China's tech sector ramps up AI chips, 6G plans and new AI‑driven services

South Korean memory maker Hynix overtook Samsung to become the largest‑valued listed company in Korea, reflecting rising demand for AI‑optimized memory. Japanese bathroom firm TOTO announced an 800 billion‑yen investment to develop 1 nm semiconductor processes, expanding its chip‑materials business. In China, the Doubao AI assistant entered a grey‑test of a one‑click taxi service powered by Cao Cao Ride, while DeepSeek’s new Harness team opened hiring for researchers, engineers and product managers. Zhipu AI’s market capitalisation exceeded 1 trillion HKD within six months of listing, and Yicaitong Technology disclosed an 1.8 billion‑RMB acquisition of Flyme software assets from Meizu. Alibaba executives participated in a team‑building rice‑planting event, and Samsung rolled out ChatGPT Enterprise and Codex to its global workforce. The UK regulator MHRA launched an AI‑drug‑approval sandbox. Meanwhile, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology outlined a roadmap for next‑generation communication networks, including 6G core research, a dual‑terabyte‑to‑terawatt compute network, and industrial‑5G independent‑network pilots. Qualcomm is in talks with ByteDance on custom chip design services, and the People’s Bank of China scheduled a 5 trillion‑RMB one‑year MLF operation to keep banking liquidity ample. These moves signal coordinated push across hardware, software and regulatory fronts to cement China’s role in the emerging AI‑driven economy.