South Korea dominates the tech agenda with an industrial bet on a vast scale, unveiling plans worth anywhere from roughly half a trillion dollars to more than $1 trillion to expand chipmaking and AI data centres, with Samsung, SK hynix and other partners at the centre of a push to secure the country’s place in the global race for semiconductor and AI leadership. That same AI boom is also reshaping corporate structures elsewhere: British American Tobacco says thousands of jobs will go as it pursues an AI-led cost-cutting overhaul, underscoring how automation is spreading well beyond traditional tech companies. Samsung, meanwhile, is also looking to the consumer frontier, with reports it is targeting 2028 for its first rollable smartphone, a sign that hardware makers are still searching for the next standout form factor. And in the mobile ecosystem, Huawei’s AppGallery has landed an award shortlist, highlighting the ongoing competition over app distribution and platform reach.