AJU PRESS ASIA FIRST NEWS AGENCY

Journalist

Candice Kim
Candice Kim김혜준
ReporterSamsung Electronics, SK hynix, LG Electronics, Olive Young, Musinsa & Semiconductor, K-Beauty
Candice Kim is a dedicated business and technology reporter specializing in the intersection of high-tech innovation and fast-paced consumer trends. Her core beats span the semiconductor, IT, cosmetics, and retail sectors, where she provides in-depth coverage of industry titans including Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, and LG Electronics, alongside leading consumer brands like Olive Young and Musinsa. Whether analyzing complex silicon supply chains or tracking the latest shifts in beauty and fashion retail, Candice is committed to delivering sharp, accurate reporting that keeps readers informed on the forces shaping today's most dynamic markets. "Connecting the dots from silicon chips to consumer shifts."
Latest by Candice Kim
  • SK hynix rewrites record books, but misses lofty Q2 profit forecasts
    SK hynix rewrites record books, but misses lofty Q2 profit forecasts SEOUL, July 29 (AJP) - SK hynix rewrote the record books in the second quarter as booming demand for artificial intelligence memory chips drove another quarter of historic earnings, though operating profit fell short of lofty market expectations. Operating profit for the April-June period came to 60.54 trillion won, up 61 percent from 37.61 trillion won recorded in the previous quarter. The figure fell short of the market consensus of approximately 64.1 trillion won, according to financial data provider FnGuide. Revenue reached 79.32 trillion won, up 51 percent from 52.58 trillion won posted in the first quarter. The world's second-largest memory chipmaker attributed the performance to solid demand for high-value AI memory products, including High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) chips and enterprise solid-state drives (eSSDs). Operating margin came in at 76 percent, compared with 72 percent in the previous quarter, reflecting a richer product mix centered on premium AI memory products. Net profit for the quarter totaled 93.92 trillion won, compared with 40.35 trillion won in the January-March period. The company said it expects structural growth in AI memory demand to continue as major technology companies expand investments in AI infrastructure. It added that it has completed long-term supply agreement negotiations with around 10 customers, including key clients, while continuing discussions with other major customers to secure stable medium- to long-term supply. SK hynix said it began mass shipments of its HBM4 products in the second quarter and plans to ramp up production in the second half of the year. It also said HBM4E samples have already been supplied to customers and were developed using an optimized process designed for mass production. The company said it would continue to strengthen production capacity while maintaining capital expenditure discipline, accelerating the ramp-up of its M15X fab and preparing to expand production at its first Yongin fab after the cleanroom opens in early 2027. SK hynix has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the global AI spending boom, strengthening its position in the High Bandwidth Memory market by supplying advanced HBM chips to major AI chipmakers, including Nvidia. The earnings come as investors closely watch whether the AI investment cycle can sustain record demand for advanced memory chips and whether the company can maintain its technology leadership as competition intensifies with Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology. 2026-07-29 08:23:46
  • CXMT rise signals a new kind of challenge to Koreas memory giants
    CXMT rise signals a new kind of challenge to Korea's memory giants SEOUL, July 28 (AJP) - China's first publicly traded memory chipmaker hardly poses an immediate threat to Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and Micron Technology at the technological frontier. But ChangXin Memory Technologies' (CXMT) record-breaking stock market debut suggests something potentially more disruptive: Beijing's familiar playbook of localizing production, achieving scale and then moving up the technology ladder may finally be reaching the last major semiconductor segment still controlled by a decades-old three-company oligopoly. The DRAM industry has effectively been a closed club since Japan's Elpida Memory went bankrupt and was acquired by Micron in 2013. Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and Micron together account for roughly 90 percent of global DRAM production, while enormous capital requirements have discouraged new entrants. Building an advanced memory fabrication plant now costs tens of billions of dollars, with leading-edge facilities requiring investments exceeding $30 billion. Against that backdrop, CXMT's spectacular Shanghai debut on Monday stood out less for the money it raised than for what that capital could enable. Shares surged nearly 466 percent on their first trading day, valuing the company at nearly 3.3 trillion yuan while raising 57.9 billion yuan ($8.6 billion) in Asia's largest IPO this year. The listing provides CXMT with substantial resources to expand manufacturing capacity and invest in next-generation memory technologies, while demonstrating that China's semiconductor ambitions are increasingly attracting market capital rather than relying solely on state funding. "The immediate impact is not HBM but conventional DRAM," said Lee Jong-hwan, professor of system semiconductor engineering at Sangmyung University. "The additional capital allows CXMT to expand DRAM production, increasing overall supply. That could eventually put pressure on Samsung Electronics and SK hynix by weakening pricing power in the broader memory market." Lee said China is expected to continue directing massive resources toward memory chips because AI semiconductors have become strategically important for both economic competitiveness and national security. A different challenger from previous Chinese entrants What makes CXMT different from earlier Chinese semiconductor challengers is not that it has closed the technology gap with the industry leaders. It has not. Rather, it has reached a manufacturing scale where volume itself is becoming a competitive advantage. Industry estimates by SemiAnalysis project CXMT's wafer capacity to rise from roughly 265,000 wafer starts per month (wspm) this year to around 350,000 by the end of 2026—approaching Micron's estimated 385,000 wspm. By 2028, the Chinese company could reach about 500,000 wspm, equivalent to roughly 17 percent of global DRAM supply. If realized, CXMT would become the first Chinese memory producer capable of emerging as a meaningful fourth player in a market that has remained largely unchanged for more than a decade. Yet investors may be looking in the wrong place. The immediate threat is not that CXMT is about to catch Samsung Electronics or SK hynix in high-bandwidth memory. Rather, China is becoming large enough in conventional DRAM to reshape the industry's supply-demand balance long before it reaches the technological frontier. That realization rippled through Seoul's stock market on Tuesday. Shares of SK hynix plunged 14 percent to close at 1,561,000 won, nearly half their peak level from around a month earlier. Samsung Electronics also fell 13 percent to 222,000 won, leaving the stock down 41 percent from its June 19 high of 374,500 won. The selloff reflected growing concern that Beijing no longer needs to win the AI memory race immediately. A scaled-up CXMT could erode pricing power in the mainstream DRAM market that still generates much of the industry's cash flow, even if Korean companies continue dominating premium AI memory. Winning the market the Big Three deprioritized Rather than attempting to leap directly into HBM, CXMT has concentrated on DDR5 and LPDDR5X memory used in smartphones, PCs, laptops and mainstream servers. The AI boom has unexpectedly worked in China's favor. As Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and Micron redirected engineering resources and production capacity toward higher-margin HBM products for Nvidia and other AI customers, supply of conventional DRAM tightened. CXMT moved aggressively to fill that gap among Chinese smartphone makers, PC manufacturers and server vendors seeking domestically produced memory. Despite production costs estimated to remain more than 30 percent higher than those of the established leaders, elevated DDR5 prices have reportedly allowed CXMT to generate healthy margins while steadily expanding market share. Industry estimates suggest its global DRAM share has doubled to roughly 8 percent over the past year and could continue rising as new capacity comes online. Yet the comparison with Micron comes with an important caveat. Capacity alone does not determine competitiveness. The industry's fastest-growing profit pool is no longer commodity DRAM but high-bandwidth memory, the advanced stacked memory used in Nvidia's AI accelerators and other AI processors. On that front, CXMT remains well behind. Lee estimated China's technology gap at roughly one to two years in conventional DRAM but around three years in HBM. "China's strategy is to first strengthen its position in mainstream DRAM and then move into high-end HBM," Lee said. "As its competitiveness in DRAM improves, that also strengthens the technological foundation for HBM because HBM itself is built on stacked DRAM." The approach mirrors China's broader industrial playbook: localize production, achieve manufacturing scale, improve yields and then move up the value chain. That differs from earlier Chinese semiconductor ventures, many of which sought to narrow the technology gap before building enough scale to influence global pricing. Building the missing pieces Another development attracting industry attention is China's reported progress in domestic deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography systems, a critical step toward reducing dependence on foreign semiconductor equipment. Lee said DUV cannot replace the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines supplied by ASML