Lens Technology supplied 132 types of core metal structural components for Honor's humanoid robot program, underscoring its expanding role in embodied intelligence manufacturing and signaling increased global industrial capacity in robot production, supply-chain integration, and overseas facility expansion that could affect robotics availability and development worldwide.

Chinese AI startup DeepSeek is considering raising external funding for the first time, a move that would mark a significant shift for a company that has so far relied on backing from its parent, hedge fund High-Flyer Capital Management, according to a report by The Information, citing five people familiar with the matter.

A humanoid robot half-marathon held in Beijing's Yizhuang development zone on April 19, 2026, has highlighted the rapid evolution of robotics technology, with autonomous machines demonstrating major gains in speed, stability, and decision-making compared with the previous year.

The timeline for quantum computing to become commercially viable has shrunk from decades to potentially within 10 years, driven by surging AI demand. That is the view of Dr. Marta P. Estarellas, CEO of Spanish quantum firm Qilimanjaro, which is positioning analog quantum computing as a key technology for future data centers.

Automation solutions provider Mirle announced plans to establish a joint venture with United Alloy-Tech Company (UAT), aiming to capture opportunities in the global automation and robotics market.

India's push to build a domestic advanced manufacturing ecosystem is facing renewed pressure as China tightens control over critical battery and EV technologies, while TCL considers restructuring its India TV unit and Taiwan's Rapidtek partners with India's HEX20 in satellite development, according to DIGITIMES reports. Separately, the UK has confirmed GBP380 million in support for Tata's Agratas battery plant in Somerset, underscoring intensifying global competition to secure EV and advanced manufacturing supply chains.

Palo Alto Networks warns that the rise of AI agents — now operating with human-like identities and largely through browsers — is reshaping enterprise practices worldwide and creating new governance and security challenges. Organizations face risks from data leakage, autonomous agent interactions, and inadequate browser controls, requiring new approaches to traceability and operational limits.

A large section of the PC gaming community loves modularity, and modular keyboards are not uncommon. Most modular keyboards offer customizations to the switch level, allowing you to swap the stock switches with different ones. RGB customizations are common even on non-modular keyboards, and that's something quite usual on most RGB keyboards. Epomaker took a different approach to modularity, and apart from swappable switches and RGB customizations, you are also seeing a swappable layout on its new RT98 keyboard. The RT98 is advertised as a keyboard that "Breaks the Mold" as it offers an unusual modularity that is unique and […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/review/epomaker-rt98-review/

Optical lens giant Largan held its first quarter of 2026 earnings call on April 16, hosted by chairman En-Ping Lin. The company posted 7% year-on-year revenue growth — but headwinds are building as smartphone makers look to downgrade specifications.

Worker protests broke out in mid-April across the Noida–Greater Noida industrial belt, a major center for smartphone and electronics manufacturing, disrupting factory operations and prompting a government response. The demonstrations were concentrated in industrial zones such as Phase-2 and Sector 60, where thousands of workers gathered to demand higher wages and improved working conditions.

The second edition of GITEX AI Asia 2026 opened at Marina Bay Sands, bringing together participants from more than 110 countries, as industry focus shifts from artificial intelligence model development to large-scale deployment.

Embodied AI is moving out of the lab and into real-world environments at increasing speed. The humanoid robot half-marathon scheduled for April 19 in Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area (E-Town) is framed as a public race, but functions more as an industry stress test, compressing a full stack of technologies into a 21-kilometer trial.

The global AI boom is shifting infrastructure bottlenecks from GPUs to CPUs, as inference-heavy and agentic AI workloads push compute demands beyond accelerator capacity into system-level constraints.

Taiwan-based startup Fortune AI will attend the Plug and Play Silicon Valley Summit in May, one of five Taiwanese startups selected for this year's cohort. Its flagship product, SAFE SWIM, uses computer vision with a large language model (LLM) backend to detect drowning risks in real time, delivered as a B2B SaaS subscription to aquatic facilities. Founder and CEO Andrew Chen spoke with DIGITIMES Asia ahead of the event, discussing the product's commercial logic, technical moat, and the realities of entering the US market.

Capital is still pouring into humanoid robotics in 2026, but the industry's financials are telling a more complicated story.

Taiwan's Fortune Electric Value Company (Evalue) has launched a 640kW ultra-fast DC charger capable of charging 800V EVs in 15–20 minutes, with support for up to five simultaneous charging guns. The launch could accelerate the buildout of charging infrastructure capacity globally as operators prioritize fast-slow charging mixes and scale partnerships to meet rising EV demand and reduce emissions.

Aurotek's unveiling of three new intelligent robots on April 16, developed with partner Pudu Robotics, signals broader options for global industries seeking automation. The system targets cleaning, inspection, and material handling, promising faster deployment, improved operational resilience, and potential labor-cost mitigation for manufacturers, logistics, and facility managers worldwide.

OpenAI has reportedly entered into a multi-year agreement to pay chip startup Cerebras Systems more than US$20 billion for AI server capacity, according to a report by The Information. The deal represents an aggressive move by the ChatGPT creator to diversify its hardware supply chain and mitigate its reliance on Nvidia.

The Gears of War series remains as one of the big 3 Xbox franchises in many people’s eyes (alongside Halo and Forza), with the long-awaited Gears of War: E-Day set to be its big return following roughly half-a-decade of absence. Ahead of the game’s big blowout event scheduled for this June, Xbox’s CCO Matt Booty has offered some slight teasers on what to expect from the upcoming presentation.

Right at the tail-end of last month, Microsoft officially unveiled their plans for this Summer, confirming that they will be hosting an Xbox Games Showcase on the 7th of June – followed immediately by a dedicated Gears of War: E-Day Direct. At the time, this was all that was shared.

Taking to the official Xbox podcast however, Chief Content Officer Matt Booty offered some new and ancillary details regarding what to expect from the E-Day segment, stating:

“I’ll say that we’ve got the Gears Direct coming, and after seeing that, we’ve probably got like a full 30 minutes, which is really great. And I don’t know. I just love everybody in that studio, the work they’re doing. I’m excited about the game, and we’re going to have a fantastic, full 30 minutes of stuff to see.”

While not the most concise of revelations, it is interesting to learn that we will be getting a full 30 minutes of Gears of War: E-Day footage – especially as all we have seen so far has been a brief cinematic teaser from back in 2024.

Though far from being in its peak popularity-wise, Gears of War remains one of Xbox’s most iconic franchises, and so it will be interesting to see what The Coalition have in store for fans.

KitGuru says: Are you looking forward to Gears of War: E-Day? How different do you expect it to be compared to previous entries? Is Gears still one of Xbox’s big 3? Let us know your thoughts down below.

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