Rolls-Royce expands Marand partnership, opens Canberra headquarters August 28, 2026 Rolls-Royce selected Marand to build three additional gas turbine acoustic enclosures and corresponding ship interface systems for the Type 26 programme. Marand will manufacture and assemble the enclosures at its Melbourne facility.
Global semiconductor sales hit $403 billion in Q2 August 25, 2026 Global semiconductor sales reached USD 403.3 billion in Q2 2026, a 35.1% increase compared to Q1, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association. Monthly sales in June alone came in at USD 134.5 billion – up 123.6% YoY and 9.7% from May.
Fujifilm completes new production facility in Oita August 24, 2026 This investment will significantly expand production capacity for post-CMP cleaners used in the manufacturing of advanced semiconductors, including those for AI applications, for which demand is growing rapidly.
TVS SCS, Sankyu to advance supply chain, engineering services August 24, 2026 The collaboration will initially focus on opportunities in India, where both companies see significant potential to support manufacturing and industrial customers through a broader range of supply chain and engineering services.
Micron unveils $10 billion AI memory research lab in Boise August 21, 2026 Micron Research Labs will center on a flagship Boise campus designed to support advanced research across critical technology domains. Key research areas include critical memory technologies, advanced memory and compute architectures, packaging and future semiconductor manufacturing.
Docomo, Samsung validate user-level AI-RAN technology August 18, 2026 This validation represents an important step toward realizing predictive network operations, especially as AI-driven network optimization becomes increasingly prevalent in the 6G network.
US space tech startup Array Labs raises $21 million August 14, 2026 The investment round was anchored by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. Array Labs and Mitsubishi Electric have also entered into a partnership to develop and bring to market satellite-based maritime and aircraft tracking services for customers in Asia-Pacific.
Sony, TSMC plan $6.4 billion image sensor factory in Japan August 11, 2026 Sony Semiconductor Solutions will hold a controlling stake in the venture — about 60% — with TSMC owning the remaining 40%.
Rashi Peripherals announces JV with Japan’s Restar August 07, 2026 Rashi will transfer its semiconductor business division into a wholly owned subsidiary headquartered in Bengaluru and step-down subsidiary headquartered in Singapore. Restar Corporation will subsequently acquire a 26% equity stake in the subsidiary.
Fuji enables SMT placement of large, heavy components for AI servers August 06, 2026 The company can handle large, heavy components measuring 200 x 200 mm and weighing 2.0 kg with the standard configurations of both its NXTR and AIMEXR pick and place machines.
MetaOptics, Elsoft to advance chip optics manufacturing tools August 06, 2026 Under the partnership, the two companies will design, build and industrialise the key fabrication equipment behind the metalens value chain, from research and development through to high-volume manufacturing.
Renesas Gen 3 MRDIMM chipset solutions advance performance August 05, 2026 Renesas’ Gen 3 MRDIMM solutions deliver 25 percent higher memory bandwidth than its second-generation solutions, while continuing to use existing DDR5 infrastructure. As a result, server platforms can extract more performance without disruptive architectural changes.
TOP500 Supercomputer List: China Returns to the Top, Europe Holds Strong Position July 31, 2026 The latest edition of the TOP500 ranking of the world's most powerful supercomputers has brought a change at the top. China's LineShine has overtaken the United States' El Capitan, while the number of exascale systems has increased to five. Europe has maintained its position among the world's leading high-performance computing regions.
Samsung, KDDI complete AI-powered network optimization trial July 27, 2026 During peak hours, Samsung’s RAN Speed Optimizer (RSO) delivered an average increase of 31% in 5G downlink throughput across the overall trial area, with gains reaching a maximum increase of 52% in dense urban areas, on KDDI’s commercial 5G SA network in Japan.
SuperX partners with Mercuria to build AI infrastructure ecosystem July 24, 2026 The two parties will draw on their respective strengths in global energy, power optimization, capital deployment, and AI data center technology to pursue in-depth cooperation in global AI infrastructure development.
Tower Semiconductor announces capacity expansion in Japan July 20, 2026 Track one adds new 300mm Silicon Photonics capacity, with full production readiness expected during the fourth quarter of 2027. It consists of repurposing the Arai facility for 300mm Silicon Photonics capacity and advanced packaging capabilities.
