US President Donald Trump’s new tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China escalate global trade tensions, potentially extending to the EU. India, not yet targeted, stands to benefit as it attracts companies diversifying from US-China trade uncertainties.
Apple’s grand vision for CarPlay 2.0, unveiled at WWDC 2022, aimed to dominate vehicle interfaces by integrating across multiple screens and controlling key functions—potentially sidelining traditional dashboards. The announcement rattled the auto industry, sparking fears that CarPlay could become a Trojan horse, encroaching on automakers’ turf. At the time, 98% of new US vehicles supported CarPlay, and nearly 80% of buyers preferred it.
The merger negotiations between Honda and Nissan are facing a potential breakdown. According to Japanese news outlets, Honda proposed making Nissan a subsidiary before February 1, 2025, but Nissan strongly opposed this move as it would result in a loss of operational control, raising concerns that the merger talks could ultimately fail.
Samsung Electronics Chairperson Jae-Yong Lee, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and SoftBank Group Chairperson Masayoshi Son met to discuss the Stargate Project, AI collaborations, and mobile technology strategies.
Luxury automaker Porsche announced the potential early termination of CFO Lutz Meschke and sales executive Detlev von Platen. Industry sources indicate that Oliver Blume, CEO of both Volkswagen Group and Porsche, may be asked to relinquish one of his positions in the future.
Tesla’s fourth quarter of 2024 earnings fell short of expectations, but CEO Elon Musk remains bullish on three key initiatives: budget EVs, commercial robotaxis, and humanoid robots. Industry analysts express concern, warning that execution challenges could undermine Tesla’s momentum in 2025.
AI-powered applications reshaped the electronics manufacturing landscape in 2024, driving a resurgence for Taiwan’s leading IC substrate makers. Unimicron, Kinsus, and Zhen Ding Tech (ZDT) posted double-digit revenue growth, while Nan Ya PCB struggled amid sluggish demand for networking and consumer electronics (CE).
The global foundry industry concluded 2024 with a remarkable 22% growth compared to the previous year, marking a strong recovery and expansion phase after 2023. This growth was primarily driven by surging demand for leading-edge nodes, propelled by the rapid adoption of AI applications in data centers and edge computing, according to Counterpoint Research.
On February 4, 2025, Chinese regulators revived their antitrust investigation into Google, following a similar probe into Nvidia announced in December 2024. The move came after Washington imposed tighter restrictions on Nvidia’s advanced chips, limiting Beijing’s access to critical AI hardware. The regulators had previously signaled concerns over Nvidia’s market dominance in the country’s semiconductor sector.