As artificial intelligence (AI) technology advances, the robotics market is maturing rapidly. South Korean electronic component makers are reportedly viewing robots as their next growth engine. According to ChosunBiz, major South Korean component manufacturers now consider parts for humanoid robots among key mid-to-long-term growth drivers

The Japanese government has agreed to become the first international partner in a US-led initiative accelerating scientific research through AI. According to media outlets including Nikkei and The Register, on January 27, 2026, Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) announced its formal participation in the Trump administration's Genesis Mission program

In recent years, data center development has focused on boosting the performance of CPUs, GPUs, and other compute processors. As computing scale continues to expand, the incremental benefits of single-chip performance improvements are declining. The core challenge is now how to efficiently coordinate and scale large pools of computing resources across system-level architectures

Global technology companies, including Google, are increasingly shifting new product introduction (NPI) stages away from China to reduce geopolitical risks, with recent reports indicating Google has begun relocating NPI for its premium smartphones to Vietnam. Industry insiders note initial progress but emphasize significant structural hurdles in this complex transition

China's GPU developer MetaX reported strong revenue growth for fiscal 2025, driven by rising demand for domestically produced AI chips. In a preliminary earnings release on January 27, 2026, the Shanghai-based company said revenue is expected to reach CNY1.6 billion (US$230 million) to CNY1.7 billion, up from CNY743 million a year earlier, a year-over-year increase of 115% to 129%

Samsung Electronics is emerging as the leading supplier of sixth-generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM4) to Nvidia and AMD as of February 2026, backed by growing confidence in its production ramp

A fresh wave of memory price hikes is sweeping across the semiconductor supply chain, spreading from AI memory products into manufacturing, packaging, and testing, and upstream materials and critical components. Known Good Die (KGD), long a low-profile yet tightly linked segment of the ecosystem, is now emerging as a key pressure point in the latest pricing surge

In recent years, Chinese companies have significantly increased their investment in automotive semiconductors, aiming to accelerate the development of a domestic supply chain. Yet in key technologies—particularly power semiconductors used in electric vehicle (EV) drivetrains—expertise remains firmly in the hands of European and American integrated device manufacturers (IDMs). These technologies are unlikely to be displaced in the near term

China's National Space Administration (CNSA) announced a strategic initiative on November 25, 2025, intending to make China the world leader in commercial space activities by 2027. The plan, unveiled in Beijing, details reforms designed to mobilize private-sector innovation, integrate national resources, and enhance international cooperation in the space industry

China will continue implementing its national subsidy policy in 2026, but with stricter conditions and higher thresholds. Judging from TV sales trends in 2025, the subsidies had already lost momentum in the later stages. Although the policy will be extended into 2026, it is expected to struggle to stimulate consumer demand, and TV shipments in China are therefore projected to continue declining in 2026

South Korea's total export value surpassed US$700 billion for the first time in 2025, with Vietnam remaining the third-largest trading partner and the second-largest source of South Korea's trade surplus. Booming semiconductor exports largely drove the growth

Honda announced on January 26, 2026, that its previously halted Chinese auto factories had gradually resumed production since January 19. The shutdowns were primarily caused by a temporary suspension of shipments from automotive chip supplier Nexperia, which led to critical component shortages, forcing multiple Honda plants to halt operations

Chinese GPU startup Iluvatar CoreX has unveiled a multi-generation product roadmap that it says could see its fourth-generation architecture surpass Nvidia's upcoming Rubin platform by 2027, marking one of the latest efforts by domestic Chinese chipmakers to advance their AI computing capabilities

Samsung Electronics' television and home appliance divisions are struggling to secure memory supplies as rising prices prompt the company's semiconductor arm to prioritize higher-margin customers and products, according to South Korean industry outlet Dealsite

China is moving into the semiconductor glass substrate market, with both chip-related suppliers and display makers entering the field, according to Korean industry reports