China’s Ministry of Commerce recently announced new export restrictions on “battery cathode material preparation technologies,” along with five lithium refining technologies and overseas lithium battery technology transfers. This move effectively tightens China’s control over the lithium battery supply chains in Europe and the US.

Samsung Electronics, once the crown jewel of South Korea’s industrial might, is facing a growing crisis in its semiconductor division. A sharp downturn in high-bandwidth memory sales during the second quarter of 2025, combined with widening losses in its chip foundry operations, has raised serious questions about whether the company is losing its footing in the race to power artificial intelligence.

Eikei chairman Shih-Lin Liu stated that the impact of tariffs and exchange rates has temporarily eased, with customer orders gradually stabilizing. Looking ahead to the second half of 2025, following small-scale deliveries of US-based AI server cooling distribution unit (CDU) boards starting from the second quarter, the company expects a stable surge in orders in the third quarter, potentially driving an operational split of 40% in the first half and 60% in the second half of the year.

Nvidia is preparing to enter a new phase in the memory market by planning to deploy between 600,000 and 800,000 SOCAMM modules in 2025. This initiative positions SOCAMM as a potential successor to high-bandwidth memory (HBM). Although the initial deployment volumes are relatively modest compared to HBM, industry analysts suggest the move could trigger a wider transformation in the memory and substrate sectors.