Today's Hardware Pulse
Commodore launches the Callback 8020, a minimalist flip phone
Commodore introduced the Callback 8020, a flip‑style feature phone that runs Sailfish OS with a selective Android compatibility layer. It supports core messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram and iMessage via OpenBubbles while omitting a touchscreen, 5G and social‑media browsers, positioning it for digital‑detox users.
Also developing:
By the numbers: AMD acquires AI memory‑optimization startup Mext
Yotta Plans $2B NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra Supercluster Deployment in India
Yotta Data Services announced a $2 billion deployment of 20,736 liquid‑cooled NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra GPUs, creating one of Asia’s largest AI superclusters. The system, slated to go live by August 2026 at its Greater Noida hyperscale data centre, includes a four‑year, $1 billion NVIDIA DGX Cloud contract. Featuring 800 Gbps Quantum‑X800 InfiniBand, advanced liquid cooling and 40 PB of storage, the cluster targets trillion‑parameter model training and million‑prompt inference. Yotta also earmarks 10,000 GPUs for the IndiaAI Mission to foster sovereign AI development.
System76 Preparing To Introduce Redesigned Thelio Hardware
System76 announced a ground‑up redesign of its Thelio desktop and workstation chassis, signaling the next generation of its Linux‑focused hardware line. CEO Carl Richell highlighted ten months of engineering, more than 16,000 durability tests, and over 250 hours of thermal...
NSF CISE: Making Quantum Computers Resilient to Adversarial Attacks
Researchers at Rice University and Johns Hopkins, funded by multiple NSF CISE grants, introduced a new adversarial state corruption model and accompanying algorithms that enable quantum computers to operate despite noisy or malicious disturbances. The framework assumes attackers can tamper...
Linux 7.0 Brings Several Enhancements For Modern Laptops
Linux 7.0’s merge window delivered a suite of x86 platform‑driver updates aimed at modern laptops. The AMD Platform Management Framework now surfaces detailed Ryzen AI NPU metrics, while ASUS, HP, and Lenovo WMI drivers gain enhanced backlight, fan, and hardware‑monitoring controls....
225 - What Are the Biggest Untapped Opportunities in Satellite IoT?
In this episode, Jake Saunders, Vice President at ABI Research, breaks down the firm’s latest report on satellite IoT, highlighting a projected $3.1 billion market size by 2030. He outlines the most promising yet under‑served commercial verticals—such as remote agriculture, maritime...
Dell Warns of RecoverPoint for VMs Zero-Day (Exploited Since Mid-2024)
Dell has issued an urgent advisory for RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines after discovering CVE‑2026‑22769, a critical 10.0 CVSS flaw that embeds admin credentials in its Tomcat‑based web layer. The vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to log in as administrators, upload malicious...
Pixel 10A Debuts $499 Flat‑Back Design
Google has announced the Pixel 10A. Same $499 price. (Mostly) the same specs. Thinner-but-still-thick bezels. But now the back is *totally* flat, you see. How flat? See pics. And then read my story. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-18/google-announces-499-pixel-10a-just-before-expected-iphone-17e-reveal?srnd=homepage-americas
Viridien Partners with NVIDIA to Advance HPC for Seismic Imaging Workflows
Viridien announced a partnership with NVIDIA to accelerate its seismic imaging workflows using NVIDIA's high‑performance computing platforms. The collaboration will optimize Viridien’s algorithms for GPU accelerators, including tensor cores and mixed‑precision techniques, aiming to boost imaging speed, accuracy, and efficiency....
Qunnect and Cisco Demonstrate Metro-Scale, High-Speed Quantum Entanglement Swapping Over Commercial Fiber
Qunnect and Cisco have demonstrated metro‑scale quantum entanglement swapping over 17.6 km of commercial fiber in New York City, achieving record rates of 1.7 million local pairs and 5,400 pairs per hour across deployed fiber. The system maintained over 99 % polarization fidelity...
Artimus Robotics Is Launching Next-Generation Artificial Muscles and Seeking Partners to Evaluate the Technology in Markets Requiring Dexterous Robotic Manipulation.
Artimus Robotics unveiled its next‑generation HASEL artificial muscles, delivering more than twice the mechanical output of the prior version. The new actuators are fully encapsulated, improving safety and simplifying integration into robotic systems. Artimus is actively recruiting partners to test...
E-Con Systems Launches DepthVista Helix 3D CW iToF Camera for Robotics and Industrial Automation
e-con Systems has introduced the DepthVista Helix 3D Continuous‑Wave iToF camera, targeting industrial robotics and automation. The device leverages a 1.2 MP onsemi Hyperlux ID AF0130 sensor to deliver depth, confidence, and IR‑grayscale streams at 60 fps with less than 1 % deviation...
