Driven

• South Korea's KOSPI index triggered a circuit breaker as a significant selloff in AI-driven technology stocks swept across Asian markets. • Key industry players were impacted, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing slipping about 2% and Foxconn Technology Co Ltd easing roughly 1.6%. • The volatility follows preliminary earnings from Samsung Electronics, which failed to convince investors that memory-chip profits can sustain the massive capital spending required for AI.

• Minister of State Dr. Jitendra Singh announced that India is entering a new phase of governance focused on integrating AI, cybersecurity, and digital public infrastructure. • The initiative builds on a decade of administrative reforms, which included the removal of nearly 2,000 obsolete rules to streamline government operations. • Key drivers of this digital transformation include the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Aadhaar-enabled services, Direct Benefit Transfer, and over 56 crore Jan Dhan accounts.

• The FTSE 100 index closed nearly flat at 10,498.29 points on Monday, July 13, 2026, marking a marginal increase of 1.00 point (0.01%). • The index remained steady despite volatile trading conditions driven by an overnight escalation of tensions in the Middle East. • London's benchmark showed greater resilience than Asian markets, such as Japan's Nikkei 225 and mainland Chinese indices, which suffered notable losses.

• Asian stock markets, including Japan's Nikkei and South Korea's KOSPI, declined on Wednesday as investors shifted away from high-valuation assets. • The downturn was primarily driven by a sell-off in semiconductor shares and AI-related stocks that occurred earlier in the week. • This trend reflects growing investor caution regarding the sustainability of AI-driven valuations across the tech sector.

• North American startup funding reached an all-time high in the first half of 2026, totaling $392 billion according to Crunchbase data. • This record-breaking surge was primarily driven by massive late-stage "megarounds" targeting leaders in the artificial intelligence industry. • The trend follows a historic first quarter where OpenAI secured the largest venture round in history, signaling an unprecedented investor appetite for AI.

• Asia-Pacific merger and acquisition (M&A) activity has surged to a four-year high, signaling a recovery in regional business confidence. • Despite the increase in deal volume, fees paid to investment bankers have declined, largely because "mega deals" have dropped by 11%. • The current trend is driven by a shift toward smaller, more targeted acquisitions, particularly within the artificial intelligence (AI) sector.

• North American startup funding reached record-breaking levels during the first half of 2026, primarily propelled by the rapid growth of the artificial intelligence sector. • The surge in capital is being directed toward critical areas including research, the acquisition of top-tier talent, and the expansion of compute infrastructure. • This trend underscores the massive scale of investment required to sustain technical breakthroughs and the deployment of next-generation AI models.