South Korea’s first ever single-stock leveraged exchange‑traded funds — tied to chip bellwethers Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. — are set to debut as early as May, according to a local media report. Major money managers Samsung Asset Management and Mirae Asset Global Investments are already preparing the products, the Maeil Business Newspaper reported, citing financial authorities and u...
South Korea’s first ever single-stock leveraged exchange‑traded funds — tied to chip bellwethers Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. — are set to debut as early as May, according to a local media report. Major money managers Samsung Asset Management and Mirae Asset Global Investments are already preparing the products, the Maeil Business Newspaper reported, citing financial authorities and unidentified industry officials. Leveraged ETFs seek to deliver two or three times the daily performance of an underlying stock or index, magnifying both gains and losses. South Korea has so far banned single-stock leveraged ETFs from being listed at home due to their high-risk nature. However, that has led the nation’s risk-loving retail investors to flock to similar products in Hong Kong. Shares of Samsung and SK Hynix multiplied over the past year, thanks to artificial intelligence-driven demand for their chips, until the Iran war soured sentiment. In a bid to diversify products and allow daytraders more leveraged bets, the Financial Services Commission said in January that it will fast-track procedures related to the approval of single‑stock products. The regulator is currently is discussing with relevant parties in accordance with the January announcement and working to ensure that the system is improved smoothly, an FSC official said. Still, the introduction of single-stock leveraged ETFs risks amplifying volatility, as the products can magnify both gains and losses in heavily traded names. That dynamic may be particularly pronounced in Korea’s retail-driven market, where flows tend to be concentrated in heavyweight semiconductor stocks. The FSC said in January that leverage will be capped at twice the stock’s movement — rather than the threefold level some had sought. That means a 1% change in the underlying stock will translate into roughly a 2% move in the leveraged fund, up or down. The regulator may allow only one such leveraged ETF product per firm to prevent exc...
Korean AI startup Upstage is in discussions with Advanced Micro Devices Inc. to buy 10,000 of its latest AI accelerators as part of an effort to bring large-scale compute into the country. Upstage Chief Executive Officer Sung Kim said he discussed the procurement of AMD’s MI355 accelerators when he met with the US chipmaker’s CEO Lisa Su in Seoul last week. “We have a lot of Nvidia chips in Korea,...
Korean AI startup Upstage is in discussions with Advanced Micro Devices Inc. to buy 10,000 of its latest AI accelerators as part of an effort to bring large-scale compute into the country. Upstage Chief Executive Officer Sung Kim said he discussed the procurement of AMD’s MI355 accelerators when he met with the US chipmaker’s CEO Lisa Su in Seoul last week. “We have a lot of Nvidia chips in Korea, but we want to diversify to other chips, including AMD’s,” Kim told Bloomberg Television on Monday. Upstage is one of four teams competing in a state-backed race to select Korea’s best national AI foundation models. The tournament, dubbed the “AI Squid Game” in a nod to the popular Netflix survival drama, is part of the country’s ambition to become one of the world’s top AI powerhouses. Korea Kicks Off AI Squid Game to Compete With US, China Korea’s AI Squid Game Gets Surprise Entrant Motif Technologies Rebel Startups Challenge Conglomerates in Korean ‘AI Squid Game’ Rookie Minister Gets $7 Billion to Catch US, China in AI Arena The teams’ AI foundation models face evaluation and elimination every six months by a panel of judges overseen by the Ministry of Science and ICT. Korea is set to select two finalists by early next year. The winners receive a greater number of Nvidia Corp. ’s graphics processing units. Upstage is currently preparing a large language model with about 200 billion parameters for the upcoming round in the summer, Kim said. The startup’s edge lies in building high-performance models with relatively lower costs by combining scale with efficiency — an approach aimed at countering low-priced competitors from China, he added. Kim also said he’s targeting countries like Vietnam and the UAE with sovereign AI systems that can be deployed within their own borders.
Korean AI startup Upstage is in discussions with Advanced Micro Devices Inc. to buy 10,000 of its latest AI accelerators as part of an effort to bring large-scale compute into the country. Upstage Chief Executive Officer Sung Kim said he discussed the procurement of AMD’s MI355 accelerators when he met with the US chipmaker’s CEO Lisa Su in Seoul last week. “We have a lot of Nvidia chips in Korea,...
