BYD Electronics is positioned to become the primary beneficiary of BYD's upcoming intelligent driving expansion, according to a CLSA research report. At its 30th-anniversary event on February 10, 2025, BYD will unveil its comprehensive autonomous driving strategy, supported by a CNY100 billion investment in technology development

Amid concerns over higher tariffs under the Trump administration, TSMC is raising chip prices to offset potential losses, while Samsung Electronics focuses on price competitiveness to gain market share, compensating for its smaller customer base

Baidu has launched its third-generation Kunlun AI chip cluster, marking China's first domestically developed large-scale AI computing deployment. The company's 10,000-GPU Wanka cluster began operations in early 2025, though nearly a year behind schedule. Baidu AI Cloud plans to further expand its computing infrastructure with an upcoming 30,000-GPU cluster deployment

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has reportedly implemented new shipment restrictions on Chinese IC design firms amid intensifying US-China trade tensions. Effective January 31, 2025, products using 16/14nm and below technologies must be packaged by a US Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS)-certified third-party OSAT (Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test) provider. Furthermore, TSMC requires an official certification copy from the approved packaging firm before proceeding with shipments, with deliveries halted if documentation is not provided

Materials Analysis Technology (MA-tek) has officially launched a new laboratory in Hokkaido, establishing its third facility in Japan after Nagoya and Kumamoto

Samsung Electronics Chairman Jae-Yong Lee's recent acquittal in a merger and accounting fraud trial marks the end of the company's decade-long "judicial crisis," according to South Korean media. Industry observers expect Lee to revive his "speedy management" style to tackle crucial challenges in decision-making and semiconductor competitiveness

China's cloud service providers (CSPs) have been engaged in fierce price competition since 2024, deploying aggressive cost-cutting strategies to expand market share. This battle is set to intensify in 2025 as major CSPs integrate the low-cost DeepSeek AI model, which blends artificial intelligence (AI) with open-source frameworks on cloud computing platforms. The ongoing price war is expected to drive service fees even lower

Amid intensifying competition in advanced semiconductor packaging, Samsung Electronics is reportedly taking direct control of glass substrate supply chain development, a critical enabler for next-generation AI chips and high-performance computing. Industry analysts suggest this strategic move aims to strengthen Samsung Foundry's competitiveness by offering integrated solutions combining cutting-edge packaging, high-bandwidth memory (HBM), and novel substrate technologies

SK Hynix's memory business in China faces numerous uncertainties due to the ongoing US-China conflict. Chief Production Officer (CPO) Young-Sik Kim will reportedly lead the Wuxi fab in response to tariffs and sanctions following the inauguration of Trump's new administration

Industry observers from Taiwan's supply chain are speculating about Nissan's future direction as its potential merger with Honda appears increasingly likely to fail

Toyota has unveiled plans to accelerate its electrification initiatives in the US and China, according to its latest financial report. The Japanese automaker will begin producing batteries for hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), and battery electric vehicles (BEV) at its new North Carolina plant in April 2025

Alibaba Group (Alibaba) has announced that its upgraded Qwen 2.5 Max model has achieved superior performance over the V3 model from Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup DeepSeek in several third-party benchmark tests. The achievement marks a significant milestone as Qwen 2.5 Max has emerged as the top-ranked non-reasoning model from China in prominent benchmarking and ranking platforms

Renesas Electronics Corp., a leading Japanese semiconductor manufacturer, reported significant declines in revenue and profit for the fiscal year 2024 (January–December), primarily due to weaker earnings from its industrial chip segment

With the growing buzz surrounding DeepSeek, its website and application have seen a massive surge in traffic. The influx of new users has led to repeated "server busy" delays, raising concerns that despite DeepSeek's advantage of low-cost models, it may face bottlenecks due to overwhelming demand for computational power

The advent of DeepSeek is expected to promote China's goal of achieving self-sufficiency in semiconductor development, according to sources at semiconductor equipment companies