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Sunday 13 July 2025
South Korea races to catch up in global humanoid robot competition
AI is already driving cars, writing papers, and coding computers. Society has now upgraded to humanoids and is on track to potentially become the norm.
Sunday 13 July 2025
China plots desert AI hub with 115,000 Nvidia chips, skirting US export bans
China plans to build at least 39 data centers in the desert regions of Xinjiang and Qinghai, outfitted with over 115,000 Nvidia H100 and H200 GPUs. These advanced chips have been under a US export ban since 2022, prompting concerns that they are being smuggled into the country, an issue now drawing heightened scrutiny from US officials.
Saturday 12 July 2025
Chipmakers bet on premium smartphones to weather 2H25 headwinds
Despite a generally negative outlook for the second half of the year, Largan, a key market indicator, stressed during its earnings call that the demand momentum for new flagship smartphones remains largely unchanged compared to previous years.
Saturday 12 July 2025
Google brings Gemini AI to Wear OS, boosting Samsung's new smartwatch and foldables

Google is bringing its Gemini artificial intelligence model to smartwatches running Wear OS, marking a significant expansion beyond smartphones and tablets. Announced this week, the rollout will introduce a new generation of AI-powered features across wearables from major partners including Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo, and OnePlus.

Friday 11 July 2025
Google DeepMind spinoff Biotech moves AI-designed drug to human trials
The biotechnology sector is hailing a major milestone as Isomorphic Labs, a startup incubated by Google DeepMind, prepares to enter human trials with a drug candidate designed using artificial intelligence (AI). Industry experts see this breakthrough as a potential game-changer in biomedical research and development.
Friday 11 July 2025
Bionet, Dassault team up for AI foundry model in drug development
With AI promising to massively transform research and development in the biomedical industry, Bionet Corp. has launched its AI foundry platform for human and animal pharmaceutical research, emulating TSMC's foundry model in the semiconductor industry to reduce the time and cost of research, according to corporate group chairman Cheng-hsien Tsai.
Friday 11 July 2025
How Taiwan's EMS evolved: From PCs and smartphones to AI servers and deep semiconductor integration
The advent of the personal computer (PC) provided an opportunity for Taiwan's manufacturing services to further evolve.
Friday 11 July 2025
US weighs new export controls on AI chips to Thailand and Malaysia

The US Department of Commerce is reportedly preparing new regulations that would restrict the export of advanced AI chips to Thailand and Malaysia to prevent their diversion into China, according to industry sources.

Friday 11 July 2025
Malaysia's Penang eyes semiconductor upgrade as AI demand reshapes industry
Malaysia's Penang state, home to about 13% of global semiconductor assembly and testing capacity, is positioning itself to capture more advanced chip manufacturing as artificial intelligence (AI) drives demand for sophisticated packaging technologies.
Friday 11 July 2025
SiPearl raises EUR130 million to mass-produce Rhea1 chip with TSMC, advancing Europe's AI and HPC goals
French microprocessor startup SiPearl has secured EUR130 million (US$152.53 million) in a Series A funding round, with investors including Taiwan's Cathay Venture Inc. The company will use the funds to mass-produce its Rhea1 chip and develop next-generation processors aimed at advancing Europe's capabilities in supercomputing and artificial intelligence (AI).
Friday 11 July 2025
China's embodied AI race just got real — Robot Era, DEEP Robotics raises CNY1 billion

China's embodied AI and humanoid robotics market is experiencing a funding surge, with leading startups Robot Era and DEEP Robotics jointly securing nearly CNY1 billion (approx. US$140 million) in fresh capital on the same day, underscoring sustained investor interest in physical AI technologies.

Friday 11 July 2025
Niching sees stellar 2Q25 results from AI, HPC, and advanced packaging applications
Materials supplier Niching is aiming to hit record-high revenue this year after strong performance in the first half of 2025, boosted by continued growing demand in the AI, high performance computing (HPC), and advanced packaging sectors, as well as early order pull-ins from some of the company's clients.
Friday 11 July 2025
Manus AI flees China for Singapore following US$75 million Benchmark round
Chinese AI Agent startup Manus has relocated its headquarters to Singapore and slashed most of its China-based workforce, just four months after its global debut. The move reflects mounting geopolitical and investment pressures and highlights Manus's push to build a global presence in the AI application space.
Friday 11 July 2025
Korea’s Rebellions taps Taiwan alliance to challenge Nvidia in AI chip race
Seoul-based AI chip startup Rebellions is moving fast to stake its claim as South Korea's top domestic supplier of artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors. The company is ramping up production of its second-generation chip and forging new partnerships across Asia to grow its footprint.
Friday 11 July 2025
Meituan fuels embodied AI ambitions while robot IPOs hit Hong Kong despite losses

Meituan has made another move in the robotics sector, investing US$100 million in Galaxea AI, its second major robotics deal in two months following a stake in Independent Variable Robot Technology (Jinan) Co., according to Yicai. The investment underscores Meituan's deepening commitment to embodied intelligence amid a broader robotics market challenged by slowing funding, mounting losses, and heightened competition.

