The share buybacks of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which have been supporting downward

Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and SK hynix (000660.KS) are likely to complete their share buybacks by mid-October, earlier than their November deadlines. Samsung has bought 74.69% of its planned shares, spending 10.31 trillion won, while SK hynix has purchased 58.79% of its target, spending 24.39 trillion won. The buybacks have supported the KOSPI index.

Samsung co-led a $231 million funding round in Dutch AI chip startup Euclyd, which is developing AI inference chips with a different architecture from Nvidia's GPUs. The Series A financing was also backed by several other investors. Euclyd plans to launch physical chip systems in 2028 and aims to serve thousands of enterprise customers by 2030. Samsung's involvement brings financial support, engineering expertise, and supply chain knowledge.

Samsung Electronics invested $214M in Dutch AI chip startup Euclid, focusing on processor-memory co-design for AI inference. Euclid's Craftwork system aims to improve efficiency by integrating compute and memory, reducing data-transfer time and power consumption. Samsung seeks to expand beyond HBM production into AI compute and memory architectures, targeting the growing inference market.

Samsung co-led a $230M Series A funding round for Dutch AI chip startup Euclyd, which aims to develop specialized hardware for AI inference. Euclyd's architecture focuses on reducing energy consumption and cost, with Samsung contributing engineering expertise and manufacturing support. The company plans to roll out physical chip systems in 2028, targeting enterprise customers by 2030.

SK Hynix is in talks with Intel (INTC) to manufacture memory chips in the U.S., possibly leasing space in Intel's Ohio facility or forming a joint venture. Intel stock rose 8% on the news, with a current price of $109 and a target of $116. Both companies have not finalized any deals yet, and South Korea's government may review the partnership due to sensitive technology concerns.

Asian shares rose Friday, led by tech stocks, as SK Hynix and Intel reportedly discussed joint memory chip production in Ohio. Gold prices climbed over 1% to near $4,400/oz, rebounding from a three-day drop, supported by lower oil prices and a weaker dollar.