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
Build a $5,000 AM5 Gaming PC for Just $2,771 with This Newegg Combo Deal — 9800X3D and RTX 5070 Also...
Newegg is offering a bundled gaming PC build that normally retails for $5,019 now for $2,771, including an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU, Nvidia RTX 5070 GPU, 128 GB DDR5‑6000 RAM, a 4 TB NVMe SSD, MSI motherboard, Corsair case and an AIO cooler. The package also throws in three premium games and requires only a power supply to complete. This discount represents roughly a 45 % price cut, making a high‑performance rig affordable amid current component shortages. The deal is expected to be short‑lived given its aggressive pricing.
Integrating IonQ 256‑Qubit System to Boost Quantum Advantage
We're pushing forward with our effort to unlock broad quantum advantage by adding a frontier system to our testbed: @IonQ_Inc 's next-gen 256 qubit system, which is expected to have more nines of fidelity than you can shake a stick...
Data Centres Without the Compute
The IOWN (Innovative Optical and Wireless Network) initiative is redefining data‑centre architecture by replacing electrical interconnects with end‑to‑end photonic links. This shift dissolves the long‑standing locality assumption that compute, memory, and storage must reside together, enabling memory‑centric facilities where memory...
Gitex Africa 2026: Sandisk Brings Optimus SSD Product Brand and New Portable SSD Lineup to Africa
SanDisk unveiled its new Optimus SSD brand at Gitex Africa 2026 in Marrakech, consolidating its former WD_BLACK and WD_Blue internal drives under a single performance‑focused identity. The launch includes three Optimus tiers—product, GX, and GX PRO—targeting creators, gamers, and high‑end professionals....
Japan IT Week 2026: Pegatron Showcases End-to-End AI Server Solutions and Strengthens Japan Presence
Pegatron Corp. showcased its full‑stack AI server solutions at Japan IT Week 2026, emphasizing a vertically integrated model that covers design, manufacturing, and after‑sales support. The exhibition highlighted rack‑scale platforms featuring NVIDIA HGX Blackwell and AMD Instinct MI355X GPUs, as well as...
HighPoint Announces Rocket 1604L Compact PCIe Gen5 X16 Retimer AIC for AI and Industrial Edge
HighPoint Technologies unveiled the Rocket 1604L, a 4‑M.2 PCIe Gen5 x16 add‑in card powered by Astera Labs' Gen5 retimer. The compact 167 mm module delivers full 32 GT/s bandwidth with near‑zero latency, targeting AI edge and high‑velocity compute workloads. It integrates a Smart Firmware Layer...
Why Your Next Archive Should Be Cold
Disk‑based archival solution ALTO, powered by MAID‑III cold‑storage and helium‑sealed drives, is now outperforming LTO‑9/10 tape in real‑world reliability. In an 8,000‑disk deployment ALTO logged only eight failures over six years, yielding an annualized failure rate of roughly 0.016%, about...
Open Compute Project Foundation Launches Collaboration Acceleration Fund to Advance Open Hardware Innovation
The Open Compute Project (OCP) Foundation has unveiled a Collaboration Acceleration Fund, a non‑equity grant program aimed at fast‑tracking open‑hardware projects that require multi‑stakeholder coordination. The fund will match 25 % to 50 % of approved project costs and provide technical and...
Samsung to Invest $4 Billion in Chip Packaging Site in Vietnam
Samsung Electronics announced a $4 billion investment to build a chip‑packaging plant in Thai Nguyen province, northern Vietnam. The project will roll out in multiple phases, with an initial $2 billion tranche slated to start construction soon. The facility aims to boost Samsung’s...
Epson Adds Compact UV Flatbed Printer for Sign Shops
Epson has launched the SureColor V4000, a compact UV flatbed printer aimed at sign shops and custom‑gift producers. The machine offers a 27.5" × 38.5" print area, three PrecisionCore Micro TFP heads, and a 10‑color UltraChrome UV ink set that includes red,...
OpenAI Halts Stargate UK Data Centre Project
OpenAI announced it is suspending the construction of its Stargate data centre in the United Kingdom, a project originally slated to cost roughly £200 million (about $250 million). The facility was intended to house some of the world’s most powerful AI compute...
