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Wednesday 17 June 2026
Commentary: US delays DeepSeek blacklist, exposing AI export-control dilemma
The US has held back from adding Chinese AI startup DeepSeek, memory chipmaker CXMT, and more than 100 other entities to a key trade blacklist, underscoring Washington's struggle to balance national security controls with a broader effort to contain tensions with Beijing.
LATEST STORIES
Thursday 18 June 2026
Samsung to offer 2nm prototype runs as South Korea pushes chip design

Samsung Electronics' foundry division plans to open its Multi-Project Wafer, or MPW, service to its 2nm process next year, giving South Korean fabless chip designers access to one of the most advanced foundry nodes being commercialized without having to pay for a full wafer run, according to ZDNet Korea and iNews24.

Thursday 18 June 2026
Taiyo Yuden to boost AI server MLCC capacity, resists price hikes

Taiyo Yuden is preparing to accelerate production of multilayer ceramic capacitors, or MLCCs, as AI servers and hyperscale data centers tighten supply across the global component market. But the Japanese supplier is resisting the kind of broad price increases now spreading through parts of the industry.

Thursday 18 June 2026
Samsung said to open fab data to suppliers in AI factory push

Samsung Electronics is developing and operating a data-sharing platform with semiconductor materials, components and equipment suppliers, according to a report by South Korea's ETNews, which cited industry sources.

Thursday 18 June 2026
China launches probe into Beidou infrastructure quality scandal

China has launched a probe into a Beidou high-precision smart monitoring project in Shandong, after reports of severe construction defects at the base sparked public concern over the quality of new infrastructure projects. The project, with a total investment of nearly CNY300 million (US$44.4 million), has drawn scrutiny after its base structures were described as "easy to tear apart by hand."

Thursday 18 June 2026
SK Group tops KRW2,000 trillion as AI memory demand and Nvidia visit lift valuation

SK Group's combined market capitalization on the South Korean stock market surpassed KRW2,000 trillion (US$1.32 trillion) for the first time as of the June 16 close, driven by strength in AI memory demand and a high-profile visit by Nvidia's CEO that reinforced ties with SK Hynix and broader AI infrastructure plans. According to reports from SBS, YTN, ET News and Yonhap, the group's 19 listed subsidiaries reached a combined market value of KRW2,019.6 trillion, a 2.5% increase from the previous trading day.

Thursday 18 June 2026
WUS and its subsidiary keep complementary AI partnership
A recent open letter from the UK-based fund Palliser Capital called Taiwanese printed circuit board (PCB) maker WUS Printed Circuit one of the most undervalued AI PCB companies in the capital market. This has once drawn industry attention to the current business cooperation between WUS and its subsidiary in China, WUS Printed Circuit Kunshan.
Wednesday 17 June 2026
Nvidia Vera CPU strains LPDDR supply as AI servers tap phone memory

Nvidia is expected to surpass Apple and Samsung Electronics' mobile division to become the world's top buyer of LPDDR, as AI servers and AI PCs pull low-power memory beyond smartphones, MoneyToday reported, citing electronics industry sources.

Wednesday 17 June 2026
BOE starts production at China's first 8.6G AMOLED line
BOE Technology Group has begun mass production at its Chengdu high-tech zone facility, a move that could reshape the supply of OLED displays for notebooks and tablets, while intensifying competition in a market where manufacturers across Asia are racing to expand higher-generation panel capacity for global electronics buyers.
Wednesday 17 June 2026
Alibaba moves Qwen AI into robotics with first embodied intelligence suite
Alibaba Group has unveiled its first suite of artificial intelligence (AI) models for robots, taking its Qwen family beyond chatbots and software agents into machines that can navigate, simulate, and manipulate the physical world.
Wednesday 17 June 2026
Kaynes' Japan push signals India's bid to become an alternative chip packaging hub

India-based Kaynes Technology is seeking outsourced automotive semiconductor orders in Japan, a move that could help establish a foothold for Indian backend chip manufacturing in a market long dominated by East Asia. Japanese partners are backing the effort, but the company still faces strict quality hurdles.

Wednesday 17 June 2026
Lithium carbonate prices recover as battery costs face fresh pressure

Lithium carbonate prices are beginning to recover as demand from China's power batteries and the global energy storage market strengthens. For readers worldwide, the shift could lift battery costs, reshape supply chains, and accelerate interest in sodium-ion technology as companies seek alternatives to lithium-heavy systems.

Wednesday 17 June 2026
Taiwan's Astrogate taps South Korean wireless conferencing market, secures LG, SK Hynix
Taiwan-based wireless collaboration solutions provider Astrogate is establishing South Korea as its primary growth market. The company is leveraging cross-brand compatibility, secure Taiwanese manufacturing, and deep localized market insight to anchor its expansion.
Wednesday 17 June 2026
Omega-EVA signals China's push to bring world models into real-world robotics

World models are rapidly emerging as one of AI's most closely watched frontiers. While major AI figures such as Fei-Fei Li and Yann LeCun have recently championed the concept, a new launch in China highlights how the technology is beginning to move beyond research and into embodied AI applications.

Wednesday 17 June 2026
Xiaomi Auto veteran says Tesla's EV edge starts on factory floor
Xiaomi Auto is putting manufacturing and supply chain control at the centre of its electric vehicle strategy, with former Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory head Song Gang saying Tesla's real competitive moat lies not in branding alone, but in manufacturing execution.
Wednesday 17 June 2026
China cuts AI compute prices, revealing pressure to fill supercomputing capacity
China's state-backed National Supercomputing Internet has launched a 618 computing-power promotion, offering low-priced token packages, free tokens, and discounts on optical character recognition (OCR) services in an effort to draw more enterprises and developers to its AI services.