South Korea plans to invest about $450 billion in semiconductor manufacturing over the next decade in an effort to establish dominance in this key technology sector. One hundred fifty-three companies will follow a national blueprint devised by President Moon Jae-in’s administration, led by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which raised their investment to 510+ trillion won in semiconductor research and production from now until 2030. The U.S., China and Europe are all building up their semiconductor manufacturing capacity. Continue reading South Korea Invests Big to Build Out Advanced Chip Industry

Seoul-based startup Coupang is South Korea’s version of Amazon and the country’s biggest e-commerce retailer. Its IPO last week raised $4.6 billion and valued the company at about $85 billion, while its share offering price of $35 rose 41 percent to close the day at $49.25. Although Coupang plans to expand, it will soon face competition from South Korean family-owned conglomerates, called chaebol, which are building their own delivery networks. Another looming problem for Coupang are accusations of poor labor practices. Continue reading South Korean E-Commerce Powerhouse Raises $4.6B in IPO

At South Korea’s largest cinema chain, CGV Cinemas, gamers are able to rent otherwise-empty auditoriums for a few hours to play games on movie screens. In that country, many movie theaters are still closed and those that are open can only accommodate 50 percent capacity, which is what gave CGV employee Seung Woo Han the idea of renting to gamers as a new revenue stream. Now, before 6:00 PM, up to four people can rent a big screen for two hours for about $90, a figure that rises to $135 in the evening. Continue reading Movie Chains Rent Screens to Video Gamers in South Korea

Samsung Electronics may build an up-to-$17 billion chip manufacturing plant in Arizona, Texas or New York, according to sources, and is reportedly scouting two locations in the Phoenix area, two locations in the Austin vicinity and an industrial campus in New York’s Genesee County. The decision to build in the U.S. hinges on the availability of federal government incentives to balance out cheaper costs and government incentives elsewhere. Samsung’s plant would employ up to 1,900 people and open by October 2022. Continue reading Samsung Looking to Launch Chip Manufacturing Plant in U.S.

Samsung debuted MicroLED TVs during last week’s virtual CES 2021, all offering 4K resolution, in fixed sizes of 110-inches, 99-inches and 88-inches, with the 110-inch version priced at $156,000. That compares to the launch at last year’s CES of the 292-inch MicroLED TV, made up of individual modules and custom-installed. In comparison, Samsung’s 98-inch 8K TV, which uses LCD-based QLED display, is priced at $60,000. MicroLED, the first new screen technology in 10 years, is closer to OLED than LCD and is said to feature improved contrast and response time. Continue reading CES: Samsung’s New MicroLED TVs Offer Improved Contrast

Days before CES 2021 opens, South Korean tech company LG Electronics introduced its first-ever LG QNED TV, which marks a significant improvement in brightness and contrast. The LCD (liquid crystal display) TV uses ultra-small LEDs as the backlight; these LEDs are one-tenth the size of those used in its previous LCD TVs, which provide a much brighter picture because more of them can be bunched into a single area. The 86-inch LG QNED TV model, which offers 8K resolution, contains 30,000 LEDs as backlight. Continue reading LG Electronics Unveils Mini LED QNED TV Ahead of CES 2021

App Annie predicted that mobile game and app spending will have grown 25 percent to $112 billion in 2020. Director of market insights Amir Ghodrati added that the company will likely revise these numbers upwards at the end of December. Both iOS and Android showed record-breaking growth, with 65 percent of spending going to the former and almost 30 percent to the latter. Apple iOS and Google mobile app and game downloads are expected to reach 130 billion in 2020, up 10 percent from 2019. Continue reading App Annie Reports Growth in Mobile Game and App Spending

