Canadian quantum computing company Photonic has raised $130 million in the first close of a new investment round led by Planet First Partners. New backers include RBC and TELUS, alongside returning investors.
The funding brings Photonic’s total capital raised to $271 million and supports the development of fault-tolerant quantum systems. The company combines silicon-based qubits with built-in photonic connectivity.
Photonic’s entanglement-first architecture is designed to scale across existing global telecom networks. The approach aims to enable large, distributed quantum computers rather than isolated machines.
Headquartered in Vancouver, Photonic plans to utilise the investment to accelerate key product milestones and expand its team. Investors see strong potential across finance, sustainability, telecommunications and security sectors.
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China’s AI sector could narrow the technological AI gap with the United States through growing risk-taking and innovation, according to leading researchers. Despite export controls on advanced chipmaking tools, Chinese firms are accelerating development across multiple AI fields.
Yao Shunyu, a former senior researcher at ChatGPT maker OpenAI and now Tencent’s AI scientist, said a Chinese company could become the world’s leading AI firm within three to five years. He pointed to China’s strengths in electricity supply and infrastructure as key advantages.
Yao said the main bottlenecks remain production capacity, including access to advanced lithography machines and a mature software ecosystem. Such limits still restrict China’s ability to manufacture the most advanced semiconductors and narrow the AI gap with the US.
China has developed a working prototype of an extreme-ultraviolet lithography machine that could eventually rival Western technology. However, Reuters reported the system has not yet produced functioning chips.
Sources familiar with the project said commercial chip production using the machine may not begin until around 2030. Until then, Chinese AI ambitions are likely to remain constrained by hardware limitations.
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Taiwan aims to train 500,000 AI professionals by 2040, backed by a NT$100 billion (US$31.6 billion) government venture fund. President Lai Ching-te announced the 2026 AI talent forum in Taipei.
The government’s 10-year AI plan includes a national computing centre and the development of technologies such as silicon photonics, quantum computing, and robotics. President Lai said that national competitiveness depends on both chipmaking and citizens’ ability to utilise AI across various disciplines.
To achieve these goals, AI training courses are being introduced for public sector employees, and students are being encouraged to acquire AI skills. The initiative aims to foster cooperation between government, industry, and academia to drive economic transformation.
With a larger pool of AI professionals, Taiwan hopes to help small and medium-sized enterprises accelerate digital upgrades, enhance innovation, and strengthen the nation’s global competitiveness in emerging technologies.
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The US administration’s new AI action plan frames global development as an AI race with a single winner. Officials argue AI dominance brings economic, military, and geopolitical advantages. Experts say competition is unfolding across multiple domains.
The United States continues to lead in the development of advanced large language and multimodal models by firms such as OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic. American companies also dominate global computing infrastructure. Control over high-end AI chips and data-centre capacity remains concentrated in US firms.
Chinese companies are narrowing the gap in the practical applications of AI. Models from Alibaba, DeepSeek, and Moonshot AI perform well in tasks such as translation, coding, and customer service. Performance at the cutting edge still lags behind US systems.
Washington’s decision to allow limited exports of Nvidia’s H200 AI chips to China reflects a belief that controlled sales can preserve US leadership. Critics argue the move risks weakening America’s computing advantage. Concerns persist over long-term strategic consequences.
Rather than a decisive victory for either side in the AI race, analysts foresee an era of asymmetric competition in AI. The United States may dominate advanced AI services, but China is expected to lead in large-scale industrial deployment within the evolving AI race.
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Nvidia used CES in Las Vegas to signal its next push in AI hardware, with chief executive Jensen Huang unveiling a new AI chip designed to deliver more computing power with lower energy use. The chip, named Vera Rubin, is scheduled to ship in the second half of the year.
Huang said the Rubin platform would let companies train AI models with far fewer chips than earlier generations. The redesign is also intended to lower the cost and energy demands of running AI services.
The move comes as demand for AI infrastructure accelerates, straining power supplies and intensifying competition. Rivals and major customers developing their own chips are putting pressure on Nvidia to improve efficiency.
Alongside chips, Nvidia highlighted its growing focus on autonomous vehicles. The company said new AI software would support self-driving development for carmakers and mobility firms, with vehicles using the chipmaker’s technology expected to ship later this year.
