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Wednesday 29 July 2026
Commentary: Why China's 2026 tech breakthroughs are a generational harvest

Judging only by the news of summer 2026, China's technology sector appears to have entered an unusually concentrated period of breakthroughs.

Wednesday 29 July 2026
OpenAI plans to test first hardware device in South Korea
OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman has said that the company may use South Korea as a testbed for its first hardware device, widely believed to be a screenless speaker. However, it remains to be seen whether an ongoing court case brought on by Apple could influence the product's timeline.
Wednesday 29 July 2026
From Silicon Valley to Sicily: Samsung, SK chiefs take Korea's AI supply-chain pitch to Google Camp

A high-level technology gathering in Sicily, reportedly to be attended by the leaders of two of South Korea's largest semiconductor groups, Samsung Electronics and SK Group, is drawing attention to their expanding roles across the AI infrastructure stack.

Wednesday 29 July 2026
China rejects US AI model theft claims, says American firms distill Chinese models too
China's Ministry of Commerce has rejected US allegations that Chinese artificial intelligence companies used model distillation to acquire capabilities from advanced US AI models, after American officials said they were considering investigations and possible sanctions over the alleged theft of US intellectual property.
Tuesday 28 July 2026
Magnitude 7.1 quake strikes Japan's Kumamoto; TSMC says JASM staff safe, recovery underway
A powerful earthquake struck Japan's Kyushu region at 4:27 p.m. on July 28. The Japan Meteorological Agency initially estimated the quake at magnitude 7.1 with a depth of 6.2 miles (10 kilometers). The strongest shaking was recorded in Uki City and Hikawa Town in Kumamoto Prefecture, reaching seismic intensity 7 on Japan's scale. TSMC's Japan fab in Kikuyo Town experienced an intensity of 5+, and a tsunami warning was issued.
Tuesday 28 July 2026
Panel makers reject 10% polarizer price increase as China suppliers retreat
Rising upstream material prices are continuing to pressure the polarizer industry. During the second quarter, polarizer suppliers in China and Taiwan sought price increases of about 10% from panel makers for the third quarter to offset higher costs.
Tuesday 28 July 2026
CXMT's record IPO and Apple talks collide with US curbs as DRAM tightens

AI-driven demand is tightening the global memory market just as China's leading DRAM producer, ChangXin Memory Technologies, or CXMT, accelerates capacity expansion after a record IPO.

Tuesday 28 July 2026
SK Hynix enters LPDDR6 production race with Xiaomi first in line
SK Hynix reportedly plans to begin mass production and shipments of LPDDR6 in the second half of 2026, with Xiaomi expected to become its first customer for mobile devices. Industry sources said an early LPDDR6 launch would strengthen SK Hynix's position in premium mobile DRAM and lay the groundwork for expansion into AI server memory.
Tuesday 28 July 2026
AI memory demand lifts WF6 prices as PERIC Special Gases adopts market-based pricing
Surging demand for AI servers and advanced memory devices is tightening the global supply of tungsten hexafluoride (WF6), drawing increased attention to one of the semiconductor industry's most important specialty gases.
Tuesday 28 July 2026
China speeds up 4 new cars a day, intensifying shakeout

China's blistering pace of new-car launches — expected to average four new vehicles a day in the first half of 2026 — is shifting from a market-winning tactic to a key driver of industry reshuffling and shakeouts, intensifying cutthroat competition in the auto market.

Tuesday 28 July 2026
Samsung eyes Chinese DRAM sourcing to cut costs, expand budget-phone share in China
Samsung Electronics is evaluating the use of lower-cost Chinese DRAM in some smartphones as it seeks to offset rising component costs and regain momentum in China's highly competitive budget handset market.
Tuesday 28 July 2026
SK Hynix's HBM paradox: DDR5 surge builds leverage for HBM4 price hikes

AI spending is broadening the memory upcycle beyond high-bandwidth memory, lifting prices for conventional DRAM, NAND flash and enterprise SSDs while reshaping earnings at SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics.

Tuesday 28 July 2026
LG wins Nvidia certification for 600kW CDU and lands North America data center project
LG Electronics said on July 27 that its 600kW coolant distribution unit has received Nvidia certification after passing more than 100 standardized AI factory technology validations. The company also said it recently secured cooling projects for a North America hyperscale cloud service provider and the Sinar Mas data center in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Tuesday 28 July 2026
Anthropic seeks SK Hynix supply for AI chips, SK chair says

Anthropic has asked SK Hynix to help supply chips for its own in-house AI chip production, SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won said. He made the remarks at a recent AI summit in San Francisco, where he also disclosed that South Korea's three new investment plans in semiconductor expansion, AI data centers and physical AI would total more than US$3 trillion.

Tuesday 28 July 2026
China reportedly starts making homegrown DUV chipmaking tools; threatens ASML's stranglehold on semiconductor equipment
China has begun manufacturing domestically developed immersion deep ultraviolet lithography machines, a potential turning point in its effort to build a self-sufficient semiconductor industry free from Western equipment controls.