Today's Hardware Pulse
Apollo and Blackstone fund $35B credit line for Anthropic’s TPU acquisition
Apollo Global Management and Blackstone closed a $35 billion private‑credit facility to finance Anthropic’s purchase of Broadcom‑built Google‑designed TPU chips. The financing is expected to add about 1 GW of compute capacity, with deployment slated for Fluidstack data‑center sites by mid‑2024.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Factorial Energy goes public via $1.3B SPAC merger
Vast Data Integrates AI OS Into Nvidia GPU-Powered Servers
Vast Data and Nvidia have launched the CNode‑X, a GPU‑powered server that embeds the Vast Data AI Operating System directly onto Nvidia hardware. The integrated solution is optimized for AI pipelines, high‑performance analytics, vector search, retrieval‑augmented generation and agentic workloads. CNode‑X will be sold through major OEMs such as Cisco, HPE and Supermicro, and coincides with Vast’s new Polaris multi‑ and hybrid‑cloud offering. The partnership promises to simplify AI infrastructure by eliminating separate storage, database and compute layers.
New eBook From Mouser, Microchip, and Samtec Examines PCIe Design for Emerging Embedded Systems
Mouser Electronics, in partnership with Microchip Technology and Samtec, has released an eBook titled “8 Experts on PCIe for Emerging Embedded Systems.” The guide gathers insights from eight industry leaders—including Bosch, DANA, Synopsys, Tektronix and Visteon—to help engineers tackle PCIe integration...
Caspia Technologies Unveils A Breakthrough in RTL Security Verification Paving the Way for Agentic Silicon Security
Caspia Technologies announced the general availability of CODAx V2026.1, an AI‑enhanced RTL security analyzer that checks over 150 insecure coding practices against more than 1,000 hardware vulnerability references. The tool can scan half‑million lines of RTL in under an hour,...
Samsung's S26 Ultra Introduces Dynamic, App‑Specific Privacy Display
Hands-down the most interesting feature of the S26 Ultra: the new Privacy Display. Samsung spent five years developing a screen that could do the same job as the stick-on privacy protectors that prevent "shoulder surfing" ... but this one can be...
Turbine Noise and Head Crashes: The Physical Limits that Killed the 15,000 RPM Hard Drive
The article explains why 15,000 RPM hard‑disk drives never achieved mainstream adoption. Extreme rotational speeds caused heat, power draw, vibration‑induced head crashes, and intolerable acoustic noise. These mechanical barriers made the drives costly and unreliable, especially compared with emerging solid‑state technology....
How ISPs Shape the Way We Experience the Internet
Internet Service Providers shape every click by routing traffic through dozens of networks, adding latency that spikes during peak hours. Congestion can degrade residential speeds by 25% or more, especially where legacy copper lines remain. ISPs also employ traffic‑shaping tools...
Nithin Mohan — Why AI Breakthroughs Depend on Supercomputing Discipline
HPE’s AI and supercomputing leader Nithin Mohan argues that enterprise AI is now limited by infrastructure rather than algorithms. He highlights how exascale computing, high‑speed data movement, and system reliability are essential to move AI from demos to production. The conversation...
Chip Surge vs Software Lag Sparks Profit‑Seeking Unwind
One of the biggest divergences in the market overall & tech trade specifically...has been the outperformance of semiconductors & underperformance of software...being long chips & short software has produced a massive return since June 2025. What is the potential catalyst for...
$4B Sherman Chip Fab Starts Production
GlobalWafers has launched Phase II production at its Sherman, Texas silicon‑wafer fab, a $4 billion expansion that brings total regional investment to $7.5 billion. The 12‑inch wafer line will supply Texas Instruments, TSMC and other partners producing chips for Apple. The project receives...
2D Memristors Could Help Solve AI's Energy Problem
A new review in Nanoenergy Advances highlights how atomically thin, graphene‑like memristors can store information directly in their molecular lattice, offering fast, dense, and energy‑efficient switching. The paper details how graphene oxide, diamane, and layered chalcogenides achieve controllable resistance changes...
Rohde & Schwarz and LITEON Demonstrate High‑throughput 5G Femtocell Testing with the PVT360A
Rohde & Schwarz and LITEON demonstrated a production‑optimized test setup at MWC Barcelona 2026, using the PVT360A vector performance tester to characterize four FlexFi 5G femtocells in parallel. The PVT360A’s 2 × 8‑port architecture and smart‑channel technology cut testing time by 50 percent, enabling fully automated...