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Rösler UK has installed a Universal Robots collaborative robot equipped with a Cambrian Robotics vision system at its Knowsley Customer Experience Centre. The cobot autonomously loads and unloads a variety of aluminium and steel components for mass‑finishing and shot‑blasting machines,...
SemiQ Debuting SiC Power Solutions for AI Data Centers and High-Power Infrastructure at APEC
SemiQ Inc unveiled its third‑generation silicon‑carbide (SiC) power modules at APEC 2026, targeting AI‑driven data centers, high‑power industrial equipment, and electric‑vehicle applications. The QSiC Gen3 lineup delivers a 30% cut in specific on‑resistance and turn‑off energy losses, simplifying cooling and boosting efficiency....
LoongArch Ready With New Features In Linux 7.0
The Linux 7.0 kernel introduces a suite of enhancements for the LoongArch architecture, a China‑origin CPU design derived from MIPS64 and RISC‑V. New capabilities include SMT hot‑plug support, 128‑bit atomic compare‑and‑exchange operations, and the memfd_secret system call. Additional updates bring BPF...
Backblaze Publishes 2025 Drive Stats Report: 13 Years of Data Show Growing, Healthier Drive Fleet
Backblaze released its 2025 Year‑End Drive Stats, covering 344,196 drives across 30 models. The annualized failure rate dropped to 1.36%, down from 1.55% in 2024, with a quarterly AFR of 1.13% in Q4. High‑capacity drives now dominate the fleet, with...
Samsung Begin Mass Production of Up to 36GB HBM4 Memory With Performance for AI Computing
Samsung Electronics has begun mass production of its next‑generation HBM4 memory, shipping 24‑36 GB stacks that deliver 11.7 Gb/s per pin and up to 3.3 TB/s bandwidth per stack. The new DRAM uses Samsung’s 6th‑gen 10 nm‑class 1c process and 12‑layer stacking, offering a...
Apple M3 With Asahi Linux Continues Making Progress, No ETA Yet For Shipping
Asahi Linux released a status update following the Linux 6.19 kernel, outlining progress on Apple Silicon support. The team reports that core M3 hardware components—keyboard, touchpad, Wi‑Fi, NVMe and USB‑3—are functional, though still requiring local patches. DisplayPort Alt Mode remains experimental,...
Intel Lands Initial Preparations For DSA 3.0 Accelerators In Linux 7.0
Intel’s Data Streaming Accelerator (DSA) 3.0 support has been merged into the Linux 7.0 kernel, bringing native off‑load capabilities for recent Xeon processors, likely Diamond Rapids. The update introduces new sysfs interfaces that expose DSA 3.0 capability registers and adds...
KVM In Linux 7.0 Adds Support For Virtualizing AMD ERAPS
The upcoming Linux 7.0 kernel brings a major KVM update, adding native virtualization of AMD’s Enhanced Return Address Predictor Security (ERAPS). This enables guests to access a 64‑entry Return Stack Buffer, double the previous limit, and introduces user‑space fetching of SEV‑SNP...
SPhotonix Makes Two Senior Appointments to Deliver Accelerated Growth
SPhotonix, the pioneer of 5D Memory Crystal technology, announced two senior hires: Masaaki Sakakura as Principal Scientist and Konstantinas Zakalskis as Head of Growth. The appointments follow a $4.5 million pre‑seed round led by Creator Fund and XTX Ventures, positioning the startup for...
AMD Chipset Drivers Download 8.01.20.513
AMD released chipset driver version 7.11.26.2142, adding full support for Windows 11 25H2 and updating the installer EULA. The package covers the entire AM5 lineup, from mainstream X670/B650 series to workstation WRX90 and Threadripper platforms, and supports all Ryzen generations up to...
Fabless Semiconductor Startup Vervesemi Raises $10 Mn in Series A Round
Fabless semiconductor startup Vervesemi announced a $10 million Series A round co‑led by Ashish Kacholia and Unicorn India Ventures, with participation from Roots Ventures, Caperize Fina, and MAIQ Growth Scheme. The funding will accelerate commercialization of its machine‑learning‑enhanced analog signal‑chain ICs, expand...
Intel: Every Second PC Is to Become an AI System, Panther Lake Provides the Leverage
Intel announced that by 2026 it expects one in two PCs to ship as AI‑enabled devices, anchored by its new Panther Lake platform. The chipset embeds a fifth‑generation NPU capable of up to 50 TOPS, aiming to bring on‑device inference for language...
