture growing opportunities in the artificial intelligence ecosystem. As it broadens its portfolio from chips to systems, Trumpf is also demonstrating new applications for its ultrashort-pulse lasers, from precision processing of glass substrates to creating tiny channels in chip packages for next-generation thermal management, both emerging technologies crucial to future AI infrastructure."}],[{"start":109.84,"text":"Another German optics maker, Zeiss, has long been a hidden champion in the advanced chip equipment supply chain as the exclusive supplier of optics for EUV lithography systems. Now, led by Frank Rohmund, executive board member of the Zeiss Group, the company is bringing its optical expertise further into the spotlight, showcasing its latest microscopy, X-ray and optical metrology tools to inspect, measure and correct increasingly complex three-dimensional chip structures. Zeiss is also expanding its R&D and laboratory presence in Taiwan, with plans to soon open its third innovation centre focused on semiconductors."}],[{"start":145.64,"text":"Some less-expected names are also joining the rush. US metals maker Carpenter Technology, a supplier of high-purity stainless steel and other materials used in defence and space applications, is sending senior executives to engage with the Taiwanese chip ecosystem as demand for high-end alloys used in semiconductor facilities surges."}],[{"start":165.12,"text":"Material makers such as Corning and AGC, commonly seen at display industry shows, are also betting big on semiconductors, as their specialty glass could become a next-generation material for building even more powerful AI chips."}],[{"start":178.1,"text":"The fair’s popularity also reminds me of an anecdote that shows how competitive chip industry reporting is in Taiwan. One rainy evening in Hsinchu, the island’s semiconductor hub, in late August, which also happened to be Valentine’s Day on the lunar calendar, Hou Shang-Yung, a former TSMC executive who is now with MediaTek, was giving a guitar recital. There was no press invitation at all, yet nearly 10 semiconductor beat reporters showed up."}],[{"start":203.28,"text":"We may be competitors, but when we spotted one another, we couldn’t help exchanging knowing smiles. One said, “How did we all end up here, working on a wet Valentine’s night?” I took the high-speed rail back to Taipei and it was past 11pm when I arrived home. But I think we all had the same thought: Even if the chance of getting any news was slim, it might be a rare opportunity to connect with and learn from an important but low-profile industry veteran."}],[{"start":228.8,"text":"Battle of the folds"}],[{"start":230.28,"text":"This is shaping up to be a week of China’s Huawei and Apple of the US going head-to-head, with both tech giants jostling for the spotlight."}],[{"start":238.72,"text":"Led by longtime consumer electronics chief Richard Yu, Huawei unveiled its first new smartphone chipset in six years, the Kirin 9050 Pro, saying it has overcome severe US export restrictions, Nikkei Asia’s Cheng Ting-Fang and Lauly Li report. The new chipset brings Huawei’s homegrown CPU, GPU, neural processing unit and modem back together in one system, with support for on-device AI computing. It has debuted in Huawei’s latest triple-fold smartphone, the Mate XT2, which starts at $2,980."}],[{"start":273,"text":"And as Yifan Yu reports, Apple, led by newly appointed CEO John Ternus, unveiled its first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, with a starting price of $1,999 alongside two premium iPhone Pro models as it seeks to energise the market amid an unprecedented memory chip crunch."}],[{"start":292.3,"text":"Apple is a latecomer to foldable smartphones, with Samsung Electronics and Huawei having entered the market as early as 2019. Industry analysts, however, expect Apple’s arrival to give the segment fresh momentum. Nikkei Asia also exclusively reported that initial production of the foldable iPhone will be limited due to Apple’s stringent quality and durability requirements."}],[{"start":292.8,"text":"The Huawei factor"}],[{"start":315.12,"text":"Huawei is driving China’s effort to eliminate foreign technology from the country’s semiconductor supply chain, write the Financial Times’ Eleanor Olcott and Zijing Wu."}],[{"start":326.54,"text":"One of the most significant efforts involves Yuliangsheng, a Shanghai-based chip equipment manufacturer that has co-developed the first Chinese-made advanced deep ultraviolet lithography (DUV) machine, according to people familiar with the matter."