Shin-Etsu Chemical plans to build a new rare earth production facility in Fukui Prefecture, aiming to expand domestic smelting capacity and reduce Japan's reliance on China for materials critical to electric vehicle and semiconductor manufacturing equipment, according to Nikkei and Kyodo News
Samsung Electronics is regaining ground in high-bandwidth memory and foundry services, but advanced packaging remains a weak point in its bid to capture a larger share of the AI chip supply chain, according to industry sources and Korean media reports
South Korea has launched a two-year, KRW34 billion (US$22.22 million) project to develop domestic world model and robot foundation model technologies, aimed at reducing reliance on foreign simulation platforms for physical AI systems used in real-world environments
A strike by South Korea's ready-mix concrete transport union is disrupting major semiconductor construction sites and raising concerns about wider industrial spillovers. If the stoppage continues, delays could spread beyond building projects and affect production schedules that matter to global technology supply chains and investors
SK Hynix is preparing to begin mass production of its next-generation 375-layer 3D NAND flash memory by year-end, while pushing ahead with a broader capacity buildout and moving toward a US listing as early as August
Qualcomm recently held its 2026 Automotive Technology and Cooperation Summit in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, marking the fourth consecutive year it has hosted a China-focused automotive industry event. At the main forum, Frank Meng, chairman of Qualcomm China, said: "2026 is the year of the agent.
ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), China's largest DRAM maker, plans to raise approximately CNY29.5 billion (US$4.35 billion) through an IPO on Shanghai's STAR Market, fueling debate about whether China's push into memory semiconductors can eventually erode the dominance of the industry's established players
