Z.ai co-founder Tang Jie has identified recursive self-improvement (RSI) as a critical pathway towards artificial general intelligence (AGI), arguing that AI systems capable of improving their own development processes could transform research while creating new risks for human oversight.

Denso, Japan's largest auto parts maker, reported falling profits for the first half of fiscal 2026 as surging memory and other component costs, driven partly by the AI boom, offset revenue growth. The company said it will pass some costs on to customers when necessary while securing supplies through long-term contracts.

Tokyo Electron (TEL) forecasts nearly 90% annual operating-profit growth as chipmakers accelerate capital spending to meet demand for AI hardware, despite mounting concerns over an AI bubble. The company also announced a JPY150 billion share buyback program.

Samsung Electronics plans to acquire Samsung Display's entire 10.16% stake in China's TCL CSOT for KRW1.2718 trillion (approx. US$960 million), moving the investment from its OLED-focused subsidiary to the parent company, whose TV business continues to rely on Chinese LCD panel suppliers.

Chinese AI chipmaker Iluvatar CoreX has released benchmarks showing its next-generation Tiangai 300 general-purpose GPU outperforming Nvidia's H200 in selected large language model (LLM) inference, long-context processing and multimodal generation workloads.

Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Jae-yong visited the company's Advanced Package Lab (APL) in Yokohama, Japan, on November 1, as the chipmaker looks to Japan's semiconductor materials and equipment industry to strengthen its advanced packaging capabilities for AI processors.

China's leading electronic design automation (EDA) supplier, Empyrean Technology, plans to acquire a controlling stake in Easy-Logic Technology, a specialist in digital logic optimization, for about CNY219 million (≈ US$32.9 million). The acquisition will address a gap in Empyrean's digital chip design tools and support its development of next-generation solutions for AI chips and 3D integrated circuits (3DIC).

China's leading DRAM manufacturer CXMT expects revenue to continue growing through 2027, supported by tight memory supply, AI server demand and an expanding portfolio of higher-value DDR5 and LPDDR6 products. The company is also negotiating long-term supply agreements with major customers, reflecting efforts to secure demand beyond the current memory market upswing.

Nvidia will invest US$1 billion (KRW1.34 trillion) in South Korean internet company Naver, acquiring an approximately 4.54% stake and surpassing Naver founder and board chairman Hae-jin Lee to become its third-largest shareholder.

South Korean AI chip startup FuriosaAI has raised US$620 million in its latest funding round, quadrupling its valuation from the previous round to US$2.9 billion and strengthening its challenge to Nvidia.

As AI and unmanned systems see wider adoption, the military's reliance on electricity continues to grow, making energy transition critical to maintaining combat capabilities. The South Korean Army made its debut at Smart Energy Plus (SEP) 2026, showcasing microgrids integrating solar power, energy storage systems (ESS), and hydrogen fuel cells, along with hydrogen-powered tactical vehicles and hydrogen fuel-cell drones to reduce dependence on external power grids.

Samsung Electronics has never had more capital at its disposal. The company reported operating profit of KRW89.5 trillion (approx. US$67 billion) in the second quarter of 2026 and KRW107.4 trillion in the third, when its operating margin reached approximately 55%. Samsung became the first technology company worldwide to post quarterly operating profit exceeding KRW100 trillion. The company is benefiting enormously from the memory boom, but its dependence on the industry has also deepened.

Nvidia's robotics partnerships in South Korea are moving beyond initial agreements, with LG Electronics beginning partial operations at its robot-training Data Factory and LG Innotek expanding cooperation on sensing technologies. Hyundai Motor Group, another Nvidia partner, has also outlined new steps toward building AI infrastructure for robotics and autonomous driving.

South Korean companies showcased humanoid robot components, dual-arm machines, and autonomous driving systems at FIX 2026 in Daegu, offering a look at how developers are bringing automation into factories and transportation. The technologies ranged from robotic hardware under development for manufacturing applications to an autonomous taxi service already carrying paying passengers.

Ibiden on October 29 raised its fiscal 2026 forecast, projecting consolidated net profit to rise 40% year-over-year to JPY89 billion (US$563 million) and revenue to increase 36% to JPY565 billion. The company also announced an additional JPY151 billion in capital investment to expand advanced IC packaging substrate capacity for generative AI servers and CPUs.