Semiconductor Hard or Soft Landing? CHIPS Act?

Semiconductor Hard or Soft Landing? CHIPS Act?
by Robert Maire on 07-02-2022 at 6:00 am

Off the cliff without skidmarks

-Chip cycle will come down. Only question is landing impact
-What does cyclical end do to re-shoring & build out plans?
-Is it less demand, excess supply or both? Does it matter?
-CHIP Act rescue efforts get desperate switching to threats

Any landing you can walk away from is a good one

For those of us who have been in the semiconductor… Read More


Qualcomm’s AI play

Qualcomm’s AI play
by Anand Joshi on 06-21-2022 at 10:00 am

int nvda qcom

Qualcomm is a common name in mobile industry for chips. The company has generated $33 billion in revenue in 2021 and continues to march ahead with its innovations. However, Qualcomm doesn’t get the same visibility and mention as Nvidia and Intel in the world of AI chips. By our estimate, Qualcomm’s contribution to … Read More


Podcast EP74: A Tour of the DAC Engineering Tracks with Dr. Ambar Sarkar

Podcast EP74: A Tour of the DAC Engineering Tracks with Dr. Ambar Sarkar
by Daniel Nenni on 04-27-2022 at 10:00 am

Dan is joined by Dr. Ambar Sarkar, a member of the Design Automation Conference (DAC) Executive Committee and platform architect at Nvidia. Ambar and Dan explore the new Engineering Tracks at DAC – their purpose and noteworthy content. Topics such as the cloud, global supply chain and silent hardware errors are discussed,… Read More


Using a GPU to Speed Up PCB Layout Editing

Using a GPU to Speed Up PCB Layout Editing
by Daniel Payne on 03-01-2022 at 10:00 am

3D PCB min

I can remember back in the 1980s how Apollo workstations were quite popular, because they accelerated the graphics display time for EDA tools much better than competitive hardware. Fast forward to 2022 and we have the same promise of speeding up EDA tools like PCB layout editing by using a GPU. At the 58th DAC there was a session called,… Read More


“Too Big To Fail Two” – Could chip failure take down tech & entire economy?

“Too Big To Fail Two” – Could chip failure take down tech & entire economy?
by Robert Maire on 12-19-2021 at 6:00 am

Semiconductors too big to fail

-Chips enable tech sector which underpins entire economy
-Is the US chip sector “Too Big To Fail”?
-If US chip industry fails, does tech & everything else follow?
-How chip/Taiwan crisis compares to 2008 financial meltdown

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

We find it an incredible juxtaposition… Read More


Qualcomm Takes the Wheel

Qualcomm Takes the Wheel
by Roger C. Lanctot on 02-03-2021 at 6:00 am

Qualcomm Takes the Wheel

Qualcomm took center stage in the automotive industry this week to state its intention to dominate future dashboard infotainment systems. Long known for its wireless connectivity presence, Qualcomm took the wraps off its ramping up infotainment design wins for its Snapdragon 3 platform while revealing its next generation

Read More

Is Apple the Most Valuable Semiconductor Company in the World?

Is Apple the Most Valuable Semiconductor Company in the World?
by Robert Maire on 11-25-2020 at 6:00 am

Apple M1

– The new M1 chip unveils previously hidden asset
– Could/should Apple sell semiconductors?
– Are servers next?
– The M1 chip appears to be a rousing success and the beginning of a new era

Essentially 100% of all early reports on the performance of the M1 chip have come back with stellar reviews. Great performance… Read More


The Future of FPGAs

The Future of FPGAs
by Kris Kachris on 11-08-2020 at 10:00 am

The Future of FPGAs

On June 1, 2015 Intel and Altera announced , that they had entered into a definitive agreement under which Intel would acquire Altera for $16.7 billions. That was a major milestone for the FPGA community as Xilinx and Altera were the main FPGA vendors.

After the official announcement of AMD to acquire Xilinx, there is a huge… Read More


Nvidia Arm Acquisition Talking Points

Nvidia Arm Acquisition Talking Points
by Daniel Nenni on 10-30-2020 at 10:00 am

Nvidia Arm Acquisition 2020

Before founding SemiWiki I competed with Arm on many different levels throughout my career and I have had various business dealings with them since. SemiWiki also published the definitive book on Arm: “Mobile Unleashed” which goes deep into the history of Arm and the top SoC companies (Qualcomm, Apple, and Samsung).… Read More


Three Things You Have Wrong About Intel!

Three Things You Have Wrong About Intel!
by Daniel Nenni on 10-09-2020 at 10:00 am

Three Things You Have Wrong About Intel

First let me tell you that I have nothing but respect for Intel. I grew up with them in Silicon Valley and have experienced firsthand their brilliance and the many contributions they have made to the semiconductor industry. In fact, I can easily say the semiconductor ecosystem would not be what it is today without Intel.

But no company… Read More