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Thursday 16 July 2026
China's top seller of AI compute has emerged without owning the GPUs

Beijing Approach AI Technology Co., or Approaching.AI, raised more than CNY1 billion within six months by selling AI tokens generated largely on computing infrastructure it does not own.

Thursday 16 July 2026
AI, ICT projects, and 5G upgrades power Taiwan telecom trio's strong June results
Taiwan's three major telecom operators delivered stronger June 2026 results than a year earlier, supported by robust demand for ICT services, continued 5G migration and expanding digital-service ecosystems. Chunghwa Telecom posted record June revenue and EBITDA, Taiwan Mobile led the industry in monthly earnings per share (EPS) for a second consecutive month, and Far EasTone Telecommunications achieved its strongest June on record across revenue, EBITDA, net profit, and EPS.
Thursday 16 July 2026
Column: From K-Semiconductor to AI superpower —How South Korea is taking its next chip leap

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung unveiled the country's Three Mega Projects for AI and Semiconductors in late June 2026, an ambitious national strategy designed to strengthen South Korea's global leadership in artificial intelligence and semiconductors. The initiative centers on three pillars—semiconductors, physical AI, and AI data centers—and aims to double the nation's DRAM output within five years while expanding capabilities in high-bandwidth memory (HBM), advanced packaging, AI processors, and next-generation memory technologies. It also seeks to extend South Korea's semiconductor footprint beyond the Seoul metropolitan region.

Thursday 16 July 2026
Chip inflation drives phone prices higher, clouds 2027 demand
Rising chip costs are adding pressure to consumer electronics, with memory prices expected to stay elevated through at least 2027 and weighing heavily on downstream manufacturers and brands. Industry players say the wave of smartphone price increases in the first quarter of 2026 has already hurt sales momentum, and another round of memory-driven hikes in the second half of this year or in 2027 would make it extremely difficult to keep phone prices where they are.
Wednesday 15 July 2026
JCET forecasts higher first-half profit on AI-driven chip demand
China's JCET expects stronger first-half earnings as global demand tied to artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure lifts semiconductor activity. The outlook signals continued momentum in chip packaging and testing, a sector closely watched by investors because it reflects broader technology spending trends that affect supply chains across Asia, the US, and Europe.
Wednesday 15 July 2026
AI server tracker: Power and thermal suppliers lead June revenue growth

Taiwan's AI server component suppliers generally maintained healthy revenue momentum in June, with power supply, thermal solution and baseboard management controller (BMC) vendors continuing to benefit from strong AI infrastructure demand. Optical module suppliers, meanwhile, delivered a more mixed performance, with several companies posting triple-digit or strong double-digit annual growth while others remained under pressure.

Wednesday 15 July 2026
LimX Dynamics raises US$200B in fundraising round as it prepares for public listing
LimX Dynamics Technology, a general-purpose humanoid robot and embodied AI company, has announced the completion of its pre-IPO round of financing, raising nearly US$200 million. The company may soon see a public listing at a time when China's robotics market has grown to include hundreds of companies.
Wednesday 15 July 2026
US licenses widen Nvidia H200 access in China, but shipments remain minimal

Nvidia H200 exports to China are expanding to a broader group of licensed buyers, though actual deliveries remain negligible under continued scrutiny in Washington and Beijing.

Wednesday 15 July 2026
AI drives memory shortage through 2027, PSMC lifts 2Q26 margin to 28%
AI-driven demand for memory, power management chips, and advanced packaging has continued to tighten supply and demand in the foundry market. Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing (PSMC) reported second quarter 2026 revenue of NT$17.291 billion (approx. US$537.8 million), up 27% quarter-over-quarter and 53% year-over-year, while gross margin jumped to 28%, up 18pp from the first quarter; operating margin reached 21%, turning positive from the same period in 2025, and net profit after tax came to NT$3.291 billion, an EPS of NT$0.76.
Wednesday 15 July 2026
Jensen Huang's Akihabara visit honors partners behind Nvidia's 33-year rise
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is scheduled to attend an event in Tokyo's Akihabara district on July 15, marking the 30th anniversary of the partnership between Nvidia GeForce Japan and gaming company Sega. The appearance drawing the most attention will be Huang's reunion with former Sega president Shoichiro Irimajiri, turning the brief visit into what many have described as a journey of gratitude.
Wednesday 15 July 2026
Global semiconductor equipment sales set to hit record US$165.9B in 2026
Global sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment are on pace to reach an unprecedented US$165.9 billion in 2026, a 23.2% jump from the previous year, according to industry association SEMI's mid-year forecast. This growth is expected to continue in the coming years as AI reshapes the chip industry's investment landscape.
Wednesday 15 July 2026
OpenAI's rumored screenless speaker takes on Apple, Amazon, and Google in the living room— and in courts

OpenAI's first consumer device is shaping up as a direct bid for the center of the home, a move that would pit the ChatGPT maker against Apple, Amazon, and Alphabet's Google just as it prepares to go public — and while it fights an Apple lawsuit that could delay the launch.

