US President Donald Trump has ordered the divestment of certain semiconductor assets of EMCORE Corporation following a national security review that identified risks linked to foreign ownership, according to a White House executive order and a statement from the US Treasury Department

South Korea is intensifying competition to develop a sovereign AI foundation model, with five leading teams from industry and academia unveiling first-phase results. The contenders highlighted differences in parameter scale, multimodal capabilities, and vertical applications. By mid-January 2026, four teams will be selected to advance to the next stage

India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has approved an additional 22 proposals under the Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS), marking a significant expansion of the country's push to expand electronics manufacturing. The newly cleared projects involve a projected investment of INR418/63 billion and an estimated production of INR2,581.52 billion, and are expected to generate 33,791 direct jobs

Singapore is drawing a new wave of semiconductor investment as global chipmakers expand advanced manufacturing tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure, reinforcing the city-state's strategy of attracting investments to enable next-generation technologies and position Singapore higher up the semiconductor value chain

Japanese semiconductor firms are pivoting toward advanced packaging and alternative lithography as TSMC extends its scale advantage in artificial intelligence chips. TSMC's 3nm and 2nm capacity is largely locked in. Advanced packaging now contributes a growing share of sales. The company is on track to see annual revenue exceed US$250 billion around 2029 or 2030. That widening gap has pushed Japanese companies to focus on panel-level packaging and nanoimprint technologies. Both emerged at SEMICON Japan 2025 as key levers to bypass manufacturing bottlenecks and secure a foothold in the fast-expanding AI accelerator supply chain

The global automotive market reached a critical turning point in 2025 amid unprecedented pressures from tariffs, policies, and inflation, triggering preemptive buying before expected downturns. In China, domestic sales are estimated to have hit 27 million units in 2025, nearing the historic peak of 2017

Baidu is moving forward with plans to spin off its AI chip unit, Kunlunxin, and list it in Hong Kong, highlighting the company's push for semiconductor self-sufficiency. On January 1, 2025, Baidu said Kunlunxin confidentially filed a listing application with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, formally setting the stage for a potential initial public offering, though key details such as the offering size, structure, and timing remain undecided

The Vietnamese government is urging Intel to further grow its semiconductor packaging and testing capabilities in the country, seeking to strengthen the nation's role in the global chip supply chain

Following reports that the US government had granted annual export licenses to South Korea's Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, the US Department of Commerce (DOC) has also approved TSMC to export chip manufacturing equipment containing US technology to its wafer fabs in Nanjing and other locations in China over the next year. The approval ensures existing production lines can continue operating normally and meet product delivery schedules

China's leading DRAM producer, ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), has entered the initial public offering phase as it targets a rapid increase in global market share, aiming to surpass the 4% threshold in the near term, according to its IPO prospectus and market estimates. The move comes as the company accelerates capacity expansion and technology upgrades to close the gap with industry leaders Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology in a market dominated by a handful of suppliers

Samsung Electronics has taken a key step toward building a massive semiconductor manufacturing complex in Yongin after finalizing a land purchase for a national industrial park, moving the long-planned project into its execution phase

Samsung Electronics plans to begin mass production of its sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory chips in 2026, citing positive feedback from customers as the South Korean tech giant seeks to reclaim its lead in the competitive artificial intelligence hardware market

South Korea's ruling and opposition parties have reached a preliminary consensus on the Semiconductor Special Act, though its passage may be delayed until 2026, and the law faces criticism for offering comparatively weak support measures against competing countries