CONNECT WITH US
Friday 13 February 2026
Lenovo leans on premium AI PCs and phones as memory costs squeeze hardware margins
Lenovo said surging memory prices are likely to weigh on global PC and smartphone unit demand in 2026, prompting the company to double down on diversified sourcing, premium product mix and dynamic pricing to protect margins, even as AI becomes its fastest-growing revenue engine
Friday 13 February 2026
Samsung said to gain 8nm orders in Europe as 2nm plan advances

Samsung Electronics is said to be expanding its 8nm foundry customer base into Europe following earlier contract wins in the US and Japan

Friday 13 February 2026
The Hangzhou AI dark horse that took over accounting workflows
Generative AI is crossing a critical threshold, shifting from an assistive tool to a system capable of directly assuming work. Early in 2026, this shift became visible almost simultaneously in Silicon Valley and Hangzhou. In the US, Anthropic enabled executable plug-ins for Claude, turning large language models into task-orchestrating AI agents and jolting the software industry. In China, a Hangzhou-based AI startup triggered a parallel shift by pushing AI directly into corporate accounting and displacing manual bookkeeping workflows
Friday 13 February 2026
Kioxia forecasts up to 77% operating profit surge on AI-driven NAND price rally
Driven by expanding memory demand from AI servers and rising average selling prices, Japan-based NAND flash and SSD maker Kioxia expects solid growth in fiscal year 2025 (April 2025-March 2026), supported by momentum in the final quarter (January-March 2026)
Friday 13 February 2026
Apple and Samsung solidify their lead as only brands with over 1 billion active users

Chinese smartphone vendors continue to expand global shipments, supported by competitive pricing, sustained research investment, and overseas growth

Thursday 12 February 2026
HBM4 first-mover fog: Samsung and Micron duel for supremacy amid Nvidia supply tension
Samsung Electronics has officially commenced the mass production and commercial shipment of its HBM4 memory, marking a pivotal moment in the global semiconductor landscape
Thursday 12 February 2026
China's Lenovo profit drops 21% even as revenue climbs 18%, flags memory shortage pressure
Lenovo Group reported a 21% decline in third-quarter profit but exceeded analyst expectations as strong revenue growth, driven by artificial intelligence (AI) demand, helped offset margin pressures. The company also warned of mounting pressure on PC shipments due to a worsening memory-chip shortage
Thursday 12 February 2026
Z.ai unveils GLM-5, advances AI agents and China chip compatibility

Ahead of the Lunar New Year, Chinese AI startup Z.ai (formerly Zhipu AI) released its open-source model GLM-5, highlighting AI agent capabilities and coding performance. The company said the user experience is "approaching Anthropic Claude Opus 4.5.

Thursday 12 February 2026
China dominates 90% of South Korea's EV fast-charger modules

South Korea is moving to domestically produce key components for electric vehicle (EV) fast chargers, as Chinese-made power modules account for more than 90% of those installed in the country, according to a Hankyung report

Thursday 12 February 2026
Applied Materials settles with BIS for US$252.5 million over SMIC shipments
Applied Materials, a Santa Clara-based semiconductor equipment maker, has reached a US$252.5 million settlement with the US Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) to resolve allegations of illegal exports to China. The penalty represents the second-highest civil fine ever imposed by the BIS and the maximum amount permitted by statute — equal to twice the value of the illegal transactions
Thursday 12 February 2026
Samsung's premium TV discounts reflect pressure from China's expanding mini LED push
Samsung Electronics' pricing for premium televisions is drawing scrutiny in South Korea as significant gaps emerge between official online prices and aggressive in-store promotional bundles, reflecting mounting competitive pressure from Chinese brands
Thursday 12 February 2026
SMIC warns AI pull-forward is rewriting chip cycle, lifts mature-node pricing
The global foundry industry is undergoing a structural shift, and it is emerging first in mature process nodes once widely considered oversupplied. SMIC stated on February 11 that its performance in the first quarter of 2025 defied seasonality. Utilization held steady from the prior quarter, and pricing for mature nodes has begun to stabilize
Thursday 12 February 2026
The Netherlands draws a harder line on Nexperia’s Chinese parent
The Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal in the Netherlands has ordered a formal investigation into Dutch chipmaker Nexperia BV, deepening a legal dispute that has curtailed the control of its Chinese parent, Wingtech Technology Co
Thursday 12 February 2026
Samsung weighs Europe chip expansion after Intel retreat opens German window

Samsung is reportedly evaluating a potential European semiconductor expansion alongside its South Korea and US manufacturing base, as the region tightens local production requirements and Germany seeks a replacement for a cancelled flagship chip investment

Wednesday 11 February 2026
Rapidus aims for 2nm ramp in FY2027 with fourfold capacity boost
Rapidus is expected to begin full-scale production in fiscal 2028. Mass production of 2nm-class chips is scheduled to commence in the second half of fiscal 2027, according to Kyoto News. The company's business plan, submitted to Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, outlines a strategy to enter volume production in late fiscal 2027. The plan calls for expanding output approximately fourfold within the first year of operation