DIGITIMES news - East Asia

Monday 27 July 2026

Samsung converts AMD and OpenAI ties into HBM4 supply wins

Samsung Electronics is showing renewed momentum in the AI memory race as it deepens ties with both OpenAI and AMD, two partnerships that could strengthen its position in the next-generation HBM4 ecosystem after ceding early ground in AI memory to rival SK hynix.

Monday 27 July 2026

CATL profit climbs 42%, but storage price pressure tests its global lead

CATL reported a 42% rise in first-half 2026 net profit as electric-vehicle and energy-storage battery shipments surged, although weaker margins and intense storage pricing highlighted the cost of sustaining its global lead.

Monday 27 July 2026

Chinese AI startup Moonshot dispute puts US-China AI cooperation at risk

Tensions between the US and China are escalating following allegations that Moonshot AI improperly extracted capabilities from advanced US-developed AI models and accessed export-controlled Nvidia hardware while developing Kimi K3. The model has drawn industry attention for approaching the performance of leading US systems despite Moonshot's comparatively limited computing resources.

Monday 27 July 2026

Samsung’s Broadcom AI chip pact expected to top US$200 billion as Hyundai expands robotics push

Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor Group used the San Francisco AI Summit to outline separate artificial intelligence (AI) expansion plans spanning semiconductors, autonomous driving and robotics.

Monday 27 July 2026

Apple reportedly seeks 20% iPhone 18 OLED price cut despite costlier M16 panels

Apple is pressing Samsung Display (SDC) and LG Display (LGD) for steep price reductions on OLED panels for the iPhone 18 series as rising memory and storage costs increase handset production expenses.

Monday 27 July 2026

Weekly news roundup: Samsung and SK Hynix favor DDR5, Intel accelerates 18A, Alibaba deepens CXMT ties

AI infrastructure, memory and advanced chipmaking led this week's tech agenda, with Intel, Samsung, SK Hynix, CXMT, Alibaba and Foxconn reshaping capacity and supply chains. Below are the most-read DIGITIMES stories from the week of July 20-26, 2026.

Monday 27 July 2026

CXMT's US$8.6 billion IPO sets off new spending cycle across China's DRAM supply chain

China's leading DRAM producer CXMT listed on Shanghai's STAR Market on July 27 after raising about CNY57.9 billion (approx. US$8.6 billion), the board's largest initial public offering to date. The deal gives the memory chipmaker fresh capital to expand capacity, develop advanced processes and accelerate new products, while creating a substantial demand pipeline for China's semiconductor equipment, materials, packaging and memory-module suppliers.

Monday 27 July 2026

DeepSeek reportedly pauses second funding round amid market and geopolitical scrutiny

Chinese artificial intelligence pioneer DeepSeek has verbally informed prospective investors that it is suspending its second fundraising round, according to people familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg. The unexpected halt comes just days after leaked transcripts attributed to founder Liang Wenfeng sparked widespread online discussion about China's reliance on US hardware and its technological lag relative to American rivals.

Monday 27 July 2026

Samsung bolsters energy team as chip projects test power supply

Samsung Group is recruiting current and former government energy officials for its in-house think tank as electricity infrastructure emerges as a key issue for its semiconductor expansion in Yongin and the proposed Honam chip cluster.

Monday 27 July 2026

SDC and LGD showcase shift to IT OLED at K-Display 2026

South Korea's display giants, Samsung Display (SDC) and LG Display (LGD), are showcasing a shift in their product focus at the K-Display 2026 exhibition from traditional TVs to IT and gaming applications, underscoring weak TV demand and the rising importance of OLED for monitors and notebooks. The trend has turned IT OLED applications into a key growth engine.

Monday 27 July 2026

Commentary: Why are Chinese automakers finding it so hard to cut dependence on CATL?

China's new energy vehicle (NEV) supply chain has risen rapidly, with an operating model that differs sharply from the century-old mainstream automakers in Europe, the US, Japan, and South Korea. A quality issue triggered by GAC Aion's use of CALB's LFP batteries has revived discussions of its past disputes with CATL. Across the industry, the long-running tug of war between Chinese automakers and dominant battery suppliers has continued to deepen the low-margin, even loss-making, dilemma facing carmakers.

Monday 27 July 2026

Samsung Electro-Mechanics starts pilot production of camera modules for humanoid robots in Vietnam, report says

Samsung Electro-Mechanics (Semco) has begun pilot production of camera modules for humanoid robots at its manufacturing base in Vietnam, Maeil Business Newspaper reported, citing industry sources.

Monday 27 July 2026

ZDT-led China PCB expansion tops US$10 billion on AI server and edge AI demand

China's printed circuit board (PCB) industry is entering a new investment cycle, with more than CNY70 billion (approx. US$10.3 billion) committed in 2026 as AI servers, high-speed optical modules and edge devices lift demand for advanced boards.

Monday 27 July 2026

Disco lifts first-half profit forecast on steady AI equipment demand

Japanese semiconductor equipment maker Disco expects net profit for the six months ending September 30, 2026, to rise 32% year over year to JPY73.8 billion (approx. US$461 million), supported by continued demand for equipment and consumables used in AI-related semiconductor production.

Sunday 26 July 2026

Samsung and Hyundai target Silicon Valley AI roundtable

Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Jae-Yong and Hyundai Motor chairman Chung Eui-Sun are reportedly moving to join the advisory network of the global AI leaders' gathering "Silicon Valley & The World." The two are expected to meet AI industry leaders, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, in San Francisco this week, before possibly meeting again in Silicon Valley in November 2026.

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