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News and notes on AI, chips, and IT.

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OpenAI's Astra Is Closing in on Cyber Capabilities

The competition over AI model performance is entering a new phase. Until now, whenever a new AI emerged, the focus has mainly been on its reasoning capabilities, coding performance, or benchmark scores. This time, however, OpenAI’s next-generation AI model is drawing attention for a slightly different reason. On August 7, 2026 (U.S. local time), OpenAI reported that in recent internal evaluations of Astra, its next-generation model currently under development, its agent-based coding and cybersecurity capabilities have significantly They announced that it had improved. Notable

Aug 8, 20268 min read

Semiconductors & infrastructure

Why AMD Turned Its Attention Away from GPUs: The Acquisition of Taalas and the AI Inference Chip War

The focus of the AI semiconductor competition is gradually shifting. While the ability to train massive AI models quickly was the key priority until now, the bigger challenge is now emerging: how to deliver trained models to a vast number of users as quickly and cost-effectively as possible. Amid this trend, AMD signed a definitive agreement on August 6, 2026, to acquire Taalas, a Canadian AI semiconductor startup. The acquisition price has not been disclosed. It hasn't happened yet, and the deal hasn't been finalized. Regulations

Aug 7, 20269 min read

Semiconductors & infrastructure

AI Data Centers Have Transformed the Storage Market… The Significance of SanDisk’s $93.9 Billion Long-Term Contract

When it comes to the competition in AI infrastructure, GPUs are the first component that comes to mind. However, to continuously store and quickly retrieve the data generated by AI, high-capacity SSDs and NAND flash are also necessary. Sandisk’s recently announced financial results and long-term contracts have provided concrete evidence that the focus of AI investment is expanding from computing devices to storage devices. SanDisk’s revenue for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2026 was $8.965 billion, a 372% increase from a year ago. Data center revenue is

Aug 6, 202612 min read

Industry & policy

SpaceX Earned More from AI Than from Rockets… A Shift in Identity Revealed by Its First Earnings Report Since Going Public

When you hear “SpaceX,” what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Many people probably think of massive rockets, reusable launch vehicles, and Mars exploration. However, the company’s first quarterly earnings report since going public revealed some somewhat surprising figures. Revenue from the AI division was approximately 2.7 times that of the Space division, which handles rocket launches and spacecraft development. In the second quarter of 2026, SpaceX’s total revenue was $7.814 billion, up 91.9% from the same period last year. It's increased. Among them, A

Aug 5, 202611 min read

Industry & policy

AI Implementation at Factories Boosts Productivity by 30.1%… South Korea’s Manufacturing Sector Is Changing

On the manufacturing floor, AI is less of a tool for answering questions and more of a technology for detecting defective products, predicting equipment failures in advance, and adjusting complex operating conditions. Rather than generating eye-catching answers, it helps factories operate more quickly and reliably. This shift was reflected in concrete figures in the results of the “Manufacturing AI Transformation” initiative—known as M.AX—released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on August 4. To date, the government has been leading the AI Factory initiative Through this project, we supported about 170 workplaces. These gowns

Aug 5, 202615 min read

Semiconductors & infrastructure

South Korea Makes a Bold Move to Become an AI Semiconductor Hub… How Far Has Supply Chain Cooperation with U.S. Big Tech Come?

The focus of the AI competition is rapidly shifting from model performance to infrastructure and supply chains. This is because, no matter how advanced an AI model may be, it is difficult to significantly scale up services without the support of high-performance semiconductors, data centers, a stable power supply, and critical minerals. Against this backdrop, on August 2, Yonhap News summarized President Lee Jae-myung’s tour of San Francisco and three South American countries, highlighting AI cooperation with U.S. Big Tech and South American critical minerals. He cited the expansion of the supply chain as a major achievement. The structure of this visit was

Aug 3, 202612 min read