Huang said AI, robotics, and autonomy are central to the company’s long-term strategy, as the company seeks to expand beyond data centres. Rising competition and geopolitical scrutiny remain challenges, but Nvidia is betting that more efficient chips will keep it at the centre of the AI boom.
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AMD used CES 2026 to position AI as a default feature of personal and commercial computing. The company said AI is no longer limited to premium systems. Instead, it is being built directly into processors for consumer PCs, business laptops, compact desktops, and embedded platforms.
Executives described the shift as a new phase in AI adoption. CEO Lisa Su said usage has grown from early experimentation to more than one billion active users worldwide. Senior vice president Jack Huynh added that AI is redefining the PC by embedding intelligence, performance, and efficiency across devices.
The strategy centres on the Ryzen AI 400 Series and Ryzen AI PRO 400 Series processors. These chips integrate neural processing units delivering up to 60 TOPS of local AI compute. Built on Zen 5 architecture and XDNA 2 NPUs, they target Copilot+ PCs and enterprise deployments.
AMD also expanded its Ryzen AI Max+ portfolio for ultra-thin laptops, mini-PCs, and small workstations. The processors combine CPU, GPU, and NPU resources in a unified memory design. Desktop users saw the launch of the Ryzen 7 9850X3D, while developers were offered the Ryzen AI Halo platform.
Beyond PCs, AMD introduced a new Ryzen AI Embedded processor lineup for edge deployments. The chips are aimed at vehicles, factories, and autonomous systems. AMD said single-chip designs will support real-time AI workloads in robotics, digital twins, smart cameras, and industrial automation.
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Nvidia is in discussions with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) about expanding production of its H200 AI chips, following large requests from Chinese technology companies for 2026 deliveries, according to people familiar with the talks.
Those sources stated that Chinese firms have placed orders for more than 2 million H200 chips for 2026, far exceeding Nvidia’s current stock of roughly 700,000 units. Work on the additional output is expected to start in the second quarter of 2026, though the extra volume Nvidia wants has not been publicly detailed.
The H200 is viewed by Chinese buyers as a significant step up from the previously available H20 chips, which were restricted, helping to explain the rush to secure supply. Sources said Nvidia has indicated pricing around $27,000 per chip, while an eight-chip module could cost about 1.5 million yuan, and some prospective buyers see that premium as worthwhile given the performance boost.
The order talks also sit under a cloud of policy uncertainty. While the Trump administration recently allowed H200 exports to China under a framework that includes a 25% fee, Chinese authorities have not yet approved imports, and officials are weighing how such sales could affect the country’s push to build up domestic AI chip suppliers, potentially including rules that tie purchases to local alternatives.
Nvidia stated that it continually manages its supply chain and argued that licensed sales to approved Chinese customers would not impact its ability to serve US clients, while TSMC declined to comment. Separately, a report cited by other coverage stated that ByteDance is considering spending approximately 100 billion yuan on Nvidia chips in 2026, contingent upon the success of H200 product sales in China.
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President Donald Trump has ordered the unwinding of a small US semiconductor-related deal, citing national security concerns tied to China. In an executive order dated 2 January 2026, Trump said there was ‘credible evidence’ that HieFo Corporation is controlled by a citizen of the People’s Republic of China, and that the acquisition ‘might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States.’
The order bars HieFo from owning any interest in the purchased Emcore assets and gives the company 180 days to divest them (unless the US foreign-investment review committee grants an extension). It also imposes restrictions meant to prevent access to sensitive, non-public technical information while the divestment is pending.
The transaction at the centre of the order was completed on 30 April 2024, and involved Emcore’s digital chips business and indium-phosphide wafer fabrication operations. Emcore previously stated that the sale price was approximately $2.92 million, while other reports described it as a roughly $2.9 million deal that also included the assumption of $1 million in liabilities.
Officials did not publicly specify the risk, but the executive order follows a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the interagency body that screens certain foreign deals for national security implications. HieFo and Emcore had not publicly responded at the time of publication, and the move is likely to reinforce the message that Washington is prepared to intervene, even after a deal has closed, when advanced manufacturing and China-linked ownership intersect.
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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.
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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.
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