Space IPOs, Mega-Hacks, and Tariff Twists: Non‑AI Tech News Roundup (Aug 8–9, 2025)
Sony Thrives on Tariff Relief and PlayStation Demand
Sony surprised investors by raising its annual profit forecast 4% to ¥1.33 trillion ($9 billion), crediting a smaller-than-feared hit from U.S. tariffs reuters.com. New trade deals slashed Sony’s expected tariff impact to ¥70 billion (down from ¥100 billion) reuters.com. The Japanese giant’s PlayStation division also beat expectations: 2.5 million PS5 consoles sold in Q1, a 4% rise, helped double gaming profits on booming software and network services sales reuters.com. “Sony is further cementing its dominance in high fidelity gaming,” said industry analyst Serkan Toto, who noted Sony now competes “with the PC more than the Xbox” in the high-end market reuters.com. Shares jumped 4% on the upbeat outlook reuters.com, underscoring Sony’s resilience as it navigates geopolitical headwinds and strong consumer demand.
Chinese Chipmaker SMIC Defies ‘Hard Landing’ Fears
China’s top chip foundry SMIC reported that U.S. tariffs have not caused the “hard landing” once expected, thanks to contingency plans and surging domestic demand manufacturing.economictimes.indiatimes.com. Co-CEO Zhao Haijun said many clients stockpiled chips or found new suppliers after the April tariff hike, reducing the impact: “everyone has either stocked up enough inventory for this year and next year, or found other suppliers… So I think the impact will become even smaller” manufacturing.economictimes.indiatimes.com. In fact, SMIC’s second-quarter revenue rose 16% to $2.2 billion even as profit fell 19.5% amid higher costs manufacturing.economictimes.indiatimes.com. The firm’s factories are running near capacity (92.5% utilization) to fill robust orders for analog, WiFi, and controller chips, keeping production tight through October manufacturing.economictimes.indiatimes.com. The upbeat report comes despite new U.S. threats – President Trump is now floating a 100% tariff on chip imports (with exemptions for companies building in the U.S.) manufacturing.economictimes.indiatimes.com – yet SMIC’s outlook remains surprisingly resilient.
Trump Targets Intel CEO Over China Ties
In an unprecedented move, U.S. President Donald Trump publicly demanded the resignation of Intel’s new CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, calling him “highly conflicted” over extensive investments in Chinese tech firms reuters.com. Trump’s accusation – delivered via Truth Social – cited a Reuters report that Tan had invested $200 million+ in hundreds of Chinese chip companies, including some linked to China’s military reuters.com. “The CEO of INTEL is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately. There is no other solution,” Trump declared reuters.com. The intervention, following a U.S. senator’s inquiry into Tan’s background, sent Intel stock down ~3% reuters.com. It also comes at a delicate time: Intel is pivotal to America’s chip strategy and recently secured $8 billion in federal subsidies to expand U.S. fabs reuters.com. Tan responded that he shares the administration’s national security goals and has his board’s support reuters.com. Still, Trump’s pressure underscores how U.S.-China tensions are roiling corporate leadership – and could derail Intel’s turnaround if the political storm continues reuters.com.
Massive Hack Breaches U.S. Federal Courts’ Data
A major cyberattack on the U.S. federal judiciary’s case management system has exposed highly sensitive legal documents, officials revealed reuters.com. The Administrative Office of U.S. Courts said its networks suffered “sophisticated and persistent” assaults in recent weeks reuters.com. This acknowledgment followed a Politico report that hackers compromised the electronic filing system (CM/ECF) used by courts nationwide, potentially leaking confidential case records in multiple states reuters.com. The courts’ statement didn’t confirm details but said it’s urgently boosting security and working with courts to mitigate impacts on litigants reuters.com. Cyber experts warn the breach could put everything from financial records to sealed national security filings at risk ts2.tech ts2.tech. The incident underscores escalating threats to critical government IT infrastructure and has prompted calls for a rapid security overhaul of the decades-old federal court systems.
Australia Sues Optus for Massive Data Breach
Australia’s privacy regulator hit telecom giant Optus with a landmark lawsuit over a 2022 cyberattack that exposed 9.5 million customers’ data reuters.com reuters.com. The hack – one of the worst in Australian history – leaked home addresses, passport numbers and phone details for roughly 40% of the country’s population and even disrupted Optus services for a day reuters.com. Now regulators allege Optus violated the Privacy Act for each affected user, theoretically risking fines up to A$2.2 million per violation reuters.com. With millions impacted, potential penalties could be astronomical (though the complaint doesn’t name a total). Optus says it’s reviewing the claims reuters.com. The breach has already proven costly: it spurred the Prime Minister to demand tougher privacy laws and faster breach notifications reuters.com, and led to the resignation of Optus’ CEO after a separate nationwide outage compounded public outrage reuters.com. The case is a major test of Australia’s new privacy enforcement regime – and a warning that companies could face ruinous liabilities for lax security ts2.tech ts2.tech.
