China orders Nvidia chips to be phased out of data centers.
The Chinese government has reportedly issued a directive mandating that new state-funded data centers use only Chinese-made artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors. Reuters reported this on the 5th (local time), citing multiple sources.
According to reports, Chinese regulators have ordered the complete removal or cancellation of purchase plans for foreign semiconductors already installed in data centers with construction progress of less than 30%. Exceptions may be made for data centers with construction progress partially completed, subject to individual review.
This measure includes not only Nvidia’s AI semiconductor ‘H20’ for export to China, but also all of its high-performance chips, including the B200 and H200.
Daedeok Electronics and MTI Submit Letter of Intent to Ansan City
Ansan City participated in the ‘2025 Robo World’ held at KINTEX in Ilsan on the 6th and held an investment attraction briefing session (IR) for the Ansan Science Valley District of the Gyeonggi Free Economic Zone.
At this event, Mayor Lee Min-geun gave a presentation on the topic of ‘Ansan City’s Investment Environment and Strategic Projects’ and then held a Q&A session with the participating companies.
After the briefing session, Daedeok Electronics, a leading domestic semiconductor packaging company, submitted a letter of intent to invest in a manufacturing base within Ansan Smart Hub, and MTI Co., Ltd., a company specializing in semiconductor process chemicals and materials, submitted a letter of intent to invest containing plans to build a manufacturing plant and research facilities within the Singil General Industrial Complex.
Padu SSDs are doing well… Large orders for the fourth month in a row
Padu announced on the 6th that it had signed a 21.5 billion won contract with Taiwan’s Marknica Galaxy to supply finished SSDs. This represents 49.4% of last year’s sales (43.5 billion won).
Padu secured a 14.6 billion won contract in August, a 10.5 billion won contract in September, a 20.2 billion won contract in October, and a 21.5 billion won contract this month. The company explained, “Considering that NAND companies typically place orders in units of 3 to 4 billion won, the actual total order amount will likely exceed the announced amount.”
AD Technology Wins Chip Order for Euclid AI Data Center
AD Technology announced on the 3rd that it has signed a development agreement with Dutch startup Euclid to develop “CRAFTWERK,” an artificial intelligence (AI) chip for data centers. Euclid is a startup developing high-performance, high-efficiency chips for basic AI models, including large-scale language models (LLMs).
AD Technology is developing its next-generation chip, Craftwork, for Samsung Foundry’s FinFET process node.
German auto parts production cuts amid Nexperia chip shortage
According to Reuters, German auto parts manufacturer Bosch said on the 3rd (local time) that it had applied to labor authorities to reduce working hours at its Salzgitter plant, saying it was “flexibly responding to production volume adjustments.”
ZF Friedrichshafen, Germany’s second-largest parts maker after Bosch, has also decided to reduce working hours at its Schweinfurt plant due to the semiconductor shortage, local media reported.
The company said it welcomed the easing of export controls on Nexperia chips made in China, but added it was uncertain at what scale and at what pace supplies would resume.
DN Solutions Launches the “DNC Series,” High-Precision Machining Machines for the Semiconductor Industry.
DN Solutions announced on the 4th the launch of its “DNC Series” (DNC 8050, DNC 8060), a high-precision grinding machine essential to the semiconductor industry. This equipment is designed to manufacture consumable parts, such as focus rings, used in semiconductor wafer processing.
These parts are difficult to process due to materials such as quartz, ceramic, and silicon carbide, but DN Solutions explained that the DNC series is equipped with a high-power spindle (rotary axis) of up to 10,000 rpm and 7.5 kW, minimizing vibration and enabling precise processing.
Japan’s SoftBank Considers Acquiring U.S. Semiconductor Company Marvell Early This Year
Bloomberg News reported on the 5th (local time), citing sources, that Japan’s SoftBank Group considered acquiring U.S. semiconductor company Marvell Technologies earlier this year.
Sources said that SoftBank Chairman Masayoshi Son has been monitoring Marvell as a potential acquisition target for several years. This is interpreted as a strategy to expand investment in companies expected to benefit from the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. Had the deal actually gone through, it would have been the largest merger and acquisition (M&A) in the semiconductor industry’s history, Bloomberg reported.
