Viettel Begins Construction of Vietnam’s First Semiconductor Fabrication Plant Vietnam’s military-owned telecom giant Viettel has broken ground on the country’s first semiconductor fabrication plant, marking a significant step in its ambition to build a self-sufficient chip manufacturing ecosystem. Trial production at the facility is expected to begin by late 2027, according to a company statement issued on Friday. Building Vietnam’s Chipmaking Capability The 27-hectare plant is being built in the Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park, on the outskirts of Hanoi. Viettel said the site will complete construction and technology transfer by the end of next year, followed by a trial operation…
Author: Aishwarya Parikh
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Trump Faces Backlash over Decision Allowing Nvidia to Sell Advanced AI Chips to China U.S. lawmakers and former officials voiced strong opposition on Wednesday to President Donald Trump’s decision permitting Nvidia to sell its advanced H200 artificial intelligence chips to China. Critics argue that the move undermines America’s technological advantage and risks bolstering Beijing’s military capabilities. The Trump administration formally authorised the exports on Tuesday, allowing shipments of the H200 — Nvidia’s second most powerful AI processor — under a new rule designed to regulate such sales. The decision has alarmed national security experts who say it runs counter to…
Trump Imposes 25% Tariff on Advanced AI Chips to Boost U.S. Semiconductor Production U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed a 25% tariff on specific high-performance AI chips, including Nvidia’s H200 processor and AMD’s MI325X semiconductor. The move, announced on Wednesday under a new national security order, forms part of a wider strategy to strengthen domestic semiconductor production and reduce dependence on overseas suppliers, particularly in Taiwan. The decision follows a nine-month investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. It targets a defined group of advanced semiconductors that meet strict performance standards, as well as devices containing…
Scientists Unlock New Insights into Healthy Ageing Through Stem Cell Research A new study from the Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), Pune, offers fresh insight into how tissues age and lose their regenerative ability. The findings suggest that ageing may begin not within the stem cells themselves, but in the surrounding “neighbourhood” of support cells that nurture and maintain them. This discovery opens up new possibilities for understanding and promoting healthy ageing. Support Cells: The Hidden Key to Regeneration Researchers from ARI, an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), investigated the ovaries of the fruit fly Drosophila…
U.S. Drops Plan to Restrict Chinese Drones Imports Amid Security Debate The U.S. Commerce Department has withdrawn a proposal that would have imposed new restrictions on Chinese-made drones, citing national security concerns. The decision marks a pause in Washington’s broader campaign to tighten controls on technology imports from China. Commerce Pulls Back After White House Review The Commerce Department initially announced in September that it intended to issue rules limiting or potentially banning Chinese drone imports due to risks linked to information and communication technology supply chains. The proposal was sent to the White House for review on 8 October…
Arc Sport EV Boat Brings Silent Power to the Water Carving effortlessly across Lake Mead, just 30 minutes from Las Vegas, the Arc Sport EV boat offers a clean, quiet vision of the future of water sports. Developed by California-based startup Arc, the all-electric wake sport vessel embodies a bold commitment to eliminating noise, fumes, and emissions from boating. Electrifying the Water “We are on a mission to electrify everything on the water,” said Arc co-founder and CEO Mitch Lee. His team, composed largely of former Tesla and Rivian engineers, has designed the 23-foot Arc Sport EV to combine Silicon…
GameStop Ties CEO Ryan Cohen’s Pay to Ambitious $100 Billion Market Value Goal GameStop has announced a new compensation plan for its Chief Executive Officer, Ryan Cohen, that links his potential earnings entirely to the company’s future performance. The package challenges Cohen to lift the struggling videogame retailer’s market value from about $9.26 billion to more than $100 billion, while also significantly improving profitability. A High-Stakes, Performance-Based Package Under the plan revealed on Wednesday, Cohen will not receive any fixed pay. This means no base salary, cash bonuses, or guaranteed stock awards. Instead, his entire compensation depends on meeting specific…
Samsung Set to Report 160% Profit Surge as AI Boom Drives Chip Price Rally Samsung Electronics is expected to announce a 160 per cent jump in its fourth-quarter operating profit, fuelled by a global chip shortage and soaring demand for artificial intelligence hardware. Analysts say the rebound marks one of the strongest quarters for the world’s largest memory chip maker since 2018, reflecting how the AI boom has transformed the semiconductor market. Chip Shortage Pushes Profits to Multi-Year High According to LSEG SmartEstimate data compiled from 31 analysts, Samsung’s October–December operating profit is projected at 16.9 trillion won (11.7 billion…
Trump Blocks HieFo’s $3 Million Purchase of Emcore Assets over National Security Concerns U.S. President Donald Trump has prohibited photonics company HieFo Corp’s $3 million acquisition of assets from New Jersey-based aerospace and defence firm Emcore, citing national security concerns linked to China. White House Order Cites Security Threat In an executive order issued by the White House on Friday, Trump said HieFo was “controlled by a citizen of the People’s Republic of China” and that its 2024 acquisition of Emcore’s chip and wafer-fabrication businesses could “impair the national security of the United States.” The president directed HieFo to divest…
Taiwan Files New Indictments Against Tokyo Electron Unit over TSMC Trade Secret Theft Taiwanese prosecutors have filed additional indictments against the Taiwan branch of Japanese chip equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron and three other defendants in a case involving the alleged theft of trade secrets from leading chipmaker TSMC. Expanded Charges Follow Earlier Indictment The latest development builds on charges filed last month, when prosecutors accused Tokyo Electron’s Taiwan subsidiary of breaching the National Security Act and the Trade Secrets Act. The investigation stems from allegations that a former employee unlawfully obtained confidential information from TSMC, the world’s largest contract chip…