Korean AI startup Upstage is in discussions with Advanced Micro Devices Inc. to buy 10,000 of its latest AI accelerators as part of an effort to bring large-scale compute into the country. Upstage Chief Executive Officer Sung Kim said he discussed the procurement of AMD’s MI355 accelerators when he met with the US chipmaker’s CEO Lisa Su in Seoul last week. “We have a lot of Nvidia chips in Korea, but we want to diversify to other chips, including AMD’s,” Kim told Bloomberg Television on Monday. Most Read from Bloomberg South Korean AI startup Upstage says it’s in talks with its investor, AMD, for the potential purchase of 10,000 AI chips. Upstage CEO Sung Kim discusses his recent meeting with AMD chief Lisa Su in Seoul, as well as his company’s edge in competing in South Korea’s AI ‘squid game’. He speaks with Minmin Low at the Milken Institute’s “Global Investors’ Symposium” in Hong Kong.Source: Bloomberg Upstage is one of four teams competing in a state-backed race to select Korea’s best national AI foundation models. The tournament, dubbed the “AI Squid Game” in a nod to the popular Netflix survival drama, is part of the country’s ambition to become one of the world’s top AI powerhouses. The teams’ AI foundation models face evaluation and elimination every six months by a panel of judges overseen by the Ministry of Science and ICT. Korea is set to select two finalists by early next year. The winners receive a greater number of Nvidia Corp.’s graphics processing units. Upstage is currently preparing a large language model with about 200 billion parameters for the upcoming round in the summer, Kim said. The startup’s edge lies in building high-performance models with relatively lower costs by combining scale with efficiency — an approach aimed at countering low-priced competitors from China, he added. Kim also said he’s targeting countries like Vietnam and the UAE with sovereign AI systems that can be deployed within their own borders. --With assistance from Naman...
Korean AI startup Upstage is in discussions with Advanced Micro Devices Inc. to buy 10,000 of its latest AI accelerators as part of an effort to bring large-scale compute into the country. Upstage Chief Executive Officer Sung Kim said he discussed the procurement of AMD’s MI355 accelerators when he met with the US chipmaker’s CEO Lisa Su in Seoul last week. “We have a lot of Nvidia chips in Korea,...
Korean AI startup Upstage is in discussions with Advanced Micro Devices Inc. to buy 10,000 of its latest AI accelerators as part of an effort to bring large-scale compute into the country. Upstage Chief Executive Officer Sung Kim said he discussed the procurement of AMD’s MI355 accelerators when he met with the US chipmaker’s CEO Lisa Su in Seoul last week. “We have a lot of Nvidia chips in Korea, but we want to diversify to other chips, including AMD’s,” Kim told Bloomberg Television on Monday. Upstage is one of four teams competing in a state-backed race to select Korea’s best national AI foundation models. The tournament, dubbed the “AI Squid Game” in a nod to the popular Netflix survival drama, is part of the country’s ambition to become one of the world’s top AI powerhouses. Korea Kicks Off AI Squid Game to Compete With US, China Korea’s AI Squid Game Gets Surprise Entrant Motif Technologies Rebel Startups Challenge Conglomerates in Korean ‘AI Squid Game’ Rookie Minister Gets $7 Billion to Catch US, China in AI Arena The teams’ AI foundation models face evaluation and elimination every six months by a panel of judges overseen by the Ministry of Science and ICT. Korea is set to select two finalists by early next year. The winners receive a greater number of Nvidia Corp. ’s graphics processing units. Upstage is currently preparing a large language model with about 200 billion parameters for the upcoming round in the summer, Kim said. The startup’s edge lies in building high-performance models with relatively lower costs by combining scale with efficiency — an approach aimed at countering low-priced competitors from China, he added. Kim also said he’s targeting countries like Vietnam and the UAE with sovereign AI systems that can be deployed within their own borders.
Korean AI startup Upstage is in discussions with Advanced Micro Devices Inc. to buy 10,000 of its latest AI accelerators as part of an effort to bring large-scale compute into the country. Upstage Chief Executive Officer Sung Kim said he discussed the procurement of AMD’s MI355 accelerators when he met with the US chipmaker’s CEO Lisa Su in Seoul last week. “We have a lot of Nvidia chips in Korea,...
