Today's Hardware Pulse
Nvidia driver hints at progress on next‑gen DLSS 5
Nvidia’s latest GeForce Game Ready driver (610.47) adds three new DLSS profile options, indicating continued work on DLSS 5 neural‑rendering technology. The earlier DLSS 5 reveal sparked debate over AI‑driven image alteration, and this driver update provides the first concrete sign of advancement.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Cyient Semiconductors raises $30M Series funding
V-COLOR Debuts DDR5 1 + 1 Dummy Memory Kits for Ryzen Gaming PCs
V‑COLOR has launched DDR5 1+1 kits that combine a single active memory module with a matching RGB filler for AMD Ryzen gaming PCs. The kits are offered in 16 GB (Manta DDR5 XSky) and 24 GB (Manta DDR5 XFinity) configurations, targeting users who want a DDR5 upgrade without buying a full dual‑module set. The filler provides no additional capacity, serving only to maintain a symmetrical, lit appearance across the motherboard. V‑COLOR positions the product as a cost‑effective, phased entry point aligned with the popularity of Ryzen X3D processors.
Korea’s March Exports Show Semiconductor Supply Still Robust
Korea btw posted strong exports for the first 10 days of March, so the semi-trade is NOT disrupted yet, and this notion that Helium is running out for Hynix and TSMC is so far 100% BS as they have 5-6...
AMD, NVIDIA, OpenAI & Others Form An Optical Scale-Up Consortium
AMD, Broadcom, Meta, Microsoft, NVIDIA and OpenAI have launched the Optical Compute Interconnect (OCI) Multi‑Source Agreement consortium. The group aims to create an open, multi‑vendor ecosystem for optical scale‑up interconnects that replace copper in AI data‑center clusters. OCI’s specification combines...
Cambricon Rides China AI Boom to Post Its First Annual Profit
Cambricon Technologies Corp. announced its first annual profit, reporting net income of 2.1 billion yuan ($306 million) for 2025. Revenue surged to 6.5 billion yuan, a more than five‑fold increase from the prior year’s 1.2 billion yuan. The turnaround follows Beijing’s policy urging AI...
Manz Asia and Epson Form Strategic Partnership to Advance Inkjet Technology for Semiconductor Manufacturing
Manz Asia and Seiko Epson have formed a strategic partnership to develop Lab‑to‑Fab inkjet equipment for semiconductor manufacturing. The collaboration merges Epson’s high‑precision printhead technology with Manz’s equipment engineering and intelligent software, creating a product line that covers R&D, pilot,...
HyperLight Introduces 145 GHz Reference Modulators to Enable 448Gbps per Lane Datacom and 260GBaud Telecom Development
HyperLight Corp unveiled a 145 GHz packaged intensity modulator that delivers over 145 GHz electro‑optical bandwidth, enabling 448 Gbps per‑lane IMDD and 260 GBaud coherent links. The device is offered in O‑, C‑, L‑band configurations with a 1 µm pre‑order option, featuring a compact 0.8 mm...
Scaling AI for Everyone
OpenAI announced a $110 billion financing round that values the company at $730 billion pre‑money, with $30 billion each from SoftBank and Nvidia and $50 billion from Amazon. The capital backs a strategic partnership with Amazon and next‑generation inference compute from Nvidia, expanding global...
Micron Sets New Benchmark with the World’s First High-Capacity 256GB LPDRAM SOCAMM2 for Data Center Infrastructure
Micron Technology announced the shipment of its 256 GB SOCAMM2 LPDRAM module, the first server memory built on a monolithic 32 Gb LPDDR5X die. The new module delivers one‑third the power consumption and footprint of comparable RDIMMs while offering 1.33 times more capacity...
Axiomise Introduces nocProve to Transform NoC Design Verification
Axiomise has launched nocProve, the first configurable formal verification application dedicated to Network-on-Chip (NoC) designs. The tool leverages the company’s proprietary proof engine to exhaustively prove correctness across multiple clock domains, virtual channels, and routing schemes. By automating proof generation...
