Taiwan-based electronics verification and analysis specialist Integrated Service Technology (iST) posted weaker first-quarter revenue and an operating loss amid a major operational restructuring, but said the transition has laid the groundwork for a sharper focus on higher-margin AI-related validation and analysis services.

Singapore semiconductor equipment and testing company AEM is facing a dual challenge of "physics and cost" as the AI era rewrites the limits and supply-chain logic of chip testing, CEO Samer Kabbani said. AI is also driving up to US$7 trillion in global infrastructure investment, he said, while forcing the industry to adapt to faster product cycles and far larger, more power-hungry packages.