The Wrap | 27 Sept - 3 Oct 2025
Asia Tech Lens’ weekly digest: news, context, and signals shaping Asia’s tech future
Editor’s Note: Welcome back to The Wrap by Asia Tech Lens, our weekly digest of the signals, shifts, and stories shaping Asia’s tech future.
Each Friday, we highlight the week’s most important developments, with the context and bottom lines that matter. Whether it’s chips, AI, mobility, or education, our goal is to connect the dots across Asia’s fast-changing tech landscape.
We’d love to hear your feedback as we refine this series; reply directly or drop us a note on LinkedIn.
Semiconductors | China
China Accelerates Chip Self Sufficiency Drive
Huawei is ramping up domestic chipmaking, planning to double output of its Ascend 910C AI processors next year to about 600,000 units, with total Ascend chips hitting as many as 1.6 million. The move signals Beijing’s push to reduce reliance on U.S. technology, even as Huawei’s 7nm chips still trail Nvidia’s on performance. The news sent SMIC and Hua Hong shares up more than 4% in Hong Kong.
Bottom Line: Huawei is trying to build an entire AI infrastructure stack, chips, memory, clusters, and cloud, fully decoupled from U.S. supply chains.
Semiconductors | Taiwan
Taipei Rejects U.S. Push for 50% Chip Production Split
Taiwan has flatly rejected Washington’s proposal to move half of its semiconductor output to the U.S. Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun said the idea was “the U.S.’s proposal, not ours” and stressed Taipei “will not agree” to such a condition. Taiwan is struggling to finalize a tariff deal with Washington, after President Donald Trump’s administration imposed a temporary 20% levy that has alarmed the island’s manufacturers.
Bottom Line: Taipei is signaling that U.S. security ties won’t automatically translate into surrendering its chipmaking edge.
AI | China
DeepSeek Unveils Cost-Cutting AI Model
From the start, DeepSeek has pitched itself as the low-cost challenger in China’s AI race and its new model, V3.2-exp, sticks to that script. The model is engineered to slash inference costs for long-context tasks, using a new technique called Sparse Attention to focus computing power only where it’s needed. The Hangzhou startup describes V3.2-exp as an “intermediate step” toward next-generation AI.
Bottom Line: By doubling down on affordability and efficiency, DeepSeek is showing how China’s AI challengers can compete even without full access to Nvidia hardware.
AI | UAE
UAE Taps OpenAI to Power Its Push for a Global AI Ecosystem
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman met with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on Sept. 27 to discuss expanding cooperation in AI research and applications. State media said the talks support the UAE’s ambition to build an integrated AI ecosystem and accelerate its shift toward a knowledge-based economy.
The UAE is developing one of the world’s largest AI data centers and a new Arabic-language model, while also working with the U.S. to construct a massive AI campus.
Bottom Line: Clear signals that the UAE is courting U.S. partners, while keeping its tech ties with China in play.
AI | Singapore
Singapore Embraces Agentic AI, But Skills Lag Behind
Three in four Singapore business leaders say their companies are already exploring or testing Agentic AI, but most admit their workforce isn’t ready. A new report by Singapore’s state-linked workforce training provider (NTUC Learning Hub) found that while 77% of leaders and 74% of employees agree Agentic AI is vital for competitiveness, nearly half of leaders and over 80% of staff are still unfamiliar with it.
Bottom Line: Singapore is eager to deploy Agentic AI, but without rapid upskilling, most businesses risk stalling.
Crypto | Singapore
Singapore dollar-backed Stablecoin Debuts on Coinbase
Singapore dollar-backed stablecoin XSGD made its debut on Coinbase, giving millions of users global access to the country’s only SGD-pegged digital token. Issued by StraitsX and fully backed by reserves held at DBS and Standard Chartered, XSGD is part of Singapore’s bid to capture a share of the stablecoin market, projected to reach US$2 trillion by 2028. XSGD also became the basis for Singapore’s first stablecoin scan-to-pay service, rolled out by US-based cryptocurrency exchange OKX Pay on Grab’s payments platform.
Bottom Line: Singapore takes the lead against regional rival Hong Kong, with XSGD’s US debut marking a decisive step in the stablecoin race.
Data Centers | Japan
Hitachi’s OpenAI Tie-Up Lifts Japan Tech Rally
Japanese giant Hitachi is partnering with OpenAI to supply cooling systems and power transmission equipment for energy-hungry AI data centers. The partnership also covers energy and grid operations, storage, and Hitachi’s Lumada digital platform to ensure stable electricity supply to the data centers. The news sent Hitachi shares up by 9.9%, their sharpest rise since April, fueling a wider rally in Japan’s tech stocks.
Bottom Line: The tie-up underscores how U.S. AI leaders are leaning on Japanese industrial expertise to secure the infrastructure for global AI.
Signals To Watch
DeepSeek’s V3.2-exp could trigger a price war in China’s AI services market.
Taiwan’s refusal to shift fabs sets up a tariffs-versus-sovereignty showdown.
Japan’s industrial heavyweights are emerging as critical partners in the global AI data-center build-out.