Nvidia partners with Japan firms to advance physical AI July 16, 2026 Japanese companies such as AIRoA, Fanuc, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kubota, NEC, SoftBank, Sony, and Yaskawa Electric intend to join the Nvidia Cosmos Coalition to help build open frontier physical AI models.
Mitsubishi Electric wholly acquires GSaaS provider Infostellar July 09, 2026 Tokyo-based Infostellar provides ground segment as a service (GSaaS) offerings for orbiting satellites. The two companies aim to accelerate the global expansion of ground station networks and establish a high-quality space communications infrastructure.
Maruti Suzuki inaugurates vehicle manufacturing plant in India July 08, 2026 At full capacity the advanced vehicle manufacturing facility in Haryana is expected to produce one million units per annum. The projected total investment at the plant will be about USD 3.5 billion, creating over 21,000 jobs.
Micron breaks ground on new cleanroom at Hiroshima facility July 07, 2026 Micron Technology has broken ground on a new cleanroom at its manufacturing facility in Higashi-Hiroshima, Japan. The first phase covers approximately 300,000 square feet and is intended to strengthen Micron's advanced memory manufacturing capacity to meet growing AI demand. Equipment move-in is scheduled for the second half of 2028.
Gremsy partners with FPT to boost UAV, robotics adoption in Japan July 06, 2026 As Gremsy’s global Strategic Partner and Certified Distributor, FPT will leverage its Japan market presence, regional delivery network and clientele to support Gremsy’s expansion in Japan and broader global distribution strategy.
TSMC and Sony sign MOU for next-generation image sensor JV July 02, 2026 TSMC and Sony Semiconductor Solutions have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to form a strategic partnership for the development and manufacturing of next-generation image sensors.
Kurita, Membrane establish JV to cater to Indian chip industry July 02, 2026 Japan’s Kurita Industries provides a range of water treatment solutions for the electronics industry, including semiconductors, in Japan, East Asia, North America and Europe, which is essential for their manufacturing processes.
Honda to supply 3 high-output eGX models to OEMs June 26, 2026 Since their introduction in 2021, eGX Series electric power unit models with a maximum output of 1.8 kW, have been adopted by work equipment manufacturers, primarily for small-sized equipment such as rammers and plate compactors.
Nearfield Instruments raises $380 million in largest ever Dutch deep-tech round June 24, 2026 Rotterdam-based semiconductor metrology company Nearfield Instruments has closed a USD 380 million Series D funding round, valuing the company at USD 1.6 billion. The round is the largest deep-tech funding round ever completed in the Netherlands.
Renesas acquires Pictorus to accelerate embedded system development June 19, 2026 With the acquisition of Pictorus, Renesas gains a cloud‑based behavioral modeling platform that accelerates embedded system development, moving the engineering experience beyond point tools by providing a connected platform for model-based system design.
Rohm partners with Aixtron to scale GaN power device production June 18, 2026 The installation of Aixtron’s G10-GaN system at the Hamamatsu plant supports Rohm’s transition toward increased vertical integration and strengthens its ability to scale production for next-generation power semiconductor applications.
Quantinuum, Mitsubishi Electric sign MOU to advance quantum computing June 18, 2026 The agreement creates a foundation for the companies to jointly identify high-impact industrial use cases and explore quantum and hybrid quantum-classical approaches for next-generation engineering workflows.
Rapidus, Fondazione Chips-IT sign MoU to boost chip manufacturing June 17, 2026 The joint effort with the Fondazione Chips-IT builds on Japan and Europe semiconductor cooperation. Rapidus has also signed an MOU with the UK Semiconductor Centre, a national body promoting the semiconductor industry in the UK.
LGES partners with Honda, Hanoi to boost Vietnam’s EV market June 15, 2026 The three parties will work together to build an electric two-wheeler ecosystem that includes Battery Swapping Stations in central Hanoi, battery standards, safety management systems, and new platform-based business models for electric two-wheelers.
UK quantum computing company OQC raises $350 million June 10, 2026 The funding will be used to expand OQC’s operational presence in priority markets and accelerate its roadmap toward commercially useful, fault-tolerant quantum computing.
Rapidus Corporation completes $943 million funding round June 09, 2026 As a result of this latest capital increase by Japan’s Information-Technology Promotion Agency (IPA), Rapidus’ funding now totals 424.95 billion yen (about USD 2.7 billion).