China has revised its regulations on the protection of integrated circuit (IC) layout designs, introducing stricter registration requirements, stronger enforcement measures and clearer commercialization rules as Beijing steps up efforts to strengthen its domestic semiconductor industry amid ongoing US technology restrictions.
TSMC has announced that Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing (JASM), its subsidiary in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, has resumed normal operations following production disruptions caused by the recent Kumamoto earthquake.
China's leading DRAM maker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) is considering building a second 12-inch memory chip fabrication plant in Beijing's Yizhuang district while holding early-stage financing talks with entities backed by the Beijing municipal government, according to a Reuters report. The proposed project would further expand the company's manufacturing footprint as AI-driven demand continues to tighten global memory supply.
India is reportedly proposing to extend key tax exemptions for foreign electronics manufacturers until 2041, a move that hands Apple a lobbying win and deepens a widening set of incentives designed to pull global hardware production away from China.
Japan's effort to localize lunar transportation is gaining momentum as the government and private sector seek to reduce reliance on overseas launch services and establish a domestically supported lunar logistics system.
Montage Technology has begun pilot production of what it says is the industry's first CXL 3.2 memory expansion controller, targeting growing memory capacity and pooling requirements across AI, cloud computing and data centres.
China's leading humanoid robot maker Unitree Technology expects first-half 2026 revenue to reach roughly CNY1.1 billion (US$155.8 million), an increase of 35.6% to 45.4% year on year, as demand for embodied AI continues to grow and the company expands its business scale.
Renesas Electronics plans to gradually end production at its Takasaki factory in Japan over the next two to three years while strengthening research and development there. The move reflects wider supply-chain strain in legacy semiconductor manufacturing and could affect customers, workers, and global users of analog and power chips.
