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Monday 2 March 2026
XTPL, Manz Partner for Ultra-Precise Dispensing Tech in Asia
XTPL (WSE:XTP), a developer of Ultra-Precise Dispensing (UPD) technology for nanomaterial deposition, has entered a strategic partnership with Manz Asia to support the development and commercialization of advanced semiconductor packaging applications.Under the partnership, XTPL will install a Delta Printing System in Manz Asia's  Semiconductor Innovation and R&D centre in Taoyuan, Taiwan, establishing a local capability for process development, testing, and validation. The facility will enable customers to evaluate specific applications and establish a pathway from prototype development to volume production.The partnership combines XTPL's proprietary dispensing technology with Manz Asia's expertise in advanced semiconductor manufacturing systems and process development. The collaboration will focus on joint engagement with third-party customers and the evaluation of application-specific commercial opportunities.XTPL's UPD technology enables highly controlled deposition of functional nanomaterials with feature sizes ranging from tens of micrometres down to below one micrometre. The technology is already qualified for high-volume production in display applications and is currently being evaluated for additional applications in advanced electronics, including inline manufacturing, multichip module packaging, and advanced electronic structures."I am delighted to start the partnership with Manz Asia - a company with a strong position and deep expertise in the semiconductor industry in Taiwan and Asia. It is only natural for us to work side by side with a partner who knows this ecosystem from the inside.The synergy between XTPL's unique ultra-precise dispensing technology and Manz Asia's competencies in advanced semiconductor packaging is a natural fit. That is precisely why I am confident this collaboration will translate into tangible business opportunities for both sides.," said Filip Granek, CEO of XTPL.Robert Lin, CEO of Manz Asia, added: "This strategic partnership with XTPL expands our printing capabilities into ultra-precise material deposition, enabling a wide range of advanced semiconductor applications. The technology supports both conductive and non-conductive materials across 2D, 2.5D and 3D substrates in diverse manufacturing scenarios.By combining XTPL's dispensing technology with Manz's automation and process integration expertise, we broaden our portfolio and provide more flexible manufacturing solutions, helping customers accelerate innovation and move efficiently from prototype to volume production."
Thursday 26 February 2026
SK hynix, Sandisk Begin Global Standardization of HBF
Seoul, February 26, 2026 – SK hynix Inc. (or "the company", www.skhynix.com) and Sandisk Corporation held 'HBF Spec. Standardization Consortium Kick-Off' event at Sandisk Headquarters in Milpitas, California on the 25th(local time) announcing global standardization strategy of next-generation memory solution HBF(High Bandwidth Flash) aimed at the AI inference era.SK hynix said, "By making HBF an industry standard, together with Sandisk, we will lay the foundation for the entire AI ecosystem to grow together. A dedicated workstream under OCP1 will be launched with Sandisk to begin standardization work."Recently, the AI industry is shifting from training which focuses on creating Large Language Models (LLMs) to inference, which accelerates actual AI services to users.Fast and efficient memory is essential as the number of users using AI services increases rapidly. However, the existing memory structure cannot meet the high capacity data processing and power efficiency at the same time in the inference stage and HBF technology is designed to address these limitations.HBF technology is a new memory layer between ultra-fast memory, HBM and high-capacity storage device, SSD. HBF technology can fill the gap between HBM's high performance and SSD's high capacity and ensure both capacity expansion and power efficiency required for AI inferencing. While HBM handles the high level bandwidth, HBF technology serves as a supporting layer in the architecture.In particular, HBF technology is expected to reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO) while increasing the scalability of AI systems. The industry forecasts that the demand of complex memory solutions, including HBF, will pick up around 2030.In the AI inference market, the role of a total memory solution company that can provide both HBM and HBF is becoming more important as system level optimization of CPU, GPU, and memory determines the overall competitiveness rather than the performance of a single chip.In line with this, SK hynix and Sandisk are proactively pursuing HBF solution's standardization and commercialization based on their design, packaging and mass production experience in HBM and NAND."The key to AI infrastructure is to go beyond the performance competition of individual technologies and to optimize the entire ecosystem," said, Ahn Hyun, President and Chief Development Officer. "Through HBF technology standardization the company will establish a cooperative system and present an AI-era optimized memory architecture to create new value for customers and partners."
