DIGITIMES Asia news

Monday 9 February 2026

South Korea bets on AI and electric powertrains to shape cars of future

The South Korean government announced plans to invest KRW464.5 billion (approximately US$316 million) in the automotive sector in 2026, targeting research and development as well as infrastructure upgrades to accelerate the country's transition to next-generation vehicles. Key priorities will include end-to-end artificial intelligence (E2E AI) for autonomous driving, software-defined vehicle (SDV) standard systems, and extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) powertrains

Samsung boosts HBM4 DRAM investment to secure market leadership

Monday 9 February 2026

Qualcomm's 2nm tape-out marks India's arrival in cutting-edge chip design

Monday 9 February 2026

US and India agree framework for interim trade deal to advance bilateral pact talks

Monday 9 February 2026

India advances semiconductor ambitions as TSMC fabricates DLI-backed startup chips

Monday 9 February 2026

LATEST STORIES

Tuesday 10 February 2026

SK Hynix set to ship HBM4 for Nvidia's Vera Rubin this month

SK Hynix is expected to begin shipments this month of its sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory, HBM4, a high-performance, low-power semiconductor designed for Nvidia's next-generation artificial intelligence accelerator, Vera Rubin

Tuesday 10 February 2026

Analysis: Japan's supermajority reshapes Asia's semiconductor competition

Japan's latest election is being read by global markets as a turning point in industrial policy, capital flows, and technology sovereignty across Asia — not a routine political cycle. Following the February 2026 lower house election, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party secured 316 seats, crossing the two-thirds threshold and delivering one of the strongest mandates in postwar Japan. The broader ruling bloc with the Japan Innovation Party reached about 352 seats, giving the coalition effective legislative control in the 464-seat chamber

Tuesday 10 February 2026

Nexchip Phase IV expansion supports SmartSens, Xiaomi in building domestic CIS supply chain

China's foundry sector is accelerating expansion across mature and specialty nodes. Nexchip Semiconductor, the country's third-largest foundry, plans to invest CNY2 billion (approx. US$288 million) in Hefei Jingyi Integrated via equity transfer and capital injection to secure full ownership. Upon completion, Hefei Jingyi Integrated will become a wholly owned Nexchip subsidiary

Tuesday 10 February 2026

Exclusive: only cash strength can save China's TOPCon solar sector from endgame

With China's solar products set to lose a 9% export tax rebate in April 2026, compounded by raw material inflation, a wave of pre-rebate-cancellation stockpiling should theoretically emerge. Instead, this buying momentum has mainly come from overseas players. Meanwhile, many other foreign customers, faced with being passed on higher raw material costs, have ultimately chosen to stay on the sidelines. Survival in the industry is increasingly dependent on cash reserves rather than technological superiority

Tuesday 10 February 2026

India launches PRITVI-ACE pre-silicon validation facility to boost domestic chip design ecosystem

According to The Economic Times, India's Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) inaugurated its largest pre-silicon validation facility in Bengaluru on February 6, 2026. Named PRITVI-ACE (Platform for Reconfigurable Integrated Testing and Validation of IPs – Advanced Chip Evaluation), the facility offers large-scale, near-silicon-speed prototyping and validation of complex semiconductor designs before fabrication. It addresses a critical bottleneck in India's chip design ecosystem

Tuesday 10 February 2026

Synopsys China faces leadership shakeup as chairman and president Qun Ge set to depart

On February 9, Synopsys' China office circulated an internal memo announcing that Qun Ge, global senior vice president and chairman and president of Synopsys China, will leave the company, a move that has prompted significant discussion within China's technology industry

Tuesday 10 February 2026

China reportedly enters HBM3 mass production as South Korea pushes into HBM4

China is preparing to initiate large-scale production of high-bandwidth memory (HBM), narrowing a technology gap with South Korea in a critical component for AI semiconductors. As Chinese manufacturers ramp up current-generation output, South Korean memory makers are moving to extend their market lead with next-generation products

Tuesday 10 February 2026

Phison CEO meets India's Modi to boost NAND, edge AI strategies

Phison Electronics CEO Khein-seng Pua met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 8, 2026, to discuss leveraging their respective strengths to advance the deployment of NAND flash storage and edge artificial intelligence (AI) technologies

Tuesday 10 February 2026

Behind Nvidia’s fried-chicken diplomacy

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang reportedly hosted a "fried chicken and beer" meeting in Silicon Valley on February 5, 2026, with SK Group chairman Tony Choi, according to industry sources cited by Yonhap News Agency and The Hankyung. The informal dinner in Santa Clara took place at the restaurant "99 Chicken" and followed a similar high-profile gathering Huang held in Seoul in October 2025 with Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Jae-yong and Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Eui-sun

Tuesday 10 February 2026

Commentary: From retreat to return, SMIC's long road back to advanced packaging

China-based foundry SMIC will release fourth-quarter 2025 results on February 10 and hold its first 2026 investor briefing on February 11. Market focus is expected to center on its advanced packaging push, which is shifting from a supporting function toward a core manufacturing strategy

Tuesday 10 February 2026

Analysis: How Singapore turns talent, R&D into an optics edge

Despite possessing a land area roughly one-fiftieth the size of Taiwan, Singapore has established itself as one of the most closely watched economies and supply chain hubs in Asia. This ascent is the result of a long-term strategy to internationalize its education system and labor force

Tuesday 10 February 2026

Exclusive: China's TOPCon solar in survival mode as it faces overcapacity and rising costs

Technological iteration is supposed to symbolize progress. Yet N-type (Tunnel Oxide Oxide Passivated Contact) TOPCon technology, which has been in commercial deployment for only about three years, is now in survival mode. Supply chain players on both sides of the Taiwan Strait point out that this crisis is no longer a simple imbalance of supply and demand figures, but rather a zeroing effect because of policy shifts, surging raw material costs, and intense technological infighting

Tuesday 10 February 2026

Wingtech-Luxshare dispute over India asset sale enters arbitration as broader divestment nears completion

Wingtech Technology said a dispute with Luxshare Precision over the transfer of its India business asset package has entered international arbitration, while the rest of its major asset divestment has been completed without litigation

Tuesday 10 February 2026

India does the heavy lifting: RISC-V moves into cars and factories

RISC-V is gaining commercial traction in automotive and industrial electronics, though its adoption remains constrained by execution risk and uneven ecosystem maturity, according to India-based engineering services firm UST

Tuesday 10 February 2026

Japanese election landslide puts Korean spotlight on chips, Rapidus and TSMC

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi secured a decisive victory in the February 8, 2026, lower house election after her Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) won 316 seats, surpassing the two-thirds threshold required to control parliamentary committees and initiate constitutional revisions

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