SoftBank stakes $4B on securing AI data center power and capacity — DigitalBridge purchase indicative of AI industry’s increasing investments in energy supply

SoftBank has agreed to acquire DigitalBridge in a deal valuing the digital infrastructure investor at roughly $4 billion, including debt.
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U.S. grants Samsung and SK hynix 2026 licenses for chipmaking tool shipments to China — annual approvals replace dated waiver system

The U.S. government has approved annual export licenses allowing Samsung Electronics and SK hynix to ship chipmaking equipment to their manufacturing facilities in China throughout 2026.
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Chinese firms Bytedance and Tencent reportedly offer massive 150% pay increases and 35% bonuses to entice AI talent — salaries and increases also expected to balloon in 2026

Tech companies are spending more on AI-focused employees even as the rest of the industry is laying off hundreds of thousands.
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100,000-Watt Iron Beam laser becomes world’s first drone defense zapper to be operationally deployed — it can also shoot down rockets, mortars, and other aerial threats

The first Iron Beam laser defense system was deployed by Israel on Sunday. This 100kW laser weapon thus became the world’s first drone defense zapper to be operationally deployed.
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China tells chipmakers to use homegrown chipmaking tools for 50% of new capacity — decree designed to squeeze foreign suppliers out of supply chain

China has quietly mandated that at least 50% of equipment used for new semiconductor capacity be domestically sourced. However, as China’s industry cannot produce enough lithography tools, authorities tend to get flexible …

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TSMC begins quietly volume production of 2nm-class chips — first GAA transistor for TSMC claims up to 15% improvement at ISO power

TSMC has quietly begun volume production of its 2nm-class N2 process in Q4 2025 as planned, marking the company’s first GAA nanosheet node that will be ramping production at two new fabs to meet strong demand from various …

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TSMC’s average wafer prices increased by over 15% each year since 2019, report suggests — gross profit margins increase by 3.3x in 2025 alone, facing no real challengers

EUV lithography era in chipmaking began in 2019 and there are no signs that this is going to stop as process technologies are getting more complex. However, there are fundamental reasons why TSMC’s quotes are rising quicke…

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Nvidia gives Intel a lifeline with $5 billion common stock deal — September deal gets FTC approval for more than 217.4 million Intel shares at $23.28 per share

Intel has officially sold over 217 million of its common stock to Nvidia in a historic equity investment worth $5 billion. The stake was originally announced in September, after the U.S. government had invested its own $8….

Nvidia’s $20 billion Groq IP deal bolsters AI market domination — hardware stack and key engineer behind Google TPUs included in bombshell agreement

Nvidia has announced a $20 billion deal to acquire Groq’s intellectual property, though not the company itself, and absorb key members of its engineering team.
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IDC warns PC market could shrink up to 9% in 2026 due to skyrocketing RAM pricing — even moderate forecast hits 5% drop as AI-driven shortages slam into PC market

An IDC report revises earlier guidance, warning of a shrink in the PC market that could approach 9%.