NZXT H2 Flow Mini Tower Review – Small, but More Airy than Expected!
NZXT’s H2 Flow Mini‑ITX tower targets the high‑performance small‑form‑factor market with a compact 20.7 L chassis that prioritises airflow and liquid‑cooling readiness. The case features a distinctive hybrid side panel—tempered glass above a fine mesh intake—creating separate fresh‑air and exhaust zones....
Energy‑Per‑Prompt Redefines AI Query Power Cost
chetanarvindpatil #Technology #Thread #Semiconductor #Manufacturing #Energy The Semiconductor Energy Per Prompt: 1/ - Energy Per Prompt Defines How Much Electrical Energy Is Consumed To Deliver One Meaningful AI Response. - It Shifts Focus From Peak Power Or Total Datacenter Energy To The Cost Of...
MI455X Set to Generate Revenue in H2 2026
I have very high confidence that MI455X will ship for revenue in 2H26. Token generation naturally will be after that. There’s always a ramp and the only question is how steep the ramp.
World's Smallest QR Code Is Tinier than Most Bacteria, Etched Into Ceramic Film
Researchers at TU Wien and Cerabyte have etched the world’s smallest QR code—just 1.98 square µm, smaller than most bacteria—into a ceramic thin film. The 49 nm pixels are invisible to the naked eye and can only be read with an electron microscope....
HyperAccel Unveils Bertha 500, Low‑latency AI Chip
South Korean AI chip startup HyperAccel @HyperAccel0112 is preparing to launch Bertha 500, an LLM inference accelerator aimed at cost-efficient, low-latency token generation. The company also plans an edge SoC version in partnership with Korean giant LG: https://t.co/TRgQrMNik2
NXP S32N79 Octa-Core Arm Cortex-A78E/12-Core Cortex-R52 “Super-Integration Processor” Targets Software-Defined Vehicles (SDV)
NXP announced the S32N79 “Super‑Integration” automotive processor, featuring up to eight Arm Cortex‑A78E application cores at 1.8 GHz and twelve Cortex‑R52 real‑time cores at 1.4 GHz, plus a RISC‑V accelerator and eIQ Neutron AI NPU. Built on a 5 nm TSMC process, it...
Camtek Ltd (CAMT) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Camtek reported record Q4 2024 revenue of $117.3 million, a 32% year‑over‑year increase, and full‑year revenue of $429 million, up 36%. Operating income rose 42% in the quarter to $36.3 million and 56% for the year, pushing operating margin to 30.9%. The company...
Twelve-Inch Electrically Anisotropic Boridene for Optoelectronic Computing
Researchers have demonstrated a 12‑inch wafer‑scale synthesis of electrically anisotropic boridene, a two‑dimensional Mo4/3B2‑x material with ordered metal vacancies. The study reports carrier mobilities exceeding 2,000 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ along the high‑conductivity axis and a five‑fold anisotropy ratio, enabling directional charge transport for...
Simera Sense to Offer Larger Cameras and Enhanced Autonomy
Simera Sense, a Belgian Earth‑observation camera maker, is moving beyond its cubesat‑focused xScape100 and xScape200 lines to develop higher‑resolution optical payloads for larger satellites. The new standardized payloads aim to deliver sub‑one‑metre ground‑sample distance imagery, with first deliveries slated for...
Cadence Beats Quarterly Profit and Revenue Estimates on Strong AI-Linked Demand
Cadence Design Systems reported a fourth‑quarter revenue of $1.44 billion, up 6.2% year‑over‑year, and adjusted earnings of $1.99 per share, both beating analyst forecasts. Strong demand for AI‑linked processors drove higher sales of its chip‑design software, while a record $7.8 billion contract...
Meta Commits Billions to Nvidia Chips
Meta announced a multi‑year commitment to purchase millions of Nvidia chips, including Grace CPUs, Blackwell GPUs and future Vera Rubin systems, for its expanding U.S. data‑center portfolio. The deal makes Meta the first major tech company to buy Nvidia’s standalone...
Ceva IP: Powering the Era of Physical AI
Ceva IP is positioning itself as the core enabler of Physical AI, delivering integrated semiconductor and software IP that brings sensing, connectivity, and on‑device inference to edge devices. By moving AI processing from the cloud to the chip, its solutions...
Apple Wins The AI Hardware Race
The episode breaks down Apple’s unexpected lead in AI hardware, highlighting how its strategy focuses on powerful, cost‑effective devices like the Mac Mini rather than racing ahead in AI software. It examines upcoming AI‑enabled wearables and recent AirPods/Siri updates, then...
