Why Apple wants Chinese memory it can't use

When Apple raised MacBook and iPad prices by up to 20 percent last month, wiping $263 billion off its market value in a day, it blamed "unsustainable" memory prices. Then it went to Washington to ask permission to buy DRAM from a Chinese company sitting on a Pentagon blacklist. Kim Yang-paeng, a semiconductor researcher at the state-run Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade, does not think Apple actually wants to buy these chips. He thinks it wants to be seen trying. "From the consu

2026-07-09 15:09:19:00

LG says Exaone now finds new materials, picks stocks for clients

LG AI Research put its Exaone model's industrial results on display at the International Conference on Machine Learning in Seoul this week, presenting 14 papers alongside AI-discovered industrial materials, a stock analysis agent and a data generation platform already in commercial use, the company said Wednesday. It is the first time the conference has been held in Korea. ICML, one of the three most prominent global AI and machine learning conferences, runs Monday through Saturday at Coex in so

2026-07-08 13:15:31:00

AI memory crunch pushes Samsung to raise foldable prices again

Samsung Electronics is expected to raise prices across its Galaxy Z8 foldable lineup, with the entry Galaxy Z Flip8 rising about 13 percent over its predecessor, according to leaked pricing from Korean telecom distribution channels reported by local outlet Bloter. It is yet another consumer sign of a memory chip shortage born in the AI boom that is now reshaping the economics of the electronics industry. The Flip8 offers the cleanest read on the increase because it is the only new model with a d

2026-07-06 14:33:54:00

Weeks after Huang visit, Nvidia expands Korea hiring into robotics, HPC

Nearly a month after Jensen Huang said Nvidia had begun hiring for a Korea R&D center, the company’s latest local job postings suggest the US chipmaker is building a more concrete engineering presence around Korea’s core industries. A Korea Herald check of Nvidia’s official careers website found late-June postings covering robotics simulation, high-performance computing and automotive software, areas tied to Korea’s manufacturing, semiconductor and auto sectors. The newest Korea posting seeks a

2026-07-02 13:51:13:00

For UAE tycoon Al Ketbi, mobility's future turns on AI sovereignty

The contest that will shape the next era of mobility is not over who builds the best cars or aircraft, but over who controls the artificial intelligence beneath them, Obaid Al Ketbi told the Future AI Mobility Summit 2026 on Tuesday. Al Ketbi, founder and chairman of Abu Dhabi-based Dr. O Group Holding and a former UAE major general, argued in his keynote at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul that AI, mobility and what he called the "low-altitude economy" are converging into a s

2026-07-01 13:53:50:00

Xiaomi designer says cars are becoming partners, not products

Xiaomi did not move from phones into cars to add another screen to its ecosystem, the company's chief designer told the Future AI Mobility Summit on Tuesday. It did so to build something the driver relates to rather than merely operates. "With AI, the car can become a partner that understands you," said Li Tianyuan, general manager of industrial design and chief designer at Xiaomi Auto, as well as a former exterior-design expert at BMW, in one of the day's most closely watched sessions at the Ko

2026-07-01 13:53:37:00

Korea's W800tr chip bet depends on moving talent south

When the head of SK hynix spoke in Seoul on Monday about Korea's largest-ever semiconductor commitment, his first request to the government was not for money, land or power; it was for good schools. Without them, the chief executive Kwak Noh-jung warned, sending young engineers south could create "weekend couples," the Korean shorthand for families split by a distant job posting. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have committed a combined 800 trillion won ($517 billion) to build four memory fabs

2026-06-30 15:03:25:00

Police to deploy 100+ officers at Incheon Airport for Hong Myung-bo's return

South Korean police will deploy more than 100 officers at Incheon Airport on Tuesday for the return of the national soccer team and former head coach Hong Myung-bo, who was the target of a death threat posted online following the team's group-stage elimination from the 2026 World Cup. The Incheon Airport police division said it will station three mobile riot units from the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency alongside airport police personnel to manage crowds and maintain order. Hong and the team

2026-06-29 20:38:10:00

Samsung eyes record investment spanning affiliates, regions

Samsung is expected to lay out an investment plan on Monday that reaches well beyond the much-discussed chip cluster in the country's southwest, drawing in its display, battery, component and bio affiliates in what would be the largest commitment ever made by a Korean company, according to government and industry sources Sunday. The reach is as notable as the size. The plan is reported to span four regions: Honam in the southwest, Chungcheong in the central provinces, Yeongnam in the southeast a

2026-06-28 15:07:50:00

Korea's AI future hinges on better data, programmable money: GBF speakers

South Korean companies and financial institutions need to prepare for an AI era in which software does not just answer questions but performs tasks and makes payments on its own, speakers said Wednesday at the Global Business Forum in Seoul. At the 11th session of the forum, hosted by The Korea Herald and Herald Business, Park Min-jun of Wrtn Technologies and Korea Insurance Institute President Ha Tae-kyung argued that AI adoption will hinge less on the technology itself than on the systems buil

2026-06-25 15:04:28:00