According to Korean media reports, Samsung Electronics is pushing forward with a plan to repurpose the NRD-K 2 production line, currently under construction in Giheung Fab, into a foundry production line, rather than using its existing R&D facilities as a foundry. It is said that Samsung had initially discussed investing in a DRAM mass-production line, but has recently decided to convert this line into a foundry wafer production facility. The main mass-production target for this line is 2-nanometer substrates for next-generation HBM. This strategy is interpreted as an effort to secure relevant production capacity in advance in response to NVIDIA's HBM demand.

According to meida reports, LG and NVIDIA signed a memorandum of understanding, marking a shift from strategic blueprints into full execution across robotics, AI factories and mobility. LG is developing its next-generation bipedal humanoid targeting a public unveiling in the first quarter. The humanoid is powered by NVIDIA Jetson Thor for onboard compute, advanced reasoning and control and is being built using NVIDIA Isaac GR00T, NVIDIA's open humanoid foundation model, and NVIDIA Halos for Robotics, the industry's first full-stack comprehensive safety system for robotics. 

According to media reports, Sandisk unveiled its long-term financial model at its Investor Day, projecting that the company's revenue will grow at mid-to-high teens during fiscal years 2028 through 2030, with growth matching bit shipment growth. Meanwhile, on a non-GAAP basis, gross margin is expected to remain at approximately 80%, with operating margin at about 75%. In addition, Sandisk stated that it will adjust the amount of available-for-sale bits based on profit optimization needs, and committed to returning 100% of remaining cash to shareholders after completing business investments.

Tencent Holdings announced that for the second quarter of 2026, the company reported revenue of RMB 204.785 billion, up 4% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) and 11% year-over-year (YoY); operating profit of RMB 67.28 billion, down 0.1% QoQ and up 12% YoY;  Non-IFRS profit attributable to equity holders of the Company of RMB 68.415 billion, up 0.8% QoQ and 9% YoY; earnings per share of RMB 7.581, up 0.9% QoQ and 9% YoY; capital expenditure of RMB 52.784 billion, up 65.3% QoQ; and free cash flow of negative RMB 13.8 billion.

According to South Korean media reports, Samsung Electronics' System LSI Division has begun using Claude for functional verification of custom SoCs and early-stage software development in semiconductor projects, with tangible efficiency improvements already observed. In custom SoC verification, a task originally expected to take over a month was completed in just two days; in another case, an engineer completed in one day a development task that might otherwise have taken over a month. Furthermore, Samsung Electronics has expanded its application scope to include external generative AI tools such as Gemini and ChatGPT, and has officially launched its "AI Transformation" initiative, introducing AI into all business processes across every subsidiary, covering R&D, production, marketing, support, and other areas.

According to South Korean media reports, Samsung Electronics stated that from a technical perspective, high-numerical-aperture extreme ultraviolet (High-NA EUV) lithography technology still requires further improvement for application in 2nm and 1.4nm process mass production. However, the technology will become a necessity for 1nm-class processes, so the company is currently collaborating with other partners on joint R&D for High-NA EUV technology. It is reported that Samsung plans to mass-produce its 1.4nm (SF1.4) process in 2029, and begin mass production of SF1.4+ (an improved version of the 1.4nm process) and the 1nm process in 2030.

According to media reports, Nvidia is developing a new generation of open-source large model series, Nemotron 4. The largest version in this series is expected to have at least 1 trillion parameters, approximately twice the size of the current Nemotron 3 Ultra model. It is said that while the training data and some model architecture for Nemotron 4 have been finalized, the actual training has not yet begun. If development proceeds as planned, it could be released as early as late fall this year.

