Taiwan-based Ampoc, a distributor and manufacturer of PCB wet process equipment and semiconductor materials, anticipates increasing overlap between PCB and semiconductor industries due to vertical integration, according to chairman Ronald Su. This convergence is expected to create favorable opportunities for Ampoc, which operates actively across both markets

Drones have become a key technology for the development of both national security and civilian applications. However, South Korea's current drone industry heavily relies on China for materials, components, and airframes. Calls for technological independence and the establishment of a comprehensive local ecosystem are rising in line with the global trend of getting rid of China's influence in drone development

Qualcomm China chairman Frank Meng introduced the "AI Acceleration Initiative" at a Beijing event on September 24, aiming to enhance collaboration across China's industrial ecosystem and accelerate large-scale adoption of edge AI technologies. The initiative was unveiled during Qualcomm's Snapdragon China conference, which included participation from major smartphone and automotive companies via video

Samsung Electronics is expected to confirm by late September 2025 that its 12-layer fifth-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM3E) has cleared customer validation, South Korean media reported. The announcement would end Samsung's earlier silence and signal to the market that its technology is keeping pace with competitors

On September 22, DeepSeek released the upgraded DeepSeek-V3.1-Terminus model through its API platform and quickly made it open source. The update fixed user-reported issues, but once again, the highly anticipated DeepSeek-R2 reasoning model failed to appear

At Huawei Connect 2025, Huawei rolled out its Ascend 950, 960, and 970 AI chips with a three-year roadmap, headlined by the Ascend 950's new "P/D separation" design. The architecture splits large language model (LLM) inference into distinct tasks, making it the standout highlight of the launch

China is fast-tracking the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), broadening its ecosystem from core infrastructure to commercial applications and positioning it as a global platform, not just a domestic project

Xiaomi founder Lei Jun said in his September 25 keynote livestream that the company will invest at least CNY50 billion (US$7.01 billion) over the next decade in self-developed chips, prioritizing smartphone SoCs. He called semiconductors central to Xiaomi's path toward becoming a global technology leader and a cornerstone of its long-term growth

SK Hynix is reportedly set to begin producing GDDR7 memory on its sixth-generation 1c DRAM node, a 10nm-class technology. Likely customers include long-standing partners Tesla and Nvidia. The company plans to match production to product launch schedules, with a mass ramp-up of 1c GDDR7 targeted for 2026

The global race to build the future of technology just got dramatically more expensive. TSMC is reportedly planning a staggering 50% price increase for its next-generation 2nm chips. The move is squeezing top American clients like Qualcomm, Broadcom, and AMD, and opening the door for rival Samsung to launch a strategic counter-offensive with deeply discounted wafers

China's growing demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) is reshaping its chip sector. Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC), long centered on NAND flash, is planning to expand into DRAM to produce HBM for artificial intelligence chips, according to three sources cited by Reuters. The plan underscores Beijing's urgency to boost domestic chipmaking after the US expanded export controls in December 2024, restricting China's access to HBM

The largest Tokyo Game Show in history, TGS 2025, opened on September 25, 2025, for a four-day run, drawing massive crowds eager to experience the latest in gaming technology. A standout highlight this year was the surge of AI-driven innovations—particularly generative AI—which wowed attendees with immersive game content and AI-powered hardware designed to enhance user experience while reducing energy consumption

On September 24, Xiaomi founder Lei Jun confessed on Weibo that launching both cars and chips at once was like "supporting two children through college." The pressure, he said, was immense, with Xiaomi staking the financial reserves it had accumulated over its first decade

The Indian government is advancing a Swadeshi movement—a self-reliance initiative—with a budget allocation of INR760 billion (approximately US$8.621 billion) to build a domestic semiconductor and display manufacturing ecosystem. By 2025, India anticipates producing its first domestically made chip