Today's Hardware Pulse
Nvidia driver hints at next‑gen DLSS 5 work
Nvidia’s GeForce Game Ready driver 610.47 adds three new profile options—Enable DLSS NR override, Enable DLSS NR SL override, and Override DLSS NR presets—suggesting continued development of DLSS 5 neural‑rendering technology. The earlier DLSS 5 reveal had sparked debate over AI‑driven image alteration, and the new driver hints at a quiet but ongoing effort.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Cyient Semiconductors raises $30M Series A
Broadcom to Supply Custom AI Accelerators to Meta in Multi‑Year Deal
Broadcom announced a multi‑year agreement to provide Meta Platforms with custom AI accelerator chips built on its XPU platform, backed by an initial one‑gigawatt capacity. The partnership sent Broadcom shares up 4.19% and Meta shares up 1.37% as the two firms aim to lower total‑cost‑of‑ownership for massive AI workloads.
Changzhou AI Conference Debuts 27 Smart Consumer Devices, Showcasing China’s AI Hardware Surge
The 2026 Changzhou Artificial Intelligence Terminal Trendy Products Conference opened on April 11, where 20 firms displayed 27 AI‑enabled consumer devices across smart mobility, home, toys and health. The showcase underscored Changzhou’s integrated AI hardware ecosystem and its growing footprint...
Zelensky Calls on Global Buyers for Ukraine’s Combat Robots After 22,000 Missions
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that home‑grown unmanned combat platforms have completed more than 22,000 frontline missions in three months and urged international partners to buy the systems. He highlighted firms such as Ratel, TerMIT and Protector while pointing to...
Germany Adds Record 1 GWh of Battery Storage in March
Germany is on track to surpass the 1 GWh monthly battery storage milestone in March, driven primarily by residential photovoltaic systems. Energy‑Charts data show 522.9 MW of power and 985.9 MWh of energy capacity added, with figures likely to rise as registrations lag...
Viridi RPSLinkIN Energy Storage System Receives UL 9540 Listing
Viridi’s RPSLinkIN 480‑V battery system earned UL 9540 listing after passing the rigorous UL 9540A indoor residential test conducted by TÜV Rheinland. The 50 kWh pack met five performance criteria with no smoke, gas or fire, proving it can operate safely without additional fire‑suppression equipment....
Chinese Startup UniX AI Launches Panther, 176‑lb Humanoid Service Robot for Homes
Chinese robotics firm UniX AI has started commercial deliveries of Panther, a 176‑pound, 5‑ft‑3‑in humanoid robot designed to perform household chores. The robot can operate up to 12 hours on a charge and uses four‑wheel drive for stable indoor navigation,...
Avery Dennison Launches RFID Inlays Matching Major Sterilization Methods
Avery Dennison unveiled a new RFID inlay portfolio that endures the three most common medical sterilization methods, including autoclave and ethylene oxide gas. The three products—AD Minidose U9 Steri, AD Accessory U9 Steri, and AD Shelter Steri—have passed durability tests...
Speculation: Silicon’s Most Expensive Compulsion
Modern high‑performance CPUs devote 30‑50% of die area and up to 30% of dynamic power to out‑of‑order speculative execution hardware that rarely benefits AI, scientific and EDA workloads. Simplex Micro’s Time‑Based Scheduling (TBS) removes most speculation structures from the vector...
Meta Raises Prices of Quest VR Headsets on Growing Memory Costs
Meta Platforms announced price hikes for its Quest VR headsets, citing rising memory‑chip costs. The entry‑level Quest 3S now costs $350 for 128 GB and $450 for 256 GB, a $50 increase. The higher‑end Quest 3 is $600, up $100. The adjustments align with...
Gemtek DOCSIS 4.0 Device Nets CableLabs Interoperability Stamp
Gemtek became the first CPE maker to receive CableLabs’ “verified for interoperability” stamp for its CAVD‑100 DOCSIS 4.0 eMTA modem, confirming it can operate on existing DOCSIS 3.1 networks. The device, powered by MaxLinear’s Puma 8 chip, includes two VoIP ports and is...
High-Density AI Is Forcing a Power Reckoning at the Rack
Artificial intelligence workloads are pushing data‑center rack power densities toward 300 kW, exposing the inefficiency of traditional AC‑to‑DC conversion at the rack. Converting high‑voltage AC to low‑voltage DC creates measurable losses—about 4 % at 100 kW, translating into extra heat and cooling costs....
