Samsung Electronics plans to begin structural work at its P5 Fab 2 facility in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, in January 2027, accelerating its memory capacity expansion as chip shortages are expected to persist through 2028, DealSite reported.
YMTC's parent company, CCSH Corporation, had planned to raise CNY33 billion (approx. US$4.93 billion) through an IPO on Shanghai's STAR Market to finance production-line upgrades and next-generation memory research. However, the strategic placement process, originally expected to begin between late October and early November 2026, has reportedly slowed.
SK Hynix's US-based artificial intelligence (AI) investment arm, HYAICO Corporation, has acquired a stake in AI infrastructure provider Penguin Solutions from an SK Telecom affiliate for US$377.16 million, according to filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
A slower US build-out of AI infrastructure after the Democratic Party's midterm sweep could cost China more economically than it gains strategically, Bloomberg Economics said, because the hardware export boom propping up China's growth this year rests on US data center construction.
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are expanding their high-value NAND flash portfolios to meet growing demand for high-performance, high-capacity enterprise solid-state drives (eSSDs). The proliferation of AI agents and long-context services is increasing the need for key-value (KV) caching, prompting both companies to develop next-generation SSDs and tiered memory technologies to reuse AI computation results more efficiently.
Revenue from conventional DDR and LPDDR memory grew faster than that from high-bandwidth memory (HBM) in the third quarter of 2026, as global DRAM revenue surged 369% year over year to nearly US$200 billion, according to Counterpoint Research.
China's second-largest contract chipmaker, Hua Hong Grace Semiconductor, is expanding into silicon photonics and power management chips to capitalise on AI infrastructure demand, following record third-quarter 2026 revenue and a 147.1% surge in profit.
Samsung Electronics' TV business faces the prospect of prolonged losses as Chinese panel makers, including BOE Technology Group (BOE) and TCL China Star Optoelectronics Technology (TCL CSOT), raise LCD prices, while Samsung grows increasingly dependent on China and lacks suitable alternative suppliers.
Naver is preparing to launch its Nvidia-backed AI factory business after securing an infrastructure agreement with Brookfield worth up to US$9 billion. With OpenAI and Anthropic seen as potential customers for AI computing services in South Korea, the company now faces the challenge of securing contracts that can support its expansion and cover rising operating costs.
AMD has signed an agreement with South Korean companies FuriosaAI and MangoBoost to build a heterogeneous AI computing cluster in Seoul by spring 2027, while separately discussing potential cooperation with DEEPX on low-power AI chips for robotics and industrial applications.
The Democrats' sweeping victory in the November 2026 US midterm elections, securing control of both chambers of Congress, has prompted South Korean industries to reassess the implications for investment, trade, and technology policy. With South Korea and Taiwan both heavily dependent on semiconductors, AI, and electronics, Washington's policy direction carries significant consequences for their technology sectors.
Beijing has instructed top securities firms and investment banks to pause initial public offerings and restrict large-scale share sales by major shareholders. Reporting by The Wall Street Journal reveals that the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) issued "window guidance" to slow equity supply and stem a prolonged market sell-off.
China's National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund Phase III (Big Fund III) is shifting its focus from targeted semiconductor investments to large-scale manufacturing and industry consolidation, with a CNY900 million (approx. US$134 million) capital injection into Silan Microelectronics' 12-inch analog chip project highlighting its latest priorities.
Samsung Display (SDC) is facing a shortage of automotive OLED panels supplied to Chinese EV maker Li Auto, prompting Li Auto to temporarily ship some new Mega vehicles with LCD panels. Strong vehicle sales have driven demand for high-specification displays beyond expectations, potentially giving SDC's automotive OLED business fresh momentum.
Apple has opened testing of its China-specific Apple Intelligence service with the iOS 27.3 developer beta released on November 4, integrating Alibaba's Qwen model into Siri. The full version is expected in December, as Apple works to close the gap in its generative AI offerings in China.
