China's AI chip sector has a heavyweight new entrant: veteran semiconductor figure Shaojun Wei has formally unveiled Shanghai Orient Computing Core Technology Co., a 3D AI compute chip startup now valued at CNY12.2 billion (approx. US$1.8 billion), just two years after it was founded.
Samsung Group detailed plans on July 2 to invest KRW140 trillion (US$90 billion) in display panels, batteries, chips, and chip materials in South Korea's central Chungcheong region.
Anthropic is exploring a custom AI chip and has held talks with Samsung Electronics as a potential manufacturing partner, joining OpenAI, Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta in the race to control AI infrastructure.
Renesas Electronics has completed the sale of its timing device business to US fabless semiconductor specialist SiTime, tightening its portfolio around AI servers, electric vehicles, embedded computing and software-led chip design.
As South Korea moves to accelerate a new semiconductor cluster in the country's southwest, ruling-party officials have returned to one comparison: Kumamoto.
Huawei is reportedly preparing to launch its AI chips in South Korea for the first time in the fourth quarter of 2026, as rising demand for AI infrastructure opens a new market for alternatives to Nvidia-based systems.
