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Thursday 13 August 2026
Tencent starts paying for AI in cash, core business is covering the bill
Tencent Holdings used its second quarter to show what an AI build-out costs a company that can afford one. Capex reached CNY52.8 billion (US$7.81 billion), up 176% from a year earlier, and free cash flow turned negative for the quarter after large prepayments for computing capacity.
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Friday 14 August 2026
Alibaba Cloud launches Zhenwu M890 supernode for commercial use
Alibaba Cloud has begun commercial service for its Zhenwu M890 supernode in Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia, giving global customers an early look at how AI infrastructure is shifting toward larger, faster, and more tightly connected systems. The launch could influence future cloud costs, model access, and enterprise AI deployment well beyond China.
Friday 14 August 2026
China PCB makers pour billions into AI server, HPC, optical markets
Chinese printed circuit board (PCB) makers are stepping up investment in higher-value markets including AI servers, high-performance computing (HPC) and optical communications. Following similar expansion in semiconductors and display panels, Chinese companies are rapidly adding PCB capacity as they seek to catch up with South Korean suppliers that have established an early presence in the high-end substrate market.
Friday 14 August 2026
SMIC's pricing power arrives as AI pushes mature-node work into China
China's largest contract chipmaker has spent most of the past two years increasing volume without much to show for it in terms of margins. The June quarter broke that pattern. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) reported revenue of US$3.01 billion for the three months ended June 30, 2026, up 20.0% sequentially and 36.1% from a year earlier, and gross margin of 25.3% against 20.1% in the March quarter. The margin, not the revenue line, is the news: it is the first quarter in this cycle in which SMIC has been able to convert a full order book into price.
Friday 14 August 2026
Samsung chip design embraces AI, but loss of control and hallucinations remain a problem
The AI wave is sweeping through the chip industry, but hallucinations, loss of control, and cybersecurity risks remain unresolved even as efficiency leaps. Youngsik Kim, head of the Design Technology (DT) team at Samsung Electronics' System LSI division, has pointed out that software has already leveraged AI to cut headcount and generate significant gains, but hardware has yet to see clear benefits.
Friday 14 August 2026
Kioxia eyes customer trials for PCIe Gen6 optical SSD

Kioxia is developing a PCIe Gen6 optical SSD and hopes to work with customers on its next prototype, as the Japanese memory maker tackles cost and reliability hurdles that still stand between the technology and mass production.

Friday 14 August 2026
Rapidus targets 8-reticle interposers by 2030
Rapidus expects interposers for high-performance chips to reach eight-reticle scale by around 2030, as larger chiplets and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) push advanced packages toward sizes that are increasingly inefficient to manufacture on conventional 300mm wafers.
Friday 14 August 2026
Samsung and SK hynix push AI deeper into fabs as semiconductor manufacturing enters autonomous era
As the world enters an AI-powered era where the persistent need for more complex architectures is driven by rising demands for higher computing performance, one bottleneck confronting the semiconductor industry lies not only in technological advancement itself, but also in the capacity to deploy standardized manufacturing processes at greater scale and speed.
Friday 14 August 2026
China's video AI dominance paves the way for world model boom

Chinese AI video-generation models are taking the world by storm. This competitive edge is not only disrupting Hollywood, but could also extend into the realm of "world models."

Friday 14 August 2026
Korea's CNT pellicle race heats up as aweXome Ray pushes toward EUV commercialization
As South Korea's major memory manufacturers race to secure next-generation lithography technologies for increasingly advanced process nodes, the approaching High-NA EUV era is adding urgency to the development of pellicles capable of handling higher optical and thermal requirements.
Thursday 13 August 2026
China AI chip market nears 90% domestic share in 2026—Huawei on course to eclipse Nvidia

China's high-end AI chip market could become almost entirely domestic in 2026, with local solutions expected to take nearly 90% of sales and leave Nvidia, AMD and other overseas suppliers with about 10%.

Thursday 13 August 2026
South Korea plans new sovereign wealth fund to back AI, robots, supply chains
South Korea plans to establish a strategic investment account with at least 20 trillion won in assets within the Korea Investment Corporation in 2027 as it moves to strengthen its position in global advanced technology competition. According to Bloomberg, the fund will focus on artificial intelligence, robotics, and critical supply chains, while also extending to energy, batteries, power grid infrastructure, nuclear power, and quantum technology.
Thursday 13 August 2026
Samsung SDI-GM battery reset shows how ESS is reshaping the US EV supply chain

Samsung SDI is ending its battery manufacturing partnership with General Motors (GM) in Indiana, terminating a major EV joint venture — and sending ripples across the supply chain.

Thursday 13 August 2026
Hanmi pulls ahead of Hanwha as HBM4 orders rebound

South Korea's Hanmi Semiconductor is pulling ahead of rival Hanwha Semitech in thermal compression (TC) bonders for high-bandwidth memory (HBM), as HBM4 equipment orders rebound and Hanmi's growing business with Micron helps reduce its reliance on SK Hynix, according to Chosun Biz.

Thursday 13 August 2026
Samsung to expand 2026 TV LCD buys from BOE as TCL orders drop

Samsung Electronics is set to increase its TV LCD panel purchases in 2026, even as global shipments of TV LCDs are forecast to decline. The buying shift will favor BOE Technology Group and reduce Samsung's reliance on TCL China Star Optoelectronics Technology (TCL CSOT), according to ZDNet Korea, citing market research firm Omdia.

Thursday 13 August 2026
Lenovo Capital backs Niobium Optoelectronics in Series B funding for TFLN chips
Jiangsu Niobium Optoelectronics Technology, a Chinese maker of thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) photonic chips, has closed a Series B funding round worth several hundred million yuan as demand for AI data center interconnects rises. Lenovo Capital joined the investor lineup through its Shanghai Lenovo Future Venture Capital Partnership, adding a technology-sector backer to the round.