Today's Hardware Pulse
Nvidia and SK Hynix ink multi-year AI memory chip pact
Nvidia and SK Hynix have signed a multi‑year agreement to co‑develop next‑generation memory chips optimized for artificial‑intelligence workloads. The collaboration will focus on memory for Nvidia’s Vera Rubin accelerator and broader AI infrastructure, pairing Nvidia’s AI expertise with SK Hynix’s high‑performance memory capabilities.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Rapidus raises $943M in funding
Why Optical Circuit Switching Is Becoming Essential for AI Data Centers
Optical circuit switching (OCS) is emerging as a core architecture for AI data centers as GPU clusters grow to tens of thousands of units. By establishing dedicated light paths, OCS removes per‑packet inspection, cutting latency and energy per bit. Recent advances in solid‑state metasurface beamsteering and co‑packaged optics have solved the reliability and cost issues that stalled earlier OCS attempts. The technology now complements traditional packet switches, creating hybrid fabrics that match the predictable, high‑volume east‑west traffic of AI training workloads.
Anthropic Taking Over All Capacity of xAl’s First Memphis Data Center
Anthropic has signed a deal with SpaceX to occupy the entire Colossus 1 data center in Memphis, giving it access to over 220,000 NVIDIA GPUs and more than 300 MW of power. The partnership instantly raises usage limits for Claude Pro and...
Sony Vs. Samsung: My Buying Advice After Testing Both Home Theater Systems
Sony and Samsung each offer distinct home‑theater ecosystems. Sony focuses on modular, cinema‑grade audio with PlayStation 5 optimization, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support, and a build‑over‑time approach. Samsung delivers all‑in‑one bundles, tight SmartThings integration, and Q‑Symphony syncing for users who want...
The Latest Tile Pro Is Down to $25 — Its Best Price of the Year
Tile’s latest Pro Bluetooth tracker is now on sale for $24.99, its lowest price of the year, available on Amazon and Tile’s website. The device offers a 500‑foot Bluetooth range, a 110‑decibel ring, and a replaceable CR2032 battery lasting about...
Hamilton Unveils Integrated Glucose Sensor, Marks Decade Milestone
Hamilton Company has been coming to @SynBioBeta for years. This year, they showed up with something new. Tyler Schweder from Hamilton's process analytics team walked Gary George through their full upstream workflow: pH, dissolved oxygen, viable cell density, total cell...
Musk Has Never Built a Wafer Fab, but He Wants to Burn $119B on One Anyway
Elon Musk’s SpaceX announced the "Terafab" project, a proposed $119 billion semiconductor fabrication complex in southeast Texas. The first phase alone is budgeted at $55 billion, roughly double Intel’s recent Arizona fab expansion. SpaceX has enlisted Intel as a partner to provide...
General Devices’ User Spotlight: Inside OB Alert Success at Mercy Medical Center: Faster Response, Better Patient Care
Mercy Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts has expanded its use of General Devices’ GD Solution Suite, including e-Bridge and CAREPoint, to replace unreliable radio communications. EMS Coordinator Renee Rochette, a veteran paramedic, reports the platform now handles about 30 e‑Bridge...
A Phone Gizmo for the Post-POTS Era
Angry Audio has launched the Phone Gizmo, a hardware adapter that connects a Yealink SIP desk phone directly to a broadcast console via balanced analog audio, eliminating the need for software drivers. The device offers galvanic isolation for clean audio...
The "Large Format & Optics" Glossary
The article provides a comprehensive glossary of large‑format and optics terminology, covering sensor standards, lens physics, mount types, and on‑set workflow concepts. It outlines a tiered camera list, from "Titan" class 65mm‑plus systems like the ARRI Alexa 265 to full‑frame...
Q-CTRL Claims 3,000x Quantum Speedup for Materials Science Simulations on IBM Quantum Platform
Q-CTRL announced a 3,000‑fold speedup on a materials‑science simulation using the IBM Quantum Platform, completing a 120‑qubit electron‑interaction problem in two minutes versus over 100 hours on the best classical software. The result constitutes the first practical quantum advantage on...
Cisco: AI Growth Is Turning Wi-Fi Into Enterprise Infrastructure
Cisco's 2026 State of Wireless Report shows AI is turning Wi‑Fi into a core enterprise infrastructure. While Wi‑Fi 5 still powers 43% of networks, organizations deploying AI are far more likely (62%) to treat wireless as strategic. The survey finds 78%...
