2025-07-16: LG launches EXAONE 4.0 hybrid AI model, achieving benchmark leadership and driving industry adoption

Advances in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Shinkansen High-Speed Rail Project

Jul 15, 2025

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Good Morning,

Below are some of the most important developments in the artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and cloud computing sectors in Asia today.

▪️ Taiwan: Wistron Launches New Taipei R&D Hub to Tackle AI Growth and Tariff Pressures
Wistron is expanding its research infrastructure and collaborating with local authorities to address tariff challenges and meet surging AI demand in Taipei.

▪️ Taiwan: TSMC’s Record-Breaking Q2 Profits Drive Taiwan Market Rally Amid AI Demand and Currency Headwinds
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company posted record profits in the second quarter, driving significant movements in Taiwan’s stock market.

▪️ South Korea: AI-Driven Surge in Data Center Development Spurs Infrastructure, Energy, and Security Shifts in South Korea
Data centers play a critical role in supporting AI-driven growth, cloud computing, and related infrastructure investments.

▪️ India: Advances in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Shinkansen High-Speed Rail Project
Construction on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor leverages cutting-edge Shinkansen technology to deliver unprecedented speed, safety, and reliability.

▪️ India: Tesla Launches First Showrooms in India Amid High Tariffs and Market Uncertainty
Tesla has entered the Indian market with its first showroom in Mumbai and plans to expand to Delhi.

▪️ Vietnam: ASEAN Accelerates Regional Transition to Electric Mobility
Southeast Asian nations are forging partnerships and deploying policies to accelerate their shift toward electric mobility.

▪️ Vietnam: Hanoi Implements Gasoline Motorbike Ban to Accelerate Electric Vehicle Transition
Hanoi is phasing out gasoline-powered motorbikes and accelerating the shift to electric vehicles through market incentives, infrastructure development and regulatory measures.

▪️ China: China Catalyzes Humanoid Robotics Growth With Major Industry Contracts and Rapid Integration
China is accelerating its integration of artificial intelligence, robotics and industrial automation across key sectors.

▪️ China: Chinese New Energy Vehicle Boom Drives Record Growth and Global Expansion in Automotive Industry
China’s automotive sector has delivered record growth in new energy vehicles and overall production and sales.

▪️ South Korea: LG launches EXAONE 4.0 hybrid AI model, achieving benchmark leadership and driving industry adoption
LG AI Research has unveiled EXAONE 4.0, South Korea’s first hybrid AI model blending a large language model with an autonomous reasoning engine.

For more information on these developments, please see the full report below.

Thanks for reading,

Rodney J Johnson

Today's Developments

Widely Reported On Issues of Importance

Wistron Launches New Taipei R&D Hub to Tackle AI Growth and Tariff Pressures

Wistron is expanding its research infrastructure and collaborating with local authorities to address tariff challenges and meet surging AI demand in Taipei.

On July 14, 2025, Wistron Information Technology broke ground on a new research and development building in Taipei’s Neihu District.
The facility will rise eight stories above ground and four levels below, covering roughly 31,157 square meters on a 6,408-ping parcel leased from the city government for 60 years. The NT$2.7 billion (US$92.2 million) project, slated for completion in 2028, will incorporate green, AI-driven smart building features. Located about one kilometer from Wistron’s global headquarters and adjacent to its cloud computing subsidiary Wiwynn’s upcoming facility, the new center will strengthen the company’s innovation ecosystem.

This building forms part of a broader AI technology corridor that links Neihu Technology Park to Nangang Software Park and extends toward Beitou, Shilin and other science parks.
Weye Technology plans to begin constructing its own facility nearby this year, creating, together with Wistron’s Digital Content Innovation Center, a contiguous tech cluster. Nvidia’s second Taipei headquarters in the Nangang Software Park further cements the area’s status as a hub for AI and cloud computing innovation.

