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Tuesday 10 March 2026
Iran conflict threatens Gulf data center boom as attacks mount
The widening conflict involving Iran is beginning to ripple through the global AI industry, raising new questions about the security of Gulf-backed data center projects and the resilience of regional cloud infrastructure. Gulf states are expected to invest more than US$300 billion in data centers, chips, and other AI infrastructure, but recent drone strikes on Amazon Web Services (AWS) facilities have highlighted the vulnerability of these projects, according to reports by The Information and The Guardian
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Tuesday 10 March 2026
Groq reportedly urges Samsung to expand wafer production as AI chip demand surges
Groq has reportedly requested Samsung Electronics' foundry division to increase wafer production for its inference AI chips, reflecting the booming market demand. Industry sources expect Samsung's foundry business to boost profitability by deepening collaboration with Groq and scaling up output
Tuesday 10 March 2026
LGES reportedly drops LG Chem cathodes, taps L&F for Tesla battery supply
LG Energy Solution (LGES) is reportedly preparing to replace cathode materials supplied by its parent company, LG Chem, in batteries destined for Tesla, opting instead for products from South Korean battery materials maker L&F to better meet Tesla's specifications
Tuesday 10 March 2026
US-Israel war on Iran threatens Asian auto supply chains, squeezing Chinese exporters
As US and Israeli military actions continue and tensions escalate in Iran, regional geopolitical risks are rapidly expanding and beginning to affect the Asian automotive industry directly. Research firm Bernstein and automotive supply chain sources say the conflict's effects on the global auto supply chain are steadily growing
Tuesday 10 March 2026
Samsung union plans 18-day strike, adding risk to HBM supply chain
Samsung Electronics' labor union recently announced that employees who do not participate in a planned 18-day general strike from May 21 to June 7, 2026, will face penalties, sparking widespread concern and controversy across South Korea. The vote on whether to proceed with the strike began March 9 and runs through March 18
Tuesday 10 March 2026
Moxa eyes Middle East market growth amid energy and AI infrastructure demand
Industrial communication and networking equipment provider Moxa has identified the Middle East as a key fast-growing market over the next three to five years, highlighting the region at its Lunar New Year media event. General Manager Eddy Lin emphasized that geopolitical conflicts remain a concern, but ongoing semiconductor capacity expansion, supply chain diversification, edge AI upgrades, data center buildout, and critical system monitoring will drive double-digit growth for Moxa in 2025
Tuesday 10 March 2026
Taiwan-US memory, foundry, and packaging expansions surge; Malaysia and India reportedly face delays
The global semiconductor industry is rapidly expanding production capacity, with Taiwan, the US, and China accelerating memory, advanced packaging, and wafer foundry construction plans. Supply chain sources report a sharp order increase for 2026, driven not only by TSMC's large-scale expansions in Taiwan and the US but also by accelerated memory fab projects from Nanya Technology and Micron, alongside continuous growth in China's semiconductor output
Tuesday 10 March 2026
China's EV charging war: BYD strikes back at CATL
China's electric vehicle industry is shifting its competitive focus from driving range to charging speed, as automakers and battery suppliers race to cut recharging times and improve energy replenishment efficiency
Tuesday 10 March 2026
Japan targets JPY40 trillion in domestic semiconductor sales by 2040
Japan plans to boost domestic semiconductor sales to JPY40 trillion (approx. US$253.5 billion) by 2040, a sharp increase from current levels, as the government intensifies efforts to rebuild its chip industry and capture growing demand from AI and data center applications, according to Nikkei
Tuesday 10 March 2026
BOE capex slowdown raises concerns for Korean display equipment suppliers
Chinese display maker BOE has signaled that its capital spending will decline in the coming years, raising concerns among South Korean display equipment suppliers that have relied heavily on Chinese demand for growth
Tuesday 10 March 2026
AI short drama 'Huo Qubing' goes viral, Seedance 2.0 cuts video generation cost below US$0.14/sec
AI-generated video technology is rapidly disrupting the film and television industry. The recent AI-generated Chinese short drama Huo Qubing has gone viral on social media, sparking discussions with its near-realistic visuals and extremely low production costs
Monday 9 March 2026
US lawmakers seek to extend Huawei sanctions to US subsidiary Futurewei

Bipartisan US lawmakers are pressing the Trump administration to extend Huawei sanctions to its US research subsidiary, Futurewei Technologies, warning that the entity may allow the Chinese telecom group to maintain research activities in the US despite existing restrictions

Monday 9 March 2026
China warns Nexperia dispute could trigger new global chip shortage
China's commerce ministry has warned that the conflict between Dutch chipmaker Nexperia and its Chinese subsidiary could trigger another global semiconductor supply chain crisis, raising fresh concerns over potential disruptions to automotive chip supplies
Monday 9 March 2026
China's new Five-Year Plan pairs tech push with consumption pivot
China's draft 15th Five-Year Plan for 2026–2030 signals that Beijing is seeking to rebalance its economic model while keeping technological development at the center of national strategy
Monday 9 March 2026
Mitsui partners with Kaynes and AOI Electronics to support Indian OSAT business
Mitsui has concluded a strategic business partnership agreement with Kaynes Semicon Private Limited, an OSAT (semiconductor back-end process) company in India, and AOI Electronics, the largest Japanese OSAT company. The agreement aims to support the start-up and operation of Kaynes' OSAT business and to facilitate sales of products manufactured by Kaynes
Monday 9 March 2026
South Korea's IC design moves to bridge demand and local foundries
Despite holding a dominant position in the memory chip industry, South Korea's system semiconductor ecosystem remains underdeveloped, with the country's IC design market share at only about 2%. Kyung-ho Kim, the newly appointed chairman of the Korea Fabless Industry Association (KFIA), has outlined plans to build a design ecosystem closely tied to actual market demand and to strengthen collaboration with domestic foundries