Korean AI startup Upstage is in discussions with Advanced Micro Devices Inc. to buy 10,000 of its latest AI accelerators as part of an effort to bring large-scale compute into the country. Upstage Chief Executive Officer Sung Kim said he discussed the procurement of AMD’s MI355 accelerators when he met with the US chipmaker’s CEO Lisa Su in Seoul last week. “We have a lot of Nvidia chips in Korea, but we want to diversify to other chips, including AMD’s,” Kim told Bloomberg Television on Monday. Most Read from Bloomberg South Korean AI startup Upstage says it’s in talks with its investor, AMD, for the potential purchase of 10,000 AI chips. Upstage CEO Sung Kim discusses his recent meeting with AMD chief Lisa Su in Seoul, as well as his company’s edge in competing in South Korea’s AI ‘squid game’. He speaks with Minmin Low at the Milken Institute’s “Global Investors’ Symposium” in Hong Kong.Source: Bloomberg Upstage is one of four teams competing in a state-backed race to select Korea’s best national AI foundation models. The tournament, dubbed the “AI Squid Game” in a nod to the popular Netflix survival drama, is part of the country’s ambition to become one of the world’s top AI powerhouses. The teams’ AI foundation models face evaluation and elimination every six months by a panel of judges overseen by the Ministry of Science and ICT. Korea is set to select two finalists by early next year. The winners receive a greater number of Nvidia Corp.’s graphics processing units. Upstage is currently preparing a large language model with about 200 billion parameters for the upcoming round in the summer, Kim said. The startup’s edge lies in building high-performance models with relatively lower costs by combining scale with efficiency — an approach aimed at countering low-priced competitors from China, he added. Kim also said he’s targeting countries like Vietnam and the UAE with sovereign AI systems that can be deployed within their own borders. --With assistance from Naman...
South Korean AI startup Upstage says it's in talks with its investor, AMD, for the potential purchase of 10,000 AI chips. Upstage CEO Sung Kim discusses his recent meeting with AMD chief Lisa Su in Seoul, as well as his company's edge in competing in South Korea's AI 'squid game'. He speaks with Minmin Low at the Milken Institute's "Global Investors' Symposium" in Hong Kong.
South Korean AI startup Upstage says it's in talks with its investor, AMD, for the potential purchase of 10,000 AI chips. Upstage CEO Sung Kim discusses his recent meeting with AMD chief Lisa Su in Seoul, as well as his company's edge in competing in South Korea's AI 'squid game'. He speaks with Minmin Low at the Milken Institute's "Global Investors' Symposium" in Hong Kong.
South Korean AI startup Upstage says it's in talks with its investor, AMD, for the potential purchase of 10,000 AI chips. Upstage CEO Sung Kim discusses his recent meeting with AMD chief Lisa Su in Seoul, as well as his company's edge in competing in South Korea's AI 'squid game'. He speaks with Minmin Low at the Milken Institute's "Global Investors' Symposium" in Hong Kong.
South Korean AI startup Upstage says it's in talks with its investor, AMD, for the potential purchase of 10,000 AI chips. Upstage CEO Sung Kim discusses his recent meeting with AMD chief Lisa Su in Seoul, as well as his company's edge in competing in South Korea's AI 'squid game'. He speaks with Minmin Low at the Milken Institute's "Global Investors' Symposium" in Hong Kong.
French Election: Socialists Secure Paris, LePen's Populists Make Historic Local Gains Marine Le Pen’s National Rally delivered its strongest performance ever in French local elections on Sunday, capturing dozens of municipalities and installing an ally as mayor of Nice - while socialists predictably held onto key urban centers, including Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Lille . NR celebrates in 2024 The...
French Election: Socialists Secure Paris, LePen's Populists Make Historic Local Gains Marine Le Pen’s National Rally delivered its strongest performance ever in French local elections on Sunday, capturing dozens of municipalities and installing an ally as mayor of Nice - while socialists predictably held onto key urban centers, including Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Lille . NR celebrates in 2024 The results of the second-round municipal vote on Sunday mark the clearest sign yet that the populist party is no longer a protest movement but a genuine governing force in parts of France - and a growing threat to President Emmanuel Macron’s centrists and the traditional right ahead of the 2027 presidential election. Jordan Bardella , the 30-year-old RN president widely seen as the party’s next presidential standard-bearer, hailed the night as “the greatest breakthrough in its entire history.” Speaking to cheering supporters, he said voters had delivered “a message of deep aspiration for change.” Le Rassemblement National réalise ce soir la plus grande percée de son histoire. Après le premier tour, à l'issue duquel nos maires sortants ont été plébiscités, nous comptons ce soir de nouvelles victoires par dizaines ! #Municipales2026 pic.twitter.com/FclSlPTyKM — Jordan Bardella (@J_Bardella) March 22, 2026 Marine Le Pen , still battling a conviction that could bar her from running in 2027, struck a similar note: the party is now “implanted everywhere” and ready to govern. C’est par dizaines que le Rassemblement national remporte ce soir des communes à l’issue du second tour des élections municipales. C’est une immense victoire, et la confirmation de la stratégie d’implantation locale du Rassemblement national. Bravo à tous nos candidats, quelle… — Marine Le Pen (@MLP_officiel) March 22, 2026 Yet the evening was far from a rout. While the RN and its allies picked up control of smaller and mid-sized towns - including Carcassonne, Castres, Agde, Liévin, Vierzon and La Flèche - and ...