SK Hynix and Sandisk Begin Global Standardization of Next-Gen Memory ‘HBF’
SK hynix and SanDisk announced a joint initiative to standardize High Bandwidth Flash (HBF), a new memory tier positioned between high‑bandwidth memory (HBM) and solid‑state drives (SSD). The partners will create a dedicated workstream under the Open Compute Project to...
Dishwashing Home Robot Maker Sunday Hits $1.15 Billion Valuation
Sunday Inc., a developer of a multifunctional home robot, announced a $165 million Series B financing round that lifted its valuation to $1.15 billion. The round was led by Coatue Management with participation from Bain Capital Ventures, Tiger Global, Benchmark and Conviction Partners....
Raymarine Expands Charting Options for Serious Anglers
Raymarine has broadened its marine cartography suite for anglers by launching LightHouse Charts GEN 2, adding Florida Marine Tracks, and introducing CMOR NEX GEN for its Axiom 2 Pro and XL displays. The new LightHouse version redraws three times faster...
Run Nvidia Latest Nemotron3-Nano-Nvfp4 on Your DGX Spark and Plug It Into Claude Code
NVIDIA has released a 4‑bit quantized variant of its Nemotron 3 Nano model, cybermotaz/nemotron3‑nano‑nvfp4‑w4a16a, specifically tuned for the DGX Spark’s GB10 Grace Blackwell chip. The model runs weights at FP4 precision and the KV cache at FP8, delivering high token throughput while maintaining...
Synopsys Updates Hardware-Assisted Verification Portfolio
Synopsys unveiled a refreshed hardware‑assisted verification (HAV) portfolio that adds new HAPS‑200 and ZeBu‑200 FPGA platforms and a suite of software‑defined enhancements. The 12‑FPGA systems double capacity over prior 6‑FPGA offerings and target data‑center AI training, inference, GPUs, and edge...
Apple Targets Competitive Price for iPad Mini-Like Foldable
Apple is developing a foldable smartphone priced around $2,000, positioning it at the high end of the premium market alongside Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Google’s Pixel 10 Pro Fold. The device will feature an internal display roughly the size of an iPad...
ROHM’s TRCDRIVE Pack, HSDIP20 and DOT-247 Silicon Carbide Molded Power Modules Now Available Online
Japanese semiconductor firm ROHM has launched online sales of three new silicon‑carbide (SiC) molded power modules: the TRCDRIVE pack, HSDIP20, and DOT‑247. The TRCDRIVE pack delivers 1.5‑times higher power density than conventional SiC modules and integrates a top‑mounted gate‑driver board...
JBL's Latest Headphones Offer an Auracast Loophole Apple Won't Be Happy About
JBL has launched the Live 780NC over‑ear headphones, featuring a refreshed design, longer battery life, upgraded Bluetooth connectivity and active noise cancellation. The standout upgrade is in‑app support for Auracast broadcasts, allowing iOS users to receive LE Audio streams despite Apple’s...
Maintaining Security and Protecting Smart Home Devices From Hackers
Smart home devices boost convenience and energy savings but are increasingly targeted by cybercriminals. Common flaws include weak default passwords, lack of updates, and unsegmented Wi‑Fi networks that let attackers move laterally. Recent incidents, such as a robot vacuum breach...
Sennheiser RS 275 TV Headphone Bundle Review: Awesome Tech, OK Headphones
Sennheiser’s new BTA1 TV transmitter brings Auracast’s low‑latency, long‑range Bluetooth to any television, supporting HDMI ARC, optical, 3.5 mm and USB inputs. Bundled with the mid‑range HDR 275 headphones, the system offers a versatile, multi‑device listening experience for households. While the transmitter performs...
