SpaceX posted a US$4.4 billion quarterly profit as AI revenue surged, while Tesla and SpaceX courted Korean suppliers for their Terafab chip project in Texas. Musk is targeting production in 2028 as the companies also explore a potential merger.
ServiceNow’s AI Passport aims to govern what enterprise AI agents can do, using signed credentials and runtime checks. With NVIDIA supporting enforcement, the test is whether permissions can be upheld and revoked across third-party systems as businesses move agents into production safely at scale.
Nine years late, Tesla’s Roadster flipped, hovered and leapt over its siblings at a SpaceX rocket test site. Shares jumped, then fell. Social feeds caught fire. What Musk really unveiled was one engineering stack wearing two corporate badges. Success is not guaranteed. Excitement, as ever, is.
TSMC's Q2 net income surged 77.4% to a record $22 billion on AI chip demand. The foundry giant pledged an extra $100 billion for its Arizona complex, bringing total US investment to an unprecedented $265 billion.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) has reported a 77.4 per cent year-on-year increase in second-quarter net income, reaching a record NT$706.56 billion, or approximately US$22 billion. The result exceeded Wall Street expectations and was driven by sustained demand for advanced artificial intelligence chips.
The company also announced an additional US$100 billion investment in its Arizona manufacturing operations, lifting its total commitment in the state to US$265 billion. This represents the largest foreign direct investment in United States history.
The expansion will support new fabrication plants capable of producing 2-nanometre and more advanced chips, as well as additional advanced packaging facilities. Chief executive C.C. Wei said "the company remained highly confident in the long-term growth of artificial intelligence, with strong demand continuing to come from major cloud service providers."
TSMC recorded quarterly revenue of US$40.20 billion, an increase of 33.7 per cent from the same period last year. It also raised its full-year 2026 capital expenditure forecast to between US$60 billion and US$64 billion, up from its previous guidance of as much as US$56 billion.
Advanced technologies, defined as processes of 7 nanometres or smaller, accounted for 77 per cent of total wafer revenue. Three-nanometre chips contributed 30 per cent, while 2-nanometre chips represented 3 per cent.
TSMC's market capitalisation now stands at approximately US$1.97 trillion, nearly double that of rival Samsung Electronics. The company's Taipei-listed shares have gained 59% so far in 2026.
The sheer scale of TSMC's investment signals a profound shift in the global semiconductor supply chain and the enduring strength of the AI infrastructure boom. This $265 billion commitment represents the largest foreign direct investment in US history, cementing Arizona as a critical hub for advanced chip manufacturing.
This move directly addresses geopolitical vulnerabilities by diversifying production away from Taiwan, a key strategic priority for Western governments. It ensures a more resilient supply of the cutting-edge silicon required for frontier AI models, national defence systems, and enterprise technology. Nick Marro, principal economist for Asia at the Economist Intelligence Unit, noted the investment will help anchor the US-Taiwan reciprocal trade agreement signed earlier in 2026.
However, Wall Street has reacted with cautious apprehension. Despite the record results, US-listed TSMC shares fell more than 2% on the day of the announcement. The Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index slid 4.2%, with Nvidia down 2.4%, Arm down 5.4%, and Marvell down 8.7%. Goldman Sachs prime brokerage analysts noted hedge funds' net exposure to AI and chip stocks is now at its lowest level this year.
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