May 14, 2026

MRAM Gets Its Own SIG MRAM reaches a tipping point as the Storage Networking Industry Association launches the MRAM Alliance SIG to unite the semiconductor ecosystem, address magnetic immunity concerns, and drive standards, education, and adoption across automotive, edge computing, and data center applications. EE Times

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Microsoft feared being too dependent on OpenAI, Musk-Altman trial testimony reveals Elon Musk’s trial with Sam Altman highlights tensions in Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI Satya Nadella warned of an IBM-like fate invested heavily and now faces rising competition as OpenAI expands models commoditize and Microsoft diversifies its AI strategy amid trial revelations. CNBC

How pH Cleaning Agents Affect Production Performance Establishing a reliable cleaning process requires a good understanding of all influencing factors, including pH, and defining the correct balance to meet final product reliability. Technical Paper

AI-driven cyberattacks will start to be the ‘new norm’ in months, Palo Alto warns Lee Klarich, Palo Alto Networks CTO, warns organizations face a three-to-five-month window to strengthen defenses as AI-powered hacking accelerates. He says attackers increasingly exploit vulnerabilities, prompting urgent industry action, new mitigation tools, and heightened cybersecurity collaboration across tech firms. CNBC

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Hon Hai confirms cyberattack on N American plants Hon Hai Foxconn confirms a cyberattack on North American facilities by the Nitrogen ransomware group saying disrupted factories are recovering and production is resuming while hackers claim stolen data including internal documents from major clients like Apple and Nvidia Taipei Times

Component Pressure Exposure Validation in An Inline Wash System The purpose of this research is to measure what circuit cards and parts on those assemblies are exposed to during the wash and rinse process of inline cleaning. Technical Paper

Technical Papers ■ Evaluation of Techniques for Intentional Contamination of PWB Substrates for Quantitative Cleanliness Analyses ■ Scaling SMT Traceability ■ The Drawbacks of Internal Recycling Systems for Solder Dross ■ Engineering ESD-Safe PCB Assembly for High-Reliability IoT and Industrial Electronics ■ The Analysis of Variance: Drawing Conclusions from Data That Are Correct, Unambiguous, and Defensible ■ PCB Rework Evolves, With X-ray a Constant Support ■ How pH Cleaning Agents Affect Production Performance ■ A Universal AI-Powered Segmentation Model for PCBA & Semiconductor ■ RAIG Minimizes Corrosion, Allows Higher Gold on ENEPIG ■ High Reliability Lead-Free Solder Paste with Rosin and Anti-Crack Resin MORE TECHNICAL PAPERS

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Donald Trump vows to push Xi to ‘open up’ China US President Donald Trump heads to Beijing and urges Chinese President Xi Jinping to open China to US companies. He travels with CEOs Jensen Huang, Elon Musk and Tim Cook for talks on trade, Iran and Taiwan. Taipei Times

The humble desktop monitor is quietly having its best years, and gamers are fully responsible Gamers drive a surge in desktop monitor demand as shipments hit 133.4 million in 2025, up 4.3%. Gaming displays grow over 50%, with high-refresh, dual-mode and OLED models boosting adoption despite chip constraints and potential price pressures. TechSpot

Limits for HASL with Complex Products What are the limits for the future with more complex products? HASL and the actual HASL process, hot air solder leveling, has been with us since the mid-70s. Board Talk

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NVIDIA Drains Foxconn’s Entire CPO Rack Supply Ahead of Schedule, Forcing the Assembler to Skip Showcase at Computex This Year Foxconn has shipped all co-packaged optics racks to NVIDIA ahead of schedule and raises shipment outlook to 50,000 units for 2026–2027, as NVIDIA accelerates next-gen optical infrastructure development for Feynman 2028 to remove data center bottlenecks. Wccftech

Nvidia’s Jensen Huang bets on this British startup to build ‘next frontier’ of AI Nvidia partners with newly founded Ineffable Intelligence, led by ex–DeepMind researcher David Silver, to develop reinforcement learning-based superintelligence systems. The collaboration builds large-scale infrastructure using Nvidia chips, following the startup’s $1.1 billion seed funding from major investors. CNBC

Copper Electrodeposition By Hydrogen Evolution Assisted Electroplacing A technique called hydrogen evolution assisted electroplating, has shown enhancement to the deposition rate of copper compared to galvanostatic conventional electroplating methods. Technical Paper

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How Bluetooth® Technology is Powering Productivity at Scale Manufacturers and logistics providers are accelerating Bluetooth-enabled digital transformation to tackle supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, and rising costs. ABI Research forecasts $224.7 billion in industrial transformation spending for 2026 as companies adopt real-time tracking, predictive maintenance, Edge AI, and safety solutions to improve efficiency and resilience. EE Times

Gartner Predicts by 2027, 50% of Enterprises Without a People‑Centric AI Strategy Will Lose Their Top AI Talent Gartner warned that companies without strong AI workforce strategies could lose top talent by 2027. Its surveys found many firms overestimate AI readiness, while poor enablement, weak governance and employee anxiety continue undermining productivity, adoption and retention. Gartner

Sponsor A Safer Approach to Underfilled BGA Removal Traditional heat-based removal methods can damage circuit boards and compromise reliability. Learn how cold precision milling helps eliminate risks. Circuit Technology Center

OpenAI sued after ChatGPT allegedly advised teen before fatal overdose OpenAI faces a lawsuit after parents alleged ChatGPT’s GPT-4o model gave a 19-year-old student personalized drug-use advice, including mixing kratom and Xanax, before his fatal overdose. The case intensifies scrutiny over AI-generated medical guidance and chatbot safety safeguards. TechSpot

Value-Driven CFX Case Studies Supporting Smart Manufacturing In this paper, two diverse examples are discussed, illustrating how the adoption of the Connected Factory Exchange (CFX) standard is changing manufacturing. Technical Paper

Inventec sees strong AI, general-purpose server demand through 2028 Inventec expects strong growth in both AI and general-purpose servers in 2026, with demand for standard servers projected to rise through 2028. President Jack Tsai said the company will double capital spending next year to expand production capacity and meet customer demand. Digitimes

Canada opens limited EV market to China as automakers jockey for position Lotus has started shipping EVs from China to Canada under a new bilateral agreement, while BYD and Chery prepare market entry later this year. Meanwhile, speculation is growing that Tesla shifted Canadian Model 3 supplies to its Shanghai factory after recent price cuts. Digitimes

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What Is Artificial General Intelligence? How AGI Could Change the Future Artificial general intelligence (AGI) aims to create flexible, human-like AI systems capable of learning, reasoning, and adapting across multiple tasks without specialized training. Unlike today’s narrow AI models, AGI remains a theoretical research goal focused on broad problem-solving and cross-domain intelligence. Tech Times