Apple has tested DRAM from China's ChangXin Memory Technologies in iPhone and MacBook products as AI-driven memory shortages and rising prices strain global supply, according to reports. The testing has also drawn bipartisan pressure from US lawmakers, who are urging the Commerce Department and Apple leadership to tighten restrictions on Chinese suppliers.
SK Hynix is facing an expanding US patent dispute with MonolithIC 3D. A second US International Trade Commission (USITC) investigation covers high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and 3D NAND products, alongside parallel litigation in federal court.
The US signed a presidential proclamation on August 6 (ET) imposing a 15% tariff on polysilicon and related products from all countries, with the new measures set to take effect on December 4, 2026. Taiwan's Executive Yuan said the decision was expected to have limited impact on the island's solar sector and highlighted exemptions available to semiconductor-related firms with US investments.
The Seoul High Court has upheld an 18-month prison sentence for a former SK Hynix employee who leaked trade secrets tied to CMOS image sensor (CIS) technology to Chinese companies while seeking new employment, including with Huawei chip unit HiSilicon.
A cluster of measures signed and drafted since late July has shifted the center of gravity in US supply-chain policy away from finished electronics and toward the raw materials that feed them.
DeepSeek has invested CNY140.8 million (approx. US$20.8 million) in Unitree's Shanghai IPO and agreed to jointly develop AI models for humanoid robots, linking one of China's highest-profile AI developers with the country's leading robotics contender at a critical stage of Unitree's public-market debut.
Driven by global net-zero commitments and China's "dual carbon" goals of peaking carbon emissions before achieving carbon neutrality, Inner Mongolia is rapidly transforming from a traditional resource-based economy into a strategic hub for renewable energy and AI computing infrastructure.
The global humanoid robot race is heating up, with the US and China battling for technological and market leadership, but a third force is rapidly emerging.
