TABLE OF CONTENTS
Tech Diplomacy Updates
Top News of the Week
Latest News
Technology Strategy and Policy
Korea Corner
Artificial Intelligence
Telecommunications Networks and Infrastructure
Critical Minerals
Synthetic Biology
Quantum
Robotics
Advanced Aerospace Technology
Semiconductors and Microelectronics
Energy and Climate
Opinion and Commentary
The Last Word
Tech Diplomacy Academy is expanding its global reach to India and South Asia
The Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue and Thorsec Global, an India-based strategic security and advisory firm, announced a partnership to broaden access to the Krach Institute’s Tech Diplomacy Academy training for policymakers and industry professionals across India and South Asia.
Read more about the partnership.
SK hynix breaks ground on $4 billion advanced packaging production facility in Purdue Research Park
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-Jung, and Purdue University interim President Mitch Daniels mark a milestone in the university’s partnership with the South Korean semiconductor manufacturer. SK hynix held a ceremonial groundbreaking Thursday (Aug. 27) for its advanced packaging fabrication and R&D facility for AI memory in the Purdue Research Park, first U.S. high bandwidth memory production hub.
Verkhovna Rada Registers Trusted Tech Caucus Draft Law Aligned with xGTT Principles
Draft Law No. 15344-1 aims to expand public-sector access to cloud services, improve conditions for investment, and strengthen Ukraine’s long-term digital resilience and security.
It is based on legal certainty, transparency, data security, technology neutrality, and proportionate oversight — principles aligned with the emerging Global Trusted Tech Standard (xGTT).
New from Korea Trusted Tech & Trade fellow: To Lead in AI, the US and South Korea Need to Trust Each Other’s Clouds
AI runs on compute. Compute runs on trust.
South Korea already has the GPUs, the budget, and the ambition. The opportunity now is to build a cloud framework that enables government agencies to use that capacity securely and at scale.
In his latest Op-Ed for The National Interest, Krach Institute Korea Trusted Tech & Trade Fellow Paul Stahle examines how encryption, audited access, and independent verification can address sovereignty concerns—while avoiding unnecessary duplication of infrastructure already operating inside Korea.
Purdue’s AI competency graduation requirement begins in every undergraduate degree program
Beginning this fall, Purdue University will require all undergraduate students to complete an AI working competency as part of their core curriculum for graduation. Among the first in the nation, this new AI-focused coursework is designed to build critical thinking, responsible AI use and workforce-ready skills
Opinion: AI isn’t just a problem, it’s a solution. Some people are already making the most of it
“From therapy and companionship to job searches and small business growth, generative AI is showing how it can help," argues Len Khodorkovsky, Senior Advisor to the Chairman Keith Krach, and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and Senior Advisor to the U.S. Special Representative for Iran.
Top News of the Week – The U.S. Expands Space Launch Rates
Just as China was readying to launch its most ambitious lunar mission, the country abruptly canceled it, and at the same time the United States Government announced a major policy change to vastly increase the number of space launches that could take place in the United States.
Key Points:
After years of planning, the Chinese Government postponed its most ambitious lunar mission. This comes just two weeks after another Chinese rocket carrying satellites to orbit exploded shortly after liftoff.
Last week the White House announced a major policy shift which directs the U.S. Government to enable over 1000 launches and re-entries a year by 2030. In 2025, the U.S. had only 200 launches and re-entries.
The White House intends to grow the launches and re-entries to 1000 per year by 2030 by expanding the facilities available and changing regulations, that is nearly three launches a day, everyday.
More on Background:
China abruptly postpones ambitious lunar mission – Politico, August 23
China to launch a Moon mission that is unlike anything NASA has done – The Independent, August 21
New space transportation policy focuses on increased launch rates – Space News, August 20
NSPM-17, The National Space Transportation Policy – The White House, August 20
Chinese Start-Up Lands Reusable Rocket for the First Time – NYTs, August 19
Chinese rocket carrying satellite explodes seconds after launch – CNN, August 11
Latest News
Judge Says the Pentagon’s Blacklisting of Anthropic Is Illegal – Gizmodo, August 28
Nvidia agrees to buy Hugging Face for $12.9 billion, The Information reports – Reuters, August 26
Russia sabotages weapons factories across Europe – The Telegraph, August 23
China tightens border crossings after Meta’s play for AI startup Manus – Nikkei Asia, August 19
CK Hutchison Files Arbitration Against Panama, Seeking $1.5 Billion in Damages – WSJ, August 19
Taiwan proposes record defence budget to resist China pressure – FT, August 19
Technology Strategy and Policy
FBI disables China-linked hacking tools used against US agencies - Nextgov/FCW, August 26
Trump signs order banning some foreign equipment from US energy grid – Reuters, August 26
UK, Ukraine sign AI defence partnership linked to battlefield technology – Reuters, August 24
Europe Pushes for Moonshot Breakthroughs to Compete with China and U.S. – NYTs, August 19
China Removes Microsoft Windows at State Users Ahead of Plan – Bloomberg, August 18
Review of Submarine Cable Landing License Rules and Procedures to Assess Evolving National Security, Law Enforcement, Foreign Policy, and Trade Policy Risks – FDD, August 17
Expanding Capabilities to Combat Transnational Cyber-Enabled Crime – White House, August 12
China announces countermeasures against Washington, including controls on drone exports to the US – AP, August 5
Korea Corner
