As generative AI and large language models scale rapidly, the computing race is shifting toward a quieter but decisive battleground: how data is stored, accessed, and utilized. According to Sina and Securities Times, Huawei has launched a global call for solutions through the sixth OlympusMons Awards, which opened on December 26, 2025. With a total prize pool of CNY3 million (US$426,000), the program seeks innovations aimed at overcoming storage and memory bottlenecks in the AI era

As global AI compute demand pivots from large-scale model training toward application deployment, Zhonghao Xinying (Hangzhou) Technology founder and CEO Yang Gongyifan said in an interview with Chinastarmarket.cn that the company's second-generation self-developed chip has entered testing and is slated for market launch in 2026

According to Nikkei, although electric vehicle (EV) demand has been below expectations, weighing heavily on Rohm Semiconductor's SiC power semiconductor equipment investments, the company has decided to expand applications into the AI server sector. Rohm's annual revenue from server-related fields is only around JPY10 billion (approx. US$64 million), but it has already started supplying new products in collaboration with Nvidia

These are the most-read DIGITIMES Asia stories in the week of December 22 to December 29, 2025

Chinaese semiconductor supplier Guoxin Micro has moved to spin off its automotive controller chip business into a new company. It has brought in a CATL subsidiary as a strategic shareholder in a step aimed at strengthening funding capacity and positioning for rising demand from electric and intelligent vehicles

China has released draft rules to regulate human-like artificial intelligence interaction services, marking a significant step toward governing AI companions, virtual personas, and emotionally responsive systems as authorities seek to balance innovation with social stability and user protection

China has formally launched its National Venture Capital Guidance Fund, a move that signals a major policy push to reshape the country's early-stage investment landscape and strengthen long-term support for strategic technologies amid slowing private capital activity

South Korean PNT has secured its first mass-production order for battery copper foil in China, marking a strategic expansion beyond its core battery equipment business into materials and strengthening its foothold in the Chinese market

The global aerospace and satellite industry did not experience a single, earthshaking breakthrough in 2025. Instead, it advanced through a series of consequential developments—subtle in isolation, but collectively transformative. The year marked steady progress across multiple fronts. The race in low-Earth-orbit (LEO) communications intensified. Space militarization accelerated. Early experiments in orbital computing emerged. Together, these shifts pushed the industry toward a more crowded, contested, and commercially driven space economy

South Korea's drive to build a domestic artificial intelligence semiconductor industry is hitting a key constraint. Despite gains in power efficiency and pricing, industry executives say the lack of large-scale validation environments is slowing commercial adoption and limiting the ability of local chips to compete beyond pilot deployments

The global space industry is accelerating toward commercialization. But recent developments in South Korea and China underscore how difficult—and uneven—that transition remains. In separate incidents late last year, South Korea's startup Innospace failed to place its launch vehicle into orbit. Meanwhile, China's new Long March 12A rocket fell short of recovering its first-stage booster on its maiden flight

After attending the 2025 Guangzhou Auto Show, DIGITIMES analyzed the latest strategies unveiled by leading automakers and suppliers in two pivotal areas: energy replenishment technologies and advanced intelligent driving. The conclusion was hard to miss. Chinese carmakers have accumulated deep technical capabilities in both domains and are moving steadily toward a long-held ambition: making electric vehicles refuel as quickly as gasoline cars, while bringing high-level autonomous driving into everyday use

Japan is preparing a major expansion of state support for advanced semiconductors and artificial intelligence, with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) set to nearly quadruple related funding from fiscal year 2026, starting in April 2026

Huawei is clarifying how it intends to compete in global AI computing despite being cut off from leading-edge foundries and US-origin GPUs. Instead of chasing rivals on single-chip performance, the company is leaning into scale, systems engineering, and vertical integration—a strategy it is now preparing to test outside China, beginning with South Korea