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Monday 15 December 2025
HDD prices see largest increase in eight quarters, with surging demand in China and US markets
The traditional hard disk drive (HDD) market experienced a rare sharp price surge in recent years. In contract price negotiations for the fourth quarter of 2025, HDD product prices were finalized with a quarter-over-quarter increase of approximately 4%, marking the highest growth rate in the past eight quarters
LATEST STORIES
Tuesday 16 December 2025
Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong meets with Lisa Su and Elon Musk to discuss potential collaboration
Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong has returned to South Korea after a week-long business trip to the US. Lee reportedly met with Tesla CEO Elon Musk in Austin, Texas, with senior executives of Samsung's foundry division also present. It is also rumored that Lee met with AMD CEO Lisa Su to discuss HBM supply and foundry orders using advanced 2-nanometer process technology. These efforts are considered tactics to help Samsung regain leadership in AI semiconductors
Tuesday 16 December 2025
Samsung nears deal to supply over 30% of Nvidia's HBM4 memory in 2026
Samsung Electronics is close to finalizing negotiations with Nvidia to supply more than 30% of its sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM4) for 2026, aiming to regain market share after setbacks with HBM3E
Tuesday 16 December 2025
OLED demand surges, lifting South Korea's display makers to record outlook
The global market for OLED display panels is entering its seasonal peak in the second half of 2025, and South Korea's leading panel makers—Samsung Display and LG Display—are emerging as the biggest beneficiaries of renewed demand for high-end smartphones. Analysts say shipments and revenue are set to accelerate, with the fourth quarter of 2025 likely to mark a record-breaking period for the industry
Tuesday 16 December 2025
Samsung steadies 12-Layer HBM3E, eyes larger Google TPU orders
Samsung Electronics has reportedly stabilized the performance of its 12-layer high-bandwidth memory, a development that could allow the company to expand shipments to Google's artificial intelligence accelerators as competition intensifies in the market for advanced memory used in AI chips, according to South Korean media
Tuesday 16 December 2025
China's chip resilience: Naura M&A, ACM's HBM push defy US export controls
Escalating US-China tech rivalry and the politicization of the supply chain are accelerating a structural transformation in the global semiconductor equipment sector. While the US and its allies use stringent export controls to reshape the advanced node industry order, China's semiconductor industry is aggressively pursuing self-sufficiency across equipment, materials, and processes to mitigate reliance on foreign suppliers
Tuesday 16 December 2025
Apple braces for DRAM cost surge as Korean suppliers reprice contracts
Apple is facing renewed cost pressure as its long-term DRAM supply contracts with South Korean memory makers approach expiry in January 2026, heightening concerns that higher component costs could spill over into its next generation of devices
Tuesday 16 December 2025
Taiwan, South Korea strengthen startup ties at COMEUP 2025
Taiwanese startup accelerator AppWorks and South Korea's SparkLabs participated in COMEUP 2025, a prominent startup event in Seoul, underscoring growing collaboration between the two Asian technology hubs. Both economies aim to help startups overcome geographic barriers and jointly expand their presence in global markets as artificial intelligence gains momentum worldwide
Tuesday 16 December 2025
SenseTime's Seko 2.0 ties AI video breakthrough to Cambricon chips, signaling China's multimodal push

SenseTime has released Seko 2.0, which it describes as the industry's first multi-episode video generation agent, marking a step beyond short AI clips toward longer, more coherent video content

Tuesday 16 December 2025
South Korea lures global chip capital at COMEUP 2025 as Middle East investors step in

South Korea is emerging as a focal point for global semiconductor investment as domestic AI chip startups attract growing interest from Middle Eastern sovereign funds, underscoring a shift in where capital and talent are converging in the next phase of the chip industry

Tuesday 16 December 2025
China's EV lead faces battery recycling crisis and geopolitical squeeze
The global automotive electronics and electrification (E/E) landscape has shifted from a simple race for technological supremacy to a high-stakes geopolitical arena spanning Europe, the United States, and China. At the heart of this competition lies the lithium battery—both the most valuable and most sensitive component of the modern EV industry
Monday 15 December 2025
SK Hynix taps ASMPT for HBM4 TC bonders amid Hanmi-Hanwha patent clash

SK Hynix has reportedly placed a new order for thermal compression (TC) bonders with Singapore-based ASMPT as it accelerates preparations for HBM4, underscoring both the strategic importance of advanced packaging equipment and rising complexity in the TC bonder supply chain amid a patent dispute between South Korean rivals Hanmi Semiconductor and Hanwha Semitech. The move reflects SK Hynix's broader push to diversify critical equipment suppliers while aligning with Nvidia's next-generation AI roadmap

Monday 15 December 2025
Samsung courts AMD for 2nm chips as foundry recovery hinges on new orders
Samsung Electronics is reportedly in talks with Advanced Micro Devices about producing next-generation chips using its second-generation 2nm process, as the South Korean technology group seeks to secure major customers and revive its loss-making foundry business, according to industry sources and reports from South Korea's Seoul Economic Daily and G-enews
Monday 15 December 2025
South Korea mandates 5G standalone conversion in spectrum renewals, bucking cautious global rollout
South Korea has decided to make full 5G standalone (SA) deployment mandatory for mobile operators as a condition for renewing expiring 3G and LTE spectrum licenses, marking one of the strongest regulatory pushes globally to accelerate the transition beyond non-standalone (NSA) 5G
Monday 15 December 2025
Nvidia reportedly considers expanding H200 AI chip production amid potential surge in Chinese demand
Following the Trump administration's recent easing of export restrictions on Nvidia's H200 artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China, several Chinese technology firms, such as Alibaba and ByteDance, have reportedly expressed significant interest in placing large-scale orders. Nvidia is now evaluating whether to increase production capacity of the H200 chips to meet this potential surge in demand, according to Reuters, citing unnamed sources
Monday 15 December 2025
BYD's sales power endures as China's EV price war deepens

China's prolonged price war in the auto market is taking a growing toll on profitability, and even BYD, the country's dominant electric-vehicle maker, is beginning to feel the strain. At the same time, the company's latest sales figures highlight the scale of its operations and the increasingly complex dynamics shaping its growth