ESAB Launches Ruffian EMP 270G Engine Drive
ESAB, together with Linde Gas & Equipment, unveiled the Ruffian EMP 270G engine‑driven welding generator at CONEXPO‑CON/AGG 2026, offering show‑only pricing and bundled accessories. The unit delivers 270 A at a 100 % duty cycle and 11 kW of generator power from a 23.5‑HP KOHLER...
Designing the Future: AI-Driven Multi-Die Innovation in the Era of Agentic Engineering
At the 2026 Chiplet Summit, Synopsys unveiled an AI‑driven, agentic approach to multi‑die design that promises to automate and accelerate the entire workflow. The semiconductor industry is shifting toward heterogeneous chiplet architectures and 3‑D stacking, creating unprecedented design complexity. AI...
Aitech and Teledyne Power Next-Gen Space Missions with AI-Ready SP1 Computer
AI‑ready Aitech SP1 single‑board computer now incorporates Teledyne e2v’s QLS1046 space‑qualified SoC. The chip features four 64‑bit Arm Cortex‑A72 cores, DDR4 memory with error correction, and radiation tolerance up to 100 krad, enabling reliable operation in LEO, GEO, lunar and deep‑space...
NDSS 2025 – On Borrowed Time – Preventing Static Side-Channel Analysis
The NDSS 2025 paper introduces Borrowed Time, a countermeasure that protects integrated circuits from emerging static side‑channel attacks such as static power analysis, laser logic state imaging, and impedance analysis. By continuously monitoring a device and securely erasing key‑dependent data...
Microsoft Clarifies Windows 11 Printer Driver Policy — Support for Legacy Printers Is Not Ending
Microsoft clarified that Windows 11 will not drop support for legacy V3 and V4 printer drivers, countering earlier reports. Existing drivers remain functional and available via Windows Update, while new driver submissions are blocked by default and require case‑by‑case approval starting...
Multimatic Motorsports Goes the Distance with Conflux 3D Printed Oil Cooler
Multimatic Motorsports completed a full‑distance endurance race using Conflux Technology’s 3D‑printed, configurable transmission oil cooler. The additive‑manufactured unit was produced in two weeks and delivered roughly 20% more heat rejection than the legacy cooler while fitting within the same compact...
DigiKey Spotlights New Products at Embedded World 2026
DigiKey will showcase more than a dozen new embedded‑system products from leading suppliers at Embedded World 2026 in Nuremberg, Germany. The booth (4A‑633) features live demos ranging from thread‑network sensor arrays to single‑pair Ethernet video streaming and AI‑enabled microcontrollers. DigiKey...
China to Increase Leading-Edge Chip Output by 5x in Two Years, Report Claims — Aims to Lift 7nm and 5nm...
China plans to quintuple its leading‑edge chip output within two years, raising 7 nm and 5 nm wafer starts from under 20,000 to about 100,000 per month. The long‑term goal is to reach 500,000 advanced‑node wafers monthly by 2030. SMIC, the only...
Sustainable All‐Inorganic Double Perovskite Memristors Enabling Synaptic Learning and Cognitive Emulation
Researchers have demonstrated lead‑free all‑inorganic double perovskite Cs2AgBiBr6 memristors that combine robust analog resistive switching with biologically relevant synaptic plasticity. The devices rely on reversible Ag⁺ ion migration to form filamentary conduction paths, as confirmed by impedance spectroscopy, c‑AFM, and...
MathWorks Joins EDGE AI Foundation
MathWorks announced its membership in the EDGE AI Foundation, a consortium dedicated to energy‑efficient artificial intelligence for edge devices. The partnership will let engineers leverage MATLAB and Simulink to train, integrate, and deploy AI models on embedded hardware while validating...
Untitled
Stratasys announced a 22% year‑over‑year reliability increase for its F900 industrial 3D printer, driven by manufacturing enhancements co‑developed with its Customer Advisory Board (CAB). The CAB, composed of aerospace, defense and automotive leaders, identified production‑scale barriers and helped shape improvements...
AMD Announces The EPYC 8005 "Sorano" Series
AMD announced the EPYC 8005 “Sorano” series, a Zen 5‑based, single‑socket processor line succeeding the 8004 “Siena” family. Designed for 1P servers, the chips target telco and radio‑access‑network workloads with a focus on performance‑per‑dollar and performance‑per‑watt. The series promises high core counts,...
An Agentic Formal Verifier. Innovation in Verification
Infineon’s recent paper introduces Saarthi, an autonomous AI formal verification engineer that leverages multi‑agent LLM frameworks to generate, prove, and analyze RTL properties. The system creates English‑language verification plans, refines SystemVerilog assertions, and runs Cadence’s Jasper model‑checker in an iterative...
