Today's Hardware Pulse
Microsoft‑backed D‑Matrix aims to take on Nvidia in AI chips
Microsoft‑backed D‑Matrix is positioning itself as a challenger to Nvidia in the AI chip market. The company’s Corsair AI inference platform has entered full production to meet rising customer demand.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Broadcom secures $35B debt financing for its AI XPV Platform
Latest Issue of Semiconductor Today Now Available
Semiconductor Today released its April 2026 issue, a free monthly magazine covering the latest advances in compound semiconductors and advanced silicon materials. The issue features articles on gallium arsenide, indium phosphide, nitrides, silicon carbide, silicon‑germanium and related devices, including nano‑ridge lasers on 300 mm silicon and high‑efficiency red InGaN micro‑LEDs. It also reports a power‑electronics market forecast of over $65 billion by 2036, reflecting strong demand for high‑performance components. The publication lists contributions from more than 40 leading companies across the supply chain.
TSMC N2 May Be Delayed, No Adoption Yet
Has anyone asked TSMC whether N2 is delayed? Please note that TSMC excels at incremental improvements. But TSMC N2 is not incremental. It is a major leap from FinFET to GAA/nanosheet. We know that customers such as Bitmain and AMD were expected...
ASX Runners of the Week: 1414, Pathkey.AI, Eclipse & European Lithium
Australian battery‑tech firm 1414 Degrees saw its share price jump 217% after demonstrating a SiNIL nanoparticle anode that delivers 530 mAh/g—about 50% more capacity than conventional graphite—targeting defence drones. Pathkey.AI rallied 92% on its acquisition of Singapore’s Chipforge, expanding its AI...
MSI Launches MS-CF27 Compact SBC With Quad 2.5G LAN and DDR5
MSI’s IPC division unveiled the MS‑CF27, a 3.5‑inch single‑board computer aimed at industrial edge applications. The board supports Intel’s low‑power Alder Lake N, Twin Lake N and Amston Lake processors and offers a single DDR5 SO‑DIMM slot for up to 32 GB of RAM. Connectivity is...
Project Eternal Turns Antigravity Drones Into Time Machines
Antigravity has launched Project Eternal, leveraging its sub‑250‑gram A1 drone with a 360° camera to create immersive digital twins of heritage sites and everyday locations. The initiative partners with 3D Gaussian Splatting platform Splatica and nonprofit CyArk, offering 1,000 free...
Start Up No.2664: AI Outdoes ER Doctors on Triage, How Token Spend Is Rocketing, Meta Fires Smart Glass Observers, and...
A Harvard trial showed OpenAI’s o1 model diagnosed 67% of emergency‑room cases, outpacing doctors at 50‑55%. Meanwhile, token consumption for AI coding tools has surged ten‑fold, with some engineers spending $500 daily on Claude Code. The Iran‑driven halt of high‑purity...
Hypercraft Unveils Software-Defined & Autonomous UGV for Tactical Operations
Hypercraft has launched Razorback, a software‑defined autonomous unmanned ground vehicle built on a diesel‑hybrid electric powertrain that delivers up to 300 hp and a 38 kW exportable power bus. The UGV can haul a 2,400‑lb payload for 280 miles at 60 mph while providing...
Apple Beating the Memory Crunch
Apple projected a robust 14%‑17% revenue increase for the quarter ending June, outpacing the 9.1% consensus and lifting the stock nearly 4%. The company flagged rising memory‑chip costs and persistent Mac shortages that could last several months, especially for the...
Advantech Brings Agentic AI to Jetson Thor Edge Platforms
Advantech unveiled its MIC‑AI series, a family of edge platforms built on NVIDIA Jetson Thor modules that can run generative and agentic AI workloads directly in factories and autonomous machines. The lineup includes MIC‑743, MIC‑742, MIC‑741 systems and MIB‑741, MIB‑742...
Broadcom Launches Wi-Fi 8 and 10G PON Chips to Boost Fiber Broadband Business for Operators
Broadcom unveiled its fourth‑generation Wi‑Fi 8 chipsets together with the BCM68565 10‑Gbps PON gateway SoC, targeting service providers in competitive, ARPU‑tight broadband markets. The integrated platform supports XGS‑PON, GPON and Active Ethernet while consolidating dual‑band Wi‑Fi 8 radios into a single silicon...
Galaxy S26 Ultra $200 Off, $720 Trade‑In Bonus
Samsung's best phone is now on sale The new Galaxy S26 Ultra is now $200 off, and get up to $720 in trade in The only phone with Privacy Display. Get yours here: howl.link/ogvk8aftsk8zw
Beacon Biosignals Is Mapping the Brain During Sleep
Beacon Biosignals has launched an FDA‑cleared, lightweight EEG headband that records clinical‑grade brain activity while users sleep at home. The device’s machine‑learning platform extracts detailed sleep‑stage metrics and subtle architecture changes, supporting more than 40 global clinical trials for conditions...