To Lead in AI, the US and South Korea Need to Trust Each Other’s Clouds – Paul Stahle, The National Interest, August 23
SK Hynix CEO says Indiana will be key memory production base by 2030, first U.S. facility now underway – CNBC, August 27
AI smart glasses force South Korea to rewrite its exam rules – SCMP, August 25
Auto powerhouse South Korea falls behind in driverless tech race – Korea Economic Daily, August 24
Can South Korea become a global AI powerhouse? – CNN, August 24
Artificial Intelligence
Purdue makes AI mandatory: Will your school follow? – Fox News, August 26
As Xi’s US visit approaches, basic details of planned AI talks remain uncertain – SCMP, August 19
Hanging a Banner for Chinese AI – Lingua Sinica, August 18
Why China’s Affordable AI Is a Worry for Silicon Valley – Bloomberg, August 18
Beijing Signals Tiered Governance of Open-Weight Models – Jamestown Foundation, August 13
Chinese Censorship Is Leaking into Answers from American AI – WSJ, August 12
China’s A.I. Is Surging Across Africa. That Should Worry Silicon Valley. – NYTs, August 5
Telecommunications Networks and Infrastructure
T-Mobile ‘chopped a cable’ to expel Chinese hackers from its network – TechCrunch, August 19
Google plans to stop making Pixel products in China in 2027 – Nikkei Asia, August 18
The Cyberattacks on the U.S Water Sector and the Iran Question: Escalation or Opportunism? – CSIS, August 14
Why Hackers Keep Going After U.S. Water Supplies – Foreign Policy, August 13
6G is coming. Will the West let China write the rule book? – WaPo, August 10
Stranger Pings: Chinese Telecom Companies Infiltrate U.S. Infrastructure – House Select Committee on the CCP, August 4
Chinese telecom firms kept footholds in US networks despite federal crackdowns, House probe finds – NextGov, August 4
Critical Minerals
Critical Mineral Chokepoints Could Threaten the US Nuclear Energy Renaissance – Rhodium Group, August 13
Price of niche rare earth jumps on fears of renewed Chinese export controls – FT, August 12
China says US tried to buy its super magnet that has ‘40% higher’ performance – SCMP, August 11
U.S. to Halt Key Metal Waste Exports in Push to Break China Reliance – WSJ, August 5
Central Asia’s Critical Minerals Rush: Between the US and China – National Interest, August 4
Ore Else: Spamouflage Targets Chile’s Copper Smuggling Coverage – Graphika, July 30
Synthetic Biology
5Y Capital invests Chinese state capital into American Biotech – Vermilion China, August 18
Artificial intelligence boosts automated biolabs – Knowable Magazine, August 18
This A.I. Just Created Viruses Not Found in Nature – NYTs, August 6
GP resource for pre-university students: How will biotechnology change human life? – Straits Times, July 8
Quantum
The Quantum Computer Revolution Is Tantalizingly Close – Bloomberg, August 25
NSF Invests $290M in Eight Quantum Research Institutes – Quantum Insider, August 25
‘It’s very counterintuitive’: The quantum batteries that upend the rules of charging – BBC, August 24
U.S. Lawmakers Reportedly Pushing Higher Defense Spending on Quantum as China Race Intensifies – Quantum Insider, August 10
Robotics
Who is really buying China’s humanoid robots? – FT, August 20
China’s robot bodies and AI brains take center stage at Beijing expos – Nikkei Asia, August 19
Chinese coastguard proposes turning South China Sea isles into robotic fortress – SCMP, August 19
Unitree IPO Could Mark New Era for China’s Robotics Sector – WSJ, August 19, 202
Chinese humanoid robot maker surges 600% in trading debut – FT, August 19
Beyond marathons and backflips, China’s robots face a commercial test – Reuters, August 18
How US military funding propelled China’s robot dogs – Reuters, August 18
Advanced Aerospace Technology
Russia develops its own Starlink: Who’s behind Rassvet and where it could fail – RBC-Ukraine, August 21
In China, rocket launches fuel tourism and space-age dreams – Reuters, August 19
Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Bolsters National Security and Strengthens U.S. Supply Chains by Imposing Tariffs on Drones and Their Parts and Components – White House, August 13
Semiconductors and Microelectronics
Minicomputers Made by Nvidia Are Powering Moscow’s A.I. Drones – NYTs, August 24
The U.S. banned Nvidia’s best chips from going to China. Now it’s trying to close a crucial loophole – CNBC, August 19
China eases limits on Nvidia H200 chips as AI race escalates – FT, August 18
China AI firms tap Nvidia power overseas as U.S. weighs crackdown – CNBC, August 19
Taiwan Charges 9 Over Illegal AI Server Exports to China, Including Nvidia and Super Micro Staff - SecurityWeek – August 25
Energy and Climate
Chinese automaker Chery to open UK R&D centre – FT, August 19
How much hydrogen awaits us underground? – MIT Technology Review, August 17
Nuclear firm Westinghouse confidentially files for US IPO – Reuters, July 31
Opinion and Commentary
Humanoid Robots Need a Supply Chain in North America – Thomas Black, Bloomberg, August 18
What Really Happens If China Wins the AI Race? – Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, August 18
China’s space race has a new problem: finding room for failure – Tang Meng Kit, SCMP, August 18
China Presses a Weakness in America’s Tech Policy – David Feith and Jimmy Goodrich, WSJ, August 9
America’s Superintelligence Dilemma: How to Avoid an AI Catastrophe – Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, August 5
The Last Word
“SK hynix’s investment in Indiana is a remarkable milestone demonstrating the powerful synergy our two nations can achieve within advanced industry supply chains.”
— Kang Kyung-wha, South Korea’s ambassador to the U.S.
About: Tech Diplomacy Now
The Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue is the world’s preeminent trusted technology accelerator. As the leader of the new category of Tech Diplomacy, the Institute integrates technology expertise, Silicon Valley strategies, and foreign policy tools to build the Global Trusted Tech Network of governments, companies, organizations and individuals to accelerate the innovation and adoption of trusted technology and ensure technology advances freedom.