Nordic Semiconductor Adds Lifetime Flat-Rate FOTA Licensing to nRF Cloud as CRA Compliance Looms
Nordic Semiconductor introduced a lifetime, flat‑rate firmware‑over‑the‑air (FOTA) and device‑management license within its nRF Cloud platform to help IoT makers meet the EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) requirements. The CRA, effective in 2027, mandates continuous security updates and auditability for...
Qualcomm X105 6G-Ready 5G Modem to Deliver 14.8 Gbps Download and 4.2 Gbps Upload Peak Data Speeds
Qualcomm unveiled the X105, the industry’s first 3GPP Release 19‑ready modem‑RF system, capable of 14.8 Gbps downlink and 4.2 Gbps uplink peak speeds. Built on a 6 nm RF transceiver, it delivers 30% lower power consumption and a 15% smaller footprint than the X85....
Scintil Releases DWDM Laser Source Evaluation Kit for Scale-Up AI Networks
Scintil Photonics unveiled the LEAF Light Evaluation Kit (EVK), enabling customers to test its single‑chip DWDM laser source for AI scale‑up networks. The LEAF Light chip promises up to 50% power reduction and lower latency compared with traditional single‑wavelength co‑packaged...
US-Based Emerson Eyes India's Semiconductor Sector Business
Emerson is positioning its test and measurement portfolio to serve semiconductor manufacturers establishing fabs and OSAT facilities in India. Leveraging its 2023 $8.2 billion acquisition of National Instruments, the company is already working with firms like Kaynes Semicon and offers a local...
Navitas Adds Top-Side-Cooled QDPAK and Low-Profile TO-247-4L to Package Line-Up in 5th-Generation GeneSiC Technology
Navitas Semiconductor introduced two 1200 V SiC MOSFET packages— a top‑side‑cooled QDPAK and a low‑profile TO‑247‑4LP— built on its 5th‑generation GeneSiC platform. The new TAP technology improves the RDSon×Qgd figure of merit by 35 % and raises the Qgd/Qgs ratio by roughly...
Quantum Bits Maintain Stable Response Even with Multiple Drives Applied
A UCLA‑Princeton team demonstrated that Loss‑DiVincenzo single‑spin qubits in a three‑qubit processor exhibit a strictly linear relationship between microwave drive amplitude and Rabi frequency, even when all qubits are driven simultaneously. The study resolved earlier reports of non‑linearities, showing frequency...
Nordic Expands Edge AI Portfolio with NPU-Enabled SoC
Nordic Semiconductor unveiled its first Neural Processing Unit (NPU) enabled system‑on‑chip, the nRF54LM20B, expanding its ultra‑low‑power edge AI portfolio. The integrated NPU accelerates TensorFlow Lite models up to 15 times faster than the Cortex CPU and delivers up to sevenfold...
Congatec Expands Ryzen AI Embedded COM Express Modules
congatec announced six new variants of its Ryzen AI Embedded P100 Series COM Express 3.1 Type 6 Compact modules, expanding core counts from four to twelve and graphics units from two to sixteen. The modules leverage 4‑nm Zen 5/5c CPUs, RDNA 3.5 GPUs...
IQOO Z11x with 7,200 mAh Battery and Dimensity 7400 SoC Launched in India, Price Starts at ₹18,999
iQOO launched the Z11x 5G in India, a mid‑range smartphone starting at ₹18,999. It features a massive 7200 mAh battery, MediaTek Dimensity 7400 Turbo chipset, and a 6.76‑inch 120 Hz Full HD+ display. The phone also offers MIL‑STD‑810H, IP68/69 water‑dust resistance and up to...
Meta Plans Four In-House AI Chips In Two Years
Meta Platforms announced a rapid rollout of four custom AI accelerators—MTIA 300, MTIA 400, MTIA 450 and MTIA 500—targeted for deployment by the end of 2027. The MTIA 300 is already powering smaller‑model training for ranking and ad recommendation, while the MTIA 400 has cleared lab...
