Yonhap News roundup covers UNC defense role in South Korea, President Lee's push for AI investment, Seoul stocks rising, ex-first lady Kim Keon Hee's trial testimony, local election voter tally gaps, Nolan's 'The Odyssey' box office debut, and BTS North American tour honors.
Galaxy Digital reported an $85 million Q2 net loss driven by lower digital-asset prices, even as Phase I capacity under its CoreWeave lease began contributing. The company expects $80 million in quarterly leasing revenue starting in Q3.
Asian technology stocks fell Thursday, tracking U.S. peers in overnight trading and highlighting global tech sector volatility. Major firms like SoftBank, SK Hynix, and Samsung saw significant declines despite analysts maintaining an optimistic outlook on AI investments.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung urged bold AI investments, export diversification, and energy security during government policy briefings to navigate global industrial restructuring.
Chinese tech giants are facing increasing market scrutiny to prove that their substantial artificial intelligence investments will generate sustainable profits, mirroring the pressure felt by US tech firms like Meta and Alphabet over their AI spending.
Major tech companies are spending hundreds of billions on AI, leading to negative free cash flow for some like Alphabet, Meta, and Amazon. A memory chip crunch is driving up costs, impacting companies like Apple with potential price hikes. Investor reactions are mixed, with skepticism growing over the long-term returns of these massive AI investments.
Jeff Bezos reportedly pushed Prime Video executives to overhaul the streaming service, codenamed "Lighthouse," by placing artificial intelligence at its core. This initiative aims to showcase Amazon's AI investments to over 200 million subscribers, potentially altering traditional revenue streams for media companies.
Google reported Q2 2026 revenue of $119.8 billion, exceeding expectations, but recorded negative free cash flow for the first time due to massive AI capital expenditures. This led to a stock drop, as investors question the scale of AI spending amidst delayed product releases and researcher resignations.
Alphabet reported double-digit revenue growth and beat Wall Street's Q2 expectations, marking its 12th consecutive quarter of gains. The tech giant increased its capital expenditure forecast to $200bn, driven by massive AI investments, while facing intense competition from rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic.
Alphabet and Tesla reported negative free cash flow in recent months, with Alphabet seeing a $5.9bn deficit for the first time in a decade, primarily due to massive investments in AI infrastructure. Tesla also posted a $1.1bn negative FCF, driven by increasing investment costs. Both companies' stocks fell 4% after hours.
Amazon is laying off employees in its artificial general intelligence (AGI) unit, continuing job cuts while investing heavily in AI infrastructure. The company confirmed the move, stating it is sharpening its focus on key initiatives and areas most important to customers' future.
Alphabet's latest earnings report reveals Google Cloud revenue surged 82% to $24.8B, largely due to enterprise AI adoption, surpassing analyst expectations. Overall revenue grew 24% to $119.8B, with profit at $112.1B, alleviating investor concerns about significant AI spending.
The global semiconductor manufacturing equipment market is projected to reach a record high of $229.5 billion by 2028, driven by increased investment in AI infrastructure, advanced logic chips, and next-generation memory products like HBM, according to a SEMI report.
BAI Capital's Annabelle Yu Long champions offline consumer experiences in China, despite the AI investment boom. Her firm, which recently raised $800 million, focuses on regulation-neutral, consumer-facing, market-oriented companies, anticipating a shift towards genuine in-person interactions.
Google workers, led by the Alphabet Workers Union, delivered a petition with over 4,500 signatures to CEO Sundar Pichai's office, demanding layoff protections, guaranteed severance, and an end to quota-based performance ratings. This action comes as tech giants continue workforce reductions while heavily investing in AI.
South Korea's ruling Democratic Party and the government agreed to enhance support for large-scale chip cluster and AI investment projects, pledging swift legislative action. The initiative, involving a $3.16 trillion investment, aims to boost economic growth through semiconductor and AI advancements.
Amazon's massive layoffs, driven by AI investment, have displaced thousands of tech workers, forcing them into a competitive job market where roles are being automated. Many former employees are seeking stability in startups or facing pay cuts, highlighting a significant shift in the tech industry.
South Korea's digital industry saw a 9.3% expansion in 2024, reaching 1,378 trillion won in sales. This growth, driven by AI investments and ICT exports, now surpasses half the output of the manufacturing sector. Digital maturity also increased significantly.
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) warns that the AI investment boom, while driven by genuine technological progress, may mirror the dot-com bubble's speculative excess. Concerns focus on whether current investments will yield sustainable returns, the concentration of financing, and the risk of inflated valuations despite AI's transformative potential.
Samsung Electronics reported a record quarterly operating profit of 89.4 trillion won ($58.6 billion), driven by booming demand for AI memory chips. This surge has allowed Samsung to overtake Nvidia as the world's most profitable technology company, with revenue also reaching an all-time high.
Tech giants like Google and Amazon are seeing increased carbon emissions due to AI investments, jeopardizing net-zero goals. Meanwhile, Meta is exploring new revenue streams like cloud computing and prediction markets amid stock decline and legal challenges.
Microsoft cut approximately 4,800 jobs, 2.1% of its global workforce, impacting Xbox and commercial sales the most. This move, with 1,600 roles eliminated at Xbox, is framed as a necessary restructure due to industry changes and AI integration, despite assurances that AI is not directly replacing these roles.
Microsoft announced Monday it will lay off approximately 4,800 employees, about 2% of its global workforce. The cuts will heavily impact Xbox, with 3,200 gaming jobs and four studios affected, as the company invests in AI and faces industry shifts.
President Lee Jae Myung urged the government to expedite administrative procedures, including environmental reviews, for the "three mega projects" initiative focused on semiconductors, AI, and AI data centers. Samsung and SK Hynix plan to invest 800 trillion won in a semiconductor cluster in the Honam area.
