Artificial intelligence (AI) is fueling a DRAM supercycle, prompting South Korean securities firms to continuously raise their forecasts for Samsung Electronics' operating profit in 2026. Some projections now approach KRW90-100 trillion (approx. US$61.3-68.1 billion)
Samsung Electronics is undertaking one of its most significant internal restructurings in years as the company pushes to strengthen its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities and regain momentum in the fast-growing HBM memory market. The overhaul includes converting its flagship research arm, the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, into a lab-based system and consolidating memory development teams under a new organization led by senior engineering executives
Micron Technology is reportedly planning to invest JPY1.5 trillion(US$9.6 billion) to establish a new high-bandwidth memory (HBM) manufacturing facility at its Hiroshima campus, according to Nikkei. The initiative aims to increase production of advanced chips designed for artificial intelligence (AI) systems and to lessen the company's dependence on Taiwan amid growing concerns over global supply chain vulnerabilities
China's memory manufacturer CXMT, backed by government support, shifted to high-end technology development from 2025 and has introduced multiple next-generation DRAM products within a year, with performance approaching Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix
At the upcoming International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) 2026 in February, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are set to unveil significant advances in high-performance memory. Samsung plans to showcase a redesigned 6th-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM4) delivering 3.3TB/s of bandwidth, while SK Hynix will introduce its latest high-speed LPDDR6 and GDDR7 products
Following the US ban on sales of Nvidia's high-end chips to China, expectations have grown that Baidu could rapidly emerge as a new force in China's AI chip sector and become the country's second major source of domestic compute capacity after Huawei
Google's success training the Gemini frontier model entirely on in-house TPUs has boosted confidence among China's tech giants. It strengthens the view that reducing Nvidia dependence is both viable and commercially sound, accelerating investment in domestic tensor-processor designs and other non-GPU accelerators
As global demand for AI computing power surges, conventional ground-based data centers are increasingly constrained by limits in energy supply and cooling capacity
Optoelectronic semiconductor integration solution provider Brightek recently officially commissioned its Jiangsu factory, built with an investment of nearly CNY200 million (approx. US$28.3 million). Brightek stated that the new facility will fully support emerging applications such as international automotive manufacturers, smart mobility, intelligent sensing, and AI robotics, laying a critical foundation for growth over the next decade
Imagination Technologies made a prominent showing at the 31st ICCAD-Expo 2025 in Chengdu, where strategic partner Xiangdi Xian Computing Technology debuted its next-generation GPU built on the Imagination DXD architecture. Revealed via the company's WeChat account, the Fuxi A0 is confirmed as both the world's only mass-produced IMG DXD product and the first DXD chip to reach tape-out
China's Wingtech has appealed to the Dutch Supreme Court to regain control of chipmaker Nexperia BV, highlighting ongoing tensions despite a temporary truce that allowed some components to resume flowing. The appeal targets an Amsterdam court ruling that transferred Nexperia shares—except for one—to a court-appointed trustee and suspended Wingtech founder Zhang Xuezheng as CEO, actions Wingtech contests in full, according to Bloomberg
Samsung Electronics is reportedly nearing the final stage of qualification tests for its HBM4 memory chips with Nvidia, with a December decision that could mark one of the company's most significant comebacks in the high-end memory market in recent years, according to South Korean outlet Newdaily. At the same time, reports from ZDNet Korea and The Korea Herald say Samsung has overhauled its memory development organization to stabilize HBM production and challenge SK Hynix's lead
South Korea's Solvit System is rolling out new search-and-rescue technologies designed to locate missing people in areas with no mobile coverage. The company introduced two systems honored with CES Innovation Awards that aim to sharply reduce search zones and speed up rescue missions in radio shadow regions where phones cannot connect
China's leading DRAM maker CXMT has unveiled new DDR5 and LPDDR5X chips with performance now viewed as comparable to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. The launch has unsettled South Korea's memory sector, especially since CXMT reached this level in under a year after pivoting from low-cost DRAM to premium development in early 2025
China's top technology companies are shifting their LLM training to overseas data centers as Washington tightens controls on advanced AI chips and Beijing orders domestic firms to stop using foreign hardware for model development