Intel Rules Out RAN Exit and Champions Granite Rapids over Nvidia
Intel confirmed it will not spin off its Network and Edge (NEX) unit, reaffirming its commitment to the 5G/6G RAN market with the Granite Rapids processor. The decision follows a $7 billion funding infusion from Nvidia and SoftBank that helped the...
ASRock Industrial Expands Motherboard Lineup for AMD CPUs
ASRock Industrial unveiled a new line of industrial motherboards that support AMD EPYC 4005/4004 and Ryzen 9000/8000/7000 series processors. The portfolio spans ATX (IMB‑A1700), Micro‑ATX (IMB‑A1302) and Mini‑ITX (IMB‑A1002/ A1003) platforms, each featuring DDR5 memory, PCIe Gen5 expansion, and multi‑display...
Radio DJs Once Recorded Bumpers on Sony Minidiscs
When I was an on-air radio DJ in the early 2010s, all of our bumper spots were recorded on Sony minidiscs. The technology of a forgotten future, and the sort of thing that's everywhere in Japan. https://t.co/3ITnIGzgW1
Aerowash Selected by IAG to Supply Aircraft Washing Robots to British Airways at Heathrow
Aerowash has been awarded a multi‑year leasing contract by International Airlines Group to provide aircraft‑washing robots for British Airways at London Heathrow. The deal follows a competitive tender and will see several automated washers deployed across BA’s Heathrow operations. CEO...
ASUS Expands Strix OLED Range With Three New 27-Inch QHD Displays
ASUS has expanded its ROG Strix OLED lineup with three new 27‑inch QHD monitors: the WOLED‑based XG27AQDMG Gen2, the 280 Hz QD‑OLED XG27ACDMS, and the entry‑level QD‑OLED XG27AQDMES. The models share a 0.03 ms response time, factory calibration, and adaptive‑sync support, but differ...
AMD Rumored to Ready FSR Diamond for Xbox Project Helix
AMD is reportedly developing a new graphics feature set called FSR Diamond for Microsoft’s upcoming Xbox platform, rumored as Project Helix. Unlike previous FidelityFX Super Resolution iterations, FSR Diamond is said to bundle AI‑assisted upscaling, frame generation, neural rendering and...
MSI Expands Intel 800 Series With New Z890 and B860M Boards
MSI has added two Intel 800 series motherboards to its portfolio, the PRO Z890‑S WIFI6E W ATX board and the B860M GAMING PLUS WIFI6E micro‑ATX board. The PRO model features a white PCB, multiple full‑length PCIe slots, Wi‑Fi 6E, 2.5 GbE Ethernet and 20 Gbps USB‑C, positioning it as a...
HBM4E Raises The Bar For AI Memory Bandwidth
Rambus unveiled HBM4E, the latest high‑bandwidth memory that doubles HBM4’s data rate to 16 Gbps per pin, delivering up to 24.6 TB/s aggregate bandwidth across a six‑device stack. The new standard retains HBM’s low‑power, low‑latency characteristics while expanding channel count to 32...
Rethinking Voice AI At The Edge: A Practical Offline Pipeline
Arm and NVIDIA unveiled an offline, real‑time voice AI pipeline on the DGX Spark platform, combining the faster‑whisper speech‑to‑text engine with the vLLM large‑language‑model server. The heterogeneous design assigns latency‑critical transcription to Arm Cortex‑X/A CPU cores while the GPU handles...
Serial Wire Debug (SWD) Protocol: Efficient Debug Interface For Arm-Based Systems
The Serial Wire Debug (SWD) protocol offers a two‑pin alternative to traditional JTAG, delivering high‑speed debug access for Arm Cortex‑M based SoCs. By using a single clock (SWCLK) and a bidirectional data line (SWDIO), SWD halves the pin count while...