In light of the U.S. ban on selling chips and chipmaking technology to China, that country has raised $38 billion so far this year with the goal of achieving self-sufficiency. According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, that number — achieved through public offerings, private placements and asset sales — is “more than double” the total raised in 2019. Corporate registration tracker Tianyancha stated that 50,000+ Chinese businesses related to semiconductors registered this year, four times the total five years ago. Meanwhile, Seoul-based Samsung is investing heavily in its own next-generation chip business, ramping up competition in the semiconductor sector. Continue reading Global Competition Ramps Up in the Semiconductor Industry

The tech Cold War between the U.S. and China is doing more than disrupting manufacturing: it’s costing a fortune, particularly for the telecommunications and semiconductor industries, in which President Trump has blocked leading companies from both countries from doing business with one another. Chinese companies can no longer do business in the U.S. and U.S. companies are blocked from exporting to Chinese companies. Lost business and the need to replace gear are likely to cost billions of dollars. Continue reading U.S.-China Cold War Hits Semiconductor, Telecom Industries

Intel agreed to sell its memory unit to SK Hynix — which makes flash memory components in South Korea — for 10.3 trillion won (about $9 billion). The sale, which includes Intel’s solid-state drive, NAND flash and wafer business and a production facility in the Chinese city of Dalian, will occur in stages through 2025. The deal is expected to improve Hynix’s position in the chip industry, which has boomed after COVID-19, and rids it of one competitor. SK Hynix’s primary rivals are Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology. Continue reading Intel Sells NAND Memory Business to SK Hynix for $9 Billion

Samsung Electronics inked a $6.65 billion contract for 5G gear with Verizon Communications. With the agreement, which lasts until the end of 2025, Samsung will provide Verizon with network equipment, installation and maintenance, a boost to the South Korean company’s efforts to become a major 5G supplier. According to Dell’Oro Group, Samsung supplies 13 percent of the total 5G network market sales. Meanwhile, T-Mobile, which has launched a 600MHz 5G network, debuted 2.5GHz mid-band 5G towers in almost 90 locations. Continue reading Samsung and Verizon Close Major Deal for 5G Network Gear

Semiconductor manufacturer Qualcomm is presenting its case to the Trump administration for an exemption to the ban on selling components to Huawei Technologies, noting that the injunction has the impact of enriching its foreign competitors. The White House ban is part of the administration’s ongoing technology battle with China, which has intensified in recent months. Huawei would use Qualcomm chips for its 5G phones, but the San Diego-based company would need a license from the Commerce Department to be able to ship them. Continue reading Qualcomm Seeks Permission to Sell Chips to China’s Huawei

Yamaha developed its “Remote Cheerer powered by SoundUD” system, an app to let Japanese sports fans in remote locales convey encouragement and displeasure to their teams in an empty stadium. In a recent test, users in a number of locations sent boos and cheers to 58 speakers in the 50,000-seat empty Shizuoka Stadium ECOPA. A Tunisian soccer team did exactly this in 2013, after the Arab Spring made mass gatherings impossible. Their app allowed 93,000 fans to cheer on the players via 40 speakers in the stadium. Continue reading Yamaha Releases Remote Cheering App for Empty Stadiums

Long-time rivals Apple and Google joined forces to build software into smartphones that would alert people who have recently been in contact with someone infected with the coronavirus. Users will have to opt-in to use the tool, which will be ready to release in “several months” and enable smartphones to “constantly log other devices they come near,” to accomplish what is called contact tracing. It also relies on a user’s voluntary report of having become infected. The two companies said they teamed-up in the last two weeks. Continue reading Rivals Apple and Google Collaborate on Contact-Tracing Tool

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is about to sign off on changes to export controls on the sale of some semiconductors and other high-tech gear to China. In response, nine industry groups — including the Semiconductor Industry Association, the National Foreign Trade Council, and SEMI — urged him to allow for public comment and stressed the role semiconductors play in “the functionality in advanced medical equipment used by health professionals to treat the public,” the latter a reference to COVID-19. Continue reading Semiconductor Industry Is Questioning U.S. Export Controls