Manufacturing

• India is accelerating its electronics and space ambitions by expanding manufacturing incentives and entering the private orbital launch sector to reshape its tech ecosystem. • South Korea's Seoul Semiconductor is currently in early talks with several state governments to establish an LED manufacturing plant, leveraging the ISM 2.0 incentive scheme. • Despite these gains, the smartphone market is facing significant pressure due to global memory shortages, inflation, and rising component costs, which have weakened handset sales.

• South Korean and US technology giants have agreed to pursue $950 billion in semiconductor supply and manufacturing partnerships over the next five years. • The sweeping series of deals was unveiled at the San Francisco AI Summit during a visit by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung. • These collaborations aim to advance the Lee administration's flagship megaprojects focusing on semiconductors, AI data centers, and physical AI.

• Indian startups raised $209 million during the funding week ending July 25, 2026, marking a 44% decline from the previous week's totals. • Investment themes shifted away from AI, with venture capital flowing instead into manufacturing, aerospace, enterprise software, and healthtech. • This diversification signals a broader strategic shift in the Indian startup ecosystem as investors seek opportunities in DeepTech and physical infrastructure.

Exclusive: Ro Khanna says ‘reindustrialization’ effort would provide grants, loans and investments to smaller businessesDemocrats in the US Congress have laid out plans for what they say would be the “boldest” bid to revitalize the country’s industrial heartlands since the second world war – using revenue raised by tariffs on China.A bill introduced this week would create a new bank to strengthen domestic manufacturing, provided with up to $15bn in funds each year. Continue reading...

• AMD CTO Mark Papermaster asserts that Europe's strategic AI advantage lies in interoperability and supply diversity rather than focusing solely on semiconductor manufacturing. • He argues that the primary challenge has shifted from GPU access to integrating AI into complex operational environments while ensuring security, control, and flexibility. • This shift is supported by legislative efforts, specifically the draft Chips Act 2.0 and the proposed Cloud and AI Development Act.

AMWU calls for wealth and inheritance taxes, free education and more revenue from gas companies as it outlines ‘working-class agenda’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA new tax rate for the highest income earners, introducing wealth and inheritance taxes and extracting more revenue from gas companies form part of a new leftwing manifesto circulating ahead of the Labor party’s national conference.The extra tax revenue could help raise the jobseeker rate, make education – including university – free, and nationalise aged care under what the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) calls a blueprint for a “working-class agenda”. Continue reading...

• Singapore's manufacturing sector experienced a 12.2% year-on-year growth in the second quarter of 2026, accelerating from 8.0% in Q1. • This surge was primarily driven by strong AI-related demand for semiconductors and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. • The manufacturing boom significantly boosted the broader economy, leading to an overall growth rate of 5.7% for the period.