Power Cube Semiconductor Passes Technology Assessment
Power Cube Semiconductor, a power semiconductor specialist, announced on the 1st that it had successfully passed the technology evaluation for a technology-special listing on the KOSDAQ the previous day.
A technology assessment is the first step toward a KOSDAQ technology-specific listing. It assesses a technology company’s core technology, marketability, and business viability. Founded in February 2013, Power Cube Semi is a 13-year-old power semiconductor company specializing in semiconductors. It possesses proprietary semiconductor design technology for three materials: Si (silicon), SiC (silicon carbide), and Ga2O3 (gallium oxide).
Semes Achieves Sales of 2,500th Semiconductor Single-Wave Cleaning Equipment
Semiconductor equipment manufacturer Semes announced on the 1st that it has achieved the 2,500th unit mass-produced sales milestone for its semiconductor single-wafer cleaning equipment, a first for Korea. Since the first mass-produced device was developed in July 2006, cumulative sales have surpassed 7 trillion won.
Single wafer cleaning is a method of cleaning semiconductor wafers one by one to remove particles (contaminants) remaining on the wafer surface as the circuit line widths of semiconductor wafers become increasingly finer.
Hanmi Semiconductor: “We are confident we will secure all HBM4 orders by securing the flux-less bonder.”
Hanmi Semiconductor is confident it will secure a dominant position in the TC bonder market for HBM4 (6th-generation high-bandwidth memory), a market expected to become fiercely competitive. Furthermore, it has received orders for its next-generation fluxless bonder from major customers and plans to begin deliveries in the second half of this year.
On the 30th, Hanmi Semiconductor held a ‘2025 Q2 Provisional Performance Review Briefing’ at the Post Tower in Yeouido and announced the status of the company’s main businesses and future technology roadmap.
Regarding the future technology roadmap, fluxless bonding is expected to be applied starting with HBM4 and 4E. Flux is a material used to aid bonding in conventional TC bonding. Instead of using flux, fluxless bonding is a technology that reduces the bond gap, making it advantageous for thinning HBM packages.
Semiconductor components company Lumien signs a 500 billion won investment agreement with Gyeongbuk Province and Gumi City.
Semiconductor components company Lumien will invest 500 billion won in the Gumi National Industrial Complex 1 in Gyeongbuk Province to build a new factory to manufacture key semiconductor components, including glass substrates and glass-based test sockets. Gyeongbuk Province and Gumi City signed an investment agreement outlining these details at Gumi City Hall on the 28th.
Lumien is a startup founded in June by local young technical talents with the goal of localizing glass-based interposers and test sockets using glass substrates, a key component of next-generation semiconductors.
Rebellion and Marvel to Jointly Develop Infrastructure for Sovereign AI
Rebellion, a fabless artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor company, announced on the 29th that it will jointly develop a customized AI system with global semiconductor company Marvell Technology (hereafter Marvell) to meet the demand for sovereign AI infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East.
Through this collaboration, the two companies plan to leverage Marvell’s custom design platform to enable Rebellion to design AI semiconductors for customer-specific inference. Specifically, they plan to leverage Marvell’s advanced packaging technology, high-speed serial data transmission (SerDes), and die-to-die interconnects to implement an AI infrastructure integrated beyond the server level down to the rack level, achieving both high performance and energy efficiency.
ARM officially announces its own chip launch, saying it could “turn NVIDIA upside down.”
According to the Financial Times (FT) on the 30th (local time), ARM CEO Rene Haas announced during a conference call following the earnings announcement that the company would pursue in-house chip design. Haas stated, “In addition to chip design, we are also considering providing complete solutions, and we are accelerating our research and development (R&D) to achieve this.”
ARM, a leading intellectual property (IP) company that sets global standards for semiconductor design, is considered a dominant force in the smartphone chip ecosystem. Apple’s iPhone, Samsung’s Galaxy, and approximately 99% of smartphones worldwide are based on ARM’s architecture.
Ninetech files patent for glass substrate plating technology.
Ninetech announced on the 29th that it had jointly applied for a patent for glass substrate-based micro-hole plating technology with NanoX, a company specializing in materials and micro-processing technology.
This jointly filed technology enables precise and stable plating of microscopic holes formed on a glass substrate. In particular, it enables uniform metal plating even within microscopic holes with a high aspect ratio (aspect ratio) of 8:1 or greater, dramatically improving electrical reliability and productivity. It is recognized as a key solution for the production of high-density semiconductor packaging.