Computer Architecture in an AI-Accelerated World with Jim Ledin
Jim Ledin, CEO of Ledin Engineering, released the third edition of his book Modern Computer Architecture and Organization, adding extensive coverage of AI‑centric hardware. He argues that the prevailing GPU‑only view of AI acceleration is incomplete, highlighting the rise of TPUs,...
University of Southern Denmark, Danfoss and HPE Launch National AI Supercomputer ‘Bitten’
The University of Southern Denmark, together with Danfoss and HPE, has launched "Bitten," a national AI supercomputer that will serve all Danish universities via the UCloud research platform. The system features advanced liquid‑cooling and full heat‑recovery, feeding waste heat into...
Customers Accelerate Orders to Dodge Price Hikes, Supply Risks
While the AI infrastructure business is certainly robust, something I've been suspecting and mentioned in all the manufacturing PMIs (broadly) is the pull forward of ordering to get ahead of price increases and/or supply chain issues. That goes too for...
A Valve Glitch Made Steam Controllers Cheaper for Early Adopters
Valve discovered a billing glitch that omitted sales tax for some early purchasers of its Steam Controller, effectively lowering the $99.99 price by roughly $7 in high‑tax states. The issue was flagged on the Steam subreddit, prompting Valve to confirm...
ICYMI – Microsoft Definitely Never Said You Want 32GB Of RAM To Run Win11
Microsoft quietly removed a blog post that suggested 32 GB of RAM as a “no‑worries” upgrade for Windows 11 gaming, a claim that conflicted with the OS’s official minimum of 4 GB and preferred 8 GB. The deletion followed a wave of backlash from...
AI Compute Shortage Grants Providers Massive Pricing Power
One thing is for certain, the demand for AI compute resources far exceeds the supply, and probably will for the foreseeable future. Probably for a few years at least. Companies are going to have to compete for limited AI resources. They’re...
Linux 7.2 To Integrate The AMDGPU "Power Module" To Better Align With Windows
The Linux 7.2 kernel will incorporate a new AMDGPU Display Core (DC) power module that mirrors the power‑management behavior of Windows. The module focuses on backlight control and Panel Self Refresh, aiming for a unified experience across operating systems. Alongside...
Intel, Behind in AI Chips, Bets on Quantum and Neuromorphic Processors
Intel, trailing its rivals in AI accelerators, is betting on quantum and neuromorphic processors to revive its growth. CEO Lip‑Bu Tan named veteran Pushkar Ranade as chief technology officer, tasking him with advancing quantum computing, neuromorphic chips, photonics and novel...
SpaceX May Spend up to $119B on ‘Terafab’ Chip Factory in Texas
SpaceX is weighing a $55 billion initial outlay, potentially rising to $119 billion, to build a vertically integrated semiconductor plant dubbed "Terafab" in Grimes County, Texas. The proposal, filed on the county website, envisions a multi‑phase fab that could eventually generate one...
We Tested And Loved This Smart Air Purifier, And Now It's 20% Off
Popular Mechanics highlights the Blueair Blue Pure 511i Max as its top smart air purifier, now offered at a 20% discount on Amazon, dropping the price from $140 to $112. The unit is engineered for rooms up to 926 sq ft, delivering rapid filtration...
MDA Space Reports 41 Commitments for CHORUS Ahead of Launch
MDA Space disclosed 41 early customer commitments for its upcoming CHORUS synthetic‑aperture‑radar constellation, comprising nine signed contracts and 32 letters of interest. The two‑satellite system pairs a broad‑area C‑band radar with a high‑resolution X‑band sensor supplied by ICEYE, enabling a...
BALLUFF INC. LAUNCHES THE NEW BVS CA-GW 25GIGE FANLESS, ENERGY-EFFICIENT AND FAST INDUSTRIAL CAMERAS
Balluff Inc. announced the BVS CA‑GW 25GigE family of fanless industrial cameras, featuring up to 24.6 megapixel resolution and frame rates above 100 fps. The cameras employ Sony Pregius sensors, RoCEv2 RDMA over fiber or copper, and consume only 11 W, enabling compact,...
Smart Meters Explained: Will They Raise or Lower Your Energy Costs?
