South Korea recorded its highest-ever export figures in 2025, driven largely by surging global demand for semiconductors used in AI technologies. Official data shows total exports exceeded $700 billion, marking a year-on-year increase despite ongoing trade pressures and economic uncertainty.
The semiconductor sector led the growth, with exports reaching a record $173.4 billion, up more than 20 per cent from the previous year. Strong demand for high-value memory chips used in AI data centres pushed shipments higher throughout the year, including a sharp rise in December that capped ten consecutive months of growth.
South Korea’s dominance in the chip market is underpinned by global leaders such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, both key suppliers to the AI industry. The government is also doubling down on the sector, with President Lee Jae Myung pledging to triple national spending on AI in a bid to position the country among the world’s top AI powers.
Other export sectors also posted strong results. Car exports climbed to a record $72 billion, while agriculture and cosmetics benefited from sustained global interest in South Korean food, beauty products, and pop culture. These gains helped offset weaker shipments to the United States and China.
Exports to those two major partners declined amid tariffs on steel, automobiles, and machinery, although Seoul secured a reduced US tariff rate late in the year. While officials hailed the export record as a sign of economic resilience, they cautioned that global trade uncertainty and the durability of semiconductor demand could pose challenges ahead.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
AI is rapidly becoming the starting point for many everyday activities, from planning and learning to shopping and decision-making. A new report by PYMNTS Intelligence suggests that AI is no longer just an added digital tool, but is increasingly replacing traditional entry points such as search engines and mobile apps.
The study shows that AI use in the United States has moved firmly into the mainstream, with more than 60 per cent of consumers using dedicated AI platforms over the past year. Younger users and frequent AI users are leading the shift, increasingly turning to AI first rather than using it to support existing online habits.
Researchers found that how people use AI matters as much as how often they use it. Heavy users rely on AI across many aspects of daily life, treating it as a general-purpose system, while lighter users remain cautious and limit AI to lower-risk tasks. Trust plays a decisive role, especially when it comes to sensitive areas such as finances and banking.
The report also points to changing patterns in online discovery. Consumers who use standalone AI platforms are more likely to abandon older methods entirely, while those encountering AI through search engines tend to blend it with familiar tools. That difference suggests that the design and context of AI services strongly influence user behaviour.
Looking ahead, the findings hint at how AI could reshape digital commerce. Many consumers say they would prefer to connect digital wallets directly to AI platforms for payments, signalling a potential shift in how intent turns into transactions. As AI becomes a common entry point to the digital world, businesses and financial institutions face growing pressure to adapt their systems to this new starting line.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
A significant shift away from global views on central bank digital currencies has been made with the decision to allow China’s digital yuan to earn interest starting in January 2026. Wallet balances will now accrue interest at demand deposit rates, marking a shift from the widely held view that retail CBDCs should function purely as digital cash.
Central banks in Europe and the United States have long argued against interest-bearing CBDCs, warning they could destabilise financial systems by drawing deposits away from commercial banks.
Institutions such as the European Central Bank, the Federal Reserve and the Bank for International Settlements have stressed that digital currencies should not become savings instruments.
China’s move, however, effectively repositions the digital yuan closer to a deposit-like form of money rather than a simple cash substitute.
The policy applies to verified individual and corporate wallets, while anonymous wallets remain excluded. Digital yuan balances are also now covered by China’s deposit insurance scheme, offering the same protection as bank deposits.
Analysts say these design choices, combined with China’s two-tier distribution model that keeps commercial banks as intermediaries, aim to limit risks of bank disintermediation while encouraging wider adoption.
China’s decision could influence global debates as dozens of countries continue to explore the use of digital currencies. While Europe remains committed to a non-interest-bearing digital € and the United States has formally banned a retail CBDC, China is testing whether an interest-paying digital currency can coexist with traditional banking.
The experiment is likely to be closely watched as policymakers reconsider what role digital money should play in future financial systems.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
An innovative approach has gained attention as Google shared a way to help users visualize their goals for 2026 using its Gemini AI platform.
In a post from the official Gemini account, users were invited to experiment with a prompt linked to Nano Banana Pro, turning future planning into a visual and shareable exercise.
Visualize your 2026 goals with the help of Nano Banana Pro.
Open the Gemini app and use the prompt in the replies. Try different styles, like magazine cutout, notebook paper, and more. Share yours below ⬇️
The approach centres on a detailed image prompt that encourages users to create an illustrated vision board rather than a written list of resolutions.
By combining a knolling-style layout with hand-drawn aesthetics, notebook textures and playful annotations, the prompt aims to make goal-setting feel more personal and engaging.
Users are encouraged to customise the prompt by inserting their own aspirations, habits or milestones, allowing the AI to generate a tailored illustration. Cross-hatching, highlighter effects and handwritten notes give the images a deliberately imperfect, journal-like quality, despite being AI-generated.
The experiment reflects a broader trend of using generative AI for creative self-reflection rather than productivity alone. By framing goals as visual stories, Google is positioning Gemini as a tool that blends artistic expression with everyday planning.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Space Forge, a UK company, has successfully activated a compact factory in orbit, proving its onboard furnace can operate at temperatures of around 1,000C. The breakthrough represents a major advance for space-based manufacturing.
