TOKYO — 2025 was a year of uncertainty for markets and industries around the world, and tech was no exception. Out of the gates, supply chains had to wrestle with the return of Donald Trump to the White House and the DeepSeek shock that briefly caused companies and stock investors to question the entire basis of the AI investing boom. And that was only in January.
Much of our attention this year was taken up by two big questions. One was how the tech supply chain would respond to Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs, with production hubs such as Thailand and Vietnam among those threatened with punishingly high rates. One surprising outcome was how this spurred the development of a U.S. supply ecosystem for servers — even if dreams of a Made in America iPhone remain some way off.
The other question was whether we are in an AI investment bubble and, more recently, whether we are on the cusp of it bursting. Our reporting took us to Johor, the epicenter of Malaysia’s AI data center building push, Japan, where construction industry bottlenecks are delaying new projects, and Thailand, where the supply chain shift and AI fever are helping the country secure a less-glamorous but still lucrative niche in printed circuit boards.
We also kept our finger on the pulse of autonomous driving, including an interview with WeRide CEO Tony Han, and the rise of humanoid and semi-humanoid robots, a topic that really gathered steam in the latter half of the year.
Our most read tech stories of 2025 included:Global tech industry braces for ‘China shock’ in mature chipsApple explores possible test production of foldable iPhones in TaiwanChina’s SiCarrier emerges as challenger to ASML, other chip tool titansTrump tariffs upend ‘out-of-China’ plans for Apple, Nvidia suppliersBYD price bombshell raises specter of wider China EV consolidationDrone wars put Japan’s Kawasaki Motors, Subaru in spotlightSamsung delaying completion of US chip plant due to lack of customersThe final chip challenge: Can China build its own ASML?TSMC fires workers for breaching data rules on cutting-edge chip techVinFast bets on ‘Vietnam playbook’ to crack India and other Asian marketsChina’s rare-earths shock: 5 things to know about the latest curbsGoTo CEO to step down as Grab merger speculation swirls
Take a look back with our most read stories of the year here.