Smart meters are digital devices that record household electricity use in near‑real time and automatically send the data to utilities. Major U.S. utilities such as PG&E, Duke Energy, Southern Company and Xcel Energy are rolling out the technology to cut...
Anthropic to Use All of SpaceX-xAI's Colossus 1 Data Center Compute
Anthropic will lease the entire compute capacity of SpaceX‑xAI’s Colossus 1 data center, unlocking over 300 MW of power and more than 220,000 Nvidia GPUs within a month. The arrangement gives Anthropic control of nearly half of xAI’s total GPU fleet, boosting...
AMD Highlights Instinct MI430X GPU, Future HPC Systems at HPC User Forum
At the HPC User Forum in Austin, AMD unveiled its Instinct MI430X GPU, promising more than 200 teraflops of native FP64 performance—roughly six times the upcoming NVIDIA Rubin chip. The company highlighted the MI430X as a dual‑purpose accelerator for high‑precision...
DRAM Drought to Dog AMD's Chips This Year
AMD warned that PC CPU shipments will dip in the second half of 2026 as a DRAM shortage drives memory prices up four‑fold. The chipmaker still expects its Client segment to post year‑over‑year revenue growth, buoyed by Ryzen adoption and...
Data Centers Face Obsolescence Amid AI and Black‑Swan Risks
Two things can be true at the same time: We can (and certainly should) keep pushing the limits of AI while also acknowledging we may have a massive problem on our hands with the physical data centers themselves. And there isn't an...
Unusual Machines, 6K Energy, CRG Defense, SES AI Take Steps to Be NDAA Compliant
The U.S. Department of Defense is accelerating domestic drone production with a $53.6 billion budget and tighter NDAA restrictions on foreign components. Companies such as SES AI, 6K Energy, CRG Defense, and Unusual Machines are taking compliance steps, from converting a...
Upset About the DJI Drone Ban in the US? Here’s How You Can Speak Out Today
The FCC placed DJI on its Covered List, effectively banning the sale of new DJI drones—including the flagship Mavic 4 Pro—in the United States. DJI has announced an appeal slated for February 2026 and is urging U.S. drone operators to submit comments through...
Taiwan’s Manufacturing PMI Hits 60.3% as AI‑Driven Chip Demand Tightens Supply
Taiwan’s manufacturing purchasing managers index climbed to 60.3% in April 2026, marking a seventh straight month of expansion and the strongest reading since September 2021. The surge reflects soaring AI‑driven semiconductor demand that is tightening supply across the island’s factories....
LOOP 3D Teases Production-Focused Upgrade
LOOP 3D unveiled the LOOP PRO X+ TURBO Gen2, a production‑focused upgrade to its large‑format FFF printer. The Gen2 promises high‑speed, batch manufacturing of fibre‑reinforced parts, citing a drone body printed in just 30 minutes. It retains the 500 × 350 × 500 mm build...
Silicon Oscillators Solve Computer Problems that Would Take Thousands of Years Using Semiconductors
A KAIST research team has built an oscillatory Ising machine entirely from conventional silicon transistors, demonstrating that combinatorial optimization problems like Max‑Cut can be solved at room temperature. By implementing both oscillators and couplers with single‑transistor devices, the system achieves...
MaxLinear Unveils Panther V AI Inference Accelerator at Dell Tech World
MaxLinear announced the debut of Panther V, its next‑generation AI inference accelerator, at Dell Technologies World 2026. The chip targets data‑movement bottlenecks in large‑scale inference clusters and taps an estimated $5 billion market for purpose‑built silicon accelerators.
Micron Tops $700 B Market Cap After Debut of 245TB SSD
Micron Technology’s stock surged 11% on Tuesday, pushing its market capitalization above $700 billion for the first time. The rally follows the company’s rollout of a 245‑terabyte SSD, the highest‑capacity drive on the market, and reflects accelerating demand for memory in...
Why AI Data Centers Need a New Model for Quality, Security, and Governance
AI and cloud computing are driving massive data‑center expansion, with hyperscalers planning hundreds of new facilities. Traditional designs built for fixed power and periodic risk assessments cannot handle accelerator‑dense, dynamic AI workloads, leading to higher outage risk. The fragmented security...
