Just two weeks after its launch, the iPhone 17 has provided strong momentum for Apple's fiscal 2025 fourth quarter, and the trend is expected to continue into the fiscal 2026 first quarter. The iPhone 17 series may become one of the best-selling models in years, so Apple may be prompted to accelerate its supply chain to meet demand.

As AI applications expand from data centers to various enterprise work environments, demands for network bandwidth, low latency, and intelligent management are rising. Cisco has introduced multiple new solutions at the Cisco Partner Summit 2025, including a unified dashboard integrating its Meraki and Catalyst Center platforms and automation workflows supporting natural language commands, aimed at helping enterprises upgrade networks and simplify operations.

Japanese IC substrate giant Ibiden announced an upward revision of its fiscal year 2025 financial forecast, running April 2025 to March 2026, with revenue, operating profit, and net profit all expected to exceed previous estimates. The revision is mainly driven by orders for high-value-added products related to generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), far surpassing expectations.

Sanmina reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results and issued upbeat guidance, citing strong demand from communications networks and cloud, and AI infrastructure, and momentum from its newly closed ZT Systems acquisition.

Acoustics specialist Merry Electronics delivered solid operational results in the third quarter of 2025, with revenue reaching a nearly three-year high for the same period. This reflects the gradual benefits of its diversified portfolio in acoustics and medical products.

Vulcan Elements and ReElement Technologies announced a US$1.4 billion partnership with the US government to scale a fully domestic rare earth magnet supply chain. The agreement includes the construction of a 10,000-metric-ton magnet production facility in the US and the expansion of ReElement's recycling and processing capabilities.

Taiwanese electronics giant Hon Hai Precision Industry, known as Foxconn, has revealed its strategic plans to develop quantum computing technology as part of its expanding quantum technology sector initiatives. The company's Hon Hai Quantum Computing Laboratory recently disclosed its quantum computer development roadmap, marking a significant step ahead of its 2025 Technology Day event. This move underscores Foxconn's effort to position itself competitively in the emerging quantum computing market.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and OpenAI have announced a US$38 billion, multi-year strategic partnership that will see OpenAI use AWS infrastructure to run and scale its artificial intelligence workloads. The deal underscores growing demand for computing power as the AI industry continues to expand rapidly.

Global venture capital markets have shown signs of recovery in 2025 despite challenging conditions, including reciprocal tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump and ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. Recent surveys show VC investors are concentrating on AI, quantum technology, and defense industries, while previously highlighted biotech and drug development sectors have not seen landmark investments this year.

Following SoftBank's acquisition of ABB's robotics business, the global industrial robot landscape has shifted from a European-Japanese balance to dominance by Japanese firms and China's Midea Group. This move reflects a critical turning point in automation, challenging traditional giants like Fanuc and Yaskawa amid rising Chinese market share and accelerating AI integration.

Smartwatch and wearable maker Garmin is set to establish its first factory in Southeast Asia, located in Thailand, to produce smartwatches and other electronic products.