Wednesday 15 July 2026
China's AI labs are exporting innovation back to Silicon Valley, claims Linux Foundation CTO

After an eight-day trip through Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou, Linux Foundation Global AI CTO Matt White published a detailed account of his trip titled "Eight Days in China: What I Learned from AI Labs, Robotics Startups, and Academia." He has since elaborated on those observations in subsequent interviews.

Wednesday 15 July 2026
White House bets on AI clearinghouse to close gap between finding and fixing cyber flaws
On July 14, 2026, the White House launched Gold Eagle, a federal cybersecurity clearinghouse meant to coordinate how software vulnerabilities are detected and patched across open-source code and critical infrastructure using artificial intelligence (AI). The central question analysts are already raising is not whether the initiative can find more flaws, but whether it can actually get them fixed.
Wednesday 15 July 2026
Google pushes India from AI demos to daily deployment, focusing on startups, skilling, and agent safety

Google used its I/O Connect India 2026 developer event in Bengaluru on July 14 to reframe its India strategy around getting artificial intelligence into everyday use, unveiling a bundle of education, startup, enterprise, and security initiatives aimed at helping the country build AI "for India, with India." The announcements signal that the company is competing less on model size than on distribution — skilling, local-language reach, and on-shore processing — as rivals also pour capital into the market.

Wednesday 15 July 2026
Mistral AI urges France to reserve cheap power for European AI firms
Arthur Mensch, CEO of French AI startup Mistral AI, said France should prioritize low-cost nuclear electricity for domestic and European AI companies as US technology groups expand their demand for power. The warning came during the G7 summit, where the startup argued that Europe could lose its energy advantage within two years if policymakers do not act.
Wednesday 15 July 2026
Apple reportedly explores PrismML's AI compression technology to bring larger models onto iPhones

Apple is reportedly evaluating AI model compression technology from Silicon Valley startup PrismML as it seeks to run more capable AI models directly on iPhones, a move that could improve performance while reducing reliance on cloud computing.

Wednesday 15 July 2026
Taiwan and Japan expand all-photonic network ties for AI and research
Taiwan and Japan are expanding deployment of the IOWN all-photonic network to improve research connectivity and provide backup AI computing capacity. The effort comes as Taiwan promotes digital resilience and sovereign AI infrastructure, while NTT extends APN links through Kumamoto to tighten industry connections between the two markets.
Wednesday 15 July 2026
CATL redraws AI ambitions with DeepSeek, VNET and an energy-first strategy

CATL is rapidly expanding into AI infrastructure. Through strategic investments in DeepSeek, data centres and power systems, the company is positioning itself at the energy layer of the AI computing value chain, extending its business well beyond electric vehicle batteries.

Wednesday 15 July 2026
Japan ramps up AI and quantum investment to strengthen technology leadership
Japan's new growth strategy could ripple well beyond its borders as it channels public investment into AI, quantum technologies, and advanced networks that align with priorities already advancing in Taiwan and other economies. For global readers, the plan signals stronger competition for supply chains, talent, and strategic technology leadership.
Wednesday 15 July 2026
Taiwan expo in Japan spotlights AI, robotics and senior care
The 2026 Taiwan Expo Japan opened in Tokyo on July 15, giving Taiwanese companies a platform to pursue business in AI, smart technology, robotics and the silver economy. Taiwan's trade promotion delegation had arrived in Japan a day earlier for the expo and a separate Taiwan-Japan AI technology forum.
Wednesday 15 July 2026
Microsoft's Xbox overhaul signals AI is overtaking gaming in Big Tech capital allocation
Microsoft has announced an expanded 3,200-job cut at its Xbox division and is evaluating whether to split off or sell certain game studios. Analysts say the move is more than a routine gaming restructure and instead reflects how AI investment is reshaping capital allocation across the tech industry.
Wednesday 15 July 2026
Nvidia looks to Mitsubishi Heavy for cooling and power as Japan's AI buildout accelerates
Nvidia and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are weighing a partnership under which the Japanese industrial group would supply cooling systems and energy management equipment for the artificial-intelligence data centers Nvidia is building with partners worldwide, Nikkei reported. The talks point to where the AI buildout is now bottlenecked: not chips, but the power and heat they generate.
Wednesday 15 July 2026
Huawei to unveil largest Ascend SuperPoD at Xi-opened WAIC , scaling China's AI infrastructure

Huawei will publicly display its Atlas 950 SuperPoD AI computing system for the first time at the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, placing domestic computing infrastructure at the centre of China's flagship AI gathering.

Wednesday 15 July 2026
QBit Semiconductor June revenue hits record as SoC and ASIC demand rises
QBit Semiconductor reported a June consolidated revenue of NT$132 million (US$4.1 million) in 2026, a record high marking a rise of 108.5% from the previous month and 41.1% from a year earlier. The Taiwan-based IC design company said its first-half revenue for 2026 reached NT$320 million, up 91.7% year on year and equal to 75% of its full-year 2025 sales.