Arm & Linaro Launch New "CoreCollective" Consortium - With Backing From AMD & Others
Arm and Linaro have unveiled the CoreCollective consortium, an open‑source‑focused alliance aimed at accelerating the Arm software ecosystem. The group is financially backed by Arm and invites any vendor to join for free. Founding members include AMD, Ampere, Canonical, Google,...
Scality RING Becomes Back-End Object Store for WEKA NeuralMesh
Scality and WEKA announced that Scality RING will serve as the back‑end object store for WEKA’s NeuralMesh high‑performance AI file system. The partnership leverages NeuralMesh’s SSD‑based front‑end with RING’s cost‑efficient, disk‑based object tier, delivering up to ten times faster performance than...
US May Seize Chip Foundries Amid China‑US GPU Race
This isn’t new. Here’s an article from 2024. US Generals have publicly indicated 2027, but the recent PLA leadership purge should be alarming. And China realizes they need bleeding edge GPU to keep pace with US models and datacenters. Alarmed...
SiMa.ai and STIGA S.p.A. Partner for AI-Powered Autonomous Robotic Lawn Mowers
STIGA S.p.A. has partnered with SiMa Technologies to embed SiMa.ai’s low‑power Physical AI ML‑SoC into its next‑generation robotic lawn mowers for both consumer and commercial use. The integration enables ultra‑low‑latency, edge‑based decision‑making while reducing power draw, resulting in lighter, more...
Astera Labs: Fiscal 4Q25 and FY25 Financial Results
Astera Labs reported record FY2025 revenue of $852.5 million, a 115% year‑over‑year increase, and a Q4 revenue of $270.6 million, up 17% sequentially. GAAP operating margin reached 20.3% for the year, while non‑GAAP margin was 39.2%, reflecting strong profitability. The company began...
Nimbus Data Unveils FlashMax Data Platform for Mission-Critical Enterprises and Cloud Providers
Nimbus Data introduced FlashMax, a next‑generation multiprotocol all‑flash platform that consolidates block, file and object storage into a single namespace. The system adds DirectLink PCIe expansion, hardware‑accelerated deduplication and compression, and rack‑level resiliency, supporting up to 20 PB raw (100 PB effective)...
IM Launches New-Gen of eMMC for Industrial Applications
Intelligent Memory Ltd. (IM) has launched a new low‑density eMMC product line, offering 8 GB and 16 GB capacities in a 153‑ball BGA package for industrial applications. The devices target environments requiring stability, longevity and right‑sized storage, such as factory automation, medical...
Penn-Union Split Bolts, Power Bars, Service Connectors, and More
AutomationDirect announced the addition of Penn‑Union split bolt connectors, aluminum power bars, and bronze service post connectors to its catalog. The split bolts accommodate CU‑CU, CU‑AL, and AL‑AL conductor pairs, while the power bars support two to four conductors in...
Autonomous Robot Runs Quantum-Inspired Optimization in Real Time
Japanese tech giant Toshiba and MIRISE Technologies have embedded their Simulated Bifurcation Machine, a quantum‑inspired optimization engine, into an autonomous mobile robot. The on‑board FPGA runs a new multi‑object tracking algorithm at 23 frames per second, delivering up to 23%...
Mersen Launches Critical Power Panelboard (CPP)
Mersen has introduced its Critical Power Panel (CPP) series, a fully customizable fused panelboard that combines a lightweight design with a reduced footprint. Targeted at NEC‑required and non‑required applications—including UPS systems, data centers, medium‑voltage eHouses, emergency circuits, and DC utility...
Driving International Efficiencies Using Technology
Dual Inventive has completed field trials of its next‑generation rail safety suite, including the RCS 3000 remote‑control signal, the RSS 3000 PC off‑grid points controller, and the RDI 3000 v2 remote detonator isolator. Tests in Germany, France, Belgium and the UK demonstrated clear visibility...
Trump Administration to Use Pentagon AI to Set Mineral Reference Prices — Gallium and Germanium Among First Four Targets
The Trump administration will deploy DARPA’s Open Price Exploration for National Security (OPEN) AI system to establish reference prices for critical minerals, starting with germanium, gallium, antimony and tungsten. The tool calculates fair values by stripping out alleged Chinese market...