that remain essential for the world's most advanced process nodes. However, developing indigenous DUV equipment still represents a significant milestone because lithography remains the foundation of semiconductor manufacturing. "Developing DUV equipment demonstrates that China is steadily building its own semiconductor technology base," Lee said. "Although EUV remains far more difficult, achieving DUV is meaningful because it lays the groundwork for future advances." He cautioned, however, that manufacturing equipment alone will not determine competitiveness. "The biggest challenge is achieving stable mass production and high manufacturing yields," Lee said. "Yield is what ultimately determines a semiconductor company's competitiveness. China is investing aggressively, but reaching that stage still takes time." He added that sustained investment by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix will be critical to maintaining their technological lead as Chinese competitors continue narrowing the gap. For Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, the lesson may be that the competitive landscape is changing in a different way than many anticipated. China is unlikely to overtake the Korean leaders in HBM anytime soon. But CXMT does not need to win the AI memory race immediately to alter the industry's competitive dynamics. If Beijing succeeds in building a fourth scaled DRAM producer, the world's last major three-player semiconductor oligopoly could gradually give way to a more competitive market—one where Korean companies remain at the technological frontier but enjoy far less pricing power in the mainstream memory business that still underpins the industry's profitability. The real question is no longer whether China can build a credible DRAM champion. It is whether Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and Micron can preserve the pricing discipline that has defined the memory industry for more than a decade once that champion reaches global scale. 2026-07-28 16:31:47
  • Chinas CXMT armed with $8.6 billion war chest to chase Korean DRAM giants
    China's CXMT armed with $8.6 billion war chest to chase Korean DRAM giants SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) - China's spectacular stock market debut of memory chipmaker CXMT Corp. on Monday handed the country's DRAM champion an $8.6 billion war chest to accelerate its pursuit of South Korea's Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, highlighting Beijing's determination to build a self-sufficient semiconductor industry despite U.S. technology restrictions. Shares of CXMT, China's largest dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) producer, surged 465.9 percent from their initial public offering price of 8.66 yuan to close at 49.01 yuan, valuing the company at roughly 3.28 trillion yuan ($484 billion) after one of the strongest market debuts in mainland history. The company raised 57.9 billion yuan ($8.6 billion) in Asia's largest IPO this year and the biggest-ever listing by a mainland semiconductor company. The proceeds could increase to 66.6 billion yuan if the overallotment option is fully exercised. The blockbuster listing marks another milestone in China's years-long drive to reduce its dependence on foreign chipmakers after successive rounds of U.S. export controls forced Beijing to cultivate domestic alternatives. For South Korea, however, the significance lies less in the first-day share price than in what the IPO finances. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, together with Micron Technology, have long controlled the global DRAM market. Yet CXMT has steadily expanded from a marginal domestic supplier into China's flagship memory manufacturer. According to its IPO prospectus, CXMT commanded 7.67 percent of the global DRAM market by the end of 2025, rising to around 8 percent by March this year. The fresh capital will be directed toward expanding production of DDR5 memory and eventually high-bandwidth memory (HBM), the premium chips powering artificial intelligence accelerators. The company currently manufactures DDR4, DDR5 and low-power DRAM used in smartphones, personal computers, servers and automobiles. While still absent from the leading edge of AI memory, its growing presence in mainstream DRAM increasingly threatens Korean suppliers in China's domestic market, where local sourcing has become a strategic priority. The rapid rise has also drawn growing scrutiny in Washington. U.S. lawmakers have warned that global electronics manufacturers could increasingly qualify CXMT's memory chips as an alternative supply source amid persistent semiconductor shortages. Congressional committees have urged federal agencies to tighten restrictions on procurement of memory products from heavily state-backed Chinese manufacturers, although the U.S. Commerce Department has so far stopped short of placing CXMT on its Entity List. Financially, the company is expanding at an extraordinary pace. According to its prospectus, CXMT expects first-half revenue to jump more than sevenfold from a year earlier to 110 billion-120 billion yuan, while net profit is forecast at 66 billion-75 billion yuan, reversing a loss a year earlier. The IPO gives CXMT the financial capacity to sustain heavy investment in advanced process technologies despite continued restrictions on access to cutting-edge semiconductor equipment. The technology gap, however, remains wide. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix continue to dominate the lucrative HBM market supplying Nvidia and other AI chipmakers, while export controls continue to limit China's access to the most advanced lithography tools needed for next-generation memory manufacturing. For now, CXMT remains primarily a challenger in conventional DRAM rather than AI memory. But Monday's blockbuster debut suggests China's memory ambitions are entering a new phase. The country's challenge is no longer driven solely by state subsidies and industrial policy. It is increasingly backed by public capital markets capable of funding years of capacity expansion and technology development. With only 6.73 percent of CXMT's enlarged share capital available for trading, the limited free float magnified Monday's share-price surge. The more enduring impact may be the billions of dollars now available to finance China's long-term effort to narrow the technological gap with the world's two dominant Korean memory makers. 2026-07-27 17:04:20
  • SK hynix Q2 to show how much its all-in AI bet is paying off
    SK hynix Q2 to show how much its all-in AI bet is paying off SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) - China's rising chip darling and IPO blockbuster CXMT may be catching up fast, while local archrival Samsung Electronics bristles at the comparison. But in the AI memory race, this year still belongs to SK hynix. The headline numbers may no longer surprise investors when SK hynix reports second-quarter earnings on Wednesday, even though operating profit is expected to nearly double its previous quarterly record and exceed the company's entire profit for 2025. The earnings surge has become almost predictable. Demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM), AI-oriented DRAM and enterprise solid-state drives continued to accelerate throughout the second quarter, as reflected in the strong results reported across the AI semiconductor supply chain. Yet SK hynix's success cannot be explained by HBM alone. While HBM has become the defining product of the AI era, analysts say the company made a broader strategic decision that fundamentally altered the economics of the memory industry: it redirected manufacturing capacity toward AI memory rather than expanding production evenly across all products. HBM requires substantially more wafer capacity, advanced packaging and production time than conventional DRAM. As SK hynix increasingly prioritized HBM, less production capacity remained for commodity memory. That decision rippled across the market. With supply of conventional DRAM tightening, prices strengthened even outside the AI segment. Instead of merely benefiting from booming HBM demand, SK hynix effectively tightened supply across the broader memory market, lifting profitability in both premium and commodity products. According to Mirae Asset Securities, continued expansion of HBM production is expected to further constrain conventional memory supply, supporting prices across the industry. The result has been a virtuous cycle. Higher HBM demand has boosted margins directly, while tighter supply has improved profitability in conventional DRAM. NAND has also joined the recovery as AI data-center construction fueled demand for enterprise SSDs, allowing SK hynix's two major memory businesses to recover simultaneously. Mirae Asset projects SK hynix's average DRAM selling price to rise 161.4 percent this year, while NAND prices are forecast to jump 222.2 percent. The brokerage expects operating margins to approach 77 percent and operating profit to continue climbing next year despite increased capital spending, supported by sustained AI infrastructure investment. Another powerful tailwind remains hyperscale AI infrastructure. The world's largest cloud providers continue to accelerate capital spending, reinforcing expectations that demand for premium memory will remain elevated. Mirae Asset estimates combined order backlogs among major hyperscalers reached roughly $2.1 trillion in the first quarter, with contracts scheduled for delivery within two years growing even faster than overall orders. SK hynix's close relationship with Nvidia has further strengthened its competitive position. The company remains the leading supplier of HBM for Nvidia's AI accelerators and last week expanded cooperation with the U.S. chip designer through joint development of next-generation HBM and AI infrastructure technologies. The move reinforced expectations for HBM4 demand as Nvidia prepares its Rubin platform. The AI strategy has also shaped investment decisions beyond DRAM. Earlier this month, SK hynix chose to retain its stake in Japanese NAND maker Kioxia rather than monetize the investment, signaling management's