Nikkei Asia: RationalFX: tech layoffs totaled 78,557 in Q1 2026, with the US accounting for 76.7%; nearly half were attributed to AI implementation and workflow automation — PALO ALTO, California — The true impact of artificial intelligence on employment is yet to be felt even as the global tech …
Steven Borowiec / Nikkei Asia: South Korean trade data: chip shipments hit a record-high value of $32.83B in March 2026, up 151.4% YoY, pushing total exports to a record $86.13B, up 48.3% YoY — SEOUL — South Korean exports hit an all-time monthly high in March, government data showed Wednesday, as companies rushed orders …
Nikkei Asia: China's smartphone market is seeing one of its widest price hikes as memory chip crunch deepens; Meizu announces it will suspend developing new mobile hardware — TOKYO — China's smartphone market is seeing one of its biggest and widest price hikes ever, affecting almost all brands and product categories …
Nikkei Asia: Asia's smaller chip companies are joining their bigger peers in hiking prices as robust AI demand fuels capex, projected to rise 25% YoY to over $136B in 2026 — TAIPEI — Asia's smaller chip companies are joining their bigger peers in hiking prices as robust AI demand fuels record levels …
Nikkei Asia: Sources: Japan's FTC raids Microsoft's Japan offices as part of a probe into whether Azure customers were improperly hindered from using other cloud services — TOKYO — Japan's antitrust authority raided the offices of Microsoft Japan on Wednesday as part of an investigation into whether …
Nikkei Asia: Sources: SoftBank plans to form a consortium to build a $33B power plant in Ohio, set to produce 9.2 GW for AI data centers, as part of the US-Japan trade deal — TOKYO — SoftBank Group will form a consortium to carry out a $33 billion gas-fired power plant project in the U.S. …
Nikkei Asia: Sources: China's top memory chipmakers, CXMT and YMTC, plan their biggest expansions yet as a global supply crunch lets them close the gap with market leaders — TAIPEI — China's two top memory chipmakers are launching their most aggressive expansions ever as a severe global supply crunch creates …
Fumie Yaku / Nikkei Asia: Global Net: three Chinese firms ranked among the world's top 20 chipmaking equipment manufacturers in 2025, up from one in 2022, with Naura Tech rising to fifth — TOKYO — Three Chinese companies were among the world's top 20 manufacturers of chipmaking equipment last year, up from just one in 2022 …
Ryo Mukano / Nikkei Asia: Sandisk and Kioxia announce a five-year extension of their JV manufacturing contract from 2029 to 2034; the new deal involves SanDisk paying Kioxia $1.165B — US partner's access to Yokkaichi plant to last 5 more years through 2034 — Kioxia and Sandisk extended their joint production agreement …
Kim Jaewon / Nikkei Asia: Samsung and SK Hynix executives say they expect global memory supply shortages will persist until 2027 due to AI demand, after the companies reported earnings — SEOUL — The world's two leading memory chipmakers say the supply crunch in their industry will continue until 2027 as they cannot keep …
Norman Goh / Nikkei Asia: Jones Lang LaSalle projects Malaysia's operational data center capacity to increase from ~1,025 MW at the end of 2025 to ~2,100 MW by the end of 2026 — KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia's data center capacity is set to more than double by the end of the year, new industry research released on Tuesday shows …
Dylan Loh / Nikkei Asia: Momentum Works: the GMV of the online food delivery market in Southeast Asia's six biggest economies grew 18% YoY to $22.7B in 2025, and Grab accounted for 55% — SINGAPORE — Grab Holding's share of the Southeast Asian food delivery market rose to 55% last year, cementing its position …
Reuters: Micron plans to invest $24B over the next decade to build a 700,000-square-foot memory chip facility in Singapore, with wafer output set to start in H2 2028 — US company says new wafer fabrication facility to meet growing demand — U.S. memory chipmaker Micron Technology announced …
Lauly Li / Nikkei Asia: Sources: Google will start developing and making high-end Pixel phones like the Pro and Fold from scratch in Vietnam in 2026; the Pixel A remains in China — TAIPEI — Google will start developing and manufacturing high-end smartphones in Vietnam this year from scratch in a move similar …
Hideaki Ryugen / Nikkei Asia: Taiwan's data shows the US became its top export destination in 2025 over China, including Hong Kong, the first time since 1999, partly driven by AI tech demand — TAIPEI — Taiwan's exports to the U.S. exceeded its exports to China, including Hong Kong, for the first time in 26 years in 2025 …
Nikkei Asia: How Arizona is training talent for its growing chip industry as suppliers fear tighter US immigration policy; Arizona has drawn $200B+ in investments since 2020 — PHOENIX, Arizona — On a late afternoon in autumn at Mesa Community College, a diverse group had gathered for their “Quick Start” …
Nikkei Asia: Meta says Manus, initially based in Beijing and Wuhan, will cut Chinese investor ties after the deal and “will discontinue its services and operations in China” — PALO ALTO, California/HONG KONG — Meta says it will acquire AI startup Manus and that the Singapore-based company …
Nikkei Asia: Shenzhen-based OneRobotics opened flat in its Hong Kong debut after the Chinese home robotics maker raised $210M by selling 22M+ shares at about $9.50 each — HONG KONG — Shares of OneRobotics opened flat on Tuesday in their trading debut after the Chinese household robotics maker raised …
Lien Hoang / Nikkei Asia: A study finds that foreign direct investment accounts for 98% of Vietnam's electronics exports, “signaling limited technology spillovers” to the local economy — HO CHI MINH CITY — Vietnam looks like a tech darling as investment from giants such as Apple, Samsung and others pours in.