ChipAgents Completes $50M Series A1 Round
ChipAgents announced the close of an oversubscribed $50 million Series A1 round, raising its total capital to $74 million. The round was led by Matter Venture Partners, a TSMC‑backed HardTech VC, with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, Micron, MediaTek and Ericsson. ChipAgents’ Agentic...
AI Wearables Turn Pets Into Smart Companions
AI wearables for pets. What a world we live in! (And it's cool, I had a demo recently).
Apple Is Secretly Working On Smart Glasses, AI Pendant, And AI AirPods, Report Says
Apple is reportedly developing three AI‑focused wearables—a pair of smart glasses, a pendant‑style device, and AI‑enabled AirPods—centered around Siri and linked to the iPhone. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says production could begin this year, with a possible market launch as early...
Fort Pierce, Two Years Later: Fiber, Smart City, and Steady Growth - Episode 677 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
In this episode, host Jason Mittler updates listeners on Fort Pierce’s fiber rollout two years after its launch, highlighting continued network expansion, the city’s smart‑city initiatives, and steady subscriber growth. He discusses targeted digital‑equity programs in the Lincoln Park neighborhood that aim...
AI Eats The World, And Most Of Its Flash Storage
The AI boom has turned flash storage into a bottleneck, with demand far outpacing the limited capacity of fabs operated by Samsung, Kioxia, Micron, Solidigm and others. Prices for flash drives have jumped 50‑70% since 2023 as hyperscalers and AI...
The Front Door Takes Center Stage at CES
CES 2026 placed the front door at the center of the smart‑home conversation, unveiling a wave of new lock technologies that blend biometrics, power‑generation and protocol upgrades. The Z‑Wave Alliance introduced the User Credential Command Class, enabling fingerprint‑based unlocking and...
Anzu Discontinues Raptor Drone Series Amid Supply Chain Crisis
Anzu Robotics announced the discontinuation of its Raptor drone series after persistent component shortages halted production. The line, launched in 2024 as a U.S.-focused alternative to DJI, saw rapid demand driven by NDAA 2025 considerations, which depleted inventory faster than...
Pasqal Delivers Italy’s First Neutral Atom Quantum Computer
Pasqal has delivered a 140‑qubit neutral‑atom quantum computer to Italy’s CINECA supercomputing centre, marking the nation’s first on‑site neutral‑atom system. The QPU is tightly coupled with Leonardo, one of the world’s most powerful pre‑exascale supercomputers, creating a hybrid HPC‑quantum architecture....
Ex-Altera CEO Leads Vsora to Challenge Nvidia, AMD
Former Altera CEO Sandra Rivera has joined French AI chip startup @vsora_dsp as chair of the board. I had a chat with her about raising Vsora's profile, raising funding, and competing with Nvidia, AMD and the entire landscape of startups...
Accelerating Static ESD Simulation for Full-Chip and Multi-Die Designs with Synopsys PathFinder-SC
Synopsys unveiled PathFinder‑SC, a static ESD verification platform that enables early, layout‑driven analysis for full‑chip and multi‑die designs. Leveraging cell‑based modeling from GDS/DEF data and the Seascape distributed‑computing engine, the tool can simulate billions of nodes and complete complex resistance...
Microsoft Brings Two Data Halls Online in São Paulo, Brazil
Microsoft has brought two new data halls online in São Paulo, marking the first operational facilities under its $2.7 bn AI and cloud commitment to Brazil through 2027. The launch was announced at the Microsoft AI Tour by country president Priscyla Laham,...
Massive Compute Unlocks New Data Manipulation for AI Centers
Massive compute capabilities enable a whole new way of manipulating and using data, and a potential bonanza for AI data centers. https://t.co/c1vSecTfww #AIdatacenters #abstractions #virtualtwins #digitaltwins #AgenticAI #semiEDA
Wolfspeed Adds VP of Sales for EMEA
Wolfspeed announced the appointment of Stefan Steyerl as Vice President of Sales for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, effective March 1. Steyerl brings more than 25 years of semiconductor sales leadership, most recently from Allegro MicroSystems and earlier roles...
Samsung Reportedly Can’t Even Buy Its Own Exynos Chips for Less, Adding to Galaxy S26 Price Hike
Samsung is reportedly forced to raise the Galaxy S26’s launch price as soaring RAM and memory costs strain its margins. Even its in‑house Exynos processors can no longer be sourced cheaper than competing chips, limiting Samsung’s ability to absorb expenses. The...