Applied Compute’s funding valuation is expected to double to $3 billion.

SK Hynix has become the largest shareholder of Japanese NAND flash manufacturer Kioxia indirectly via the special purpose company SPC2 it invested in. Kioxia disclosed that its largest shareholder has changed from Toshiba to BCPE Pangea Cayman2 (SPC2), which currently holds a 14.19% stake in the firm. Toshiba previously held a 15.10% stake in Kioxia, but after selling shares in seven tranches between July 15 and August 3, its holding dropped to 14.06%—lower than SPC2’s 14.19%. In 2018, SK Hynix invested approximately 4 trillion won in Kioxia via two special purpose companies, with SPC2 (which it retains) accounting for around 1.3 trillion won of that total, structured as convertible bonds. If the relevant convertible bonds are converted into shares, SK Hynix could become a voting shareholder of Kioxia. However, for SK Hynix to obtain voting rights, it still needs approval from competition laws and antitrust regulators across multiple countries. The Japanese government may also reject the application over concerns for protecting its domestic semiconductor supply chain, so the possibility of SK Hynix directly influencing Kioxia’s operations remains low for now. Kioxia is Japan’s largest NAND flash manufacturer, and currently ranks third in global NAND market share, trailing Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

According to Bloomberg, Rocket Lab has stated its Neutron rocket project faces new delay risks, with the maiden launch possibly pushed back to 2027. The company plans to deliver Neutron to the launch pad in the fourth quarter as originally scheduled, but did not confirm the rocket will complete its first flight this year. Previously, Rocket Lab had targeted a maiden Neutron launch by the end of 2026. Rocket Lab noted that Neutron’s complex development cycle still carries “risks and uncertainties,” with the exact launch timeline dependent on booster test results and other factors. Neutron is a larger, higher-performance rocket developed by the company based on its Electron, with one goal being to compete with SpaceX’s Falcon 9. In financial results, Rocket Lab posted a record quarterly revenue of $234 million, beating market expectations of $232 million; adjusted earnings per share came in at a loss of $0.08, slightly worse than analysts’ projected loss of $0.07. The company forecasts third-quarter revenue between $250 million and $265 million, above the consensus market estimate of $237 million. Following the announcement, Rocket Lab’s U.S. stock fell roughly 2% in after-hours trading. Additionally, Rocket Lab announced that Kepler Communications has booked an exclusive Neutron launch mission, scheduled no earlier than 2028.

TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo stated in a recent research note that recent market rumors claim TSMC, due to tight DRAM supplies, has stockpiled around $10 billion worth of unfinished Apple 2nm processors, delaying their packaging process, citing TSMC’s Q2 earnings call comment that “the increase in inventory days is mainly due to the ramp-up of 2nm mass production” as evidence. However, his industry research shows that Apple’s hardware shipments this year have indeed been cut due to storage supply shortages, but Apple places processor orders with TSMC at least three months in advance, planning production based on available storage supply rather than asking TSMC to mass-produce unfinished processors ahead of time. Kuo noted that this does not mean TSMC does not produce and hold unfinished processors in advance, but if the supply bottleneck is not on TSMC’s end, such actions offer no clear practical benefit, and Apple has little reason to pay extra to request TSMC to do so. Therefore, he believes the scenario of “TSMC stockpiling $10 billion worth of unfinished processors and waiting for storage supplies to arrive for packaging” has not materialized. He further emphasized that TSMC’s Q2 inventory days rise cannot be directly linked to Apple’s unfinished processors. First, TSMC’s inventory days typically increase during the ramp-up of new advanced process mass production in the past; second, TSMC’s inventory includes not only unfinished products but also finished goods, raw materials, components, and spare parts; third, this year’s 2nm clients are not only Apple, but also IC design firms including AMD and MediaTek.

According to on-chain analyst Yu Jin’s monitoring, Ethereum treasury firm BitMine bought ETH after a price dip, and received 13,000 ETH (valued at $24.36 million) from BitGo five minutes ago.

A source familiar with the matter told Jinshi that Apple (AAPL) still plans to launch a fully upgraded, glass-centric iPhone next year to mark the 20th anniversary of the iPhone's debut. Earlier, an analyst report had claimed that this plan had been scrapped.

As #oil prices rose, trader 0x0000's $BRENTOIL short was fully liquidated, losing $1.33M.