AI Supply Chain

South Korea

2026-07-24 03:29:35

South Korean corporate investment in the U.S. hit $10.2 billion in Q1

South Korean companies sharply increased their investment in the United States in the first quarter, with actual foreign direct investment reaching $10.2 billion, more than double from a year earlier and the highest level in nearly five years, according to data from South Korea’s finance ministry cited by the Financial Times. The report said the surge has been driven by profit growth tied to the AI boom as well as U.S. tariff policy, which together have fueled the biggest wave of U.S.-bound investment and M&A activity by South Korean firms in recent years. Companies tied to AI infrastructure are moving quickly. Samsung Electronics has taken part in financing rounds for ZutaCore, a liquid-cooling company focused on AI data centers, and AI chip company Groq. SK Hynix, meanwhile, plans to invest $10 billion in U.S. innovation companies. The Financial Times also cited investment bankers as saying that with Chinese buyers stepping back from acquisitions of large U.S. technology assets, South Korean firms are entering what they described as a “golden period” for dealmaking in the U.S. market.

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Serenity

2026-07-23 21:20:15

Serenity Reaches 46,000 X Subscribers, 1,000 Behind Elon Musk

AI supply-chain analyst Serenity said paid subscriptions on X have reached 46,000, leaving the anonymous researcher just 1,000 short of Elon Musk in the platform ranking.

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Vercel

2026-07-23 14:45:15

Vercel Breach Puts Web3 Front Ends on Alert as Orca Rotates All Deployment Credentials

Vercel traced a breach to an OAuth weakness tied to third-party AI tool Context.ai. Orca has rotated all deployment credentials, raising fresh concerns over Web3 front-end infrastructure and environment variable exposure.

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AI supply cha

2026-07-23 01:30:14

Serenity Sees NAV Discount Opportunities in AI Supply Chain, Favors Wistron and ACMR

Analyst Serenity highlighted NAV discount opportunities across AI supply chain holding companies, favoring Wistron for its growth profile and ACMR for its listing catalyst, while warning about governance risks in Korean names.

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Nvidia

2026-07-22 21:25:14

Nvidia Discloses $18.4 Billion Public Equity Portfolio as Jensen Huang Praises Marvell

Nvidia’s latest 13F filing shows $18.4 billion in public equity holdings, led by Intel. Outside the filing, the company also completed two $2 billion private investments in Lumentum and Marvell.

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TOTO

2026-07-22 13:55:13

TOTO Says Chip Business Profit Has Overtaken Core Business as AI Drives Semiconductor Capex Shift

TOTO said chip-related profit now accounts for more than half of group earnings, while semiconductor capex is set to rise from 11% of total spending to over half, driven by AI data center demand for advanced ceramics.

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Taiwan econom

2026-07-22 07:13:13

Taiwan Q1 Growth Hits 13.69%, but Gains Are Concentrated in the AI Supply Chain

Taiwan’s estimated Q1 growth rate reached 13.69%, the highest quarterly reading in nearly 39 years. Export growth, semiconductor equipment imports, and ETF inflows point to a boom led by AI-linked sectors, with benefits distributed unevenly across industries and income groups.

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USTR

2026-07-19 01:00:00

U.S. Trade Demand on Korean Chipmakers Shifts From Factory Expansion to Profit Sharing

A report cited by PANews says U.S. trade pressure on South Korea’s semiconductor industry may be moving beyond calls for local manufacturing and into a more sensitive area: profit allocation. According to The Korea Times, citing people familiar with the matter, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Rick Switzer told Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo last month that Washington had grounds to claim a share of the sizable profits earned by SK hynix and Samsung Electronics. The argument, as described in the report, is that heavy purchases by U.S. companies directly contributed to the earnings growth of Korean chipmakers. The claim has not been officially confirmed by the U.S. side. Still, it has drawn attention in South Korea because it comes as the country’s semiconductor exports to the United States rose by more than 90% year over year in the first half, with Korean memory suppliers retaining strong profit positions in the global AI supply chain. The Korea Times said U.S. agencies including the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Commerce Department, and the Treasury Department did not respond to requests for comment, while South Korea’s industry ministry said industrial matters should be handled on commercial grounds. The report also cited a CITIC Securities note that compared the current debate with earlier U.S. interventions in Japan’s semiconductor sector in the 1980s and Taiwan’s LCD panel industry in the 2000s, arguing that high profits in strategic industries can become a trigger for trade, industrial, or antitrust action once they are framed as harming U.S. competitiveness.

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