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Tech News
A developer has published an open-source manufacturing platform combining ERP, MES and QMS functions in a single codebase. The system is designed to run identically whether deployed on a single laptop, a Docker host, or scaled across a multi-region cloud cluster, without relying on any proprietary runtime.
Sherline Products, the American maker of precision lathes, mills, and small CNC machines, told customers it is beginning to shut down manufacturing operations. The company says it will keep building and selling machines, tooling, and replacement parts as equipment, materials, and staffing allow through the end of October 2026, though some product lines will stop sooner than others.
A developer of the Floppy Emu disk emulator found that a new manufacturing batch failed quality assurance with strange symptoms: some boards wouldn't boot, others showed erratic 'haunted' behavior jumping through code, and one ran in slow motion. After months of setting the failures aside, the developer began systematic debugging with power checks, solder reflows, and a hardware debugger to isolate the cause, suspecting a change introduced by a new subcontractor at the contract manufacturer.
A new McKinsey and SEMI Foundation report projects the United States could be short by as many as 157,000 semiconductor workers by 2030, even as companies like Samsung, TSMC and Intel race to build new fabrication plants domestically. Samsung executive Jon Taylor told CNBC he's worried there simply aren't enough technically trained people entering the field to staff these facilities, including Samsung's $35 billion Taylor, Texas complex set to begin production this year.
In an interview, a Syensqo executive described a 'performance pyramid' framework, where commodity materials sit at the bottom and high-performance specialty materials sit at the top. He explained that AI's rapid advancement is piling on technical requirements—heat tolerance, purity, electrical performance, chemical and plasma resistance, long-term stability—that push semiconductor and data center materials toward the top of that pyramid, an area where Syensqo focuses its work.
SK hynix is reportedly discussing options with Intel for U.S.-based chip production, including leasing space at Intel's under-construction Ohio One facility or forming a joint venture involving Intel and AI hyperscalers seeking HBM supply. The talks come as SK hynix expands its Indiana HBM packaging plant following its $26.5 billion Nasdaq listing, though neither company has confirmed the discussions.
Solar panel prices have dropped from roughly $5-6 per watt in 2000 to about 12 cents today, largely due to expanded Chinese manufacturing capacity, according to Ember co-founder Dave Jones. This price collapse has pushed businesses in countries like Pakistan, the Philippines, and across Africa to install their own solar systems, with worldwide small-scale solar capacity nearing 1.2 terawatts by the end of 2025.
Jiga, a Y Combinator-backed startup from the Winter 2021 batch, announced it is hiring a Product Engineer who can work remotely within the US. The company builds software aimed at streamlining custom manufacturing workflows for hardware parts used in industries like aerospace, robotics, and data centers.
French pharmaceutical company Ipsen is evaluating whether to establish a production facility in the United States. The move would place Ipsen among a growing group of European drugmakers weighing similar U.S.-based investment decisions.
A new federal decision will cut Arizona's yearly Colorado River allocation by more than 25 percent, straining a state that depends on the river for over a third of its water supply. The cutback arrives as TSMC and Intel expand massive, water-intensive semiconductor fabs in the state to meet surging AI-driven chip demand. City officials and industry leaders are now racing to conserve water and secure alternative sources as costs rise for both manufacturers and residents.
Startup Besxar, founded by former OpenAI staffer Ashley Pilipiszyn, has arranged with SpaceX to fly small canisters called 'fabships' aboard Falcon 9 boosters to test manufacturing semiconductor precursor materials in the vacuum of space. The company's first two units flew on a July Starlink mission, surviving launch and exposing wafer samples to space despite a data system glitch in one canister. Besxar has raised roughly $14 million, including a $9 million seed round led by Dauntless Ventures and Overture VC, to pursue a dozen planned test flights.
Fast Company has released its Best Workplaces for Innovators 2026 rankings, selecting six companies in the industrial and manufacturing category. Three of the six winners are headquartered in the Bay Area, reflecting the region's continued pull in hardware and manufacturing innovation alongside its traditional software dominance.