The 2025 Future Innovation Tech Expo, or FIX 2025, closed late last month after drawing more than 115,000 visitors to the EXCO convention center in Daegu. The event spotlighted South Korea’s ambitions in artificial intelligence, robotics, and future mobility. South Korea’s President Lee Jae-Myung made a surprise visit on the event’s third day, energizing participants and underscoring his administration’s push to make the country a global AI powerhouse.

Snapchat has announced a one-year, US$400 million agreement with AI search startup Perplexity to integrate its AI search engine into Snapchat’s chat functionality. The partnership aims to boost advertising and subscription growth, enhance user experience, and compete with social platforms like TikTok and Meta.

The 10th edition of the Materials Industry Forum kicked off on November 7 in Taiwan under the theme “A Single Tree Cannot Make a Forest: Taiwan’s Rising Materials Industry.”

China is using the escalating Nexperia dispute to showcase a new, flexible export strategy that mixes hardline control with selective exemptions. As the Dutch government’s takeover of the chipmaker triggered factory shutdowns in China, Beijing countered with both sanctions and relief measures, proving it can retaliate while also managing the global supply chain.