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Jul 20
Commentary: Apple sues OpenAI, but Trump holds the whistle

Apple has filed a sharp antitrust-style complaint against OpenAI, turning a once-celebrated AI partnership into a legal clash over strategy, supply chains, and future hardware control. Behind the lawsuit lies a broader contest over who will shape the next wave of AI devices, and whether the Trump administration's "America First" agenda can help both sides find common ground.

Elite Material, TUC race ahead in AI CCL push
Jul 21, 07:51

As AI server products accelerate their generational shift and demand higher-frequency, higher-speed transmission, the upgrade cycle for copper-clad laminate (CCL) materials in the PCB upstream supply chain has become firmly established. M7 and M8 specs are now mainstream, while M9 and M10 materials remain in the testing and validation stage, with mass production expected in 2027 or 2028.

Agentic AI is likely to reach commercial use sooner than physical AI, according to Beyondsoft, as the IT services provider deepens its push into robotics and enterprise automation. The Singapore-based company sees the region, especially Singapore, as a key proving ground where cloud partners, governments, and enterprises are shaping the next phase of AI adoption.

Power management IC (PMIC) maker Fortune Advanced Technology is set to list on the Emerging Stock Board on July 22, with an eye on growing demand for high-voltage power management in AI data centers driving the need for e-fuses and smart power management solutions. In addition, shipments of higher-margin products are also lifting revenue for the company, as it seeks opportunities in importing substitute protective components.

Singapore is Southeast Asia's AI frontrunner. It has also become a proving ground for competing Eastern and Western AI business models. As a global technology and financial hub, the city-state is one of the first battlegrounds where leading US and Chinese AI companies are building their regional presence.

TSMC's sustained capital spending highlights the two foundations of its competitive strength: technology leadership and manufacturing excellence. The latter remains a core advantage not only for TSMC but also for the broader semiconductor ecosystem built around its production model.

Alibaba Group's chip design unit, T-Head, has open-sourced the software stack behind its Zhenwu AI processors while extending the platform from individual accelerators into rack-scale supernodes and public-cloud computing services.

Oracle's US$165 billion data center project in New Mexico is running into higher-than-expected costs due to local concerns about its energy requirements. This case is one of several showing how the build-out of AI infrastructure in the US has become a politically charged issue at the local level due to worries over electricity needs and other issues.

Samsung Electronics is cutting over 800 jobs in the US from its smartphone, display, and consumer electronics business units. The division, part of Samsung Group, is facing a challenging market this year, in contrast to the soaring performance of its chip unit.

Elon Musk has publicly rejected reports that SpaceX placed a roughly US$52 billion order with Foxconn for Nvidia GB300 AI servers, calling the widely circulated claim "fake news" in a post on X on July 20.
The distillation dispute between US and Chinese AI labs has been framed as a one-way street: American firms accuse Chinese rivals of copying their models. However, a run of recent launches shows the borrowing goes both ways, with prominent US developers now building products on top of Chinese open models.
The global smart glasses market is entering a decisive new stage in the second half of 2026, with competition expanding well beyond Meta's early dominance. Industry attention is rapidly shifting from hardware specifications to AI capabilities, ecosystem integration and everyday usability, while mounting pricing pressure and growing regulatory scrutiny are reshaping the competitive landscape.