Tech Business News

Databricks to Invest $350m, Double Singapore Workforce

Databricks will invest $350 million in Singapore and double its local workforce. In November 2026, the company will launch an AI accelerator for more than 100 early-stage startups.

Apple reportedly accepts Samsung's 1Q27 memory hike, raising the 2027 smartphone cost floor

Apple agreed to a sharp increase in Samsung Electronics' memory prices for smartphones starting in the first quarter of 2027. This will raise the minimum cost of smartphones in 2027 amid price growth driven by the AI boom.

Samsung pushes conventional memory modules to partners in Vietnam and India as HBM crowds its back end

Samsung Electronics is transferring assembly of conventional memory modules to contractors in Vietnam, India, and the Philippines as its packaging capacity is occupied by HBM. This indicates high-speed memory is fully displacing conventional modules from the company's own production.

PhonePe crosses 11 Bn monthly UPI transactions in August; G-Pay nears 8 Bn

According to NPCI, in August PhonePe processed 11.19 billion UPI transactions (45.64% volume) worth ₹14.26 lakh crore, while Google Pay handled 7.91 billion (32.26%). Total UPI transactions reached 24.51 billion worth ₹29.82 lakh crore. From October 15, some P2M payments above ₹2000 will incur a 0.4% MDR.

Wiwynn expands US, Mexico plants, aiming to double capacity by 2027

Taiwanese server maker Wiwynn has started mass production at its first US plant and is building its own facilities in North America instead of leasing. The company aims to double capacity by 2027.

TSMC widens foundry lead as AI demand soars

Revenue of the top 10 contract chipmakers reached a record $53.49 billion in Q2, up 11.5% quarter-over-quarter, driven by demand for AI chips. TSMC's share rose from 72.3% to 72.5%, while Samsung's fell from 6.5% to 5.9%. TSMC's August revenue was $16.3 billion, up 53.3% year-over-year.

Chinese AI chipmaker Biren weighs $1b share sale

Chinese AI chipmaker Biren is considering a share sale of about $1 billion. In July, the company already raised about $900 million.

Hong Kong Aims to Almost Double Spending on Tech, Innovation

Hong Kong leader John Lee announced plans to nearly double the city's spending on innovation in the coming years. The goal is to more closely align the financial hub with Beijing's economic priorities.

Sharp opens orders for Foxconn-built Nvidia AI servers, targeting JPY250 billion by fiscal 2030

Sharp began accepting orders in Japan on September 15 for AI servers built by its Taiwanese parent Foxconn with Nvidia processors. The company targets JPY250 billion in revenue by fiscal 2030.

Huawei reportedly scales back AITO role as Seres takes greater control

Huawei and Seres are revising their partnership on the AITO electric vehicle brand: Huawei is reportedly reducing its role, while Seres gains greater control over the joint project.

China's $4.5 trillion electronics target confronts manufacturing limits

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the State Council presented the 15th Five-Year Plan for the electronics industry with a target volume of $4.5 trillion. The plan acknowledges that achieving the goal is limited by manufacturing scale and external barriers.

Anthropic to open Singapore office, its 5th in APAC

Anthropic announced it will open an office in Singapore. This will be the company's fifth location in the Asia-Pacific region, following Tokyo, Bangalore, Seoul, and Sydney.

Cambricon joins PyTorch Foundation as Platinum member on governing board

Chinese AI accelerator maker Cambricon became a Platinum member of the PyTorch Foundation and received a seat on the governing board. The company promotes an Upstream First approach, contributing changes to public PyTorch branches across seven modules, including torch.compile, distributed computing, and mixed precision.

AI Agent Startup Instinct in Talks for $10 Billion Valuation

Personal AI assistant developer Instinct is discussing raising $1 billion at a valuation of about $10 billion. The invite-only service has surpassed 100,000 users, and the round may be led by Sequoia Capital and Benchmark.

Revolut gets Colombian banking licence, its sixth worldwide

Revolut received a licence from Colombian regulator SFC to launch a full bank in the country. The waiting list has 200,000 people and no launch date was given. This is Revolut's sixth banking licence after the UK, France, Australia, Lithuania and Mexico.

