South Korea has approved a seven-year national research program to support display technology development and provide companies with shared testing and commercialization facilities. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said the program will run from 2027 to 2033, with a total budget of KRW368.87 billion (US$272.15 million), including KRW278.9 billion in government funding.

Space-based data centers could open a new market for low-power AI chips, but moving computing workloads into orbit presents challenges involving radiation, cooling, and hardware reliability. South Korean AI chip developer Rebellions is calling for government support to help companies establish a track record in space, while researchers recommend adapting existing processors rather than developing new chips from scratch.

Sharp said it could begin delivering its new AI servers to customers as early as March 2027, leveraging parent company Foxconn's procurement and manufacturing capabilities to target Japan's growing AI server market.

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix face uncertainty over demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) as US lawmakers press for tighter controls on AI chip exports to China following allegations involving Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.

Zhu Yiming, chairman of ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), reportedly participated in Chinese AI startup DeepSeek's second funding round, drawing attention to his semiconductor investment network. Neither DeepSeek nor the reported investors have confirmed the claims, leaving the investment entity, amount, and shareholding structure unclear.

Mitsui Chemicals plans to acquire semiconductor materials maker JSR in a transaction valued at JPY1.84 trillion (approx. US$11.6 billion), including assumed debt, as it seeks to strengthen its position in the global semiconductor materials market and accelerate a broader business portfolio transformation.

A decade ago, China's Tsinghua Unigroup alarmed Taiwan's semiconductor industry with an aggressive acquisition campaign. Under then-chairman Zhao Weiguo, the group acquired Spreadtrum Communications and RDA Microelectronics, sought stakes in Powertech, SPIL and ChipMOS, and publicly expressed interest in integrating MediaTek. Its financial firepower and rapid expansion unsettled Taiwanese chipmakers.

Global sales of electrified vehicles, including hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), are forecast to rise 11.9% to more than 36 million units in 2026, even as overall vehicle sales decline 1.4%, reflecting the accelerating shift toward electrification. Electrified vehicles are expected to account for more than 35% of global new-vehicle sales, while China's BYD is poised to enter the world's top five automakers for the first time, according to Richard Hsieh, senior research manager at the Industry, Science and Technology International Strategy Center of Taiwan's government-funded Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI).

Fino, a South Korean company backed by Chinese precursor producer CNGR Advanced Material, will raise about KRW183 billion (approximately US$130 million) through a cash capital increase to fund its lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode materials business. The move is widely viewed as another step to reduce Chinese ownership and comply with the US Prohibited Foreign Entity (PFE) rules.

Yankey Engineering’s order backlog reached a record NT$57.1 billion (US$1.74 billion) as of the end of September, with its subcontracting project for the second wafer fab in Kumamoto, Japan, expected to contribute revenue from 2027. The company said strong global AI infrastructure demand, advanced semiconductor processes, advanced packaging, and memory expansion drove its revenue and profit to record levels in the first three quarters of 2026.

Winbond Electronics chairman Arthur Chiao said memory prices and profits should not go any further at this stage, warning that a market in which memory thrives while other industries struggle is bad for consumers and the wider economy.

South Korea plans to develop small, medium, and large data centers in orbit under its K-Moonshot initiative, aiming to conduct its first in-orbit demonstration in 2028 and lay the groundwork for commercial space-based AI services before 2035.

Rising power demand at AI data centers is driving demand for power semiconductors used in server power supplies, grid equipment, and chip-level power delivery. Infineon Technologies is positioning its silicon (Si), silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) portfolio for a shift toward 800V DC architectures, solid-state transformers and vertical power delivery, addressing different voltage, power and efficiency requirements as it expands its AI infrastructure business.

Rapidus President Atsuyoshi Koike said the Japanese chipmaker will use Taiwan as a model for building a semiconductor industry cluster in Hokkaido, while IBM Japan is establishing a new office near Rapidus’ plant to strengthen support for the company.

A Seoul court has dismissed LG Chem's request for a preliminary injunction that would have halted production and sales of certain cathode materials by JS Energy, the South Korean subsidiary of Chinese cathode maker Ronbay, The Elec reported on November 7, citing industry sources. LG Chem has appealed.