HS Hyosung Vice Chairman Cho Hyun-sang (third from the left) and Umicore CEO Bart Sapp (second from the left) are taking a commemorative photo at Umicore’s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. / Photo = HS Hyosung
HS Hyosung Enters the Silicon Anode Materials Business
HS Hyosung announced on the 3rd that it has acquired the battery cathode materials business of global materials company Umicore and established a joint venture, EMM. HS Hyosung Advanced Materials, a subsidiary of HS Hyosung, will invest 120 million euros (approximately 200 billion won) to acquire an 80% stake in EMM, while Umicore will contribute its silicon cathode materials technology in kind to secure a 20% stake. The transaction is expected to be completed within the year, pending relevant regulatory approvals.
The silicon anode material, which EMM possesses technology for, is a material necessary for battery manufacturing and has an energy density up to 10 times higher than that of existing graphite anode materials.
“It’s really not selling”… Ford considering completely halting production of electric pickup trucks.
According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 6th (local time), Ford management is internally discussing the option of completely halting production of the F-150 Lightning. The company temporarily halted production of the vehicle last month due to an aluminum shortage and is currently debating whether to restart the plant.
The F-150 Lightning was once hailed as a “smartphone that can tow” and hailed as the next Model T, but the market response fell far short of expectations. With American consumers increasingly preferring gasoline-powered and hybrid vehicles over expensive, full-size electric pickups, Ford’s electric vehicle business has posted a cumulative $13 billion in losses since 2023.
BYD and Geely dominate the electric vehicle market, leaving Tesla reeling.
According to SNE Research on the 5th, the number of electric vehicles (pure electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles) registered worldwide from January to September this year totaled 15,016,000, a 27.2% increase from the same period last year.
BYD maintained its top spot with 2,961,000 units sold, commanding a 19.7% market share. Geely Group rose to second place with 1,522,000 units sold, a 64.7% increase year-on-year.
Tesla remained in third place with sales of 1.218 million units, a 5.9% decrease from the same period last year. Declining sales of its flagship models, the Model 3 and Model Y, contributed to the overall decline.
LS Essex Solutions files for preliminary review of KOSPI listing
LS Group’s US affiliate Essex Solutions announced on the 7th that it had applied for a preliminary listing review with the Korea Exchange for a KOSPI listing.
Founded in 1930, Essex Solutions is an American cable company. Acquired by LS in 2008, it has grown into a specialist in special windings. Currently, it produces high-power special windings for electric vehicle drive motors, and its customers include global electric vehicle companies such as Tesla and Toyota.
Innometry to supply non-destructive testing equipment to battery manufacturers’ European factories.
Innometry (CEO Gap-soo Lee), a company specializing in X-ray (CT) inspection solutions for secondary batteries, announced on the 7th that it has recently confirmed the bulk supply of non-destructive inspection equipment to the European production bases of major domestic customers.
This project involves supplying a CT electrode inspector and an X-ray gap and foreign matter inspector to a new production line that improves the electrode terminal connection method to increase internal space efficiency and enhance heat management performance.
Stellantis Recalls 320,000 PHEVs in the US Due to Battery Fire Risk
Stellantis, the parent company of automaker Chrysler, announced on the 4th (local time) that it is recalling 320,000 plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) sold in the United States due to a risk of battery fires. According to the announcement, the vehicles affected by the recall are the 2020-2025 model year Jeep Wrangler 4xe and the 2022-2026 model year Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe, all of which are PHEV models.
Stellantis said it was internally investigating 19 fires involving these models. It advised drivers not to charge the batteries in these vehicles, but instead to discharge them.
Teahub Reduces Factory Energy Waste with AI-Based Optimal Energy Storage Charging
AI solutions specialist T-Hub Co., Ltd. developed an “AI-based solar energy ESS-linked processing equipment energy efficiency model” and applied it to the production site of BMT Co., Ltd., a customer service company, resulting in a 7% energy savings rate and a 5% reduction in carbon emissions. This was achieved by predicting and controlling the factory’s power flow, thereby reducing unnecessary charging and discharging.
This project was promoted with support from the ‘Demand-tailored AI Solution Development and Demonstration Support Project (’24-’25)’ conducted by Busan Metropolitan City and the Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency, and Tea Hub directly developed and applied the AI solution.
Tea Hub applied a method to simultaneously predict the next day’s power demand and solar power generation based on real-time power data from the facility and automatically adjust the ESS charging amount.
