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Everyone can get what post-labour economy means, it's the basic AGI/"permanent underclass" thesis. But I am a bit peeved that people don't grasp my more novel contribution to the discourse – "post-consumer market". Because it is already, painfully, in-your-face, HERE.
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[Exclusive] Largan and Sunny Optical chase the holy grail of FAU precision; laser equipment maker Han's Laser becomes a key player
Taiwanese optics leader Largan Precision has announced that it is spending NT$650 million to purchase machinery from Han's Laser, the major Chinese laser processing equipment maker. The DIGITIMES news team independently verified with Han's Laser and confirmed that what Largan purchased was an automation and glass solution. At the same time, the major Chinese optics player Sunny Optical is elevating its fiber array unit (FAU) team to the level of a research institute and plans to set up a base in Singapore.
In a filing on June 16, 2026, Largan disclosed that it had ordered NT$650 million worth of machinery and equipment, with the counterparty being Han's Laser Technology, primarily for production use. DIGITIMES verified this internally with Han's Laser and confirmed that what Largan purchased was an automation and glass solution.
Sources inside Han's Laser said that although they cannot directly confirm where the customer will use the products, what was supplied to Largan was an automation and glass solution. They added that, generally speaking, equipment and applications related to Chinese optical modules are still dominated by Hubei based HGTech.
This corresponds to remarks previously made by Largan chairman Lin En ping at the shareholders meeting. Regarding through glass via (TGV) technology, which underpins the multilayer stacking approach that is currently mainstream in the industry, Largan is pursuing a "closest packing" strategy, compressing the "wall thickness" to an extreme minimum. The more layers that are stacked upward, the more pronounced Largan's advantage becomes. Although the real surge in multilayer demand may still be three to four years away, Largan must stake out its position and invest now to avoid falling behind on the mass production timeline in the future.
It is understood that Han's Laser is an important player in China's laser industry. In an earlier interview with DIGITIMES, Han's Laser noted internally that the laser processing equipment market has a competitive landscape characterized by regional traits and downstream fragmentation, making market competition relatively dispersed. Over the past decade, the laser industry has developed rapidly, which has intensified market competition further. Anxiety over market share has dragged many companies into the helplessness of price wars and overcapacity.
However, the application iterations brought about by continuous breakthroughs in semiconductor technology have transformed many traditional industries and given rise to many new applications, which in turn has driven steady growth in the upstream semiconductor equipment industry.
It is worth noting that in the first half of 2025 Han's Laser established a wholly owned subsidiary in the United States, with the main goal of breaking free from geopolitical constraints and expanding its influence and competitiveness in international markets. Han's Laser stated that involution in China's laser industry is severe and ongoing, and that expanding overseas business is an important growth driver.
In addition, Sunny Optical had previously told DIGITIMES that since 2025 the group had also begun to invest effort in investigating and researching the fiber array unit (FAU) field. Now, as Chinese server demand for FAU continues to climb, internal sources further revealed that Sunny Optical has reorganized its FAU team under the Sunny Research Institute. This signals that the group is quite optimistic about the field's subsequent development, but it is also being more secretive about its progress.
According to internal sources at Sunny Optical, given the high difficulty of FAU precision, the group's current direction is not to deploy quickly, but to impose especially strict requirements on technical depth.
It is worth noting that internal sources at Sunny Optical revealed that, anticipating customer demand, the group is internally discussing setting up an FAU related business office in Singapore, but details such as the exact timing and location have yet to be decided.
Taking an overall view, first and second tier optics makers in both Taiwan and China are pouring into FAU development, competing for the holy grail of precision and manufacturing technology. Although it is currently hard to separate the leaders, what is certain is that Sunny Optical and Largan are of one mind in regarding FAU as an extremely important growth driver over the next few years. Beyond the development of the optics industry itself, the upgrade of automation equipment is also worth looking forward to.
@teortaxesTex A dark thought, but I wonder when the slope for *total agricultural land* begins curving down even harder. Concepts like this always make me curious about what the futures of cities are really like, too.