Witz to Supply Slow Electric Vehicle Chargers to Hyundai Kepco
Witz, a power transmission solutions specialist, announced on the 31st that it will begin supplying EV slow chargers (7kW) to Hyundai Kepco.
Witz has been jointly developing an EV slow charger (7kW) with Hyundai Kepco, and plans to begin mass production and sequentially supply the product starting at the end of this month after development is complete.
The EV slow charger (7kW) supplied by Witz this time is equipped with a PLC communication controller independently developed by Hyundai Kepco. It also features a 4.3-inch LCD touchscreen for convenient use, and its K-VAS certification ensures compatibility with Hyundai, Kia, and KGM vehicles.
Toyota to build Europe’s first electric vehicle production facility in the Czech Republic, with production starting in 2028
Japanese automaker Toyota will begin producing electric vehicles in the Czech Republic as early as 2028. This marks Toyota’s first EV production in Europe. According to Japanese business media Nikkei Asia on the 30th, Toyota plans to produce 100,000 electric sports utility vehicles (SUVs) annually through its Czech subsidiary starting in 2028.
Toyota aims to expand its market share by launching 14 electric vehicles in the European market by next year, including the C-HR+ SUV and the new bZ4X.
EV Advanced Materials: “Prologium Begins Commercialization of All-Solid-State Lithium Batteries”
EV Advanced Materials announced on the 31st that ProLogium Technology, a Taiwanese solid-state battery company in which the company invested, has announced a superfluid inorganic solid electrolyte, ushering in the era of commercialization of next-generation solid-state lithium batteries.
According to the company, the electrolyte technology overcomes three major bottlenecks of existing solid-state batteries (ionic conductivity, interfacial stability, and manufacturing efficiency) by combining the high ion concentration of solid materials with the excellent interfacial contact properties of liquids.
Samsung SDI participates in capital increase of its cathode materials subsidiary STM, investing 140 billion won.
Samsung SDI announced on the 1st that it will participate in a paid-in capital increase of STM, its cathode materials subsidiary, contributing 140 billion won. STM is a wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung SDI. The investment amount was calculated based on STM’s issuance price of 15,860 won per share.
Payments will be made in two installments of KRW 100 billion and KRW 40 billion, respectively.
KG A establishes a specialized advanced development team for dry processes.
KGA announced on the 31st that it has established a specialized advanced development team dedicated to the development of next-generation cathode material dry process technology and equipment.
The new team plans to focus primarily on developing dry process technology and equipment, which is attracting attention from global cell manufacturers and electric vehicle companies like Tesla. Unlike conventional wet processes, dry process is a next-generation electrode manufacturing method that does not require a drying furnace. It offers the advantages of maximizing space and energy efficiency while reducing manufacturing time.
In particular, KG plans to develop ‘hybrid equipment’ that provides multi-functionality by combining two or more core pieces of equipment in the electrode manufacturing process, such as coaters, roll presses, and slitters, through a new team.
L&F Receives Performance Verification for Next-Generation Cathode Materials from Korea Research Institute of Chemical Engineering
L&F announced on the 28th that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRIC), a subsidiary of the National Research Council of Science and Technology (NST), to develop next-generation cathode materials. This agreement was promoted as part of the “Market-Leading Next-Generation Secondary Battery Innovation Strategy Research Group (K-BIC)” project overseen by KRIC.
According to the agreement, L&F will provide samples of the company’s core cathode materials, including high-nickel NCM, NMX, and LFP, and the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology will be responsible for verifying and evaluating the cathode material performance, thereby embarking on full-scale joint research.
Mirae Advanced Materials signs a 45,000-ton supply contract for anhydrous lithium.
Mirae Advanced Materials, a subsidiary of Mirae Nanotech Group specializing in secondary battery materials, announced on the 31st that it has signed a three-year supply contract for a total of 45,000 tons of anhydrous lithium with a major domestic cathode material manufacturer. Under this contract, Mirae Advanced Materials plans to supply anhydrous lithium for three years, starting in the first half of next year. The contracted volume of 45,000 tons is sufficient to manufacture approximately 170,000 tons of cathode materials.