Siemens, Nvidia and Humanoid Partner to Bring Physical AI Into Factory Operations
Siemens, Nvidia and UK‑based Humanoid announced a landmark test of the HMND 01 Alpha humanoid robot in Siemens' Erlangen electronics plant. The robot, built on Nvidia’s physical AI stack, autonomously handled logistics tasks, achieving 60 tote moves per hour, over 8 hours...
Why High-Performance Monitor Technology Is Gaining Attention Beyond Gaming
High‑performance monitors, once the domain of gamers, are gaining traction among professionals who spend long hours in front of screens. Features such as 288 Hz refresh rates, low‑latency response, and eye‑comfort technologies are being valued for smoother motion, reduced fatigue, and...
Belden Unveils World's First 5G Industrial Switch Powered by Qualcomm at Hannover Messe
Belden Inc. unveiled the BRS‑5G, the world’s first industrial switch that runs native 5G, powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X72 modem. The concept will be demonstrated at Hannover Messe from April 20‑24, 2026, showcasing a live conveyor‑belt system that communicates over a private 5G...
Maine’s Plug-In Solar Law Takes Effect in July and some Companies Are Already Selling Products in the State
Maine’s new plug‑in solar law, LD 1730, becomes effective July 15, 2026, allowing residents to install portable solar systems up to 420 W on their own or up to 1,200 W with a certified electrician. The legislation requires UL 3700 certification or...
AWS Plans $430 Million Data Center in Navi Mumbai, India
Amazon Web Services is set to spend $429.8 million on a new data‑center campus near Taloja in Navi Mumbai. The 49‑acre site will house six structures, including four seven‑story data‑center buildings, delivering a total capacity of 473 MW. AWS acquired the land for...
For EMEA Market, Toshiba Launches Metallic Blue Canvio Flex Portable 2.5-Inch USB-C Up to 4TB HDD
Toshiba Electronics Europe has introduced a metallic‑blue version of its Canvio Flex 2.5‑inch external HDD, available in 1 TB, 2 TB and 4 TB capacities. The drive ships with both USB‑C and USB‑A cables and is pre‑formatted with exFAT for seamless use on...
Piodata SecureX USB Flash Drive with Enterprise-Grade Security
Piodata unveiled SecureX, a USB flash drive that combines AES‑256 encryption with biometric authentication and cross‑platform compatibility. The device supports PCs, Macs, iOS, and Android, and is Apple MFi‑certified for seamless iPhone and iPad use. Its proprietary Trust Circle technology...
EuNetworks Named as Connectivity Partner for the AWS European Sovereign Cloud
euNetworks has been named a connectivity partner for the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, a new EU‑based cloud service built to meet strict data‑residency and regulatory requirements. The partnership allows euNetworks to deliver private, direct connections that keep customer data within...
Autonomous Boat Builder Charts Course to Success
Norsail, a Bristol start‑up, unveiled a 2.4‑metre autonomous boat that runs on a free‑rotating wing sail, solar panels and an electric motor, enabling continuous ocean‑data collection for up to six months. The vessel, funded by a £38,000 (about $48,000) TRIG...
Smart Plug Guide (2026): When You Should and Shouldn’t Use One
Wired’s 2026 Smart Plug Guide outlines when smart plugs add value and when they fall short, highlighting the latest picks such as TP‑Link’s Matter‑certified mini pack, Cync’s outdoor‑rated model, and Ikea’s ultra‑cheap Grillplats plug. The guide explains that smart plugs...
Exclusive: TD Synnex Nabs Over 1,000 Nvidia GPUs For Channel In Nebius Cloud Deal
TD Synnex has secured more than 1,000 Nvidia B300 GPUs through a one‑year reservation with Nebius, a neocloud provider, to offer AI‑ready instances to its channel partners. The deal, announced at the company’s High‑Growth Conference, targets July availability and aims to...
How to Use AirTags for Travel—Plus, the Best AirTag Alternatives
Remote tracking devices like Apple’s AirTag have become popular tools for travelers seeking real‑time visibility of luggage and personal items. By placing an AirTag—or a comparable Bluetooth tracker—in checked bags, carry‑ons, passports, or even children’s shoes, users can receive early...
First Quantum and Hitachi Commission ‘World’s First’ Battery Electric Mining Truck at Kansanshi Mine in Zambia
First Quantum Minerals and Hitachi Construction Machinery commissioned the Hitachi EH4000, the world’s first ultra‑large battery‑electric mining truck, at Zambia’s Kansanshi copper‑gold mine. The truck completed a 4,000‑km trial haul, moving over 30,000 tonnes, proving its operational reliability ahead of...