Dell, Lenovo to Launch Thin‑And‑Light Gaming Laptops Early 2024
Dell and Lenovo laptops with Nvidia CPUs 'could come in the first half of this year' — so get ready for some thin-and-light gaming powerhouses (hopefully) https://www.techradar.com/computing/cpu/dell-and-lenovo-laptops-with-nvidia-cpus-could-come-in-the-first-half-of-this-year-so-get-ready-for-some-thin-and-light-gaming-powerhouses-hopefully
Co‑Packaged Optics Dominate Top Winners This Year
Just keeps going $FORM Seeing this Co-Packaged Optics discussed across a bunch of big winners this year https://t.co/sosRLrP3tq
D7VK Version 1.4 Brings Further Enhancements for Older Direct3D via Vulkan
D7VK version 1.4 has been released, extending its Direct3D 5‑7‑via‑Vulkan translation layer for Wine and Proton. The update introduces colour‑key transparency, fixing opaque artifacts in titles such as Arx Fatalis and Divine Divinity. It also consolidates legacy DDraw support, enabling games...
Back-End Automation Bridges Data Gaps in Complex Packaging
Back-End Automation Tackles Growing Complexity: As packaging complexity rises, the industry faces gaps in data, inspection, & process integration https://t.co/14Rnd13D5a #semiconductor #automation #metrology @aseglobal @cohu_inc @oontoinnovation @yieldWerx #semiconductortest https://t.co/iG4eFqvoOn
BTQ Advances to Silicon Validation with NYC Expansion
This is where the shift from research → real hardware starts. NYC expansion + hires from Apple, Meta & Samsung shows $BTQ moving toward silicon validation and commercialization. Quantum-secure chips are starting to look like real execution. 👀
NXP TJA1410 and TJF1410 PMD Transceivers Enable “CAN-Like” Single Pair Ethernet (SPE) Connectivity
NXP has introduced two 10BASE‑T1S Physical Medium Dependent transceivers – the automotive‑grade TJA1410 and the industrial‑grade TJF1410 – that offload only the analog front‑end while the digital PHY resides in the host MCU or switch. Both devices use a three‑pin...
Legacy Friction: Modern AI Meets Outdated Iron Infrastructure
The Legacy Friction: Integrating Intelligence into Iron - the structural, technical, and cultural resistance that occurs when you try to integrate 21st-century autonomous intelligence into 20th-century physical iron. https://t.co/6dgJ5aZe4w
EPC Adds 3-Phase BLDC Motor Drive Inverter Evaluation Board for Humanoid Robot Joint Applications
Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) unveiled the EPC91122, a 3‑phase BLDC motor‑drive inverter evaluation board tailored for humanoid robot joint applications. The board incorporates EPC’s EPC33110 GaN ePower Stage, delivering up to 20 A RMS (28 A peak) in a 32 mm‑diameter core while supporting...
I-C3, The New National Competence Centre in Semiconductors for Startups and SMEs
Ireland has launched I‑C3, a National Competence Centre in Semiconductors dedicated to startups and SMEs. The centre, coordinated by Tyndall National Institute and co‑funded by the EU Chips Joint Undertaking, offers funding pathways, design tools, training and access to pilot‑line...
LG Debuts Next-Gen Telematics at MWC 2026
LG Electronics will unveil a next‑generation telematics module at MWC Barcelona 2026, merging a telematics control unit with a multi‑band antenna that handles 5G, GPS, V2X and satellite signals. The integrated design cuts signal loss, simplifies wiring and removes the...
Epirus Confirms Leonidas Microwave System Integration with DFT Platform
Epirus and Digital Force Technologies have merged Epirus' Leonidas high‑power microwave weapon with DFT's Seraphim command‑and‑control software to create a unified detect‑to‑defeat counter‑UAS system. The integrated solution links autonomous detection, tracking and non‑kinetic microwave defeat, allowing a single burst to...
MSI SPATIUM M571 DLP Targets Gen5 Peak Speeds with Phison
MSI has added the SPATIUM M571 DLP to its Gen5 SSD portfolio, featuring Phison’s 6 nm PS5028‑E28 controller and LPDDR4 DRAM cache. The drive ships in 1 TB, 2 TB and 4 TB capacities, delivering up to 14,500 MB/s sequential reads and 11,000 MB/s writes, with...
MSI Refreshes AM4 Budget Lineup with Two DDR4 B550 microATX Boards
MSI announced two new B550 micro‑ATX motherboards for the AM4 socket, extending DDR4 support for Ryzen 5000 builds. The PRO B550M‑B retails at $78.96 and offers dual M.2 slots, while the B550M‑A PRO costs $67.66 with a single M.2 slot and a simplified...
Micro-Magic Launches U5000 Tactical MEMS IMU
Micro‑Magic has introduced the U5000, a tactical‑grade MEMS inertial measurement unit positioned to match the performance of Sensonor’s STIM320 series. The device delivers gyroscope bias stability of ≤0.1°/h, angle random walk of ≤0.1°/√h, and accelerometer bias under 30 µg, while operating...