The hottest Semiconductors Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Technology Topics

Taiwan AI Conference Slides, Nvidia Fraud Hoax, Huawei, ARM IPO, and Intel

Mule’s Musings • 263 implied HN points • 06 Sep 23
🕹 Technology AI Semiconductors Crypto Internet Conspiracy Theories
  1. The Taiwan AI conference had great slides and discussions on AI content and technology.
  2. There is a debunking of the 'Nvidia is a fraud' narrative, explaining reasons for recent actions by Nvidia.
  3. The complexity of internet-scale events can lead to conspiracy theories as people try to make sense of things beyond their understanding.

Chinese EV's and the Lagging Edge Price War

Mule’s Musings • 256 implied HN points • 13 Aug 23
💼 Business EVs Semiconductors Competition Market Dynamics
  1. Chinese EV market strategy involves price cuts implying a potential price war.
  2. Chinese semiconductor firms are focusing on older technology to capitalize on the worldwide EV export surge.
  3. Western semiconductor giants are facing challenges from Chinese companies investing in the lagging edge, potentially leading to a decline in profits.

The Coming Wave of AI, and How Nvidia Dominants

Mule’s Musings • 366 implied HN points • 30 May 23
🕹 Technology AI Semiconductors Inference Training Competition
  1. Large Language Models (LLMs) are powering AI applications and depend on factors like model size, training data, and computing power.
  2. Semiconductors benefit from the demand for LLMs due to their computing power requirements for training and inference, creating opportunities for companies like Nvidia.
  3. Nvidia dominates in the AI hardware market with a three-headed hydra strategy focusing on networking and systems, accelerator hardware, and software solutions.
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🏴‍☠️Traitors or Treasures: the Semiconductor Talent Conundrum

Interconnected • 230 implied HN points • 10 Jul 23
🕹 Technology Semiconductors Chip Manufacturing Global Competition
  1. South Korea is facing a conundrum in the fight for semiconductor talent, treating engineers suspiciously instead of as treasures.
  2. The case of Choi Jin-seok highlights the challenges faced by talented semiconductor executives, like being caught up in geopolitical tensions.
  3. There is a mismatch between demand and supply of semiconductor talent globally, with countries not properly valuing and nurturing their home-grown talent.

VLSI Japan: It’s Better on the Backside

Mule’s Musings • 263 implied HN points • 15 Jun 23
🕹 Technology Semiconductors Manufacturing Innovation Competition Design
  1. VLSI Japan discussed the revolutionary Backside Power Delivery (BSPDN) technology and its importance in semiconductor design.
  2. BSPDN addresses the IR droop problem in semiconductor design, offering power and performance benefits like decreased IR droop and increased core performance.
  3. Intel's adoption of PowerVia technology positions them ahead of competitors like TSMC, providing potential competitive advantages in process efficiency and cost.

Moore's Law Changed Our Lives Forever: Rest in Peace Gordon Moore

Mule’s Musings • 256 implied HN points • 25 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Semiconductors Computing Innovation Engineering Legacy
  1. Moore's Law drove massive technological progress and changed our lives significantly
  2. Moore's Law enabled the rapid advancement of communication, entertainment, and healthcare
  3. Moore's Law was an aspiration upheld by the semiconductor industry, not a scientific law, but its impact on technology and progress remains profound

🧩E13: Chiplets - How Chip Lego is Driving AI Progress

Let Us Face the Future • 117 implied HN points • 31 Aug 23
🕹 Technology Semiconductors Innovation Market Analysis Research and Development
  1. Chiplets are a modular approach to building computer chips by combining multiple smaller 'chiplets' instead of a single monolithic design.
  2. Chiplets offer benefits like improved manufacturing yield, diverse process nodes, and cost savings through reusing pre-tested chiplets.
  3. The chiplet market is growing rapidly, expected to be worth $20 billion by 2027, driven by demand for AI and HPC accelerators.

