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Monday 5 October 2026
Exclusive: A*STAR IME's Yu-chieh Chien targets next-gen SiC through 8-inch R&D, reliability gains
Singapore is building a semiconductor R&D hub by attracting both multinational investment and overseas research talent. Dr Yu-chieh Chien, a Taiwanese scientist at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research's Institute of Microelectronics (A*STAR IME), is one example.
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Monday 5 October 2026
Kyushu's chip expo expands as Japan adds a chip design focus
Japan's Kyushu Semiconductor Industry Exhibition, known as K-Semi, grew 36% at this year's edition in Fukuoka, held from September 30 to October 1, 2026, as chip makers expanded their presence in Kyushu. The event also added a semiconductor design zone for the first time and was held alongside the debut Kyushu Next-Generation Energy Exhibition, or K-Ene.
Monday 5 October 2026
Huawei counters chip-node limits with Ascend, SuperPoD and τ law
Huawei is increasingly framing its semiconductor strategy around a simple constraint: if advanced process nodes remain limited, more performance must come from architecture, interconnect and system-level efficiency.
Monday 5 October 2026
Commentary: China's US$37.3B subsidy meets a weak smartphone market as new flagships test replacement demand
China's National Day holidays have opened one of the fourth quarter's most important promotional windows for consumer electronics. For smartphones, the timing is especially significant: Apple, Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo and Honor have all launched new models since September, while Huawei introduced its Mate 90 series on October 1.
Monday 5 October 2026
Nuri launch takes center stage at AEROTEC 2026 as Hanwha moves from rocket manufacturing to launch operations
With South Korea preparing for the fifth launch of its Nuri rocket, the country's space ambitions took center stage at AEROTEC 2026, the second International Aerospace Technology Exhibition held recently in Changwon, a major hub for South Korea's aerospace industry.
Monday 5 October 2026
DeepSeek Harness challenges Agent lock-in with Claude Code Mods bridge and open plugin architecture
DeepSeek has released a new version of DeepSeek Harness, adding an experimental compatibility layer for Anthropic's Claude Code Mods and sharpening its broader effort to build an open, highly extensible software layer for AI agents.
Monday 5 October 2026
Taiwan's GIS targets optical communications growth with fresh laser-packaging capacity
General Interface Solution (GIS) Holding is gaining traction in optical communications and other new products despite weak consumer electronics demand caused by rising memory prices. Its laser-source packaging and testing business has entered customer qualification and, if progress stays on track, could begin shipments in the fourth quarter of 2026, with a larger revenue contribution from the first quarter of 2027.
Monday 5 October 2026
South Korean SMEs expand space supply chain from reusable rockets to satellite shielding
As South Korea prepares for the fifth launch of its Nuri rocket, small and medium-sized enterprises are taking on increasingly important roles in the country's space supply chain alongside major aerospace companies such as Hanwha Aerospace.
Monday 5 October 2026
Hyundai Rotem advances methane rocket engines for reusable launch vehicles
South Korea's Hyundai Rotem is accelerating its expansion into aerospace propulsion systems, showcasing 10-ton- and 35-ton-class methane rocket engines under development at AEROTEC 2026 as it targets growing demand for reusable launch vehicles.
Monday 5 October 2026
SDC, LGD seek longer tax credits, cash refunds for OLED investment amid intensifying China competition
Samsung Display (SDC) and LG Display (LGD) are calling on the South Korean government to strengthen tax incentives for OLED investment and research as intensifying competition from Chinese panel makers raises pressure to maintain technological leadership and upgrade production capacity.
Monday 5 October 2026
KAI targets 6G satellite communications as standardized platforms bridge observation and connectivity ambitions
Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) showcased its next-generation medium-sized satellites and compact synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites at AEROTEC 2026 in Changwon, highlighting an expanding space strategy that increasingly extends from Earth observation into communications.
Monday 5 October 2026
Micronex plans Sanand lead-frame plant as India expands chip packaging supply chain
Micronex Technology plans to build a semiconductor lead-frame factory in Sanand, Gujarat, seeking to localize a packaging component as India expands its chip assembly and testing industry. The startup's agreement with Kaynes Semicon connects the proposed plant to Gujarat's growing semiconductor ecosystem, while similar supplier partnerships elsewhere point to a wider push for domestic materials and components.
Monday 5 October 2026
Z.ai GLM-5.3 security draws scrutiny as Anthropic flags weak defenses
Anthropic has warned that GLM-5.3, the latest model from Chinese AI startup Z.ai, approached Claude Mythos Preview on an exploit-development benchmark but lacks sufficient safety protections, raising concerns that malicious actors could use it for cyberattacks.
Monday 5 October 2026
South Korea's AI chip budget goes unspent through August
South Korea's government is pushing to join the "global top three AI powers," but the AI semiconductor development program led by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR) had spent nothing by the end of August 2026. The core AI semiconductor budget for 2026 totaled KRW166.554 billion (about US$119 million), according to Edaily and Newdaily, yet cumulative execution remained at KRW0.
Monday 5 October 2026
Taiwanese aerospace company AIDC unveils Raven X tactical drone
Aerospace Industrial Development (AIDC) unveiled its first self-developed fixed-wing tactical drone, the Raven X. AIDC president Hsiu-mei Chuang recently stated that the Taiwan-based aerospace company is shifting part of its business focus toward unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) development, following the winding down of its Brave Eagle advanced jet trainer production program.
Monday 5 October 2026
Japan to finalize AI growth investment plan this year
Japan plans to detail the first five years of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's more than JPY370 trillion (US$2.3 trillion) 14-year investment initiative, which is designed to spur investment in AI and other strategic sectors, according to documents submitted Thursday, October 1, to Japan's Growth Strategy Council.