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Friday 21 August 2026
China's new solid-state battery standards could reshape the industry
China has introduced the world's first national standards for automotive solid-state batteries, setting off market speculation that most of the country's more than 320 players may ultimately fail to meet the new bar. The rules tighten definitions, safety testing, and mass-production expectations, shifting competition from concept claims to engineering proof and industrial readiness.
Friday 21 August 2026
Alibaba's 45% AI cloud jump masked by 75% capex surge and margin squeeze
Alibaba Group's June quarter is the clearest statement yet that the company now runs as an AI infrastructure business with an e-commerce cash engine attached, rather than the other way around. Revenue rose 9% year-over-year to CNY268.95 billion (US$39.64 billion), but the composition of that growth, and the cost of buying it, matter more than the headline.
Friday 21 August 2026
JCET hits 1.5μm TSV milestone for denser HBM and 2.5D/3D packaging
JCET Group has completed trial production of a 1.5μm-diameter, 17μm-deep through-silicon via (TSV) with an aspect ratio of 11.3:1, extending its advanced packaging capabilities towards denser 2.5D and 3D integration.
Friday 21 August 2026
Elice to build South Korea's first warm-water-cooled AI data center, unveils coding agent
South Korean AI infrastructure provider Elice Group is expanding on two fronts, adding enterprise AI transformation (AX) solutions while building what it says will be the country's first AI data center to use warm-water cooling above 40°C.
Friday 21 August 2026
Korean display makers step up OLED patent push as China narrows technology gap
Korean display makers are stepping up patent licensing and cross-border enforcement as Chinese rivals have sharply narrowed the technology and market-share gap in OLED since 2020, just as competition expands into higher-value panels for notebooks and monitors.
Friday 21 August 2026
China silicon wafer maker NSIG nears 1.2 million monthly 300mm capacity after 90% shipment jump
National Silicon Industry Group (NSIG) reported a 36.51% rise in first-half 2026 revenue as shipments of 300mm semiconductor silicon wafers increased more than 90%, though continued R&D spending, currency movements and inventory impairments widened its net loss.
Friday 21 August 2026
Samsung holds off on High-NA EUV until 1nm production
Samsung Electronics does not expect to move High-NA EUV lithography into volume production until its 1nm-class generation, a timeline that points to around 2030, after it had earlier hoped to introduce the technology at the 2nm and 1.4nm nodes.
Friday 21 August 2026
China's humanoid robot shipments hit 40,000 in the first half of 2026
China shipped more than 40,000 humanoid robots in the first half of 2026, lifting its share of global shipments to 97%, according to a development report released on August 20 at the 2026 World Robot Conference in Beijing. The figure marked the highest share ever recorded in the report's historical data and underscored China's growing role in the global humanoid robot supply chain.
Friday 21 August 2026
Longcheer and Luxshare move into robot ODM
China consumer electronics ODMs are extending their R&D, supply chain integration and mass production capabilities into the embodied AI robot market. Longcheer announced on August 19 that it had signed an agreement with the Nanchang High-tech Zone in Jiangxi, officially establishing an embodied AI robot R&D and manufacturing base. The company said it will build end-to-end capabilities from product definition and R&D design to engineering delivery, offering ODM solutions for embodied AI products.
Thursday 20 August 2026
Why Chinese automakers are racing into humanoid robots
As subsidies for China's new energy vehicle market gradually wind down and automaker margins continue to narrow, Beijing is shifting policy support toward embodied AI and humanoid robotics. That change is encouraging Chinese automakers to redeploy technologies originally developed for smart EVs and accelerate their push into humanoid robots.
Thursday 20 August 2026
Samsung gains foundry pricing power as 4nm capacity stays tight through 2027

Samsung Electronics is gaining pricing power in its foundry business as AI and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) demand tightens advanced-node capacity, with its 4nm lines reportedly fully booked through 2027 and some customers being steered toward 5nm production.

Thursday 20 August 2026
China reportedly delays germanium, quartz clearances, impacting Taiwan optics and aerospace suppliers
China has reportedly delayed customs clearance for critical materials — including germanium, quartz-based materials and neodymium magnets — since 2025, lengthening delivery times for Taiwanese aerospace and optical suppliers and, in some cases, costing them orders.
Thursday 20 August 2026
China tightens grip on global LCD market as TV panel share tops 70%
The global LCD panel industry continues to consolidate around Chinese manufacturers, whose share of the LCD TV panel market has remained firmly above 70% and is gradually approaching 80%. Their presence in LCD monitor panels is expanding just as rapidly, having surpassed 70% in the first half of 2026.
Thursday 20 August 2026
Nvidia physical AI executive Madison Huang appears at Beijing WRC after LG Seoul visit
Two days after visiting LG Electronics' robotics hub in Seoul, Nvidia executive Madison Huang was in Beijing on August 20 for the 2026 World Robot Conference (WRC), highlighting the increasingly visible role she is playing in Nvidia's physical AI and robotics partnerships across Asia.
Thursday 20 August 2026
Unitree post-IPO: Chairman Wang weighs profit, scale and 80% home-robot threshold

Unitree Robotics' August 19 listing on China's STAR Market brought the humanoid robot maker into the public-market spotlight, but attention quickly spread beyond its share price. The company's listing reception that evening drew investors, technology figures and venture capital executives, reflecting how Unitree has accumulated interest across technology, capital markets and the broader public.