Wistron anticipates the new R&D center will generate about 1,500 engineering jobs and has committed to recruiting senior talent to meet growing manpower needs.
Recent retention efforts and long-term development programs have driven employee turnover down to single digits. To address near-term production requirements, Wistron has leased the adjacent Lianfa Textile factory building and begun renovating it to support AI server manufacturing starting in 2026. In June 2025, the company also opened its Zhubei AI Park, reinforcing its expanding footprint in Taiwan.

The influx of more than 3,000 new employees from Wistron and Weye Technology is expected to worsen traffic congestion in Neihu.
In response, Taipei City introduced the Carbon Reduction Passbook, staggered work hours and plans to partner with Wistron on corporate shuttle buses and other public-private initiatives to smooth commuter flows. Infrastructure upgrades include a newly opened ramp linking Tiding Boulevard to National Highway No 1 northbound and the planned MRT East Loop Line, due for completion in 2032. City councilors, however, have raised concerns about current public transit capacity, limited access at the Minxi Line Y35 station and the risk of uncoordinated roadworks compounding transit construction.

References for this Development

Wistron breaks ground on R&ampD building in Neihu

Focus Taiwan | English | News

AI浪潮! 緯創新蓋研發大樓執行長談關稅:越低越好

AI Wave! Wistron Builds New R&D Building CEO Talks Tariffs: The Lower the Better

Yahoo News Taiwan | Local Language | News

Wistron braces for Mexico tariffs

Taipei Times | English | News

緯創、緯穎內湖蓋樓將創3500工作交通再添挑戰

Wistron and WEA Build Buildings in Neihu Creating 3,500 Jobs, Adding More Transportation Challenges

United Daily News | Local Language | News

力抗美國關稅衝擊緯創部署多重計畫

Wistron Implements Multiple Plans to Resist the Impact of U.S. Tariffs

Liberty Times Net | Local Language | News

緯創總座談輝達落腳北士科對生意有正面影響

Wistron Chairman Discusses Nvidia Settling in Nankang Science Park Having a Positive Impact on Business

United Daily News | Local Language | News

TSMC’s Record-Breaking Q2 Profits Drive Taiwan Market Rally Amid AI Demand and Currency Headwinds

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company posted record profits in the second quarter, driving significant movements in Taiwan’s stock market.

TSMC reported consolidated revenue of NT$933.79 billion in Q2 2025, a 38.6% increase year-over-year and an 11.3% rise from the previous quarter.
The company’s net profit reached NT$377.4 billion, up 52% from a year earlier. Although June revenue dipped 17.7% month-over-month to NT$263.7 billion, it remained 26.9% higher than in June 2024. Foreign institutional investors, led by Morgan Stanley, recommended a buy ahead of the July 17 earnings release and set a NT$1,288 target price, implying 17% upside. After Morgan Stanley’s report, TSMC shares rallied, buoyed by stronger-than-expected 16% quarter-on-quarter growth in US dollar revenue.

Analysts noted that declines in mobile phone and PC chip orders were offset by robust demand from cryptocurrency mining, keeping capacity utilization stable.
TSMC secured Intel as a major new client for its 2 nm process, targeting the 2026 Nova Lake-S desktop processor, and continued its share buyback program with a ceiling of NT$1,200 per share. Related sectors, including PCB and substrate manufacturers, also saw significant price gains driven by AI-related demand.

For full-year 2025, TSMC expects revenue to grow 27% over 2024.
The company forecasts Q3 US dollar revenue to increase 1% quarter-over-quarter and anticipates gross margins of 57%–59%, supported by hedging strategies. Key drivers include the mass production ramp-up of AI-focused ASIC and GPU chips, contributions from the peak smartphone season, and planned CoWoS capacity expansions in 2026.

