Korea

More restrictive digital regulations in South Korea could reduce startup formation by 8 percent, equivalent to 130 fewer startups per year, and cut venture capital (VC) investment by 10 percent, or ₩1.3 trillion ($910 million) less annually.

Canada-based NEO Battery Materials has received a purchase order for 10,000 units of its 34Ah drone battery cells from South Korea's battery pack manufacturer PM Energy Solution, the former said in a statement on Thursday.

Australia's Lynas Rare Earths and South Korea's JS Link will jointly develop a rare earth permanent magnet factory in Kuantan, Malaysia, following a memorandum of understanding signed in July 2025.

LG Innotek is set to kick off the construction of its $1 billion semiconductor substrate packaging plant in Vietnam's northern coastal city of Hai Phong, in the third quarter of 2026.

Samsung Electronics plans to invest $1 billion in new capital in Vietnam in 2026, after cumulative investment in the country reached $24 billion by end of 2025, CFO of Samsung Electronics Park Soon Cheol said to Vietnamese Minister of Finance Ngo Van Tuan at a meeting in Hanoi last week.

Thailand has secured more than $4.1 billion in investment pledges across its electric vehicle supply chain, spanning 198 projects covering battery electric vehicles, hybrid systems, battery manufacturing, critical components, and charging infrastructure.

The United States-based healthcare firm GRAIL has closed an equity financing deal in which Samsung affiliates, including Samsung C&T Corporation, invested $110 million through the purchase of GRAIL common stock at $70.05 per share.

Early-stage investor Antler has unveiled 28 startups from Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia as part of its Asia Regional Portfolio Showcase, highlighting a shift from AI copilots and productivity tools toward autonomous systems capable of independently executing complex tasks.

LG Innotek, the material arm of South Korean chaebol LG, will to expand its semiconductor substrate production into Vietnam by building a factory in the northern coastal city of Hai Phong.

LOTTE Ventures Vietnam has launched L-CAMP Vietnam 2026, an open innovation program offering up to $80,000 in proof-of-concept grant funding to connect high-potential Vietnamese startups with LOTTE's network of affiliates in Vietnam for pilot collaborations and long-term business partnerships.