The Semiconductor Trade War

Apricitas Economics • 78 implied HN points • 05 Jul 23
🕹 Technology Semiconductors Market Trends Government Policy Global Economy
  1. The US is engaged in a significant semiconductor trade war with China and needs help from allies to win.
  2. Semiconductors are crucial for modern industries and military defense, and the US sanctions have impacted chip exports to China.
  3. China's domestic semiconductor production is growing despite sanctions, creating a complex global scenario.

Tippets #191

Tippets by Taps • 2 implied HN points • 17 Mar 24
🕹 Technology AI Journalism Semiconductors Essays Loneliness
  1. Children need physical risk-taking and thrill in play for healthy development and skill-building.
  2. AI is becoming more prevalent in various fields, including journalism and elderly care.
  3. Conflicts like US-China tech tensions can unexpectedly benefit other regions, like Malaysia's semiconductor industry.

An Interview with Aart de Geus, ex-CEO Synopsys

More Than Moore • 1 HN point • 11 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Semiconductors Artificial Intelligence Automotive Software Industry Trends
  1. EDA software is crucial for designing chips, involving multiple stages like logic design, simulation, and multiphysics tools.
  2. Synopsys, a major player in EDA, has been in the industry since 1986, offering IP for chip design and recently acquired Ansys for simulation software enhancement.
  3. The future of chip design involves complexities like chipletization, 3D stacking, and the intersection of software and silicon, driving the evolution and demand in the industry.

An Interview with Renee James, CEO Ampere Computing

More Than Moore • 1 HN point • 28 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Semiconductors Cloud Computing AI Software Innovation
  1. Efficiency is crucial for the future of AI, requiring high-performance CPUs that operate in tight power envelopes.
  2. Ampere Computing has succeeded by tackling challenges such as power constraints and building a full platform that includes software optimization.
  3. The company aims to be an at-scale semiconductor company, emphasizing the importance of diversity in suppliers and the need for merchant market silicon vendors for innovation and problem-solving.

Britain's headlong slide from silicon supremacy to silicon irrelevance

Material World • 6 HN points • 19 May 23
🕹 Technology Innovation Semiconductors Manufacturing
  1. In the 1940s and '50s, Britain was at the forefront of semiconductor research and came close to inventing the integrated circuit before the U.S.
  2. Geoffrey Dummer, an English engineer, almost changed history by conceptualizing the integrated circuit in 1952.
  3. The UK's semiconductor sector faces challenges, and the government's new Integrated Semiconductor Strategy indicates a potential shift towards a 21st century industrial strategy.

October 7 and the big hack: how China will seize control over semiconductors

World Game • 5 implied HN points • 11 Feb 23
🕹 Technology Semiconductors China Export Controls
  1. On October 7, 2022, the US Department of Commerce implemented export controls on certain semiconductor products.
  2. The export controls targeted advanced computing chips, computer commodities, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
  3. This action aimed at impacting the whole semiconductor value chain, not just individual chips.

Silicon Carbide: A Power Electronics Revolution

The Asianometry Newsletter • 3 HN points • 29 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Electronics Semiconductors Manufacturing Innovation Applications
  1. Silicon carbide is a powerful semiconductor with unique properties like wide bandgap and high temperature tolerance.
  2. Silicon carbide-based power electronics are revolutionizing the industry by enabling higher voltages and frequencies with lower power loss.
  3. Challenges in producing silicon carbide wafers have limited its adoption, but recent advancements are making it more commercially viable.

Intel & AMD: The First 30 Years

The Asianometry Newsletter • 2 HN points • 31 May 23
🕹 Technology Semiconductors Lawsuits
  1. Intel's founding purpose was to exploit the semiconductor memory market, leading to the creation of the first commercial microprocessor, the Intel 4004, in 1971.
  2. AMD started as a reliable second-source provider for chips, using reverse-engineering to produce the Am9080 and becoming a major seller in the market.
  3. The rivalry between Intel and AMD escalated over time, involving complex legal battles over microcode and patent infringements until a settlement was reached in 1995.

