The UN has designated 2025 as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, recognizing significant breakthroughs in quantum hardware, quantum error correction, and practical quantum applications throughout the year. Research firm QURECA reports that worldwide investment in quantum technologies has exceeded US$55.7 billion, reflecting growing global interest

Cybercriminal networks are evolving rapidly as artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes the landscape of cyber threats. Derek Manky, vice president of global threat intelligence at Fortinet, described the current phase as a third-generation cybercrime era marked by "AI-enabled scale." Unlike earlier attacks that used automated scripts to cast wide nets, today's cyber assaults employ AI to carry out highly tailored strikes against numerous victims simultaneously

Michael Burry, famed for predicting the 2008 financial crisis, has launched a paywalled Substack called Cassandra Unchained. In his debut post, he targets the AI boom and warns that Nvidia may now sit in the same systemic hotspot Cisco occupied during the dot-com era

Since April 5, 2025, a series of geopolitical tensions have unfolded—from US President Donald Trump's remarks and reciprocal tariffs to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's public comments on sensitive Taiwan-related issues. These developments have forced the global semiconductor industry to confront mounting political risks

In recent years, a growing number of Taiwanese auto–parts suppliers have accelerated their push into the robotics and server supply chains. Most remain in the sampling or small-batch shipment stage, but industry analysts say their products are often highly interchangeable. As a result, turning this cross-sector move into a meaningful revenue surge remains challenging

Huawei has launched the Mate 80 flagship series, with the Kirin 9030 once again capturing domestic and international attention. As the United States continues restricting China’s access to sub-14nm tools, industry debate now centres on how the Kirin 9030 reaches “near-7nm” performance and what this means for China’s broader push toward semiconductor self-reliance

Dutch lithography leader ASML is facing an unprecedented wave of scrutiny after the publication of a new book, De belangrijkste machine ter wereld ("The Most Important Machine in the World"). The release has thrust the company into a debate unlike any it has previously encountered, sharply contrasting with the cooperative, ASML-endorsed narrative presented a year earlier in Focus – The ASML Way

TSMC has sued former SVP, Wei-Jen Lo, for allegedly violating non-compete agreements after joining Intel, but industry insiders believe the case may be quietly dropped given the geopolitical sensitivity. Lo is likely a US citizen beyond Taiwan's reach; no formal extradition treaty exists, and escalating tensions could damage carefully maintained US-Taiwan semiconductor relations

The global memory market is once again nearing an inflection point. With AI workloads spreading across end devices, DRAM has turned into the central bottleneck dictating shipment rhythms for PCs, servers, and AI PCs. Korean suppliers continue to curb production and keep the market tight, prompting rising expectations for new, credible sources of supply

Bloomberg reports that the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has closed its antitrust review of SoftBank Group's planned US$6.5 billion acquisition of US chip designer Ampere Computing, clearing the final obstacle to the transaction

Taiwan's energy storage industry struggles with internal policy and structural issues, while the US faces supply chain disruptions and tariff uncertainties. Both markets encounter unique hurdles limiting the growth of lithium battery-based large-scale energy storage projects, which are essential for power grid stability

With the advent of 5G-Advanced (5.5G) in 2024, the journey toward 6G is swiftly approaching. Non-terrestrial networks (NTN) have become a key transformative force in the future of communications. By expanding network coverage from terrestrial to aerial and space domains, NTN not only paves the way for "ubiquitous connectivity," a central objective of 6G, but also signifies a crucial milestone in the convergence of the telecommunications and aerospace sectors

SpaceX continues to dominate the low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications market, but other US companies are advancing with distinct strategies aimed at capturing emerging opportunities in the rapidly evolving space connectivity sector

Luxgen, the homegrown automotive brand under Taiwan's Yulon Motor, holds a unique place in the island's industrial history. Recent reports that Foxtron—a subsidiary of Foxconn—may acquire Luxgen have stirred significant discussion in Taiwan's automotive circles

The development of the hydrogen energy industry has been driven by demand from application sectors, including scenarios ranging from hydrogen vehicles to power usage. Although global hydrogen vehicle sales have declined over the past two years, Japan has remained committed to promoting hydrogen fuel cell commercial vehicles and even expanding trials of natural gas-hydrogen blended combustion power generation