AI Chips Enter the “High-Heat Era”: New Opportunities Emerge for BESTAR’s MEMS Piezoelectric Micropumps
In 2026, the global technology industry is experiencing an unprecedented wave of AI innovation. From ChatGPT and large language models to edge AI, AI smartphones, AI PCs, intelligent robots, and autonomous driving, the entire electronics industry is seeing a rapid increase in demand for computing power. At the same time, however, an issue that has rarely attracted public attention in the past is becoming a major focus across the industry—thermal management.
Particularly after Huawei introduced the concept of the “Tao (τ) Law” at ISCAS 2026, discussions surrounding the post-Moore era have intensified. Unlike the traditional approach of improving performance by shrinking transistor sizes through advanced process nodes, the Tao (τ) Law emphasizes performance gains through logic folding, heterogeneous integration, temporal scaling, and other architectural innovations.
This shift means:
Future chip development will increasingly rely on high-density stacking and system-level optimization.
As chip performance continues to improve, heat flux density will rise accordingly. In other words, future high-performance chips will inevitably generate more heat. As a result, thermal management is becoming one of the most critical challenges facing the global electronics industry.
The AI Era Is Reshaping the Thermal Management Industry
For many years, thermal management was considered more of a supporting function within consumer electronics. Consumers focused primarily on processor performance, display specifications, imaging capabilities, and battery capacity. However, with the arrival of the AI era, cooling performance has begun to directly impact user experience and device performance.
For example, many AI smartphones now run AI models locally on the device, maintaining high workloads for extended periods. If thermal management is inadequate, devices can experience excessive heat, processor throttling, slower AI response times, reduced battery life, and overall performance degradation.
As edge AI becomes increasingly widespread, more AI computations will be executed directly on end devices rather than relying entirely on cloud infrastructure. This means that future smartphones, AR glasses, AI PCs, and other intelligent devices will operate at significantly higher sustained power levels than before.
At the same time, the industry continues to pursue thinner and lighter product designs. This makes thermal management even more challenging: devices must deliver high performance while remaining ultra-thin, quiet, and energy-efficient. Traditional cooling solutions are rapidly approaching their physical limits.
Why Traditional Mechanical Fans May Not Be the Future
Most active cooling solutions currently available on the market rely on miniature mechanical fans. Gaming smartphones, handheld gaming devices, and lightweight laptops have already adopted active air-cooling technologies. However, traditional fans have several inherent limitations.
The first challenge is size. Conventional fans require motors, bearings, blades, and airflow channels, making further miniaturization and ultra-thin integration increasingly difficult. This is particularly problematic for devices such as AR glasses and ultra-thin AI smartphones, where internal space is extremely limited.
The second issue is power consumption and noise. Continuous fan operation consumes additional energy and generates audible noise. Since AI-enabled devices are already power-intensive, adding more power-hungry cooling systems runs counter to future design requirements.
In addition, traditional mechanical fans are susceptible to dust accumulation, mechanical wear, lifespan limitations, and long-term reliability degradation. Consequently, the industry is actively searching for next-generation active cooling technologies, and MEMS-based active cooling is emerging rapidly under these circumstances.
Why MEMS Active Cooling Is Considered the Next Generation of Thermal Technology
MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) is not a new technology. Over the past several decades, it has been widely used in MEMS microphones, MEMS sensors, inertial devices, inkjet printheads, and RF components.
Today, MEMS technology is entering the field of thermal management.
The greatest advantage of MEMS active cooling is that it no longer relies on traditional rotating fans. Instead, it uses high-frequency vibrations generated by piezoelectric materials to drive airflow within microscopic spaces. Simply put, it works by “controlling air vibrations.”
Because the structure is extremely compact, MEMS active cooling offers several significant advantages, including ultra-thin form factors, low noise, low power consumption, high reliability, and superior capability for hotspot cooling. As AI chips become increasingly integrated and power-dense, MEMS active cooling is demonstrating tremendous potential.
Several international companies, including xMEMS in the United States, Frore Systems, and Switzerland-based Corintis, are actively advancing the commercialization of MEMS active cooling technologies. Frore Systems’ AirJet solution has already attracted significant attention within the AI PC sector. Domestic companies are also moving quickly, with firms such as AAC Technologies, RayMing Semiconductor, and Awinic actively investing in MEMS active cooling technologies.
The entire industry is entering a phase of accelerated growth.
Piezoelectric Micropumps Are Becoming Core Components of MEMS Cooling Systems
Within MEMS active cooling systems, one of the key components that determines airflow efficiency and cooling performance is the piezoelectric micropump.
Its operating principle is based on high-frequency vibrations generated by piezoelectric materials under electrical excitation, which drive micro-scale airflow and enable active cooling. Compared with traditional mechanical fans, piezoelectric micropumps offer significant advantages. They eliminate the need for conventional motor structures, enabling smaller form factors and lower power consumption. At the same time, the absence of traditional bearings results in improved lifespan and reliability.
Particularly in highly integrated devices such as AI smartphones, AR glasses, and edge AI equipment, piezoelectric micropumps are demonstrating increasing value. As chip heat flux density continues to rise, localized hotspot cooling will become increasingly important. MEMS piezoelectric micropumps can be positioned closer to heat-generating regions, enabling more efficient heat transfer and thermal management.
BESTAR Continues to Expand Its MEMS Piezoelectric Micropump Technology Portfolio
As an important participant in the MEMS piezoelectric micropump sector, BESTAR has continuously expanded its presence in MEMS active cooling technologies in recent years. The company focuses on MEMS piezoelectric micropumps, microfluidic control technologies, active cooling devices, and ultra-thin thermal management solutions.
With the arrival of the AI era, the electronics industry is placing increasingly higher demands on thermal management performance. Active cooling is becoming particularly important in applications such as AI smartphones, AR/VR devices, AI PCs, robotics, autonomous driving systems, and high-performance consumer electronics.
As the AI terminal market continues to expand, MEMS active cooling is expected to enter a phase of large-scale adoption. As one of the foundational components of these systems, piezoelectric micropumps are poised to benefit from substantial market opportunities.
The Next Industrial Competition May Be a Competition in Thermal Management Capability
Historically, industry attention has focused primarily on the chip itself. In the future, however, thermal management capability may become the factor that truly determines the user experience of high-performance devices. After all, every AI device continuously generates heat.
Competition among future high-performance chips will no longer be solely about computing power—it will also be about:
Who can sustain stable, high-level performance within an increasingly compact space.
MEMS active cooling is emerging as a critical technology direction within this trend. As the global AI industry continues its rapid expansion, MEMS piezoelectric micropumps are gradually evolving from a relatively niche technology into a core component of the broader technology ecosystem.
Over the next several years, as MEMS manufacturing processes mature, supply chains become more complete, and AI terminal demand continues to grow, the MEMS active cooling market is expected to enter a period of significant expansion. BESTAR will continue advancing the research, development, and commercialization of MEMS piezoelectric micropump technologies, providing new thermal management solutions for the next generation of electronic devices.