Private Equity Circles Australian Software Firm
A bidding war may be brewing for Australian fintech provider Iress Ltd., after the company confirmed it’s in early buyout talks with U.S. private equity giants Blackstone and Thoma Bravo reuters.com. Iress revealed it had previously rejected a A$1.94 billion ($1.27 B) takeover proposal from Blackstone, which valued shares at A$10.50 (now withdrawn) reuters.com. The mere prospect of a new offer sent Iress stock surging 15% to a 7-month high (though still below the prior bid) reuters.com reuters.com. The approach comes amid a wave of PE interest in Australian tech: earlier this week, Sydney-based Infomedia agreed to a A$651 million sale to TPG Capital’s Asia fund reuters.com. Analysts say foreign investors are hunting bargains in Australia’s $283 billion software and outsourcing sector, drawn by steady cash flows and growth potential ts2.tech ts2.tech. Iress cautions talks are preliminary and no new bid is guaranteed ts2.tech. But the flurry of activity has investors betting that global buyout firms see Aussie tech as ripe for big-ticket deals.
FCC Fast-Tracks Undersea Cables for Security and Speed
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission unanimously approved sweeping new rules to accelerate submarine internet cables – the first major overhaul since 2001 broadbandbreakfast.com. These undersea fiber-optic links carry ~99% of global data traffic, yet officials warn they’re vulnerable to espionage and sabotage by adversaries like China and Russia broadbandbreakfast.com broadbandbreakfast.com. The FCC’s plan will streamline cable licensing and cut red tape to spur investment in new routes broadbandbreakfast.com. At the same time, it tightens national security reviews to bar high-risk foreign involvement and promote use of “trusted” tech and U.S. repair ships rcrwireless.com rcrwireless.com. “They are the real unseen heroes of global communications,” said FCC Chair Brendan Carr of the oceans-spanning cables, stressing the agency “must facilitate, not frustrate” new buildouts broadbandbreakfast.com broadbandbreakfast.com. With data demands booming and geopolitical tensions rising, the U.S. is moving to fortify the world’s digital backbone beneath the seas.
Big Bank Bets on Stablecoins in Hong Kong
Global bank Standard Chartered is diving into crypto by forming a joint venture to issue Hong Kong dollar stablecoins under the city’s new regulations reuters.com. Just days after Hong Kong’s stablecoin licensing law took effect on August 1, Standard Chartered’s HK unit teamed up with blockchain firm Animoca Brands and telecom leader HKT to create “Anchorpoint Financial”, which has signaled intent to apply for a license reuters.com. Hong Kong passed a bill in May establishing a clear regulatory regime for asset-backed stablecoins, and officials expect the first licenses to be granted by early 2026 reuters.com. The planned HKD-pegged token would be among the first bank-issued stablecoins in the market. Industry watchers say this move – by a major traditional bank – underscores growing institutional interest in digital currencies, provided they operate under tight regulatory oversight ts2.tech ts2.tech. It’s also a vote of confidence in Hong Kong’s bid to be a crypto finance hub through sensible rules for crypto-dollar alternatives.
Ripple’s Landmark Crypto Case Concludes with $125 M Fine
A years-long courtroom battle between the U.S. SEC and Ripple Labs has ended in a settlement, closing one of crypto’s highest-profile legal sagas. The SEC agreed to dismiss its case accusing Ripple of selling unregistered securities, provided Ripple’s $125 million penalty remains in place reuters.com. This keeps intact a fine imposed by Judge Analisa Torres, who ruled last year that Ripple’s XRP token was sold illegally to institutional investors (though notably not a security when sold on public exchanges, a partial win for crypto advocates) reuters.com. The SEC’s lawsuit, filed in late 2020, had cast a cloud over XRP – the third-largest cryptocurrency – and was seen as a bellwether for how tokens might be regulated reuters.com. With the case now closed and no further appeals, Ripple’s saga ends with a costly lesson but also regulatory clarity: XRP can continue trading, while the company pays up and moves on reuters.com. The conclusion follows a more crypto-friendly stance at the SEC under the Trump administration, which has been retreating from some enforcement fights reuters.com reuters.com.