Friday 11 July 2025
Apple loses key AI talent in Meta's multi-million dollar raid
Apple's AI development efforts have suffered a potential setback with Meta Platforms recruiting Ruoming Pang, Apple's head of foundational AI models, according to multiple outlets, including Bloomberg. Meta is said to have offered Pang a multi-million-dollar salary package, with the possibility of more Apple engineers following. Neither company has confirmed these reports. This development highlights concerns over Apple's ability to retain and attract top AI talent amid competitive pressures.
Friday 11 July 2025
Swancor divests materials unit to back smart robotics investors
Swancor Holding Co., Ltd. has approved the sale of a 60% stake in its Shanghai STAR Market-listed unit, Swancor Advanced Materials Co., Ltd., at CNY7.78 per share, valuing the deal at approximately CNY1.86 billion (approx. US$259.3 million). The transaction was cleared by the board and audit committee on July 8.
Friday 11 July 2025
Apple bleeds AI talent as tech giants wage salary war
Apple, having yet to launch its promised AI-enhanced Siri voice assistant, now confronts an escalating exodus of its artificial intelligence experts. Key personnel, including Ruoming Pang, head of Apple's Foundation Models team, are reportedly leaving for competitors like Meta Platforms, raising concerns about Apple's future in AI innovation.
Thursday 10 July 2025
Jabil's infrastructure bet pays off with explosive AI-fueled growth
As competition intensifies in the AI hardware boom, Jabil is emerging as a pivotal force, leveraging its global supply chain expertise and strategic partnerships to secure long-term contracts and outmaneuver rivals. Amid surging demand for advanced data center infrastructure, the company's targeted investments in US-based manufacturing, thermal management technologies, and factory automation are positioning it as a key beneficiary of this accelerating industry shift.
Thursday 10 July 2025
OpenAI completes merger with Jony Ive's io products
OpenAI has officially merged with io Products, Inc., a hardware-focused startup founded by former Apple designer Jony Ive. The move formalizes a two-year collaboration that began between Ive, his creative collective LoveFrom, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
Thursday 10 July 2025
Stay or relocate: Taiwan makers weigh exodus amid weak government support
The free trade agreement (FTA) between the US and South Korea has now become irrelevant under Donald Trump's administration. Taiwan's tech products also face the possibility of losing the ITA and ITA 2 tariffs-free benefits granted under the WTO framework. Trump's tariff threat can be understood as a step to force Seoul to share the cost of stationing US troops in South Korea. But what does Trump want from Taiwan in the tariffs game? TSMC is already constructing wafer fabs and an R&D center in the US. Does Trump want AI server makers to set up assembly lines in the US, and for the Taiwan currency to sharply appreciate against the greenback?
Thursday 10 July 2025
Samsung looking to launch triple-fold smartphone in 2025
Samsung Electronics plans to launch a triple-fold smartphone by 2025, and for its goal in 2025, the Korean brand aims to equip its existing 400 million Galaxy devices with artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, according to senior executives. These moves signal Samsung's continued push into both foldable devices and mobile AI technology.
Thursday 10 July 2025
Humanoid robots aren't ready yet, but linear actuators might change that
Tesla's decision to pause parts procurement and development for its Optimus humanoid robot has raised questions about the pace of progress in the humanoid robotics market. But supply chain players remain calm, noting that the industry is still in its infancy, with mechanical designs yet to reach standardization.
Thursday 10 July 2025
Asus June revenue hits 13-year high on AI, GPU, gaming tailwinds

Asus posted its highest monthly revenue in nearly 14 years (162 months) in June 2025, fueled by robust demand for Nvidia's GeForce RTX 50 GPUs, gaming laptops, and expanding AI server shipments. June group revenue hit NT$68.57 billion (approx. US$2.35 billion), rising 8.47% from May and 17.3% year-over-year. Second-quarter revenue climbed 30% year-over-year to NT$188 billion, while first-half revenue reached NT$335.7 billion, up 25.92%. Brand revenue grew 15% year-over-year in June to NT$64 billion, and 28% in the second quarter to NT$174 billion.

Thursday 10 July 2025
AgiBot's Lingxi X2-N raises the bar for humanoid robots with dual-mode mobility
On July 7, 2025, Shanghai Zhiyuan New Innovation Technology, better known as AgiBot, unveiled its next-generation humanoid robot, the Lingxi X2-N. Featuring an innovative dual-mode design, the Lingxi X2-N has become a focal point in the robotics industry, highlighting the fast-paced growth and advancing capabilities of China's humanoid robotics sector.