Ai+ Smartphone Unveils Nova Series, Expands Into Tablets, Wearables
Ai+ Smartphone unveiled its Nova Series—three 5G phones (Nova 2, Nova 2 Ultra, Nova Flip)—alongside its first tablet, PulseTab, and new audio and wearables. Prices start at roughly $110 for Nova 2 and $122 for the tablet, with premium models up to $366. The devices...
GigaDevice Names ACP Distribution Partner for Brazil
GigaDevice, a leading semiconductor maker, has appointed ACP Componentes Eletrônicos as its strategic long‑term distribution partner for Brazil. ACP will handle the full GigaDevice portfolio—including flash memory, specialty DRAM, 32‑bit MCUs, sensors and analog products—across all 26 Brazilian states. The...
India's Data Center Boom a Bottomless Pit
India’s data‑centre market is surging, with projected investment exceeding $100 billion by 2027 and capacity slated to hit 10 GW by 2030. AI, 5G and data‑localisation rules are driving the growth, but the build‑out will demand an extra 40 TWh of power, pushing...
CoreWeave, Meta Strike Another $21 Billion Deal for AI Computing
CoreWeave Inc. has inked a new $21 billion agreement to provide AI‑cloud capacity to Meta Platforms through December 2032. The contract builds on a prior $14.2 billion deal that ran until the end of 2021, extending the partnership by an additional year. Compute...
AI Semiconductor Market to Reach USD 1.1 Trillion by 2035
The AI semiconductor market is set to exceed $1.1 trillion by 2035, according to a new industry report. Valued at roughly $102.8 billion in 2025, it is expected to grow at a 27‑33% compound annual growth rate. Growth is fueled by expanding...
I Tested Three Windows Laptops in the MacBook Neo’s Price Range — There’s No Contest
Apple’s MacBook Neo launches at $599, offering an all‑aluminum 13‑inch chassis, an A18 Pro iPhone‑class processor, and 8 GB RAM, positioning it as a premium‑feel laptop at a budget price. In a head‑to‑head test, three Windows ultrabooks—Asus Vivobook 16, Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3x,...
Fi Mini for Cats Review: Track Your Pets and Monitor Their Activity
The Fi Mini smart collar for cats adds GPS, activity and sleep monitoring to a tiny, 16‑gram device. It ships free but requires a paid cellular membership, and delivers up to six weeks of battery life via USB‑C charging. In...
EDGX Launches Sterna Satellite Payloads on SpaceX Transporter-16
EDGX successfully launched its first Sterna high‑performance data processing units aboard SpaceX’s Transporter‑16 mission, showcasing an AI‑powered edge computer designed for satellite constellations. The Sterna payload leverages Nvidia’s Jetson Orin NX, can dynamically scale power between 10 W and 45 W, and is...
Samsung Advances 2nm GAA Push with Taylor Fab Targeting 2026 Start
Samsung Electronics is moving its 2nm gate‑all‑around (GAA) production to the Taylor, Texas fab, where engineers began equipment setup in March after receiving a temporary occupancy certificate. ASML has deployed EUV lithography tools to support the new node, a critical...
6 Bestselling Portable Power Stations for Spring
The spring market for portable power stations is heating up, with six best‑selling models dominating sales. High‑capacity LiFePO4 units such as Bluetti’s EnergyPro 13K ($7,919) and EcoFlow’s Delta Pro 3 ($2,299) target whole‑home backup, while mid‑range options like Anker’s SOLIX...
Physical AI Device Shipments to Reach 145 Million Units by 2035
Counterpoint Research forecasts that cumulative shipments of physical AI devices—including vehicles, robots, drones and AI cameras—will reach 145 million units between 2025 and 2035. Service robots are expected to account for the largest volume, while humanoid robots could grow sevenfold to...
![[OFC 2026] Part 5 of 5: Hollow-Core Fiber and Next-Gen Transmission: Beyond the Loss Record](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!FG3y!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3201360a-f898-4593-8267-8cfc0766cc04_1280x1280.png)
[OFC 2026] Part 5 of 5: Hollow-Core Fiber and Next-Gen Transmission: Beyond the Loss Record
Hollow‑core fiber (HCF) is transitioning from laboratory demos to commercial roll‑outs. Microsoft now operates over 1,280 km of Azure HCF with sub‑0.1 dB/km loss and zero field failures, while AWS has introduced HCF in roughly ten data‑center sites. YOFC’s 0.04 dB/km laboratory record...