Binance Partners With Bank to Shore Up Trust
Embattled crypto exchange Binance is taking an old-school approach to bolster customer confidence: it’s teaming with Spain’s BBVA bank to let users hold crypto in bank custody instead of on Binance’s platform reuters.com. BBVA will serve as an independent custodian – one of only a few willing to do so – allowing Binance clients to keep digital assets off the exchange’s balance sheet reuters.com. The move, first reported by the Financial Times, comes as Binance faces intense regulatory scrutiny worldwide and in the wake of rival FTX’s collapse amid mishandled funds reuters.com reuters.com. By offering third-party custody via a respected bank, Binance hopes to reassure investors their coins are safe from any future exchange implosion ts2.tech ts2.tech. The partnership also reflects a broader trend of crypto firms embracing traditional finance safeguards. Notably, it follows Binance’s recent reckoning with regulators – including $4.3 billion in U.S. fines and a brief prison term for CEO Changpeng Zhao over AML violations ts2.tech reuters.com. With trust in exchanges shaken, letting customers “be their own bank” (with a real bank’s help) could become the new normal in crypto.
Rocket Maker Firefly Blasts Off on Nasdaq
Space startup Firefly Aerospace made a dazzling debut on Wall Street – then promptly hit some turbulence. The Texas-based rocket builder’s stock soared 55% in its first trading day, opening at $70 (vs. a $45 IPO price) and valuing the company near $10 billion ts2.tech ts2.tech. It was the largest U.S. space-tech IPO of the year, raising $868 million in fresh capital for Firefly’s ambitious plans ts2.tech ts2.tech. Investors are excited by Firefly’s resume: just months ago it became the first private firm to land on the Moon, and it’s landed major U.S. defense contracts for launch vehicles ts2.tech ts2.tech. “We’ve had a lot of successes toward going public,” CEO Jason Kim told Reuters, citing the moon landing and a rapid Pentagon launch as key milestones ts2.tech ts2.tech. By day two, however, reality set in – Firefly’s shares dipped ~11% in what analysts called a normal post-IPO swing reuters.com. Even so, the stock remains well above its IPO price reuters.com reuters.com. The strong debut signals red-hot investor appetite for space and defense tech plays, and could encourage more “new space” startups to reach for the public markets ts2.tech.
Milestones in Space: Crew-10 Splashdown & China’s Moon Lander
It’s a big weekend for spacefarers on two fronts. In orbit, NASA and SpaceX’s Crew-10 mission is set for a historic homecoming: four astronauts will undock from the ISS on Aug 8 and splash down off the coast of California – the first West Coast crewed splashdown ever under the Commercial Crew program ts2.tech ts2.tech. NASA’s Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA’s Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos’ Kirill Peskov are wrapping up a five-month science mission and will bring back time-sensitive research to Earth ts2.tech. Mission managers are watching weather and waves closely, aiming to make spaceflight history with a safe Pacific landing ts2.tech. Meanwhile in China, the space agency achieved a “critical milestone” test of its new crewed lunar lander, moving a big step closer to putting Chinese astronauts on the Moon by 2030 ts2.tech. Engineers in Hebei province ran the lander through full ascent/descent engine burns on a simulated lunar surface, with officials hailing the successful trial of the craft nicknamed “Lanyue” (“embrace the moon”) ts2.tech ts2.tech. The lander will ferry “taikonauts” from lunar orbit to the surface and double as a habitat and power source once on the Moon ts2.tech. As China races toward a 2030 Moon landing – and eyes a joint lunar base with Russia by 2035 – this test shows its lunar ambitions are accelerating ts2.tech.
U.S. Eases Curbs on Nvidia’s China-Bound Chips
In a significant shift in tech trade policy, Washington has quietly started granting licenses for Nvidia to export its advanced H20 semiconductors to China reuters.com. The U.S. Commerce Department’s move reverses an earlier ban (imposed in April) on sales of the H20 – a high-end chip Nvidia specially designed to comply with Biden-era rules limiting AI silicon exports reuters.com. Nvidia had warned the China curbs could slice $8 billion off its quarterly sales reuters.com, and CEO Jensen Huang personally met with President Trump this week to press the issue reuters.com. The new export licenses remove a major hurdle to Nvidia’s access to its largest market, though it’s unclear which Chinese customers or how many chips are covered reuters.com. The Financial Times first reported the development, and U.S. officials have not elaborated on the decision reuters.com. The surprise reprieve suggests economic considerations are tempering national security hawks in the ongoing U.S.-China tech standoff. Nvidia maintains the H20 has no secret “backdoors” for misuse reuters.com, as it seeks to balance compliance with sustaining its booming business in China’s AI and cloud computing sector. The license approvals mark a rare thaw in the chip war – one that could significantly boost Nvidia’s bottom line while stoking debate over tech ties to Beijing.
Sources: Reuters and other reputable outlets as cited above reuters.com reuters.com reuters.com reuters.com ts2.tech ts2.tech. Each linked article provides additional details on these developments.