AI Power on the Edge
Edge AI is reshaping device design by making power and thermal constraints primary, not optional, considerations. Engineers must build hardware architectures from the ground up and adopt a hardware‑software‑model co‑design approach to meet milliwatt budgets and fanless thermal envelopes. Memory...
Scale-Up, Scale-Out Get a New Partner
The article outlines three AI‑focused data‑center scaling models—scale‑up (in‑rack, latency‑centric, copper‑based), scale‑out (inter‑rack, jitter‑centric, RDMA and optical), and the newer scale‑across (cross‑data‑center, long‑distance congestion management). It details how each approach uses distinct interconnect strategies and resource allocation methods, and cites...
Customizing Foundation IP For Ultra-Low-Voltage Designs
Synopsys customized its Foundation IP to enable an ultra‑low‑voltage (0.4 V) optical networking chip designed for edge AI workloads. The team created a new memory compiler, added dual‑rail voltage support, and applied power‑gating and low‑leakage cells to meet aggressive power‑performance‑area (PPA)...
One Button Turns This Smartphone Screen Into Paper
TCL’s NXTPAPER 70 Pro introduces a paper‑like reading experience on a standard IPS‑LCD panel, thanks to its proprietary NXTPAPER 4.0 technology. A dedicated side button cycles between Color Paper, Ink Paper and Max Ink modes, each reducing blue light and shifting to grayscale...
Dreame-Backed NXMind Enters Commercialization with Tianqiong Chips, Targets Orbital Computing
NXMind, backed by Dreame, announced that its Tianqiong chip series has entered mass production and will be integrated across Dreame’s home‑robot lineup. The heterogeneous system‑on‑chip combines a multi‑core CPU, dedicated NPU and microcontroller to enable real‑time LiDAR, vision fusion and...
Volkmann Collaborates with HP to Offer Contained Metal Powder Handling System
German equipment maker Volkmann GmbH has partnered with HP Additive Manufacturing Solutions to launch the vPort powder handling system for HP’s Metal Jet S100 binder‑jet printers. The semi‑automated solution combines Volkmann’s PowTReX technology with a glove‑box interface, offering sieving, recovery...
PC Price Hikes and a Test for Taiwan
Global PC manufacturers announced price increases of 5%‑10% as semiconductor shortages and higher freight costs persist. The hikes hit both consumer and enterprise segments, squeezing budgets for schools and businesses. Taiwan, home to major chip fabs and motherboard producers, faces...
Turris Omnia NG Wired Dual 10GbE, Quad 2.5GbE Router Drops Wi-Fi for Cost Savings
Turris has launched the Omnia NG Wired router, mirroring the feature set of its Wi‑Fi 7 model but stripping out built‑in wireless to cut costs. The device offers dual 10 GbE SFP+ cages, four 2.5 GbE RJ45 ports, a Qualcomm IPQ9574 SoC, 2 GB...
APNX Max G1 1200 Watt Power Supply Review – Platinum Power Supply with Good Performance and ATX 3.1
APNX has launched the Max G1 1200W Platinum‑rated power supply, built on Channel Well Technology’s LLC resonant platform and compliant with ATX 3.1. Independent testing by Cybenetics awarded the unit ETA Platinum and Lambda A certifications, confirming high efficiency, tight voltage regulation,...
Thin, Light GeekBook X14 Pro Impresses with 32GB RAM
Sick of your boat anchor? I put a shockingly thin and light GEEKOM GeekBook X14 Pro Windows 11 Pro Laptop through its paces, and I'm not going to lie, I was impressed. And did I mention 32GB of RAM and...
Summit Announces AirLux Studio Signaling
Summit Technology Group unveiled AirLux Studio Signaling, a network‑based on‑air light replacement that uses PoE‑powered touchscreen displays. The platform integrates natively with Axia Livewire consoles, automatically reflecting status cues such as On‑Air, Recording, or Production in Progress. A centralized web...