APAC Wrap: 27 March 2026

GLW; Hynix and Kioxia; Taiwanese probe cards; Funda AI's new supply chain tool

Collyer Bridge

Mar 28, 2026

∙ Paid

Corning +6.8% this week

Also positive for the Japanese players:

U.S. International Trade Commission investigation of SK Hynix and Kioxia (PR)

This appears to be a patent infringement complaint initiated by MonolithIC 3D Inc.

Could be a nothing burger designed to shake down SK Hynix and Kioxia. Seemed underreported on Twitter.

Chunghwa Precision Test: Breaks ground on $111 million investment, its third facility.

More bullish news for probe cards.

“Storm Media”:

General Manager Scott Huang (黃水可) highlighted that demand in the current market cycle is no longer growing linearly but expanding by multiples.
To meet this immediate surge, the company is leasing additional floor space and reorganizing production lines at its two existing facilities, aiming to double its medium-to-long-term capacity by late August or September. If these near-term upgrades proceed as scheduled, Huang expects this year’s growth to easily surpass last year’s figures.

While co-packaged optics represent a crucial future direction, Huang stressed that the underlying testing architecture must be completely redefined as the industry transitions from advanced packaging to mass production.
Consequently, future competition in advanced testing will hinge on accommodating new packaging formats and managing extreme power consumption. Chunghwa’s current probe cards can support testing at roughly 1,000 watts, with a next-generation target of 2,000 watts — a milestone that will require significant breakthroughs in thermal management.

Related Digitimes coverage:

Chunghwa Precision Test breaks ground on new Taiwan plant to meet AI chip demand

Taiwanese MEMS probe card makers to double capacity in 2026

SemiAnalysis: “very material” reduction in previously forecasted 1.7mn Rubin shipments in 2026 due to Hynix production issues.

The HBM4 situation for Nvidia’s Rubin ramp is becoming worse than expected and therefore we see much greater downside risk to this year’s Rubin output.