UMC: Taiwan’s Other Semiconductor Giant

The Asianometry Newsletter • 2 HN points • 10 May 23
🕹 Technology Semiconductors Manufacturing Competition Innovation Market Expansion
  1. UMC was Taiwan's first semiconductor company founded by the government to pivot the economy towards integrated circuits.
  2. UMC faced steep competition from TSMC, leading to innovative strategies like OEM foundry and joint ventures.
  3. UMC struggled to keep up with TSMC technically, especially with significant decisions like the 28nm gate technology and faced challenges in global expansions, including incidents in China.

MAD, China, and the Semiconductor Showdown (Part 2)

East Wind • 2 HN points • 19 Apr 23
🕹 Technology Semiconductors AI Geopolitics Innovation Ecosystem
  1. Owning the semiconductor stack is crucial for AI innovation, and geopolitical tensions can disrupt the supply chain.
  2. Access to leading-edge semiconductors impacts the affordability and availability of AI advancements.
  3. Investment in onshore semiconductor production is essential to maintain technological dominance and address geopolitical uncertainties.

ASML: A Monopoly on Magic

The Generalist • 1 HN point • 30 Jul 23
🕹 Technology Innovation Semiconductors Manufacturing Global relations Research & Development
  1. ASML is the sole provider of EUV lithography machines for semiconductor chips, making it a monopoly in a valuable market.
  2. ASML's EUV machines are incredibly complex and rely on a vast supply chain, with the company coordinating components sourced from multiple manufacturers.
  3. ASML's technology is crucial for industry advancements, particularly in AI, and the company faces challenges from US-China tensions and the need to maintain Moore's Law.

🔮E10: Pushing Moore's Law to the Limit with High-NA EUV (aka Nanoscale Chip Printing)

Let Us Face the Future • 1 HN point • 27 Jul 23
🕹 Technology Manufacturing Semiconductors Innovation Supply Chain Startups
  1. High-NA EUV lithography enables more precise and densely packed chip patterns below 10nm, crucial for continuing Moore's Law.
  2. The first High-NA EUV systems are expected to be available commercially around 2025-2026, with known engineering hurdles to overcome.
  3. High-NA EUV may produce chips worth $200 billion annually, impacting advanced logic, analog, photonic, and quantum semiconductors.

Metacritic digest #2 - Upgrading OpenAI to neutral

Metacritic Capital • 0 implied HN points • 16 Apr 23
🕹 Technology AI Software Semiconductors Social media Banking
  1. Foundational AI companies like OpenAI focus on creating and selling general models, akin to the semiconductor industry's approach.
  2. Understanding the importance of hurdle rates in financial investment can impact long-term stock performance.
  3. Managers need to set the example and show commitment to their teams for effective leadership, especially during times of crisis.

AI Partnerships Advance Industrial Automation

Exponential Industry • 0 implied HN points • 28 Jan 24
🕹 Technology AI/ML Manufacturing Robotics Semiconductors Energy Storage
  1. AI partnerships are advancing industrial automation by improving quality, throughput, and worker safety.
  2. Businesses are investing in new technologies like sensors, robotics, 3D printing, and AI to enhance manufacturing processes.
  3. Government initiatives like Made Smarter are driving tech investments in SMEs for industry growth and sustainability.

Large models are pushing tech companies to rethink chip design; OpenAI unveils Sora generative video model; the world's first AI-powered Valentine's Day; ex-Salesforce CEO launches new startup

Computerspeak by Alexandru Voica • 0 implied HN points • 16 Feb 24
🕹 Technology AI Semiconductors Tech Companies AI Chips
  1. Large models like OpenAI's GPT series are reshaping the AI landscape by requiring vast computational resources and driving a buying frenzy among tech companies for AI chips.
  2. Designing AI chips involves significant costs spanning from R&D to testing, and challenges exist in producing low-volume chips due to economies of scale, NRE costs, and supply chain constraints.
  3. Advancements in semiconductor technology, including innovations like chiplets and AI-assisted design, offer potential ways to reduce costs and scale AI hardware production to meet the growing demand.