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Monday 3 August 2026
TSMC Kumamoto fab faces first major quake test with chip-material supplies secured
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Kumamoto Prefecture in Japan's Kyushu region on July 28, drawing attention to the recovery of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co's Kumamoto plant, Sony, and other local semiconductor facilities.
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Tuesday 4 August 2026
Kumamoto semiconductor production recovers, TSMC's Japan subsidiary returns to normal operations

TSMC has announced that Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing (JASM), its subsidiary in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, has resumed normal operations following production disruptions caused by the recent Kumamoto earthquake.

Tuesday 4 August 2026
CXMT reportedly weighs second Beijing DRAM fab as Chinese cities compete for memory chip investment

China's leading DRAM maker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) is considering building a second 12-inch memory chip fabrication plant in Beijing's Yizhuang district while holding early-stage financing talks with entities backed by the Beijing municipal government, according to a Reuters report. The proposed project would further expand the company's manufacturing footprint as AI-driven demand continues to tighten global memory supply.

Tuesday 4 August 2026
Taiwan-Japan semiconductor ties go beyond supply chain partnerships
Cooperation between Taiwan and Japan in semiconductors will go beyond supply-chain partnerships towards joint technological innovation and talent development, according to Taiwan's former Minister of Economic Affairs Jyh-huei Kuo.
Tuesday 4 August 2026
ispace turns to H3 for 2028 mission as Japan builds domestic lunar transport stack

Japan's effort to localize lunar transportation is gaining momentum as the government and private sector seek to reduce reliance on overseas launch services and establish a domestically supported lunar logistics system.

Tuesday 4 August 2026
Montage brings CXL 3.2 memory expansion to AI data centres with Samsung, SK Hynix support

Montage Technology has begun pilot production of what it says is the industry's first CXL 3.2 memory expansion controller, targeting growing memory capacity and pooling requirements across AI, cloud computing and data centres.

Tuesday 4 August 2026
Unitree sees 1H26 revenue rise over 35% on humanoid robot demand

China's leading humanoid robot maker Unitree Technology expects first-half 2026 revenue to reach roughly CNY1.1 billion (US$155.8 million), an increase of 35.6% to 45.4% year on year, as demand for embodied AI continues to grow and the company expands its business scale.

Tuesday 4 August 2026
Roborock beats Samsung, LG to win over 70% of South Korea's robot vacuum market
Roborock Technology has grown from its roots in China to become the world's leading robot vacuum brand, securing the top spot in the global market for three years in a row and beating the runner-up in 2025 by more than 10pp with a commanding 27% share of the market worldwide. As competition in its home market of China grows increasingly fierce, Roborock has instead seen overseas revenue surpass domestic revenue for the first time in 2025.
Tuesday 4 August 2026
China revamps EV battery reuse rules, cuts whitelist firms by 70%
China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has abolished all clauses related to cascade utilization in its rules governing used power batteries dismantled from new-energy vehicles in a major regulatory shift aimed at curbing unsafe repurposing practices. The move ends the policy label for battery second-life use and ushers in a full overhaul of used power battery management.
Monday 3 August 2026
Memory makers lift capex as Kioxia holds spending to defend NAND lead
Major memory suppliers are increasing capital spending as AI-related demand from U.S. technology companies accelerates, but Kioxia is keeping investment comparatively tight. According to Nikkei Asia, the Japanese NAND maker is prioritizing technology leadership over a rapid expansion of equipment spending, reflecting caution shaped by earlier downturns in the memory market.
Monday 3 August 2026
Chinese display makers reportedly double down on large LCDs and OLED expansion

China's leading display manufacturers are stepping up investments across both LCD and OLED technologies, targeting larger TV panels and expanding into the fast-growing notebook OLED market as they seek new growth opportunities.

Monday 3 August 2026
MA-tek sells Shanghai unit, expands AI market push in Japan and the US

MA-tek announced on July 31, 2026, that it will sell 80% of its Shanghai subsidiary for about CNY1.9 billion (US$281.4 million), as global semiconductor supply chains are reshuffled and demand surges for AI, high-performance computing (HPC), advanced process nodes, advanced packaging, and silicon photonics (SiPh). The deal is expected to close and be recognized in revenue by the end of 2026.

Monday 3 August 2026
Renesas plans to phase out Takasaki factory production and expand R&D focus

Renesas Electronics plans to gradually end production at its Takasaki factory in Japan over the next two to three years while strengthening research and development there. The move reflects wider supply-chain strain in legacy semiconductor manufacturing and could affect customers, workers, and global users of analog and power chips.

Monday 3 August 2026
South Korea accelerates LEO satellite ambitions, targets sovereign communications network by 2035
As Starlink's subscriber base has surpassed 12 million and rivals such as OneWeb and Amazon's Project Kuiper continue expanding their constellations, South Korea only officially launched its low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications initiative in July 2026.
Sunday 2 August 2026
MiniMax H3 pairs 2K video with native stereo audio in China's multimodal AI race
Chinese AI start-up MiniMax launched MiniMax H3 on July 31, expanding its position in multimodal generative AI as competition among China's model developers spreads beyond large language models into video, audio, and AI agents.
Sunday 2 August 2026
Xiaomi adds SkyNomad N90 and N70 with 370,000 deliveries still needed for 2026 target

Xiaomi has entered China's range-extended electric vehicle market with two large intelligent SUVs, expanding beyond battery-only models as it confronts slowing deliveries, renewed losses and intensifying competition from technology groups including Huawei and ByteDance.