Among Taiwan’s senior retired tech analysts from foreign firms—a group that includes Andrew Lu, Kirk Yang, and Henry King—Jonah Cheng, known by the nickname “Captain,” stands out as an exception.
Once a semiconductor lead at Merrill Lynch and UBS Securities, Jonah Cheng famously departed the analyst world in 2014 to become Chief Investment Officer at J&J Investment, managing family funds. He made the industry-standard transition from the “Sell Side,” where analysts write research reports, to the “Buy Side,” where real investment decisions are made.
But unlike many of his peers, Jonah Cheng didn’t ease into a semi-retired, leisurely life. Nearing 50, with hair already showing streaks of grey, he remains tirelessly on the front lines.
It’s no wonder that Elizabeth Sun, the former acting spokesperson for TSMC, known for her frankness and respected by analysts, once told me that even now, Jonah Cheng remains one of her most admired semiconductor analysts, despite no longer being in an analyst role.
He addresses the three most pressing questions currently facing the industry:
1.Why has Jensen Huang’s flagship GB200 NVL72 cabinet been delayed by nearly a year? What are the consequences?
2.After explosive growth in the first half of the year, where is the AI supply chain headed next?
3.What’s the latest in the evolving battle between ASICs and GPUs.
cwnewsroom.substack.com
Once a semiconductor lead at Merrill Lynch and UBS Securities, Jonah Cheng famously departed the analyst world in 2014 to become Chief Investment Officer at J&J Investment, managing family funds. He made the industry-standard transition from the “Sell Side,” where analysts write research reports, to the “Buy Side,” where real investment decisions are made.
But unlike many of his peers, Jonah Cheng didn’t ease into a semi-retired, leisurely life. Nearing 50, with hair already showing streaks of grey, he remains tirelessly on the front lines.
It’s no wonder that Elizabeth Sun, the former acting spokesperson for TSMC, known for her frankness and respected by analysts, once told me that even now, Jonah Cheng remains one of her most admired semiconductor analysts, despite no longer being in an analyst role.
He addresses the three most pressing questions currently facing the industry:
1.Why has Jensen Huang’s flagship GB200 NVL72 cabinet been delayed by nearly a year? What are the consequences?
2.After explosive growth in the first half of the year, where is the AI supply chain headed next?
3.What’s the latest in the evolving battle between ASICs and GPUs.
Semiconductor Analyst Jonah Cheng: 3 AI Supply Chain Shifts to Watch
Liang-rong Chen
cwnewsroom.substack.com