Tesla’s robotaxi, the Cybercab. /Photo = Tesla YouTube
Tesla to begin production of its self-driving CyberCap vehicle in April next year
Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, announced at the Tesla shareholders’ meeting held on the 6th (local time) that production of the autonomous electric vehicle ‘Cybercap’ will begin in April of next year.
According to foreign media outlets including TechCrunch, Musk announced on this day that “we will begin production of Cybercabs, autonomous electric vehicles without pedals or steering wheels, at our factory in Austin, Texas, starting next April.” He explained, “We have developed a robotaxi called the ‘Cybercab,’ the first vehicle capable of fully autonomous driving without supervision. This vehicle will not even have pedals or a steering wheel,” and that it will not have side mirrors.
Masauto, a self-driving truck company, wins a 18.2 billion won government contract for autonomous driving.
Truck autonomous driving startup Masauto announced on the 6th that it has been selected as the lead organization for the consortium for the ‘Development of Commercial Unmanned Autonomous Driving Technology for Large Truck Freight Transport,’ a strategic project worth 18.2 billion won promoted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
Masauto plans to actively utilize its camera-based “end-to-end” (E2E) AI, a core technology for this project that has been in development since 2020. E2E AI is an autonomous driving technology in which a single, integrated neural network trained on vast amounts of driving data performs integrated perception, judgment, and control.
This can secure cost competitiveness by reducing component costs and maintenance costs by more than 90% compared to existing autonomous driving methods that rely on LiDAR and precision maps.
Optrotek Begins Supplying Autonomous Driving Camera Lenses to North American Automakers
Optrontec, a company specializing in optical components, announced on the 4th that it is supplying camera lens units for autonomous driving to North American automakers, and has begun full-scale expansion into the automotive electrical optical components market targeting the era of physical AI, beyond its smartphone-centered business structure.
Existing smartphone cameras are primarily focused on capturing people and their surroundings, prioritizing high resolution, high-magnification zoom, and rich color expression. In contrast, sensing cameras for autonomous vehicles are key components for accurate recognition and judgment of people and objects, requiring a stable field of view even in adverse weather conditions.
Waymo Expands Autonomous Robotaxi Service to Detroit and Other Cities
Waymo announced on the 3rd (local time) that it will operate robotaxis in Detroit, Michigan, Las Vegas, Nevada, and San Diego, California. The launch dates for Detroit are this winter, Las Vegas next summer, and San Diego next year.
Waymo said of its service in the greater Detroit area specifically, “Detroit is the city that gave the world the automobile,” and “We are proud of our roots in the greater Detroit area, including Novi.”
K3RI successfully demonstrates robots on NVIDIA’s Omniverse platform.
K3RI announced on the 6th that it has successfully implemented precise robot movements by linking its own platform, which is linked to NVIDIA Omniverse, with actual robots and building a virtual factory. According to the company, K3RI has secured physical artificial intelligence (AI) technology through testing and plans to expand its application to various industries, such as manufacturing and logistics, through further advancement in the future.
K3RI conducted a test by linking its own omnibus linkage platform, ‘Neuro Twin X’, with an industrial robot it recently acquired.
Samsung Electronics TV image. /Photo = Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics Wins $190 Million in US OLED Patent Lawsuit
Samsung Electronics has been ordered to pay $191.4 million (approximately 274 billion won) in damages in a patent lawsuit in the United States, Reuters reported on the 3rd (local time).
According to Reuters, a jury in a federal court in Texas ruled today that Samsung Electronics infringed on two patents related to organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology owned by Pictiva Displays and ordered the company to pay damages.
In a lawsuit filed in 2023, Pictiva alleged that several Samsung Electronics products, including Galaxy smartphones, TVs, computers, and wearable devices, used its technology to improve OLED displays.
Laptop OLED panel shipments expected to reach 10 million units this year… “A rebound is expected next year.”
This year, shipments of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels for laptops are expected to reach approximately 10 million units, a similar level to last year.
According to the ‘Mid-Large OLED Display Market Tracker’ released by display market research firm UBI Research on the 5th, the cumulative shipments in the third quarter of this year were approximately 6.7 million units, and it is expected that there will not be a significant difference from 2024 on an annual basis.
The industry sees Apple’s new product launch next year as a key variable in market expansion.
Source: Kipost.net
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