GlobalFoundries Reports Double‑digit Q1 Growth and Oversubscribed SiGe Capacity Through 2027
GlobalFoundries announced double‑digit percentage growth in automotive, communications infrastructure and data‑center markets for Q1 2026, and warned that its silicon‑germanium (SiGe) capacity at the Vermont fab is already oversubscribed through 2027. The company also previewed its Investor Day on May...
New Buying Guide Walks You Through Choosing a Fitness Tracker
We're trying out new stuff with our buying guides. Here's how I actually guide people through picking a fitness tracker in person....but in written form. https://www.theverge.com/gadgets/924338/best-fitness-trackers-2026
Discussing AMD, ARM, and NVIDIA on Power Lunch
Thanks @SullyCNBC for having me on Power Lunch to discuss $AMD, $ARM, and $NVDA. https://t.co/lK0BLNhhXg https://t.co/DGfK9M8mn7
Ending the Telecom Spreadsheet Era with Lightyear
Lightyear, a telecom‑focused AI platform, replaces manual spreadsheet‑driven billing with an operating‑system‑style solution. Using large language models, it extracts data from any invoice, maps charges to a live network inventory, and automatically flags overcharges, ghost circuits, and contract‑rate variances. The...
AMD Poised to Dominate Expanding Data Center CPU Market
Shared some thoughts on $AMD along with how we see the data center CPU TAM expansion playing out.
ARM Results Boost Growth and TAM for Agentic CPUs
$ARM results should continue to fuel the fire. Especially the expected order growth and TAM expansion for agentic CPUs. 💪
Stretching Diamond Lattice by 4% Unlocks Tunable Quantum Sensors
Researchers from Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and Yangzhou University announced that stretching a diamond lattice by roughly 4% reshapes silicon‑vacancy (SiV) color centers, turning them into precise, strain‑responsive quantum sensors. The finding, detailed in a May 3 study,...
Corning Boosts US Optical Capacity Tenfold for AI Demand
"Corning will increase its U.S.-based optical connectivity manufacturing capacity by 10x and expand its U.S. fiber production capacity by more than 50% to meet the accelerating demand driven by AI factory buildouts." https://t.co/VX9jOQr1Bg
AQT's LYNX Series Sets European Quantum Volume Record at 32,768
AQT announced the launch of its LYNX rack‑mounted ion‑trap system, which achieved a quantum volume of 32,768 – the highest ever recorded for a European‑built quantum computer and the second‑highest globally. The milestone showcases the scalability of trapped‑ion technology for...
INCITE Program Awards Supercomputing Time to 77 High-Impact Projects
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science has allocated 60% of its leadership‑class supercomputing capacity to 77 high‑impact research projects for 2026 through the INCITE program. The awards cover the exascale Frontier system at Oak Ridge, the Aurora AI‑focused...
Chipmakers Deploy AI to Consolidate Embedded Dashboard Data
Chipmakers are starting to use AI to manage data that is mined from different “dashboards,” many of which are already embedded in chips and systems and used to monitor everything from thermal gradients to voltage droop. https://t.co/zk6dbLIn9l #semiconductor #dashboards
Nouveau Vs. NVIDIA R595 Linux Driver For Workstation Graphics Performance
Phoronix benchmarked the open‑source Nouveau driver stack against NVIDIA’s proprietary R595 driver on an HP Z6 G5 A workstation equipped with an RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max‑Q GPU. Using Linux 7.0, Ubuntu 26.04 LTS, Mesa 26.2‑devel and the NVIDIA 595.58.03 driver, the tests focused on workstation compute and...
PolyJoule’s 3rd-Gen Conductive Polymer Battery Self-Extinguishes at 3,600 °F and Delivers 10,000+ Cycles
PolyJoule unveiled its third‑generation conductive polymer battery, a large‑format prismatic cell that uses a proprietary polymer cathode and liquid‑salt electrolyte. In a UL 9540A test, the cell self‑extinguished when exposed to a propane torch at roughly 3,600 °F (1,982 °C), proving it...
InfiMotion’s Magnesium-Aluminum Alloy Dual Motor Assembly Claims 25% Weight Reduction over Aluminum
InfiMotion unveiled at the 5th International Forum on Automotive Power Systems in Shanghai a dual‑motor assembly built with a magnesium‑aluminum alloy housing. The alloy reduces system weight by roughly 25 % compared with conventional aluminum while preserving production‑grade hardness. The unit...