conviction that enterprise storage will become another core pillar of AI infrastructure alongside HBM. The comparison with Samsung Electronics and CXMT therefore misses a larger story. SK hynix did not simply build a lead in one premium product category. It made an early strategic bet that AI would redefine memory demand and reorganized its production capacity, capital spending and partnerships around that conviction. In doing so, it helped reshape pricing dynamics across the entire memory market. Investors are therefore likely to focus less on whether SK hynix delivers another record quarter than on whether management believes the AI-driven transformation of the memory industry still has room to run. Samsung Electronics and Micron are accelerating their next-generation HBM roadmaps, while CXMT's rapid ascent has revived concerns over Chinese competition in conventional memory. Yet analysts say the more important question is whether SK hynix can preserve the structural advantage created by its early AI strategy. For now, the company has demonstrated that the biggest winner in AI memory is not necessarily the company selling the most HBM, but the one that understood earliest how AI would reshape the economics of the entire memory industry. 2026-07-27 15:43:00
  • SK hynix tops Samsung as students employer of choice
    SK hynix tops Samsung as students' employer of choice SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) - SK hynix has retained its position as the company South Korean university students most want to work for, outpacing Samsung Electronics for a second straight year as the memory chipmaker continues to benefit from strong demand for AI semiconductors. The chipmaker ranked first with 14.2 percent of respondents in a survey of 1,811 university students conducted by recruitment platform Incruit. Samsung Electronics followed with 8.0 percent, while CJ Olive Young, Naver and Samsung Biologics rounded out the top five. The survey covered 150 major companies, including affiliates of South Korea's 20 largest business groups and listed firms with large market capitalizations. Among respondents who selected SK hynix, 57.0 percet cited its compensation and rewards system as the primary reason, followed by company reputation and opportunities for professional growth. Samsung Electronics also ranked highest for its compensation and benefits, with 37.2 percent of respondents choosing the company for that reason. CJ Olive Young ranked third with 6.6 percent, followed by Naver at 5.1 percent, Samsung Biologics at 3.6 percent, CJ ENM at 2.7 percent, Hyundai Motor at 2.6 percent, Kakao at 2.0 percent, CJ CheilJedang at 1.8 percent and Samsung C&T at 1.7 percent. 2026-07-27 10:45:49
  • LG Elec wins Nvidia nod, eyes bigger role in AI data centers
    LG Elec wins Nvidia nod, eyes bigger role in AI data centers SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) - LG Electronics has cleared a key hurdle in its AI infrastructure push after receiving Nvidia's qualification for its coolant distribution unit (CDU), the company said Monday. The CDU is a liquid-cooling system designed to circulate coolant through cold plates attached to GPUs and CPUs, removing heat generated by high-performance AI servers. The system is designed to complement conventional air-cooling infrastructure as power density in AI server racks continues to increase. LG said the certified system supports temperature control within ±0.25 degrees Celsius, leak detection and redundant operation designed to maintain cooling during equipment failures. The qualification allows the CDU to be deployed with Nvidia-based AI server racks widely used in hyperscale data centers. The company plans to seek Nvidia qualification for higher-capacity CDU models, including 1-megawatt (MW), 2.5-MW and 4-MW systems, as demand for larger AI data centers grows. LG is also expanding its data center thermal management portfolio to include chillers, CDUs and direct-to-chip cold plates. The company said it is pursuing supply opportunities for AI data center projects, including facilities being developed by affiliate LG CNS. 2026-07-27 10:23:21
  • Samsung opens Galaxy Z8 preorders as record Fold7 demand sets high bar
    Samsung opens Galaxy Z8 preorders as record Fold7 demand sets high bar SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics will begin taking preorders in South Korea on Tuesday for its latest foldable smartphones, testing whether a broader lineup and storage incentives can sustain demand after last year’s record-breaking launch. Preorders for the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold8 and Galaxy Z Flip8 will run from July 28 through Aug. 3, Samsung said Monday. Customers can receive and activate the devices from Aug. 4, ahead of their official domestic release on Aug. 7. The launch faces a high comparison base. Samsung sold 1.04 million Galaxy Z Fold7 and Flip7 devices during their weeklong domestic preorder period last year, the highest tally for any Galaxy foldable generation. That exceeded the 1.02 million units recorded by the Fold5 and Flip5 in 2023 and