Through the 1980s, Japan pushed the United States — the birthplace and longtime leader of the semiconductor industry — out of the world memory chip market, and the damage ran deep enough that Intel gave up DRAM, the short-term memory that holds a computer's working data. American chipmakers came to believe Japan could not be beaten in memory chips, and Washington and the industry began looking for ways to counter it. Two questions followed: how to contain Japan, and where to find a viable challenger to it. The country that emerged as a memory chip powerhouse in the 1990s was Korea, and Intel had a hand in how Korea overtook Japan to dominate the world market. Chip business nearly dropped "Hey, drop it." Samsung Group founder Lee Byung-chul shook his head in disbelief while he sat through a report on the semiconductor company his son had bought. The son was Lee Kun-hee, former Samsung chairman. Lee, then a director at Samsung's broadcasting branch TBC, had acquired Hankook Semiconductor in 1974 after the chipmaker went bankrupt due to financial strain. Hankook Semiconductor, an early Ko
Read full articleGlobal construction giant Hyundai Engineering & Construction (E&C) is stepping up its clean-energy push, heading a state-backed project to engineer large-scale green hydrogen facilities capable of generating over 100 megawatts of zero-carbon fuel. Hyundai E&C said Friday that its HMG Construction Research Institute will lead the project, which is being promoted by the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment. The project aims to develop a comprehensive design package covering plant systems, core processes and operating configurations for large-scale hydrogen production, with the goal of bringing the technology to a level suitable for demonstration and commercialization. Hyundai E&C will lead a consortium that includes Hyundai Engineering, Hyundai Motor, Hanwha Global, Korea Midland Power, Mirae Standards Research Institute, Seoul National University and Korea University. Hyundai E&C will be responsible for developing the basic engineering package and conducting an economic feasibility assessment, according to the company. The project will also use artificial intelligence and dynamic si
Hanwha Systems said Friday it has signed a contract with the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) to join, as the private-sector developer, a national system for tracking and predicting collisions among objects in orbit. The deal, signed Sept. 9, makes Hanwha Systems a system developer for the Korean Space Situational Awareness system (K-SSA) — a project under the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA), the country's space agency. Space situational awareness refers to observing and analyzing the position and orbit of objects in space to detect and forecast risks such as collisions or objects falling back to Earth. The company said the number of satellites in low Earth orbit has grown sharply in recent years, raising the risk of collisions between spacecraft and both artificial and natural objects in orbit — from defunct satellites to debris and meteoroids — and adding urgency to efforts to protect national space assets. Under the project, KASI will serve as the lead research institute, setting the mission, operating concept and system requirements for the K-SSA system
Hankook Tire & Technology said it has signed a four-year deal to keep supplying original equipment (OE) tires — tires installed on vehicles at the factory, before they reach dealers — to German trailer manufacturer Schmitz Cargobull, extending a partnership that dates back more than a decade. Under the agreement, which runs from July 2026 through June 2030, Hankook will supply truck and bus radial (TBR) tires for Schmitz Cargobull's new trailers across Europe, the company said. Hankook first began supplying OE tires to Schmitz Cargobull in 2013 and has since expanded the range of products it provides. Schmitz Cargobull, headquartered in Germany, is Europe's largest trailer manufacturer, with production plants across the continent, including in the United Kingdom, Spain, Lithuania, Romania and Turkey. The company makes refrigerated semi-trailers and dump trailers, among other commercial vehicle equipment, and is a major supplier to Europe's logistics industry. The tires supplied under the deal will use Hankook's Smartec platform, its top-tier TBR technology line. Products include the
Hanwha Group’s financial affiliates are expanding ties with Abu Dhabi across digital finance, stablecoins and cross-border payments, as the group seeks to build a broader foothold in the Middle East’s financial center. Hanwha Life Insurance, Hanwha General Insurance, Hanwha Asset Management and Hanwha Investment & Securities signed separate agreements with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), covering digital finance and financial infrastructure. Hanwha Life signed a partnership with ADIO to collaborate on developing digital financial services, strengthening ties between the Korean and Abu Dhabi financial and capital markets and exploring opportunities in digital banking. Hanwha Asset Management, meanwhile, signed a tripartite partnership with ADGM and Hana Financial Group on stablecoins and financial infrastructure to develop cross-border payment and remittance solutions linking Korea and Abu Dhabi. The four financial affiliates also signed a partnership with ADGM for Abu Dhabi Finance Week 2026, building on discussions at last year’s event ab
Coway has launched the Berex Triple Chair 2 Slim, a multifunctional chair that combines the functions of an office chair, recliner and massage chair. The new product reflects growing demand for space-saving furniture as housing costs rise and one- and two-person households become more common, the home appliance maker said. The Triple Chair 2 Slim is 9 percent smaller in volume than the previous model, making it easier to fit into tight spaces. It also features hidden wheels that give the chair a cleaner look while making it easier to move. The chair is designed for people who spend long hours sitting, such as those working from home or studying. The massage balls are tucked inside the backrest when the massage function is not in use, reducing pressure on the back. The head cushion supports the head and neck, while the seat height can be adjusted by up to 5 centimeters to suit different body types. The backrest can be reclined from 110 degrees for working to 150 degrees for relaxing. Users can also adjust the backrest and leg rest separately for a more comfortable position. The chair also f
There was no grand concept behind Rhythm Rat Rampage. Basika Games had no elaborate pitch for a rhythm game that would eventually combine music, bullet-heaven combat, and roguelite systems. It started with a late-night conversation. The Basika Games team started when Amiel Suarez and Miguel Querubin were simply talking about making a rhythm game when
With the rising cost of everyday essentials, from groceries and transportation to household bills, every peso matters more to Filipino consumers. This is why mobile services provider Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) and its value mobile brand TNT are giving subscribers more ways to stretch their budget with the launch of the LiveSmart App, a new
TCL’s Inspiration Habitat at IFA 2026 is designed to look like a home rather than a conventional technology booth. The company placed its televisions, appliances and other devices in living spaces, giving visitors an idea of how they might actually fit together outside an exhibition hall. The TV will always be front and center for
Fears over artificial intelligence's rapid development sent Congress into a tailspin this week, as dozens of lawmakers joined the debate on how to regulate the technology. The frenzy in Washington has included policymakers who have long engaged on the subject and those seizing on the mounting concerns for the first time. In the wake of...
For years, stablecoins have carried a simple promise: move money globally with the speed of the internet, without the cost and delays of traditional banking rails. The harder question has always been whether they can move from crypto-native circles into regulated, everyday payments. Singapore-based dtcpay is betting that the answer lies not in bypassing the […] The post SBI joins dtcpay’s US$25M round to bridge Japan, SEA stablecoin corridors appeared first on e27.
Chinese artificial intelligence models from seven major developers combined generate only about 10 per cent of the revenue reported for OpenAI and Anthropic, even as investor enthusiasm remains intense, according to US-based research firm Rhodium Group. The Chinese AI models earned an estimated US$10.7 billion in annual recurring revenue (ARR) from March to August, a fraction of the more than US$100 billion combined for OpenAI and Anthropic, according to the Rhodium report published on...
Crunchbase’s first-half 2026 numbers looked like an industry-wide win: global venture funding hit US$510 billion, smashing the previous half-year record. Look closer and the picture curdles. OpenAI and Anthropic alone absorbed 43 per cent of every venture dollar deployed on the planet in six months, with Anthropic’s US$65-billion raise alone equal to nearly a third of […] The post Ecosystem Roundup: The AI funding boom has a Southeast Asia-sized blind spot appeared first on e27.