electronics industry

The International Federation of Robotics reports the number of industrial robots operating in factories worldwide has exceeded five million. The milestone reflects steady automation adoption across manufacturing industries, driven by labor shortages, falling robot costs and rising demand for productivity. Coverage highlights the pace of robot deployment in sectors such as automotive, electronics and logistics, and what continued growth could mean for industrial employment.

The global fleet of industrial robots operating in factories has reached five million units, a milestone in the automation of manufacturing. The figure reflects years of steady adoption across industries such as automotive, electronics and logistics, with strong demand from major manufacturing economies. Observers see it as evidence of how deeply robotics has become embedded in modern production lines.

China installed 59% of all industrial robots deployed worldwide in 2025, underscoring its dominance in factory automation. The figure highlights how far the country has pulled ahead of other manufacturing economies in adopting robotics, driven by large-scale investment in its electronics, automotive and general industries sectors as it pushes to offset a shrinking workforce.

Samsung Electronics said high-bandwidth memory is expected to account for nearly 30% of the industry's DRAM production capacity next year, underscoring how demand from AI data centers is reshaping the memory market. The projection highlights the rapid shift of manufacturing capacity toward HBM, a technology used alongside AI accelerators from the likes of Nvidia, and signals intensifying competition in the segment.

Sony is reportedly withdrawing from CES 2027, breaking an unbroken presence at the consumer electronics show that dates back to 1967. The move, reported by gadget outlet Gadget Review, would mark the first time in nearly six decades that the Japanese electronics and entertainment giant is absent from the Las Vegas event, prompting questions about its trade-show strategy.

Foxconn and Alter have formed a new joint venture, Beijing Futekang, to build a mass production platform for humanoid robots. The move ties Foxconn's large-scale manufacturing capability to the fast-growing humanoid robotics sector, positioning the partners to industrialise robot assembly much as Foxconn did for consumer electronics. Industry watchers see it as a signal that humanoid robots are moving from prototypes toward volume production in China.

The worldwide stock of operational industrial robots has reached a record 5 million units, according to industry reporting. The milestone underlines the continued rapid adoption of automation in manufacturing, driven by labour shortages, falling robot costs and rising demand across automotive, electronics and logistics sectors. Analysts say the figure reflects sustained double-digit annual installations, with Asia accounting for the largest share of the installed base.

Sony will not attend CES 2027, according to an Engadget report, as the company shifts its focus toward entertainment. The move marks a notable absence for one of the tech show's longtime exhibitors and signals Sony's growing emphasis on gaming, film, music and other content businesses over traditional consumer electronics showcases.

Discussion is circulating about the possibility of a blockade of Taiwan and its consequences for the global semiconductor industry. The argument being shared is that a disruption to Taiwanese chip production, dominated by TSMC, would cripple world supply chains within days rather than months, affecting everything from consumer electronics to AI and the broader global economy.

Sony will not take part in CES 2027, with reports saying the company is shifting its priorities toward entertainment content rather than the hardware showcases the trade show is known for. The move marks a notable departure from one of the tech industry's biggest stages and fits Sony's broader emphasis on games, music, film and other media businesses.

Electronics For Imaging (EFI) and Agfa have announced a combination of EFI with Agfa's Digital Printing Solutions business, creating a larger player in industrial and digital printing technology. The deal brings together EFI's print software, inkjet and Fiery platforms with Agfa's printing systems and chemistry operations. Industry watchers are weighing the competitive impact on the digital printing market.

Electronics For Imaging (EFI) and Agfa have announced an agreement to combine EFI with Agfa's Digital Printing & Solutions business, creating a global, full-service industrial inkjet company. The merger pairs EFI's digital printing platforms with Agfa's inkjet technology and consumables. Industry watchers see it as a bid to consolidate scale in industrial printing amid competitive pressure.

South Korean semiconductor startup Mobilint has announced partnerships with LG, Doosan Robotics and Daedong to supply its on-device AI chips. The deals would embed Mobilint's neural processing technology directly into products spanning consumer electronics, industrial robots and agricultural machinery, allowing AI tasks to run locally without cloud connections. The move highlights South Korea's push to build a domestic edge-AI chip industry to compete with global players.

Foxconn Industrial Internet, the Shanghai-listed unit of the Taiwanese electronics manufacturing group, has decided not to proceed for now with reducing its stake in software firm Digiwin. The move keeps the company's holding in Digiwin unchanged, and investors are watching what the decision signals about the unit's strategy for its portfolio of affiliate businesses.

Vector and SCSK have jointly launched a bundled solution aimed at small electronic control units running on Renesas microcontrollers. The offering combines Vector's development tools and SCSK's services to simplify software development for compact automotive ECUs, supporting automakers and suppliers as vehicle electronics grow more complex and cost pressure on smaller control units increases.

LT Game introduced a new electronic table game, 'Crapless Craps', alongside new slot titles and an entertainment platform called Livo at the G2E show in Las Vegas. The debut gives the casino technology company a showcase for its expanded product line in front of global gaming operators gathering at one of the industry's biggest trade events.

Australian consumer electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi has selected Vusion, the retail technology platform, to advance its connected store strategy. The announcement, carried via PR Newswire, signals JB Hi-Fi's investment in digital in-store infrastructure and smarter retail operations. Details on the scope, timeline and financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed in the initial release.

The seafood industry is calling for reform of the EU's CATCH system, the electronic reporting platform used to record and verify catches of quota-managed fish stocks. Industry representatives say the system's requirements and digital interface create administrative burdens for fishing businesses, and they are pressing European authorities to simplify and improve how catch data is reported and monitored across the bloc.

Microchip Technology has introduced new 10BASE-T1S chips aimed at zonal vehicle designs, a wiring approach that groups car electronics into zones rather than using traditional point-to-point cabling. The single-pair Ethernet components are intended to help automakers cut cabling weight and simplify in-vehicle networks, part of a broader industry shift toward software-defined, zonal electrical architectures.

Samsung Electronics is reshaping its next-generation DRAM roadmap by elevating B1b wafer-to-wafer hybrid bonding to become the core technology behind its D0a node, according to DigiTimes Asia. The move signals Samsung's effort to stay competitive in advanced memory as the industry pushes toward denser, more power-efficient DRAM for AI and data-center demand.

Japanese robotics giants Fanuc and Yaskawa Electric are accelerating a shift of manufacturing away from China toward the United States, according to Nikkei Asia. The move is driven by surging demand for factory automation tied to the AI boom, as well as trade tensions and supply chain pressures. Both companies are key global suppliers of industrial robots used in electronics and automotive production.