Semiconductor & AI Markets: Asia stocks pushed higher as Samsung surged and chip exports hit fresh highs, with investors also watching US-China AI and trade talks for signals on the next phase of AI demand. AI Infrastructure Policy: India’s MeitY urged Microsoft to site future data centers closer to power generation to cut electricity transport costs, tying AI buildout to grid and renewables planning. Memory Manufacturing Race: China’s CXMT began mass production of its fifth-gen G5 DRAM process, claiming density gains and 24Gb LPDDR5X chips in volume, even without EUV tools. Chipmaking Capacity: TSMC notched another 2nm win as MediaTek’s Dimensity 9600 Pro moves to TSMC’s enhanced N2P, highlighting broader 2nm allocation. Security for Defense Electronics: India’s Army plans six cyber labs (AASHVAST) to scan drones and embedded systems for hidden vulnerabilities, targeting firmware-level weaknesses amid concerns about foreign components. Connected Embedded Hardware: IndieSemiC launched an ISC-VEGA-SOM pairing C-DAC’s THEJAS32 RISC-V SoC with a LoRa module for connected embedded applications. Energy Storage Expansion: LG Energy Solution opened its North America ESS battery network, ramping LFP production in Michigan to meet growing storage demand. E-waste & Recycling: New York and other regions continue rolling out electronics reverse-logistics collection events as data-center growth raises discarded-device concerns.