China's AI chip sector has a heavyweight new entrant: veteran semiconductor figure Shaojun Wei has formally unveiled Shanghai Orient Computing Core Technology Co., a 3D AI compute chip startup now valued at CNY12.2 billion (approx. US$1.8 billion), just two years after it was founded.
Taiwanese power management IC (PMIC) design houses have been expanding into new applications and broadening their product portfolios in recent years, aiming to move beyond consumer electronics into higher-spec, more stable markets as the AI boom accelerates.
Samsung Group detailed plans on July 2 to invest KRW140 trillion (US$90 billion) in display panels, batteries, chips, and chip materials in South Korea's central Chungcheong region.
Anthropic is exploring a custom AI chip and has held talks with Samsung Electronics as a potential manufacturing partner, joining OpenAI, Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta in the race to control AI infrastructure.
Renesas Electronics has completed the sale of its timing device business to US fabless semiconductor specialist SiTime, tightening its portfolio around AI servers, electric vehicles, embedded computing and software-led chip design.
As the AI wave drives rapid growth across the global semiconductor industry, the upstream electronic materials supply chain has become a key bottleneck for AI-related shipments. To keep pace with AI investment, Qnity was spun off from US chemical giant DuPont and listed independently in November 2025.