According to ZDNET citing Nikkei, Kioxia has disclosed that its largest shareholder has changed from the former Toshiba to a special purpose company named BCPE Pangea Cayman 2 (hereinafter referred to as SPC2). SK hynix invested in SPC2 through convertible bonds (CBs). From the 15th of last month to the 3rd of this month, Toshiba reduced its stake to 14.06% through a total of seven transactions. As a result, SPC2, which holds a 14.19% stake in Kioxia, became the company's largest shareholder. It is reported that SK hynix invested approximately KRW 4 trillion in Kioxia in 2018 through two special purpose companies (SPCs). Among them, all shares of SPC1, which was jointly established with Bain Capital and other institutions, were sold in June last year after Bain Capital withdrew its investment. SK hynix continues to hold SPC2, with its investment amounting to approximately KRW 1.3 trillion. If these convertible bonds are converted into shares, SK hynix will become a shareholder of Kioxia and possess voting rights.

According to ZDNET, SK hynix is pushing forward with its extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography technology to enable mass production of next-generation DRAM. The company introduced its first high-numerical-aperture (High-NA) EUV equipment last year and fully commenced R&D on the related technology this year. It is reported that the company has now fully begun introducing PSM (phase-shift mask) to enhance EUV lithography performance.

On the evening of August 10, Longsys released its semi-annual report for 2026. In the second quarter of 2026, the company achieved operating revenue of RMB 14.180 billion, up 43.1% quarter-on-quarter and 138.7% year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company reached RMB 6.715 billion, up 73.9% quarter-on-quarter and 3,930.9% year-on-year; and net profit attributable to parent company excluding non-recurring items was RMB 6.105 billion, up 54.8% quarter-on-quarter and 2,506.1% year-on-year. In the first half of 2026, the company achieved operating revenue of RMB 24.088 billion, up 136.26% year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 10.577 billion, up 71,528.66% year-on-year; and net profit attributable to parent company excluding non-recurring items was RMB 10.047 billion, up 31,096.33% year-on-year.

According to foreign media reports, Microsoft is targeting a public unveiling of its next-generation Maia 300 AI accelerator as soon as September. It has also entered talks to secure manufacturing capacity for more than 300,000 units from TSMC, with delivery planned for 2027, citing people with direct knowledge of the plans. 

Intel stated that progress in emerging areas including physical AI, purpose-built silicon, advanced packaging and external wafers represent significant growth opportunities for the company. Intel has announced the pricing of its previously announced registered public offering of common stock. Intel priced the underwritten public offering of 210,526,315 shares of common stock at a public offering price of $95 per share. Intel has granted to the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 31,578,947 additional shares of common stock at the public offering price, less underwriting discounts. The offering was upsized to $20 billion from the previously announced offering size of $15 billion. The offering is expected to close on August 12, 2026, subject to customary closing conditions. The net proceeds from the offering will be approximately $19.7 billion (assuming the underwriters do not exercise their option to purchase additional shares), after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by Intel. Intel intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, which may include, but are not limited to, capital expenditures and working capital.

According to Korean media citing industry sources, although Samsung's initial HBM4 yield during mass production in February of this year briefly fell below 60%, its yield has recently approached 80%, which is about four months ahead of the original year-end target of 80%. Previously, Samsung Electronics stated during its quarterly earnings conference call that HBM4 sales in the second half of the year would easily exceed 60% of total HBM sales. In addition, reports indicate that Samsung Electronics has set an internal goal to raise its HBM market share to a level close to its overall DRAM market share (approximately 38%) by the end of the year.

According to foreign media reports, despite opposition from U.S. political figures, Apple is currently conducting tests to use DRAM produced by CXMT in various products, including the iPhone and MacBook. It is said that Apple is considering initially applying these chips to some products sold in China.

According to a report by Korean media ZDNET citing Bloomberg, SK hynix is evaluating various options, including bringing in external investors for its Chongqing plant, with the potential equity sale valuing the plant at approximately $3 billion. It is said that the company has begun selecting advisors for this process, with Chinese funds and local enterprises being potential investors. Additional reports indicate that SK hynix is considering a plan to retain a minority stake in the Chongqing plant after the transaction is completed. However, as discussions are still in the early stages, the eventual consummation of the deal remains uncertain. SK hynix stated that it is exploring multiple options to enhance business competitiveness, but no decisions have been made at this time.