the 910,000 units booked by the Fold6 and Flip6 in 2024. The Fold7 accounted for 60 percent of last year’s Korean preorders, overtaking the Flip model for the first time since Samsung introduced its foldable lineup in 2019. The result represented a sharp shift from the previous generation, when the Fold’s share stood at about 40 percent. Whether Samsung can repeat that performance will be closely watched as the company raises prices and expands its lineup to three models. The Fold8 Ultra starts at 2.58 million won ($1,860) in South Korea, while the standard Fold8 begins at 2.28 million won and the Flip8 at 1.68 million won. Samsung is also facing intensifying competition from Chinese manufacturers and Apple’s expected entry into the foldable market. Counterpoint Research projects global foldable smartphone shipments will increase 21 percent in 2026, with Samsung expected to retain the largest share. To stimulate early demand, Samsung will offer buyers of 256-gigabyte models a free upgrade to 512GB. Customers purchasing 512GB versions of the Fold8 Ultra or Fold8 can upgrade to the 1-terabyte model for 310,700 won, about half the standard price difference. The company will also extend its device-return subscription program to the new foldables. Customers enrolled in the program can receive up to 50 percent of the original device value when returning the handset after a specified period, depending on the subscription plan and device condition. Samsung will simultaneously open preorders for the Galaxy Watch Ultra2 and Galaxy Watch9. The Watch Ultra2 is priced at 969,100 won, while the Watch9 lineup starts at 499,000 won. Both will also be released domestically on Aug. 7. 2026-07-27 09:41:02
  • Samsung-Broadcom AI pact signals race for long-term chip supply
    Samsung-Broadcom AI pact signals race for long-term chip supply SEOUL, July 26 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics' sweeping five-year semiconductor partnership with Broadcom underscores a structural shift in the AI era, as leading technology companies increasingly lock in long-term chip supplies rather than rely on the notoriously volatile memory market. The memorandum of understanding, unveiled during the AI Summit in San Francisco on Friday, extends Samsung and Broadcom's collaboration through 2030 across high-bandwidth memory (HBM), advanced 2-nanometer foundry manufacturing and cutting-edge chip packaging. Samsung said the agreement is expected to generate more than $200 billion in business over the next five years. The deal reflects intensifying competition among AI chipmakers and cloud providers to secure critical semiconductor capacity years in advance as demand for AI infrastructure continues to outstrip supply. The trend was highlighted earlier this month when U.S. memory maker Micron Technology told investors that customers were increasingly signing strategic long-term agreements for AI memory products. During its latest earnings conference call, Micron said it had secured 16 long-term supply agreements worth roughly $22 billion, with much of its HBM capacity already committed years ahead. Such agreements represent a sharp departure from the traditional semiconductor business, where memory chips have long been treated as commodities subject to violent price swings driven by oversupply and inventory corrections. AI infrastructure investment is instead encouraging hyperscalers and chip designers to reserve capacity well before products enter mass production. Under the Samsung-Broadcom agreement, Samsung will supply HBM for Broadcom's next-generation AI accelerators while expanding foundry cooperation to its leading-edge 2-nanometer process. The companies will also jointly develop advanced packaging technologies, including 2.3D and 2.5D integration, designed to improve the performance and energy efficiency of AI processors and networking chips. The partnership also covers Broadcom's Wireless Broadband Communications business. While Samsung and Broadcom have collaborated for years, the latest agreement consolidates memory, advanced manufacturing and packaging into a single long-term framework as AI chip design becomes increasingly integrated. For Samsung, the agreement represents more than another HBM customer. It strengthens the company's effort to distinguish itself from rivals by offering what few semiconductor companies can: memory, advanced foundry manufacturing and advanced packaging under one roof. That integrated approach has become increasingly valuable as AI processors evolve into complex multi-chip systems requiring close coordination between memory, logic chips and packaging technologies. Broadcom, one of the world's largest fabless semiconductor designers, has emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI investment boom through its custom AI accelerators and networking chips deployed by hyperscale cloud operators. The collaboration could also provide momentum for Samsung's foundry business as it seeks to expand its advanced manufacturing customer base against industry leader Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. While