LG Sound Suite Review: Big Sound for Larger Rooms
LG’s Sound Suite combines the H7 soundbar, M7 surround speakers, and a wireless subwoofer into a modular home‑theater system priced from $1,000. The 12‑driver bar and up‑firing M7s deliver immersive Dolby Atmos sound that rivals Samsung’s HW‑Q990F and Sonos’s premium...
Motorola Solutions Unveils R&D and Customer Experience Center in Florida
Motorola Solutions opened a modern R&D and Customer Experience Center in Plantation, Florida, dedicated to designing, developing, and testing its land mobile radio (LMR) portfolio. The facility expands the company's five‑decade presence in Broward County and includes design, engineering and...
EdgeBeam Wireless and Soracom Partner to Extend Last-Mile Connectivity over Hybrid Cellular and Broadcast Networks
EdgeBeam Wireless announced a partnership with Soracom, making the Japanese IoT platform the first cellular partner on EdgeBeam’s hybrid network operator platform. The collaboration blends EdgeBeam’s ATSC 3.0 broadcast capability with Soracom’s 4G/5G connectivity, creating a dual‑path solution that can broadcast...
AI Tech Collab Takes on SA’s Energy Distribution Crisis
South African energy tech firm Plentify and developer Balwin Properties have launched an AI‑driven geyser management system using HotBot devices to optimise residential water heating. The controllers, now deployed in over 7,500 homes, adjust heating based on occupancy patterns, solar...
This Beanie Is Designed to Read Your Thoughts
California startup Sabi has emerged from stealth with a brain‑reading beanie that translates imagined speech into text. The wearable relies on an ultra‑dense EEG array of 70,000‑100,000 sensors and a brain‑foundation AI model trained on 100,000 hours of data from...
Aixtron’s Preliminary Q1 Order Intake up 30% Year-on-Year, Driven by Opto Comprising 65% Share
German deposition equipment maker Aixtron reported preliminary Q1 2026 revenue of about €59 m (~$71 m), a 48% decline from a year earlier, while gross margin fell to roughly 18%. Despite the revenue drop, order intake jumped 30% YoY to €171 m (~$205 m),...
Allbirds Secures $50 Million Convertible Deal, Rebrands as NewBird AI and Sends Stock 580% Higher
Allbirds announced a $50 million convertible financing facility to fund its transformation into NewBird AI, a GPU‑as‑a‑Service provider. The news catapulted BIRD shares more than five‑fold, reviving investor interest in the once‑struggling sustainable‑shoe brand.
Gaming on Linux with an Older GPU Levels up with DXVK-Sarek v1.12 Bringing Major New Features
DXVK‑Sarek, a community fork of the Vulkan‑based DXVK translation layer, released version 1.12.0, introducing dyasync—a dynamic asynchronous pipeline compilation system that replaces the older async patch—and integrating D7VK to support Direct3D 3‑7. The update backports numerous fixes for D3D8, D3D9,...
TSMC Q1 Profit Jumps 58% to $18bn as AI Demand Fuels Surge
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. posted a 58.3% year‑on‑year increase in first‑quarter net profit to NT$572.5 bn ($18 bn), while revenue rose 35.1% to NT$1.13 trn ($36 bn). The surge reflects surging AI‑related chip orders and reinforces TSMC’s position as the backbone of the global...
Xpanceo Aims for AR ‘iPhone Moment’ with Smart Contact Lenses
Xpanceo founder Roman Axelrod announced the company’s push to make smart contact lenses the next “iPhone moment” for AR, eyeing the 45 million U.S. contact‑lens users and 150 million daily wearers worldwide. The startup plans a ten‑year road to consumer‑ready devices, starting...
Vishay Rolls Out Compact IHLP Inductor for High-Density Power Designs
Vishay Intertechnology has introduced the IHLP1212‑EZ‑1Z, a compact 1212‑package inductor designed for high‑density power designs. The 3 mm × 3 mm part delivers inductance from 0.22 µH to 3.3 µH, a low DCR of 8.6 mΩ, and supports up to 14.3 A across –55 °C to +125 °C. Its powdered‑iron...
China Can Overcome Chip Process Gap by Stacking More
Jensen Huang: The claim that China lacks AI chips is utterly baseless; they can scale up computing power infinitely if they choose to. China can fully compensate for the process gap in individual chips by stacking more chips. 'They have...