Takehiro Hasegawa / Nikkei Asia: A teardown of Huawei's Mate 70 Pro and Pura 80 Pro shows 57% of components were made in China; similarly priced Huawei phones in 2023 had 32% Chinese components — TOKYO — China's Huawei Technologies has raised the ratio of domestic components in its new smartphones to nearly 60% by value …
Cheng Ting-Fang / Nikkei Asia: Sources: TSMC plans to move chipmaking tools into its second Arizona fab in summer 2026, in line with its push to accelerate US production by “several quarters” — TAIPEI — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. plans to start moving chipmaking tools into its second plant …
Nikkei Asia: Taiwan opens its largest AI supercomputing data center using Nvidia's Blackwell chips, a major effort in its push for sovereign AI and chip industry innovation — TAINAN, Taiwan — Taiwan has opened its latest and largest AI supercomputing data center with Nvidia's most advanced Blackwell chips …
Cissy Zhou / Nikkei Asia: Users of ByteDance's agentic AI phone Nubia M153 report that its Doubao assistant is blocked or limited by Tencent's WeChat, Alibaba's Taobao, and other apps — HONG KONG — A battle over online security and consumer eyeballs is brewing among China's tech giants.
Tsubasa Suruga / Nikkei Asia: Japan faces bottlenecks in data center construction due to labor shortages and more; DC Byte says Japan's capacity has tripled to 6.8 GW in the past five years — TOKYO — Since relocating his Tokyo office in August to accommodate a growing team, veteran construction consultant Takehiko Yuge …
Ryo Mukano / Nikkei Asia: Sources: Micron plans to invest $9.6B in Japan to build a production facility for next-gen HBM memory chips beginning in 2026, with shipments expected in 2028 — TOKYO — U.S. semiconductor manufacturer Micron Technology will invest 1.5 trillion yen ($9.6 billion) to build a production facility …
Nikkei Asia: Industry executives say nearly all major memory chipmakers are running at or near full capacity, with 2026 production slots almost “sold out” due to AI demand — TAIPEI/TOKYO/SEOUL — Since October, SK Hynix's headquarters in Icheon, near Seoul, has seen a steady stream of visitors …
Soumyajit Saha / Nikkei Asia: Shares of Indian payment startup Pine Labs debuted at ~$2.73, up 9.5% from the ~$2.49 IPO price, after a $440M IPO earlier this week that was 2x oversubscribed — MUMBAI — Shares of financial tech company Pine Labs made their debut on India's main bourses on Friday, opening 9.5% above …
Lien Hoang / Nikkei Asia: In Vietnam, 65 countries sign a UN cybercrime treaty to share data and extradite suspects, despite tech companies' and activists' privacy and security concerns — HO CHI MINH CITY — Under a new United Nations treaty, 65 countries have agreed to fight cybercrime, including by sharing data …
Wataru Suzuki / Nikkei Asia: Chinese robovan startup Neolix raised $600M led by UAE-based Stone Venture without disclosing its valuation, ahead of a potential Hong Kong IPO as soon as 2026 — SHANGHAI — Chinese autonomous delivery startup Neolix on Thursday said it raised $600 million from investors led …
Nikkei Asia: Sources: Apple cuts iPhone Air orders nearly to “end of production” levels after a lukewarm reception in China, but keeps iPhone 17 lineup forecasts at 85M-90M — TAIPEI — Apple is drastically cutting iPhone Air production orders but boosting those for other iPhone 17 models …
Wataru Suzuki / Nikkei Asia: China is racing ahead of the rest of the world in the adoption of robovans, despite limitations like slow speeds; Neolix has deployed 10,000 robovans so far — SHENZHEN — When rush hour calms down around 8 p.m. at Shenzhen's Futian railway station, autonomous robovans get to work.
