Anthropic is aiming to narrow the gap with rival OpenAI as it boosts its revenue forecasts for the coming years. According to The Information, the company has raised its internal projections, with sales expected to nearly quadruple this year to as much as US$18 billion and climb to about US$55 billion in 2027—a roughly 20% increase in its forecast for 2026 compared with earlier estimates.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing informed sources, reported that SoftBank Group is negotiating a new investment with OpenAI, potentially reaching up to US$30 billion, though final deal terms have not yet been confirmed. Since late December 2025, rumors have circulated that OpenAI is preparing a new funding round, targeting up to US$100 billion, with a valuation potentially reaching US$830 billion, aimed at supporting the company's massive AI research, computing, and talent needs.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk posted on X that the AI5 chip design is "almost done and AI6 is in early stages," with AI7, AI8, and AI9 "aiming for a 9-month design cycle." Musk stated that the AI5 chip achieves performance comparable to Nvidia's Hopper with a single SoC configuration, and with a dual-SoC configuration, it rivals Nvidia's Blackwell, while maintaining lower cost and pricing. He said that the AI5's development faced challenges, with Musk himself working consecutive weekends for months with minimal days off.

Mouser Electronics, a global authorized distributor of electronic components and industrial automation products, added 63 new manufacturers to its line card in 2025, further increasing the range of components available to design engineers and purchasing professionals. The distributor also introduced more than 40,000 new part numbers over the year.

Corning and Meta Platforms have agreed to a multiyear deal valued at up to US$6 billion to supply optical fiber, cable, and connectivity solutions for Meta's US data center expansion. The agreement aims to support Meta's applications, technologies, and AI infrastructure needs.

Lightmatter is hosting its Tech Day in Taiwan on January 28, 2026, following the announcement of strategic partnerships with Global Unichip Corp. (GUC), Cadence Design Systems, and Synopsys. The company is positioning itself to advance AI infrastructure and accelerate the commercialization of co‑packaged optics (CPO) solutions.

Humanoid robots are the next frontier of embodied intelligence, and CES 2026 was proof that Chinese companies are in the lead. Among the 38 humanoid robot companies that exhibited at the show, 21 were Chinese. Companies from South Korea also demonstrated significant progress, now on par with the US.

"There will never be one like me," Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang proclaimed recently in an interview, a bold assertion of his singular journey from novice founder to titan of the AI revolution.

Texas Instruments' latest commentary during its Q4 2025 earnings call on January 27, 2026, shows a company increasingly shaped by industrial, automotive, and data center demand, even as consumer-facing segments remain uneven. Management framed fourth-quarter results as broadly in line with expectations, while emphasizing that the mix of end markets—not pricing—is driving both near-term performance and longer-term strategy.

Following the resolution of tariffs between Taiwan and the US, market concerns are expected to ease, leading to clearer procurement signals from end users and fostering optimism that the machine tool industry will recover from recent downturns. Industry experts indicate that this development is likely to result in a structurally driven rebound rather than a short-term uptick.

The optical film industry is undergoing significant upheaval as disruptions in the red supply chain force manufacturers to rethink their business models. Taiwan-based Efun Technology has adopted a "low volume, high quality" strategy, focusing on specialized products such as water-blocking films and satellite space-environment protective films. Water-blocking films are projected to become a major revenue contributor by 2026, while protective films for satellites have already secured manufacturing contracts with a US low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite customer.