Edge Computing Slashes Latency, Boosts Safety and Bandwidth Efficiency
Edge computing cuts latency by processing data near its source, at the device. Services in factories and mobility push teams to deploy local intelligence, since milliseconds affect safety and uptime, and local processing trims bandwidth spend. Microblog by @antgrasso https://t.co/rCMiEIRtCQ
Broadcom Expands AI Chip Deal with Meta to Support Data Centers
Broadcom announced an expanded AI chip partnership with Meta Platforms that will run through 2029. The agreement covers both training and inference workloads, with an initial deployment of more than 1 GW of compute capacity. Broadcom’s XPU platform will integrate with...
Midwest Boutique Says DRAM Price Forecasts Stabilizing
Did Midwest Boutique send a cautionary commentary out on $MU ? "Our work suggests conventional DRAM price forecasts are stabilizing somewhat after continued meaningful upside"
Pixel May Finally Support Per‑SIM Custom Ringtones
Your Google Pixel may finally start letting you set custom ringtones for each SIM card Some phone manufacturers already offer this feature for dual SIM users for a long time ✅ Details - https://t.co/q4spmZccsH https://t.co/dhnsjusRNj
Hitachi to Develop Portugal’s Second Translator Tech for ETCS Trains on Legacy Lines
Hitachi Rail has secured a contract from Infraestruturas de Portugal to build the country’s second Specific Transmission Module (STM), a translator that lets ETCS‑equipped trains run on legacy Convel signalling. About 69% of Portugal’s 2,500‑km network still uses Convel, so...
TSMC Defies Slow Critiques, Shows Strong Earnings
Some say TSMC is too slow. But earnings today show it’s stronger than ever, even as a bold new entrant joins the chip race. CC Wei 🐢 @elonmusk 🐇 https://t.co/mrlSHR8taT https://t.co/FtqYRRTCxQ
Netherlands Allocates €248 Million to Build Combat Drones for Ukraine
The Netherlands announced a €248 million ($293 million) program to manufacture combat drones for Ukraine, with production split between Dutch and Ukrainian facilities. The move deepens NATO support, provokes a Russian warning, and opens new business for Dutch aerospace firms.
CoreWeave Reports $66.8 Billion AI Compute Backlog, Boosting B2B Growth Outlook
CoreWeave announced a $66.8 billion AI‑compute revenue backlog and a $21 billion contract extension with Meta Platforms through 2032. The neocloud provider added 11 data centers in 2025, bringing its contracted power capacity to 3.1 GW and positioning it for near‑term revenue conversion.
Plans Announced for 260MW Data Center in Konin, Poland
Central Energy Group (CGE) announced a €3 billion ($3.5 bn) AI‑focused data centre in Konin, Poland, delivering 260 MW of compute capacity. The project has secured power connections and environmental permits, with construction targeted for 2027 once a strategic investor and building permits...
Modine Launches Data Center Segment, Appoints Art Laszlo to Lead Unit
Modine announced the launch of a dedicated data‑center segment, carving it out from its broader climate‑solutions business. The new unit will be led by Art Laszlo, promoted to president after serving as VP of liquid‑cooled applications since 2022. The move...
Credo Paid $92 Million USD in Cash to Acquire Hyperlume, SEC Filing Reveals
San Jose‑based Credo completed the cash acquisition of Ottawa AI‑interconnect startup Hyperlume for approximately $92 million, resulting in a net purchase price of about $82.5 million after accounting for cash received. Hyperlume’s microLED technology promises tenfold performance gains, fivefold power savings and...
This Long Beach Startup Says It Has a Patch for California's Power Problems
Long Beach‑based Critical Loop secured $26 million in new funding, bringing its total to $49 million, to accelerate deployment of battery‑and‑grid‑management systems that deliver power in days rather than years. The startup’s controller instantly switches between the public grid, on‑site batteries, solar...
Alquist Moves From Pilot to Production With A1 Series Launch
Alquist has launched its A1 Series robotic arm platform, shifting from pilot projects to full‑scale production. Fourteen units—twelve A1X models for contractors and two compact A1 units for education—were sold through a joint deal with equipment dealer Hugg & Hall...
OnePlus Pad 4 India Launch Confirmed: Check Display, Processor, Battery, Launch Date and Features
OnePlus confirmed the launch of its flagship tablet, the OnePlus Pad 4, in India for April 30, 2026. The device sports a 13.2‑inch 3.4K display with a 144 Hz refresh rate and is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, delivering an AnTuTu score above 4.1 million....