Nikkei Asia: SEMI: US chip fab investment to outpace China, Taiwan, and South Korea from 2027, driven by AI demand and US policies, rising from $21B in 2025 to $43B in 2028 — PHOENIX, Arizona — U.S. semiconductor investment is set to outpace that of major chip economies China, Taiwan and South Korea …
Pak Yiu / Nikkei Asia: PitchBook: VC investment in Asia slowed to $48.9B in the first nine months of 2025, just over half of 2024's total, amid uncertainty due to US tariff policies — NEW YORK — Asian venture capital dealmaking has slowed down so far this year, as the region faces liquidity shortages …
Dylan Loh / Nikkei Asia: Singapore dollar-pegged XSGD stablecoin debuts on Coinbase, giving the city-state a head start over Hong Kong in launching a local currency-linked stablecoin — SINGAPORE — Singapore is racing past Hong Kong to debut a cryptocurrency pegged to the city-state's dollar as the rival financial hubs compete …
Hajime Tsukada / Nikkei Asia: Japan says it will provide $3.63B to Micron for R&D and capital spending at its Hiroshima fab to mass produce advanced DRAM, aiming for shipments by August 2028 — TOKYO — Japan said Friday it will provide 536 billion yen ($3.63 billion) to U.S. chipmaker Micron Technology for research …
Nikkei Asia: Thailand, aiming to become the second-largest PCB production hub, is witnessing a tech manufacturing boom as the PCB supply chain shifts from China and Taiwan — BANGKOK — Some 60 kilometers north of Bangkok in the old capital of Ayutthaya, China's Victory Giant Technology is in the hectic final stages …
Cheng Ting-Fang / Nikkei Asia: Sources: TSMC plans to stop using Chinese chipmaking equipment, like AMEC's etching tools, from its most advanced 2nm process to avoid potential US restrictions — TAIPEI — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is eliminating the use of Chinese chipmaking equipment in its most advanced chip plants …
Nikkei Asia: Jensen Huang says Nvidia is in talks with China over H20 security concerns, is hopeful for a resolution, and reiterates that the H20 has no “security backdoors” — TAIPEI — Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says the U.S. chipmaker is in discussions with the Chinese government …
Lauly Li / Nikkei Asia: Foxconn's AI server business surged 60%+ YoY in Q2, surpassing revenue from Apple-related products for the first time, and is projected to grow 170%+ YoY in Q3 — TAIPEI — Foxconn earned more from its AI server business than from Apple-related products for the first time ever in the second quarter …
Wataru Suzuki / Nikkei Asia: A steady stream of large conventions in China showcasing homegrown humanoid robots is stirring investor excitement, even though sales are far from taking off — BEIJING — China is holding a steady stream of large-scale conventions showcasing its homegrown humanoid robots …
Peggy Ye / Nikkei Asia: Apple supplier Lens Technology, one of the world's top device part makers, raised ~$608M in its Hong Kong IPO, as the Chinese company looks to expand overseas — HONG KONG — Apple supplier Lens Technology announced it has raised 4.77 billion Hong Kong dollars ($608 million) …
Nikkei Asia: Sources: Samsung is delaying completion of its Texas fab due to a lack of customers; the plant was meant to come online in 2024 before being pushed to 2026 — SEOUL/TAIPEI — Samsung Electronics is delaying completion of a semiconductor factory in the U.S. state of Texas …
Nikkei Asia: SoftBank and Intel form Saimemory, a company to develop a prototype within two years of stacked DRAM chips for AI that consume ~50% of the power of current HBM — TOKYO — SoftBank and Intel are developing a type of memory for artificial intelligence expected to consume much less electricity …
Sayan Chakraborty / Nikkei Asia: Venture Intelligence: Indian deep tech startups have raised $4.7B since 2014, accounting for just 3.2% of Indian startup funding, signaling a sector-wide crunch — BENGALURU — Arjun Rao wanted to go off the beaten track with his venture capital firm Speciale Invest, convinced …
Nikkei Asia: About 30% of South Korean schools have adopted AI-powered digital textbooks since the country's education ministry began a full-scale rollout in March 2025 — JEJU, South Korea/TOKYO — Digital textbooks that make use of artificial intelligence are being adopted throughout South Korea.
Nikkei Asia: Analysis: China imported a record $30.9B in chipmaking equipment in 2024, including $9.63B from Japan, $9.53B from the Netherlands, and $4.86B from Singapore — TAIPEI/SEOUL — China bought a record amount of foreign chipmaking equipment in 2024 as part of efforts to massively expand domestic chip production …
Kentaro Shiozaki / Nikkei Asia: Garment workshops are closing across the “Shein village” in Panyu, China, after the US ended the de minimis exemption; Shein urges suppliers to shift to Vietnam — GUANGZHOU — Garment workshops are shuttering across a Guangzhou district dubbed “Shein Village,” …
Cheng Ting-Fang / Nikkei Asia: Sources: TSMC is close to finalizing specs for a new chip packaging method, known in the industry as “panel-level”, to meet rising demand for powerful AI chips — TAIPEI — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is close to finalizing the specifications for a radically new approach …
Nikkei Asia: Sources: Apple asked suppliers in India, Vietnam, and Thailand to ramp up production earlier in 2025; Indian factory utilization rates are already at the limit — TAIPEI — Apple is ramping up production of key products in India and Vietnam to take advantage of a 90-day grace period on U.S. tariffs …
Cheng Ting-Fang / Nikkei Asia: UMC, Taiwan's second-largest chipmaker, opened a $5B plant in Singapore featuring 22nm and 28nm manufacturing technology; mass production won't start until 2026 — TAIPEI — Taiwan's second-largest chipmaker, United Microelectronics Corp., on Tuesday opened a $5 billion plant that it describes as the …