Millimeter-wave (mmWave) technology was previously used mainly in military and aerospace applications, where costs were extremely high. Now, as high-frequency communications and non-terrestrial network (NTN) technologies gain momentum, new opportunities are opening up across the communications industry.
The Biological Computing Co. (TBC), a San Francisco startup that grows living neurons in its lab to find ways to make AI models more efficient, launched its first publicly available product on October 30: mischief 1, an image-to-video model the company says generates video five times faster than the open-weight model it is built on. The release moves TBC's technology from an early-access program to self-serve developer marketplaces and puts a price on the company's argument that biology can be a source of AI efficiency distinct from the standard optimization toolkit.
Marvell is reportedly in advanced talks to acquire Lumentum, a major laser supplier, in a deal that could be announced as early as next week if no other technology giant intervenes. Based on Lumentum's current market capitalization of approximately US$83 billion, the transaction would be Marvell's largest acquisition ever.
Oracle will offer cloud services powered by Cerebras' AI computing systems in its cloud data centers starting in 2027, giving the wafer-scale chipmaker another major cloud customer. Although the companies did not disclose Oracle's planned Cerebras hardware purchases, the deal highlights the shift toward diversified AI compute resources as inference demand accelerates.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's visit to Kazakhstan highlights a widening contest over AI computing capacity, as Europe seeks alternatives to infrastructure concentrated in the US and Asia. Kazakhstan, with 21 million people, is developing data centers and pursuing Nvidia partnerships that could position it as a supplier to Europe.
China's luxury car market is undergoing a major brand reshuffle. BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and Porsche all recorded significant sales or delivery declines in China in the third quarter of 2026, while domestic automakers continued moving upmarket with new energy vehicles (NEVs), smart cockpits, and driver-assistance technology.
Google is now supplying its tensor processing units (TPUs) to companies it competes with, including Anthropic and Apple. On Alphabet's third-quarter earnings call, management gave two reasons: outside customers keep the chips competitive, and outside volume lowers the cost of every chip Google uses itself. However, it would not say how much money the business makes.
Surging demand for AI computing is driving advanced packaging toward larger form factors, according to Ting-Hao Lin, R&D vice president at Kinsus Interconnect Technology, speaking at the 2026 TPCA Show. To support this trend, substrate materials must deliver low warpage and exceptional dimensional stability while overcoming challenges in thermal expansion mismatches and structural stress.
In the era of AI and high-performance computing (HPC), the once-separate worlds of chip design, packaging, and circuit boards are converging. According to the Global Electronics Association, AI server motherboards have become the largest, thickest, and most structurally complex PCBs ever manufactured, drawing substrate and PCB makers, which historically reacted to decisions made by chipmakers and packaging clients, into the heart of AI hardware development.
After GPT-6 Astra launched in early September 2026, researchers quickly put it through Physical AI and robotics benchmarks. In some tests, it outperformed specialized models trained on large amounts of robot data.
The robotics industry has come a long way since robots were first built starting in the mid-20th century. Yet LEACHIM, a robot teacher and one of the world's first humanoids created back in the 1970s, may hold a key clue as companies seek to transition their technological advancements into on-the-ground deployment: develop machines that solve real-world problems.
Concerns over a potential AI bubble are intensifying. From large language models (LLMs) and AI data centers to humanoid robots, investors are increasingly questioning when massive capital investments will translate into corresponding revenue and profits.
Nvidia has won a CPU supply order from AI startup Modal, challenging Intel and AMD in the server CPU market as it expands beyond GPUs into general-purpose computing. Although Modal's annual revenue is below US$1 billion, and neither the order's value nor its deployment scale has been disclosed, the deal underscores a broader shift in AI infrastructure competition toward full-stack system integration.
Invasive brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are demonstrating long-term commercial potential. Neuralink has enabled paralysed patients to control computers and robotic arms through thought; Synchron's iOS integration lets patients operate iPads; and Science combines implanted chips with smart glasses to help visually impaired patients recognise text again. Potential applications extend to unmanned vehicles and defence.