}],[{"start":340.46,"text":"Yuliangsheng has been spun out from SiCarrier, a start-up that the FT has previously reported has close technical and business ties to Huawei. Huawei has denied any affiliation with SiCarrier."}],[{"start":352.36,"text":"Huawei has also been involved in a series of deals backing Chinese groups developing components — from projection lenses to light sources — that are vital in building DUVs, the machines needed to manufacture high-end chips."}],[{"start":365.2,"text":"The overall effort is part of Chinese hopes to achieve tech self-sufficiency and be less vulnerable to western export controls."}],[{"start":368.2,"text":"“Huawei is playing a project management role in China’s DUV push,” said Lin Qingyuan, a semiconductor analyst at Bernstein. “Simply having a DUV prototype is not enough. You need thousands of vendors and customers to work together to push it forward and a central orchestrating power to bring this effort together.”"}],[{"start":368.7,"text":"Musk’s China charm"}],[{"start":null,"text":"
"}],[{"start":388.28,"text":"Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk are walking an increasingly delicate tightrope in China amid fierce competition from local electric vehicle rivals and rising geopolitical tensions, write Gloria Li and Cissy Zhou of Nikkei Asia."}],[{"start":404.48,"text":"Tesla’s EV sales in China fell 12.4 per cent in the first seven months of 2026, while regulatory approval for its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software has faced lengthy delays. Still, the company is continuing its charm offensive in Beijing, supported by high-profile visits from Musk’s mother, Maye Musk. The Tesla founder also dismissed speculation that he would sell its China business."}],[{"start":429.52,"text":"China remains crucial to Tesla, both as a major manufacturing and export hub thanks to its Shanghai Gigafactory, and as a critical supply base for its emerging businesses. For example, Tesla relies on Chinese suppliers for much of the hardware used in its Optimus humanoid robot, leaving it exposed to risks ranging from China’s rare earth export controls to new US restrictions on foreign robotics."}],[{"start":430.02,"text":"Three’s company"}],[{"start":454.6,"text":"It’s rare to see the world’s three top chipmakers, Intel, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co and Samsung Electronics, making similar announcements on the same day. All three did just that in endorsing ASML and its next-generation high-NA EUV system, a roughly $400mn machine that is the most advanced chipmaking tool in the world, Cheng Ting-Fang and Lauly Li report for Nikkei Asia."}],[{"start":479.28,"text":"Intel is moving the fastest, saying it has begun using high-NA EUV for production this year, while Samsung plans to adopt it from 2028 for advanced DRam and TSMC by 2030."}],[{"start":491.16,"text":"The commitments from the three chipmakers, among the few that can still afford massive investments in cutting-edge production, provide a major vote of confidence in high-NA EUV and help ease concerns that the technology could prove too expensive and advanced for widespread adoption."}],[{"start":491.66,"text":"Suggested reads"}],[{"start":492.16,"text":"Philippines unveils AI infrastructure plan to forge niche as regional hub (Nikkei Asia)"}],[{"start":492.66,"text":"DeepSeek fundraising frenzy spawns shadow market (FT)"}],[{"start":516.92,"text":"Australia’s Firmus inks compute deal with OpenAI for Malaysian data centers (Nikkei Asia)"}],[{"start":522.28,"text":"Australia proposes opt-out law for social media algorithms (FT)"}],[{"start":526.92,"text":"South Korea’s AI diplomacy needs Japan in the room (Nikkei Asia)"}],[{"start":531.8,"text":"Belgian-Chinese researcher arrested over suspected theft of chip secrets (FT)"}],[{"start":536.92,"text":"Japan to develop drone-based quantum sensors to detect submarines (Nikkei Asia)"}],[{"start":542.08,"text":"The Economics Show Podcast: Memory chip mania isn’t going away, with Dan Kim (FT)"}],[{"start":548.36,"text":"Was Huawei’s rise built on crime? A US jury will decide (FT)"}],[{"start":553.44,"text":"Alibaba takes on Anthropic with 50% cheaper e-commerce AI agent (Nikkei Asia)"}],[{"start":559.2,"text":"#techAsia is co-ordinated by Nikkei Asia’s Katherine Creel in Tokyo, with assistance from the FT tech desk in London."}],[{"start":566.76,"text":"Sign up here at Nikkei Asia to receive #techAsia each week. The editorial team can be reached at techasia@nex.nikkei.co.jp"}],[{"start":576.12,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1789181650_9347.mp3"}