Anhydrous lithium is a high-purity lithium material with moisture removed from ordinary lithium hydroxide, and is used as a key material for high-performance electric vehicle batteries.
SOS Lab secures KRW 43 billion in investment, launching its semiconductor chip fabless business in earnest.
SOS Lab, a leading LiDAR company, has successfully secured a total investment of 43 billion won, and is expanding its fabless business for SPAD (Single Photon Avalanche Diode), a high-performance semiconductor chip for autonomous driving and robotics, and its mass production of LiDAR for robotics. SOS Lab announced on the 1st that it has decided to issue its first round of unsecured, anonymous convertible bonds (CB).
SOS Lab plans to use all of the funds raised to fund SPAD’s fabless business and to expand mass production of lidar for robotics. The SPAD fabless business will be conducted in collaboration with global IT big tech companies and domestic fabless companies.
Etiforce Secures ₩17 Billion in Series B Investment, “Leaping Forward to Global Fabless with 5G-V2X Semiconductors”
Etiforce, a leader in next-generation Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) and fully autonomous driving communication technologies, has successfully secured KRW 17 billion in Series B funding. This brings the total investment to KRW 29.5 billion, laying the foundation for the company’s leap forward as a global fabless semiconductor company.
With this funding, Etiforce plans to: △ mass produce C-V2X HW accelerator semiconductors based on Samsung Foundry; △ develop 3rd generation V2X-AIR devices; △ secure global production bases and strengthen marketing; and △ enter new markets such as NTN (non-terrestrial network satellite communications) and military tactical communications.
Tesla’s autonomous driving system accident resulted in a 456.9 billion won compensation verdict.
A US court has found Tesla liable for accidents involving the use of its Autopilot feature. On the 1st, a Florida court ruled that Tesla was partially responsible for a 2019 crash involving Autopilot.
The court added that Tesla must pay the victims a total of $329 million (KRW 456.9 billion) in damages, including compensatory and punitive damages.
Crit Ventures invests 1 billion won in autonomous robot developer Newbility.
Crit Ventures announced on the 1st that it has invested 1 billion won in Newbility, a self-driving outdoor mobile robot solution company.
Newbility is a startup that has developed and commercialized ▲ the autonomous delivery robot ‘Neubie’, ▲ the robot integrated management platform ‘NeubieGo’, and ▲ the ordering app ‘NeubieOrder’, and provides a robot service (RaaS, Robot as a Service) that encompasses hardware, software, and platforms.
The Belgian Ministry of Transport visited Kakao Mobility and took a test drive of its autonomous vehicles.
Kakao Mobility announced on the 31st that Tanja Breinseil, Director of Strategic Mobility at the Belgian Ministry of Transport, visited the company’s Pangyo office to view its autonomous driving technology. The company explained that the visit, which took place on the 25th, was made at the request of Belgium, which hoped to use Kakao Mobility’s case as a reference as it aims to lead the autonomous driving field within the European Union (EU).
It is reported that during his visit, Director Brinesale rode in a self-driving vehicle and experienced driving around Pangyo for 30 minutes, and heard about the current status of preparations for self-driving.
JDI withdraws from Apple Watch OLED business
Foreign media outlets have reported that Japan Display (JDI) is withdrawing from the Apple Watch organic light-emitting diode (OLED) business. According to Nikkei on the 28th, JDI is selling the equipment at its Mobara plant, its OLED production base for the Apple Watch.
The target is LCD and OLED production facilities. Instead of relocating these facilities to other factories, JDI will sell some of them to HKC, a Chinese display manufacturer. JDI initially announced that it would relocate some production facilities from the Mobara plant to the Ishikawa plant.
Because the Ishikawa plant lacked OLED production facilities, relocating the facility was essential to continue supplying the Apple Watch. However, the decision to sell the facility rather than relocate it appears to be a complete abandonment of the Apple Watch OLED business.
Samsung Electronics extends KRW 20 trillion loan agreement with Samsung Display.
Samsung Electronics announced on the 31st that it has extended the loan term for a 20 trillion won loan from its subsidiary, Samsung Display, due in 2023 by two years and six months. Accordingly, the maturity date has been changed from the 16th of next month to February 16, 2028.
The interest rate was lowered from 4.6% to 3.9%. The extension is intended to secure operating funds. Samsung Electronics previously borrowed 20 trillion won from Samsung Display in February 2023 to secure operating funds.
Source: kipost.net