TSMC dominates contract chip production, it does not manufacture memory chips. Conversely, memory leaders such as SK hynix lack advanced foundry capabilities. Samsung remains one of the few companies capable of producing HBM, manufacturing advanced logic chips and packaging them into integrated AI systems, allowing customers to source multiple stages of semiconductor production from a single supplier. "As AI infrastructure continues to scale, close collaboration across the semiconductor ecosystem becomes increasingly important," Charlie Kawwas, president of Broadcom's Semiconductor Solutions Group, said. "By combining Samsung's memory and foundry expertise with Broadcom's AI and connectivity leadership, we aim to continue to deliver technologies that power the next generation of AI infrastructure." 2026-07-26 17:13:57
  • Samsung union weighs voluntary donation of bonus to social causes
    Samsung union weighs voluntary donation of bonus to social causes SEOUL, July 23 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics' largest labor union is considering a voluntary program allowing employees to donate a portion of their special performance bonuses to social causes, according to an internal union notice. The Samsung Group Super Enterprise Labor Union said the proposal, which was recently shared with its policy committee, is expected to be announced alongside guidance on special bonuses in the third or fourth quarter. Under the proposal, employees in the Device Solutions (DS) semiconductor division could choose to contribute between 0 percent and 1 percent of their special performance bonus. Participation would be entirely voluntary, with no upper limit on donations, the union said. The notice said the initiative is intended to address public criticism over large bonus payouts while supporting shareholder-friendly policies. Union executives and policy committee representatives also plan to participate in the program. The proposal follows discussions that began in June on encouraging employees to voluntarily donate part of their bonuses after Samsung agreed to a special performance bonus package with labor unions. The union said the timing and details of the program have yet to be finalized and would be announced once discussions are completed. 2026-07-23 16:30:40
  • Samsungs 8-year-old foldables evolve for every need
    Samsung's 8-year-old foldables evolve for every need SEOUL, July 23 (AJP) - Foldables in their eighth generation have come of age, arriving in different shapes and forms tailored to different user needs with the artificial intelligence at the center of the experience, according to Samsung Electronics, the pioneer of foldable smartphones. At a media briefing held in central Seoul on Thursday, a day after Galaxy Unpacked in London, executives from the company's Mobile eXperience (MX) division walked journalists through the newly unveiled Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, Fold8 and Flip8, explaining the thinking behind Samsung's first three-tier foldable lineup. Rather than presenting foldables as a single category, Samsung said it had redesigned the lineup around different user needs: the Fold8 Ultra for productivity-focused professionals, the Fold8 for immersive content consumption and multitasking, and the Flip8 for users seeking portability and self-expression. "Ultra represents our determination not to compromise on anything," Kim Jae-hyuk, a product planning manager in Samsung's smartphone business, told reporters. He said the Fold8 Ultra combines Samsung's highest-end camera system, premium hardware and productivity features in its foldable lineup for the first time. Artificial intelligence has become the central design principle behind the new devices, he said. The new Galaxy foldables are designed to understand user context, proactively suggest actions and reduce the number of steps needed to complete tasks through Gemini-powered agentic AI. Features such as automatic multi-window suggestions, contextual notifications and AI-assisted note organization were highlighted during live demonstrations. Gemini Notebook combines documents, images, voice recordings and notes into a single workspace capable of generating summaries, reports and infographics, positioning the feature as a productivity tool for professionals handling large volumes of information. Samsung said AI experiences across the new foldable lineup will extend beyond smartphones to Galaxy Watch devices and the company's newly announced AI-powered smart glasses, expanding the Galaxy ecosystem around context-aware AI. Display technology remains another defining feature of the foldable family in its eighth generation. "Flex Titanium" is a new titanium-based display support structure designed to reduce visible creases while improving rigidity without adding weight. The devices also feature a peak brightness of 3,000 nits and a new anti-reflective layer to improve outdoor visibility. Preorders for the new Galaxy devices opened Thursday. Samsung Electronics shares were up 2.98 percent at 268,250 won as of 1 p.m. in Seoul. 2026-07-23 14:21:14