SK Innovation targets 100 billion won profit boost with AI 'Dual Brain'

SK Innovation introduced its Dual Brain system at the Ulsan CLX petrochemical complex, where AI analyzes data from 98 processes in real time while engineers make final decisions. By 2030 the company expects about 100 billion won (~$73M) in annual profit growth and zero equipment downtime.

Only ~2.3 GW of planned data center capacity delayed by direct local policies

SemiAnalysis estimates that direct local restrictions — moratoriums and New York's data center executive order — delay about 2.3 GW of planned capacity nationwide. More than 300 moratoriums were mapped: 20 GW fall within restricted zones, but only 1,525 MW is actually shifted.

SK Hynix Union Approves Revised Wage and Collective Agreement

SK Hynix union members approved a revised wage and collective agreement with 57.08% (8,731 votes) in favor. The cash portion of bonuses rises from 40% to 50%, and employees can choose stock payments in 10% increments.

Hong Kong’s Data Center Ambitions Face $2.6 Billion Funding Test

Hong Kong's ambitious project to become a data center hub has started slowly and requires raising $2.6 billion. Funding details and timelines have not been disclosed.

DeepSeek to Hire First CFO as It Aims for Public Listing, Expands Workforce

DeepSeek is preparing to hire Wentao Yan, a partner at venture firm GL Ventures, as its first chief financial officer. The company is expanding its workforce and considering a public listing.

Apple exits Musk's AI lawsuit, but iPhone AI access fight grows

Musk withdrew his claims against Apple, quietly ending the lawsuit over AI access on the iPhone. The dispute over which third-party AI services get access to the iPhone ecosystem continues to expand.

South Korean universities offer direct route to Samsung and SK Hynix

South Korean universities offer corporate programs guaranteeing jobs at Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Applications for Samsung programs rose 6.5% and SK Hynix programs 12.7% for the 2026 cycle, with competition at 13.44 and 9.14 applicants per place respectively.

Autodesk CEO sees AI job losses in VFX as more immediate threat

At Autodesk University 2026, CEO Andrew Anagnost said the main AI threat to artists is not human extinction but job cuts in VFX. Tools like Maya, MotionMaker and Flow Studio boost efficiency, meaning fewer specialists are needed per film.

Anthropic, OpenAI 'pacing' spooks some startup customers

Public statements by Anthropic and OpenAI about slowing the pace of AI development are making startup customers wary. Investors note that consumers and businesses have become more cautious about buying AI applications amid news of potential catastrophic risks.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff joins growing chorus of tech leaders warning about AI risks

At Dreamforce, Marc Benioff warned AI companies not to repeat the mistakes of social media that harmed users. He did not support calls to slow development but spoke of responsibility and ethics. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei also spoke on stage.

Microsoft Raises Dividend 8%

Microsoft will increase its quarterly dividend from 91 to 98 cents per share, an 8% rise, with payments starting in December. A year ago, the company raised the dividend by 10%. The stock was nearly unchanged after the announcement.

OpenAI in early talks to raise private funding at $1.2T valuation before IPO

OpenAI has held early conversations with investors about raising another private funding round at a $1.2T valuation before its planned IPO, amid demand for its technology after new model launches.

Nvidia CEO Huang attending Trump state dinner for China's Xi

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang plans to attend Donald Trump's state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping next week. AI will be a major topic; Huang previously joined Trump on a trip to China.

Benioff: Europe is slipping behind China and US in AI

At Dreamforce, Salesforce head Marc Benioff said Europe is falling behind the US and China in AI development. He cited self-driving cars: they are widespread in China and the US, but almost absent in Europe outside the UK.

The AI data center boom is colliding with cities scarred by big industry

A rally in Philadelphia called for a ban on data center construction as authorities consider two sites. Activists cited experiences living near an oil refinery that closed after a 2019 explosion. BloombergNEF forecasts that by 2035, US data centers will consume more gas than Germany and Japan combined.