The microwave-sized satellite was launched earlier this year and is operated remotely from mission control in Cardiff. Engineers have been monitoring its systems to validate manufacturing processes in space conditions.
Microgravity and vacuum environments allow semiconductor atoms to align more precisely than on Earth. These conditions produce significantly purer materials for electronics used in networks, electric vehicles and aerospace systems.
The company plans to build a larger orbital factory capable of producing materials for thousands of chips. Future missions will also test a heat shield designed to return manufactured products safely to Earth.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
India’s government has set out plans to democratise AI infrastructure nationwide. The strategy focuses on expanding access beyond major technology hubs.
Officials aim to increase availability of computing power, datasets and AI models. Startups, researchers and public institutions are key intended beneficiaries.
New initiatives under IndiaAI and national supercomputing programmes will boost domestic capacity. Authorities say local compute access reduces reliance on foreign providers.
Digital public platforms will support data sharing and model development. The approach seeks inclusive innovation across education, healthcare and governance across India.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
xAI is expanding its AI infrastructure in the southern United States after acquiring another data centre site near Memphis. The move significantly increases planned computing capacity and supports ambitions for large-scale AI training.
The expansion centres on the purchase of a third facility near Memphis, disclosed by Elon Musk in a post on X. The acquisition brings xAI’s total planned power capacity close to 2 gigawatts, placing the project among the most energy-intensive AI data centre developments currently underway.
xAI has bought a third building called MACROHARDRR. Will take @xAI training compute to almost 2GW.
xAI has already completed one major US facility in the area, known as Colossus, while a second site, Colossus 2, remains under construction. The newly acquired building, called MACROHARDRR, is located in Southaven and directly adjoins the Colossus 2 site, as previously reported.
By clustering facilities across neighbouring locations, xAI is creating a contiguous computing campus. The approach enables shared power, cooling, and high-speed data infrastructure for large-scale AI workloads.
The Memphis expansion underscores the rising computational demands of frontier AI models. By owning and controlling its infrastructure, xAI aims to secure long-term access to high-end compute as competition intensifies among firms investing heavily in AI data centres.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Manus has returned to the spotlight after agreeing to be acquired by Meta in a deal reportedly worth more than $2 billion. The transaction is one of the most high-profile acquisitions of an Asian AI startup by a US technology company and reflects Meta’s push to expand agentic AI capabilities across its platforms.
The startup drew attention in March after unveiling an autonomous AI agent designed to execute tasks such as résumé screening and stock analysis. Founded in China, Manus later moved its headquarters to Singapore and was developed by the AI product studio Butterfly Effect.
Since launch, Manus has expanded its features to include design work, slide creation, and browser-based task completion. The company reported surpassing $100 million in annual recurring revenue and raised $75 million earlier this year at a valuation of about $500 million.
Meta said the acquisition would allow it to integrate the Singapore-based company’s technology into its wider AI strategy while keeping the product running as a standalone service. Manus said subscriptions would continue uninterrupted and that operations would remain based in Singapore.
The deal has drawn political scrutiny in the US due to Manus’s origins and past links to China. Meta said the transaction would sever remaining ties to China, as debate intensifies over investment, data security, and competition in advanced AI systems.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
SoftBank Group has completed a $41 billion investment in OpenAI, marking one of the largest private funding rounds on record. The deal gives the Japanese conglomerate an estimated 11 percent stake in the ChatGPT developer.
The investment reflects SoftBank chief executive Masayoshi Son’s renewed focus on AI and supporting infrastructure. The company is seeking to capitalise on rising demand for the computing capacity that underpins advanced AI models.
SoftBank said the latest funding includes an additional $22.5 billion investment, following an earlier $7.5 billion injection in April. OpenAI also secured a further $11 billion through an expanded syndicated co-investment from other backers.
The funding values OpenAI at roughly $300 billion on a post-money basis, though secondary market transactions later placed the company’s valuation closer to $500 billion. The investment follows SoftBank’s recent agreement to acquire DigitalBridge Group, a digital infrastructure investor.
OpenAI remains a central beneficiary of the global surge in AI spending. The company is also involved in Stargate, a large-scale data centre project backed by SoftBank and other partners to support next-generation AI systems.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
State officials have warned the public about a phishing campaign using the fake domain codify.inc to impersonate official government websites. Cybercriminals aim to steal personal information and login credentials from unsuspecting users.
Several state agencies are affected, including the departments of Labor and Industrial Relations, Education, Health, Transportation, and many others. Fraudulent websites often mimic official URLs, such as dlir.hi.usa.codify.inc, and may use AI-based services to entice users.
Residents are urged to verify website addresses carefully. Official government portals will always end in .gov, and any other extensions like .inc or .co are not legitimate. Users should type addresses directly into their browsers rather than clicking links in unsolicited emails or texts.
Suspicious websites should be reported to the State of Hawaii at soc@hawaii.gov to help protect other residents from falling victim to the scam.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
