By George Leopold and Junko Yoshida

What’s at stake:
All eyes are on China as the nation mulls its response to the latest U.S. technology export controls. China will no doubt retaliate – but how? Its options appear limited, but so do the options for de-escalation. At stake is whether the tech industry may find itself in a world split in two: China and the rest of the world.

By George Leopold

What’s at stake:
Traditional copper interconnects can no longer cut it for edge network deployments as data volumes soar. Following the lead of commercial network operators, Lockheed Martin Corp.’s investment arm is looking to leverage startup Ayar Labs’ optical chiplets to speed the processing of sensor data on the battlefield.

By Junko Yoshida

What’s at stake?
As Volkswagen rapidly loses market share in China, its 2.4 billion-euro investment in Horizon Robotics might be interpreted as a desperate act. Or could it be that Volkswagen has a secret deal brewing with the Chinese government?

Volkswagen AG, one of the world’s largest automakers, has made possibly the boldest move in the technology/automotive world by becoming the first western company to entrust its software and hardware future to Horizon Robotics, China’s national champion in the development of AI hardware and software.

By Junko Yosihida

What’s at stake?
Auto parts manufacturer Magna’s collaboration with Mobileye in forward-looking cameras fueled Mobileye’s effort to dominate the ADAS market. Can Magna repeat that success in the emerging in-cabin camera market for driver and occupant monitoring — this time with Australia’s Seeing Machines?

By George Leopold

What’s at stake:
As conventional CMOS technology hits fundamental limits, researchers are proposing new modeling tools to optimize next-generation materials. The result could be novel low-power devices needed for emerging applications.

By Bolaji Ojo & Junko Yoshida

What’s at stake? 
TSMC is thriving, but the world’s largest chip foundry faces unique challenges that cannot be resolved by simply perfecting its leading-edge technologies, building more fabs or moving closer to its customers.

China and its intentions toward Taiwan were the dragon in the room during Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s (TSMC) third-quarter financial report on Thursday (Oct. 13).

By Gary Hilson

What’s at stake:
Despite billions of dollars announced for onshore facilities, it will take domestic suppliers years to navigate workforce development, equipment acquisition and offshore dependencies.