Micron’s $9.3B Hiroshima Fab Breaks Ground for HBM Production
On July 4 local time, Micron Technology officially kicked off a fab expansion in Hiroshima, Japan. The total investment is around 1.5 trillion yen (roughly $9.3 billion), targeting high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and other advanced storage chips to feed hungry AI processors. Shipments are expected to start rolling out around summer 2028. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is backing the project with up to about 500 billion yen in subsidies. This move is part of Micron’s global push to expand AI memory capacity—the company is also pouring money into advanced process nodes in Idaho and New York to boost both DRAM and HBM supply.
Anthropic Eyes a Massive 1.4GW Data Center Build in Australia
On July 5, reports surfaced that Anthropic is looking to secure at least 1.4GW of data center capacity in Australia, with a construction price tag of roughly $15 billion (about AUD 21.6 billion)—way higher than what the market had been expecting. The company aims to bring at least 1GW online by the end of 2027 and has already set up a local office to push forward its infrastructure plans.
The First AI-eSIM Industry Alliance Just Went Live
NUPIAO has learned that on July 3, at the China Information and Communication Industry Development Forum, the industry’s first AI-eSIM collaboration platform – the “China Communications Enterprise Association AI-eSIM Professional Committee” (the committee) – was officially launched, initiated by China Mobile. China Mobile IoT Company serves as the lead unit, with deputy units including Tianyi IoT, Unicom Huasheng, Volcano Engine, Tencent Cloud, and Guanan Information. The committee brings together over 40 leading companies covering carriers, chip design, algorithm research, security services, and model applications. On July 4, the committee held its first member representative conference and industry development seminar, marking a shift from isolated breakthroughs to systematic collaboration in China’s AI-eSIM sector, and ushering in a new phase of standardized development for the intelligent IoT ecosystem.
Doubao’s AI Agent Feature Is Saying Goodbye on July 15
Doubao just announced that its AI agent feature is getting the axe on July 15, 2026. After that, you can still peek at your agent data and export your chats for a while, but come October 15, 2026, everything will be wiped per their privacy policy. So if you’ve got anything precious in there, grab it now—screenshots or text exports are your best bet.
For those who aren’t familiar, AI agents on Doubao are interactive smart characters you can create with a few basic settings to handle work, life, or entertainment tasks.
Chinese Robot Exports Surge to Nearly 20 Billion Yuan in Just 5 Months
July 5 customs stats reveal that China’s robots are going global in a big way. Over 10.37 million units were exported in the first five months, bringing in 19.99 billion yuan and landing in more than 150 countries and regions. The EU and ASEAN are the biggest buyers.