Currency fluctuations and geopolitical factors remain prominent risks.
The New Taiwan Dollar’s 12% appreciation against the US dollar year-to-date has pressured operating margins, which shrink by roughly 0.3–0.4 percentage points for each 1% currency gain. In response, TSMC has committed US$165 billion to US investments, positioning itself for potential tariff exemptions or grace periods under ongoing Section 232 investigations.

At the upcoming investor conference, management will address AI demand momentum, advanced process leadership—especially 2 nm mass production and contracts with clients such as Apple and Nvidia—gross-margin management amid exchange-rate headwinds and overseas plant costs, evolving US semiconductor tariff policies, and recovery prospects in non-AI segments like smartphones, PCs, and high-performance computing.
Analysts observe that strong AI chip demand, combined with TSMC’s advanced foundry position, could support further gross-margin expansion despite these challenges.

Market participants have shown resilience despite mixed reactions to tariff uncertainties and currency headwinds.
Taiwan’s stock market rebounded with heavy buying in heavyweight names led by TSMC, pushing the share price to a five-month high of NT$1,115 on July 15. Technical indicators point to moderate gains, but some caution persists around emerging foreign-exchange losses and ongoing US-Taiwan tariff negotiations expected to conclude after August 1.

TSMC’s strategic withdrawal from the gallium nitride foundry market reflects its shift toward higher-value, higher-margin segments and may affect certain supply chains.
Despite this retreat, the company continues to focus on advanced processes and AI-driven growth, reinforcing its leadership position in the semiconductor industry.

IMPACT ANALYSIS

From this Development, various impacts could cascade through the system, to a lesser or greater extent, depending on the severity and criticality of the shocks.

BOTTOM LINE

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s record 52 percent year-on-year net-profit surge in Q2 has unlocked substantial internal cash flow, enabling elevated capital spending across the industry and steering above-trend business fixed-investment growth.
The Intel contract for TSMC’s 2 nm process cements its technological leadership, keeps advanced-node fab utilization high despite softer mobile and PC demand, and shifts Taiwan’s export mix toward premium semiconductors, bolstering its high-tech trade share.
A 12 percent year-to-date appreciation of the New Taiwan Dollar against the US dollar has widened the real-effective exchange-rate gap, undermining price competitiveness for Taiwan’s exporters and putting downward pressure on their global market shares.
The commitment of US$165 billion to expand US operations accelerates the reconfiguration of global semiconductor value chains, heightens the frequency of supply-chain disruptions during the transition, and magnifies inventory-cycling dynamics as firms build larger buffers.
By deepening its strategic footprint in the United States, TSMC intensifies great-power competition metrics, prompting allied governments to increase defense procurements and raise military spending as a share of GDP.
Exiting the gallium nitride foundry market reduces the diversity of dual-use GaN suppliers, tightens downstream component availability, and contributes to higher costs for AI inference hardware reliant on GaN-enabled power devices.
The combination of blockbuster profitability and surging AI-chip demand has lifted the business-confidence diffusion index, spurred a stronger credit impulse, and is set to drive higher real-GDP growth in Taiwan and in economies linked to its semiconductor export ecosystem.

References for this Development

全球股市突然急漲，台積電衝上1115元！這次又有什麼好消息？

Global Stock Markets Suddenly Surge, TSMC Soars to 1115 NT! What Good News This Time?

Yahoo Finance | Local Language | News

美股收盤》觀望關稅及財報！道瓊漲88點台積電ADR走低

US Stocks Close: Awaiting Tariffs and Earnings Reports! Dow Up 88 Points, TSMC ADR Declines

Liberty Times Net | Local Language | News

若台積電（2330）倒了0050就會很慘？竹軒：產業會洗牌但市場還是在

If TSMC (2330) Collapses, Will 0050 Face Disaster? Zhuxuan: Industry Will Reshuffle but the Market Will Persist

United Daily News | Local Language | News

市場預期偏低…台積法說會前夕大摩喊快布局

Market expectations are low… Morgan Stanley urges quick positioning ahead of TSMC's investor conference