🚨 Japan’s power semiconductor integration still a long way to go? #Rohm# reportedly says talks with #Toshiba# and #MitsubishiElectric# are taking longer, as negotiations over fab integration, R&D resources, and strategic control prove complex.💡More: 🔗

TDK Corporation and NHK Spring Co., Ltd. are facing a major U.S. class-action lawsuit accusing them of working together to fix prices on hard disk drive suspension assemblies for more than 10 years. These suspension assemblies are tiny mechanical arms inside traditional hard drives that hold and move the read/write heads with high precision. According to the lawsuit, the companies secretly coordinated prices, shared confidential business information, and divided customers and markets between 2003 and 2016. The lawsuit says this affected about 97% of hard drives sold worldwide during that time. The higher costs were allegedly passed on to companies such as Seagate Technology, Western Digital, and Toshiba, and eventually to consumers who bought computers, servers, and external hard drives. A U.S. federal court has approved the case to move forward as a class action for indirect purchasers in many states. Public notices were issued this week, and eligible consumers are automatically included unless they opt out by August 23, 2026. People may qualify if they bought products containing traditional hard drives during the covered years in eligible states.

I was in Tokyo earlier this week where @intel announced a partnership with @Hitachi to bring AI into the physical world - from energy grids and rail networks to smart factories and critical infrastructure. Looking forward to working with Toshiaki Tokunaga and the Hitachi team on quantum computing, energy optimization, purpose-built silicon for edge AI, advanced foundry equipment and automation. Together we will help make the world’s most important infrastructure smarter, more resilient, and more sustainable.