Advenica’s File Scanner Kiosk Scans USB Media for Malware
Advenica introduced the File Scanner Kiosk, a dedicated appliance that scans USB drives for malware before they connect to corporate networks. The kiosk leverages multiple built‑in antivirus engines and features dual USB ports to handle source and destination media simultaneously....
AMD Making It Easier To Embed Lemonade AI Capabilities Into Other Apps
AMD’s Lemonade open‑source AI server has released version 10.2, focusing on embeddable binaries for Linux and Windows. The new artifacts contain only the Lemond daemon, CLI and essential resources, removing web UI and Electron components. Lemonade 10.2 continues to support...
Amazon to Cut Kindle Store Access for Pre‑2013 Devices on May 20
Amazon announced that on May 20, 2026 all Kindle and Kindle Fire devices launched in 2012 or earlier will lose Kindle Store connectivity. Users will still read pre‑loaded books, but new purchases, borrows or downloads will be blocked. The company...
Amazon to Cut Kindle Store Access for Pre‑2013 Devices on May 20
Amazon announced that on May 20, 2026 all Kindle and Kindle Fire devices released in 2012 or earlier will lose Kindle Store connectivity, ending the ability to buy, borrow or download new titles. The company is offering a 20% hardware...
AI Will Fuel Bull Market Despite GPU Scarcity
"As the Iran War has ebbed and flowed, GPU availability for B200s has collapsed to zero...H100s close behind. Whatever happens with the war, the AI complex is likely to lead any true sustainable bull market" -Warren Pies, 3Fourteen Research
Minus K Congratulates to the Following Winners of Minus K's 2025/2026 Educational Giveaway
Minus K Technology announced the 2025/2026 Educational Giveaway winners, distributing over $125,000 worth of its patented negative‑stiffness vibration isolators to six U.S. university labs. Recipients include UT‑Dallas (quantum transport and STM), University of Pittsburgh (quantum‑twisting microscope), Northwestern (ultra‑high‑Q mechanical oscillator and...
Predictive Maintenance with IoT: From Sensors to Actionable Insights
Predictive Maintenance is emerging as a cornerstone of industrial IoT, turning sensor streams into actionable failure forecasts. The article outlines a layered architecture—from data acquisition and connectivity to edge processing, cloud storage, and advanced analytics—that enables condition‑based servicing. It highlights...
Samsung Hikes US Prices on Galaxy Z and S25 FE
Samsung has increased the prices of the Galaxy Z series and S25 FE in the US • Z Fold7 12/512GB: $2199, +$80 16/1TB: $2499, +$80 • Z Flip7 12/512GB: $1299, +$80 • S25 FE 8/256GB: $749, +$40
XAI Trains Seven New Models, Including 6T‑10T Systems
Elon Musk revealed that xAI has seven new models currently in training on its Colossus 2 supercomputer, including massive 6T and 10T parameter systems #ArtificialIntelligence #Innovation #Technology #Tech #TechNews
Application Spotlight: 3D Printed Replacement Antenna Masts Save Decades of Combined Supply Wait Time
The US II Marine Expeditionary Force faced long‑standing shortages of replacement antenna masts for its Mobile User Object Systems (MUOS), as the original parts became brittle and costly to procure. Leveraging additive manufacturing, the Marines produced 3D‑printed mast replacements that...
OpenAI Pauses Stargate UK Data Center Citing Energy Costs
OpenAI announced it is pausing its Stargate artificial‑intelligence infrastructure project in the United Kingdom due to rising energy costs. The move comes as the company tightens spending ahead of a highly anticipated public listing. OpenAI said it will revisit the...
SIMPL Unveils Compass Dashboard to Enable Real-Time IoT Network Visibility
SIMPL Wireless introduced the Compass Dashboard, a SaaS‑based eUICC orchestration platform that consolidates IoT connectivity, carrier contracts, and device profiles into a single interface. The solution enables instant activation and real‑time visibility, shrinking deployment cycles from months to as little...
Pentagon Launches Living Neural Computer for Drone Navigation
DARPA’s Biological Technologies Office has opened the O‑Circuit workshop to solicit proposals for a 42‑month program that builds living neural tissue processors, called biological processing units (BPUs), for defense AI. The effort will first test BPU learning with a Ms. Pac‑Man...