Thursday 26 February 2026
9th AI EXPO KOREA to Open with Free Visitor Registration
Artificial Intelligence Industry Exhibition (hereinafter, AI EXPO KOREA 2026) - the largest AI exhibition in Asia, presenting a comprehensive view of the present and a blueprint for future industries - will be held for three days from May 6 to 8 at COEX Hall A (entire 1st floor) in Samseong-dong, Seoul.First launched in 2018 to foster the domestic AI ecosystem and promote the development and activation of the AI industry, AI EXPO KOREA 2026 marks its 9th edition this year. The event is jointly organized by the Korea Artificial Intelligence Association, Seoul Messe, and AI Newspaper. Over the years, the exhibition has established itself as a leading platform that diagnoses the current state of AI and presents future directions, functioning as a venue where the latest AI technologies and real-world business applications can be directly experienced while relevant information and insights are actively shared.Scenes from AI EXPO KOREA 2025 held last year. Credit: AI EXPO KOREA 2026In particular, it has firmly positioned itself as a practical forum where companies and institutions across diverse industries plan and design strategies in response to the AI era, playing a pivotal role in shaping the domestic AI ecosystem and advancing industrial development. It is widely recognized as the largest and most authoritative AI event in Asia in both name and substance.At the 8th edition held last year, 322 companies and institutions from 18 countries, including the United States and Canada, participated with a total of 544 booths. Over the three-day event, 43,788 visitors and buyers attended, proving its status as a premier standalone AI exhibition. Building on this success, AI EXPO KOREA 2026 is expected to be held on an even larger scale with more diverse content. The organizers anticipate participation from approximately 350 companies from around 20 countries with a total of 600 booths, setting a new record as the largest edition to date.If 2025 marked the era of "thinking machines" driven by generative AI, we are now entering the era of "moving intelligence," namely the age of Physical AI. The AI industry is expected to experience explosive growth centered on AI Agents capable of autonomously performing personalized tasks, increasingly sophisticated and versatile Large Language Models (LLMs), and the powerful AI infrastructure that supports all of these technologies. Furthermore, as AI expands beyond the digital world to directly interact with the physical world through robots, autonomous driving, smart devices, and industrial automation systems, Physical AI is rapidly reshaping the very structure of industries and daily life. AI EXPO KOREA 2026 will spotlight these key trends and provide visitors with an opportunity to experience the forefront of AI technology.Moving beyond simple chatbots, AI Agent technologies that understand user intent and autonomously plan and execute complex tasks are transforming paradigms across industries. In particular, these AI Agents are no longer confined to software environments but are expanding into Physical AI that acts directly in the real world through integration with robotics and autonomous systems. This exhibition will showcase a wide range of AI Agent solutions and real-world applications across fields such as personal assistants, smart home control, industrial automation, customer service innovation, robotics, and autonomous systems. Visitors will be able to directly observe how AI Agents maximize work efficiency and create entirely new user experiences.Represented by LG EXAONE, Solar, A.X K1, OpenAI's GPT series, Google's Gemini, Meta's LLaMA, Hangzhou DeepSeek, and Qwen, LLMs have evolved into multimodal systems capable of generating not only images but also videos, demonstrating increasingly creative and advanced task execution capabilities. These LLMs go beyond simple content generation and, when combined with robotics, serve as the "brains" of Physical AI by directing and controlling physical actions. At AI EXPO KOREA 2026, the latest LLMs developed by leading domestic and international companies, along with various application services and industry-specialized LLM solutions, will be presented through live demonstrations. In particular, in-depth discussions are expected on the ethical use of LLMs, data security, and technologies for model lightweighting and optimization.Above all, establishing AI strategies requires more than simply selecting a model; it demands solutions that can fine-tune models for specific use cases and efficiently manage the substantial costs associated with AI deployment and operation. Accordingly, this exhibition will introduce comprehensive AI infrastructure technologies and solutions, ranging from AI chips and accelerators to storage, AI servers, various edge devices and computing, HPC, cloud, and data centers. Key discussion topics will include robotics computing for the Physical AI era, real-time sensor processing, on-device AI, and low-latency edge infrastructure. On site, a series of solutions and demonstrations will illustrate practical strategies for how AI infrastructure and on-device AI enable AI to interact with our daily lives, industries, and businesses from the perspective of AI convergence and real-world application.In addition, the exhibition will provide a comprehensive overview of core infrastructure technologies and solutions for AI development and operations, including data collection, processing, and analytics platforms, as well as automation tools for AI model training and deployment. Domestic and international semiconductor companies, data center solution providers, and cloud service companies will present their latest technologies, showcasing hardware and software competitiveness for the AI era.Ultimately, AI EXPO KOREA 2026 will go beyond a simple technology and industry exhibition to serve as a venue that presents concrete answers to the business innovations and industrial transformations driven by AI. Participating companies will showcase their AI technologies and solutions to discover new business partners, while visitors will gain the latest information and valuable insights on strengthening competitiveness through AI adoption and securing future growth engines.Detailed information can be found on the official website.