Commentary: Gulf state’s Sovereign Wealth Fund pours into ASEAN, eyeing stake in AI infrastructure supply chains

ASEAN’s AI boom is taking on a dual role as both a “no-man’s land” and an international hub from Singapore’s perspective, while investors from the Middle East and China are also pushing into the region. According to industry sources, ASEAN’s AI industry will be driven not only by local demand, but also by China’s market.

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US-China AI rivalry, part 1: September talks to confront frontier models, IP theft, open-source risks

The US and China are preparing to hold their first official artificial intelligence (AI) dialogue under President Donald Trump, a notable diplomatic milestone after years of escalating technology tensions. Yet the significance of the meeting lies less in whether it produces tangible agreements than in what it reveals about how both countries increasingly view AI: not as another fast-growing industry, but as strategic infrastructure requiring tighter state oversight and national control, according to Reuters.

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Foxconn’s Jun Seki says L4 adoption will be in 80% of new cars by 2040

Foxconn group’s EV strategy chief Jun Seki said on July 21 in Tokyo that Level 4 (L4) and above autonomous driving will likely be installed in 80% of new cars by 2040, and that the rise of self-driving technology will result in fewer automakers building vehicles in-house. Speaking at GDS 2026, he also forecast major cost declines and a structural shift in the auto industry as EVs become more closely aligned with autonomy.

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Nvidia details Vera CPU for agentic AI workloads

Nvidia has outlined the design of its Vera CPU, positioning the chip for agentic AI systems that rely heavily on the processor for code execution, tool calls, retrieval, and data handling. The company said the architecture is intended to improve responsiveness, throughput, and latency consistency for developers and operators worldwide as AI infrastructure becomes more CPU-dependent.

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Albany NanoTech Complex acquires ASML High NA EUV tools for chip research

Parts of ASML’s next-generation high numerical aperture (High NA) extreme ultraviolet (EUV) machine have arrived in New York state, where they will be used for chipmaking R&D. State officials tout this as an important step in establishing a US-based research center for cutting-edge lithography as chip miniaturization begins to reach the limits of Moore’s Law.

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Samsung’s next Galaxy phones may deepen Qualcomm reliance, underscoring the limits of Exynos revival

Samsung Electronics is expected to rely heavily on Qualcomm chips in its next Galaxy phones, according to market reports, a sign that the company is still prioritizing flagship performance and AI features over wider use of its in-house Exynos processors. The expected shift comes as memory prices rise and pressure builds on smartphone costs.

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