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Tuesday 3 March 2026
US Congress and industry clash over new semiconductor security mandates
The US House Foreign Affairs Committee has advanced legislation that would grant Congress the authority to review and block advanced chip sales to adversarial nations, mirroring the oversight typically reserved for arms deals. This move, alongside the proposed Chip Security Act, has sparked a sharp divide between national security hawks in Washington and semiconductor industry leaders regarding the future of American technological leadership and export control strategies
Tuesday 3 March 2026
US moves to bar federal purchases of China-linked chips

The US is moving to bar federal agencies from buying certain semiconductors tied to major China-based chipmakers, widening procurement restrictions even as memory shortages and rising prices strain electronics supply chains

Tuesday 3 March 2026
Rapidus to partner with Canon on 2nm image-processing chips, raising supply and investment implications
Rapidus will co-develop 2nm image-processing semiconductors with Canon for cameras and surveillance devices, Nikkei reported, and will trial-produce chips at Rapidus's Chitose, Hokkaido, facility with Synopsys also participating
Tuesday 3 March 2026
Samsung, SK Hynix expand hiring as HBM, DRAM demand enters supercycle

With the semiconductor industry entering a supercycle and reporting record earnings, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are preparing to launch large-scale semiconductor hiring

Tuesday 3 March 2026
Strait of Hormuz threat tests South Korea's memory recovery
After the US and Israel launched joint air strikes on Iran, Middle East tensions escalated sharply. South Korea activated an emergency response system, with Prime Minister Kim Min-seok chairing daily reviews of energy, financial, and supply chain conditions. The Ministry of Economy and Finance formed three cross-ministerial task forces to monitor risks around the Strait of Hormuz and track global oil price and exchange rate volatility amid rising crude prices
Tuesday 3 March 2026
Commentary: Merz at Unitree as China's humanoid robotics push unsettles Europe

During German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's visit to China, the most closely watched stop was Hangzhou-based Unitree Robotics. Footage showed Merz standing with arms crossed, nodding and reacting with visible surprise to a humanoid robot's martial arts demonstration

Tuesday 3 March 2026
DRAM prices to surge up to 70% in 2Q26; Nvidia GTC 2026 ignites AI memory rally
AI-driven data centre expansion has pushed the memory market beyond traditional supply-demand cycles, creating a structural shortage that continues to deepen. Industry sources say the gap between spot and contract prices has widened to 40–50%, pressuring memory suppliers to raise contract prices in successive rounds to close the spread
Tuesday 3 March 2026
China hits 140 humanoid robot OEMs, 330 models; supply chain ramps

By 2025, China had more than 140 humanoid robot OEMs, with over 330 products launched in a single year. The rapid increase in vendors and models is prompting synchronized expansion across the upstream, midstream and downstream supply chain

Tuesday 3 March 2026
South Korea, Singapore launch FTA upgrade focused on AI, SMR nuclear, space, and quantum
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung met Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on March 2 and agreed to launch negotiations to upgrade the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA). The upgrade expands cooperation beyond traditional trade into artificial intelligence (AI), small modular reactors (SMR), space and satellite technology, and quantum science, reflecting a shift toward structured technology and energy collaboration
Tuesday 3 March 2026
Audi's rebranding experiment backfires as Germany's big-three automakers plunge into China's price wars
Volkswagen AG's "in China for China" strategy is facing an uphill battle in the market after less than six months, with the company now entering a fierce pricing war that has spread from the electric vehicle (EV) market to internal combustion engine (ICE) cars, and even dragging BMW and Mercedes-Benz into the crossfire
Monday 2 March 2026
Seoul’s AW 2026: Hyundai debuts MobED as China’s humanoid leaders move in
Hyundai Motor Group's Robotics LAB will showcase its CES Best of Innovation Award-winning mobile robot platform, Mobile Eccentric Droid (MobED), at Smart Factory &Automation World (AW) 2026, underscoring the rapid expansion of AI-driven and humanoid robotics in manufacturing. Held from March 4-6 at Coex in Seoul, AW 2026 is positioning itself beyond a traditional smart factory exhibition, reflecting the industry's accelerating shift toward AI-native production systems, intelligent logistics, and next-generation robotics
Monday 2 March 2026
Renesas names new India president to accelerate growth amid fierce engineering talent competition
Renesas has named two senior executives to lead its businesses in India and China, moves the company says are intended to accelerate growth in those markets
Monday 2 March 2026
Huawei takes 8,192-chip Atlas 950 global, escalates AI data center fight with Nvidia

Huawei has unveiled its Atlas 950 SuperPoD at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2026 in Barcelona, marking the first overseas showcase of its most advanced AI supercomputer and positioning it directly against Nvidia's AI data center systems

Monday 2 March 2026
Hiwin local production positioned as key supplier for South Korea semiconductor and AI-driven equipment upgrades
Hiwin Technologies has spent more than a decade building direct manufacturing and service capacity in South Korea, evolving from component sales to integrated mechatronic solutions and becoming a preferred supplier as semiconductor upgrades and AI-related investment accelerate
Monday 2 March 2026
Rapidus raises US$1.7 billion to support 2nm mass production by 2027
Japan's state-backed chip venture Rapidus announced on February 27 that it has secured a total of JPY267.6 billion (about US$1.7 billion) in new funding from both government and private-sector investors, marking a key step in its push to mass-produce 2nm logic chips by 2027