EMQX Enterprise 6.2 Introduces Native Agent Discovery and Governance for AI and IoT Systems
EMQ announced EMQX Enterprise 6.2, adding native agent‑to‑agent (A2A) discovery, governance plugins, and dynamic keep‑alive management. The new A2A Registry embeds structured agent cards in MQTT topics, enabling event‑driven discovery and presence awareness without polling. Unified Namespace Governance enforces topic structures...
NVIDIA's Partnership Fuels Rapid AI Compute Scaling
NVIDIA's infrastructure partnership is smart, scaling software vendors' needs. In AI's booming compute demand, the real arms race is how fast vendors can build processing capabilities. #NVIDIA #AI #Tech https://t.co/yg1BGb3jqI
Equinix Launches Data Center in Mumbai, India
Equinix has opened MB3, its fourth International Business Exchange data center in Mumbai and the fifth across India. The five‑story, 5‑acre campus starts with 1,370 racks and can scale to 5,475 racks, backed by a $95 million investment. The facility supports...
NDS Taiwan to Showcase Integrated Warpage Control Solution for PLP at SEMICON SEA 2026
NDS Taiwan unveiled an integrated warpage‑control solution for panel‑level packaging (PLP) at SEMICON Southeast Asia 2026. The approach coordinates stress‑compensating materials, temporary glass carriers, precision grinding, advanced polishing and clean debonding to manage deformation across the entire panel workflow. By...
Flash Charging Hits Europe Before Lunch
Ready to rumble before lunch 🌶️ Flash charging coming to Europe 🇪🇺 ⚡️⚡️⚡️ #alwaysbecharging #offgrid https://t.co/O9IBeCFGrM
Vector Photonics Demos Free-Space Optical Communication Using PCSEL Outside of a Lab
Vector Photonics showcased its photonic crystal surface‑emitting lasers (PCSEL) in a real‑world free‑space optical link across Glasgow’s River Clyde, transmitting 50 Mbps over 500 m. The trial, built with Fraunhofer UK, moved the technology from a lab‑only proof‑of‑concept to a commercial‑grade readiness...
Chaevi to Supply EV Chargers to Canada
South Korean EV charger maker Chaevi Company Ltd signed a partnership with Canadian firm Foreseeson Technology to launch its charging network in Canada. The agreement calls for an initial delivery of 100 ultra‑fast 400‑kW stations in 2026, expanding to over...
Tech to Accelerate Assay Turnaround in BC
Paragon Advanced Labs has linked Chrysos Corp.’s PhotonAssay with Veracio’s whole‑rock scanner at a new British Columbia hub, creating a rapid, non‑destructive assay workflow. PhotonAssay can quantify gold, silver and copper in about two minutes, while the Veracio scanner adds...
Industrial Heat Pumps Scale Up for Real-World Deployment
Industrial heat pumps are one of the most underrated technologies in the energy transition. They work. They scale. And they’re finally moving from demonstration to deployment. Here’s a 95t heat pump component just traveled l by river to reach BASF’s...
Amflow’s Latest E-Bikes with Avinox Motors Raise the Bar Again
Amflow, DJI’s e‑bike spin‑off, unveiled two new electric mountain‑bike models, the PX and PR, built around its high‑density Avinox M2S and M2 drive systems. The bikes deliver up to 1,500 W of peak power and 150 Nm of torque while weighing only...
Nine Out of Ten Isn’t Good Enough
Google’s AI Overviews, which surface at the top of search results, were found by a New York Times analysis to be 85‑91% accurate on a common AI benchmark. With more than five trillion searches processed annually, a 10% error rate translates into thousands...
Sennheiser Details Audio Innovations for Eurovision 2026
Sennheiser will supply audio technology for the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna next month, marking its fourth collaboration with Italian rental firm Agorà. The company will roll out its largest Spectera deployment to date, featuring custom‑firmware handheld transmitters and bidirectional...
Lawo Brings Video and Audio Together in New Stagebox
Lawo unveiled Edge One, a SMPTE ST 2110‑native stagebox delivering up to 25 Gbps of combined video and audio bandwidth. The unit features eight bidirectional HD‑BNC connectors, four HDMI ports (two convertible to inputs), and a suite of audio interfaces including MADI, USB‑C,...
Smart Metering: IoT Technologies, Rollouts and Utility Use Cases
Smart Metering has become a core IoT application, allowing utilities to capture and transmit consumption data in near real time. The technology combines sensors, communication networks such as cellular, LPWAN, and mesh, and cloud‑based analytics platforms, often enhanced with edge...