When the Network Becomes Infrastructure, Mobility Thrives
Infrastructure used to mean cables in the ground.I’ve seen environments like this where that simply isn’t an option, yet expectations don’t change. Everything still has to run, in sync, in real time.When the network becomes the infrastructure, mobility and performance...
Nintendo Opens Switch 2 Website Focused on Lesser-Known System Tips and Tricks
Nintendo has launched a dedicated website for the Switch 2 that spotlights lesser‑known system functions and shortcuts. The site, currently only in Japanese, lists hidden features such as Quick Settings, customizable button mapping, battery‑percentage display, and a 90 % charge‑stop option. By...
Silicon Starts It; Devices Finish the Complex Journey
#Technology #Thread #Semiconductor #Manufacturing #Silicon The Semiconductor Silicon Productization: 1/ - Silicon Is The Beginning. The Product Is The Outcome. - From A Raw Wafer To A Connected Device, The Journey Is Long, Complex, And Rarely Understood Outside The Industry.
The Second Coming of the Smartphone?
Rumors suggest OpenAI, aided by legendary designer Jony Ive, is developing an AI‑first smartphone that could debut by late 2026 with mass production aimed for 2028. The device would combine cloud‑based and on‑device large language models, leveraging custom silicon from...
When 170,000 People Show Up: Network Refresh Readies Churchill Downs for Kentucky Derby
Churchill Downs Inc. has selected Cisco to overhaul its network across 26 venues, installing over 7,000 switches and consolidating management in Cisco Catalyst Center. The upgrade, timed after the 2026 Kentucky Derby, addresses the surge from 50,000 daily visitors to...
IPhone Chip Shortage Limits Supply Flexibility, Says Cook
Apple $AAPL CEO Tim Cook just said on a Reuters interview: "iPhone still faces supply constraints from advanced node chips; supply chain is currently offering a little less flexibility to get more components"
Belden to Acquire RUCKUS Networks for $1.85 B, Expanding Full‑Stack Networking Portfolio
Belden Inc. announced a definitive agreement to buy RUCKUS Networks from Vistance Networks for about $1.85 billion. The deal, valued at roughly 13 times projected 2026 Adjusted EBITDA, is expected to make the combined company a leading end‑to‑end IT/OT networking solutions provider.
AI Surge Drives Yageo’s 2025 Tantalum Sales Growth
Yageo sales rise in 2025 as AI demand boosts tantalum capacitors and electronic components. https://www.metalnomist.com/2026/04/yageo-ai-demand-lifts-sales-as-tantalum.html
Cisco IQ Keeps Your Network Flowing Smoothly
Your Network Is Your Plumbing. Cisco IQ Wants to Make Sure It Never Bursts. https://t.co/xm7nzRxbj2
Taiwan Launches National Quantum Initiative, Unites 18 Companies
Taiwan's Ministry of Science unveiled a national quantum initiative that brings 18 domestic firms under a coordinated program. The move aims to leverage the island's semiconductor expertise to secure a foothold in the emerging quantum computing market.
World's First Fully Functional Speeder Bike Debuts
Real-Life Sci-Fi: World’s First Fully Functional Speeder Bike Unveiled by @Volonaut #EmergingTech #Innovation #Technology https://t.co/wixKk5GZB8
Western Digital and Sandisk Crush Wall Street Forecasts on Soaring AI Demand, but Stocks Fall
Western Digital and SanDisk posted spectacular earnings as AI‑driven demand lifted memory prices. Western Digital posted Q3 adjusted EPS of $2.72, 45% revenue growth to $3.34 billion, beating forecasts, while SanDisk reported EPS of $23.41 and revenue of $5.95 billion, up 251%...
Diversion and Resale: Estimating Compute Smuggling to China
Epoch AI’s new report estimates that between 290,000 and 1.6 million Nvidia H100‑equivalent chips were smuggled into China by the end of 2025, with a median of 660,000 chips – roughly 3% of the world’s AI compute stockpile. The analysis draws...
Smart Contact Lenses Enable Real‑World Infrared Vision
Infrared Vision Becomes Reality with Next-Gen Smart Contact Lenses by @sciencegirl #Innovation #TechForGood #EmergingTech #Technology #Tech https://t.co/Y2pMPJlhVy
AI Fuels Unexpected Mac Mini Surge Despite Apple's Inaction
Well we kind of knew that people wanted a lot of Mac Minis for Openclaw... but this is wild. A product that didnt sell amazingly now is the hottest Apple product... all because of AI. However,r Apple is still not...
QuantumDiamonds Deploys Tool at Taiwanese Test House
QuantumDiamonds GmbH has deployed its QDm.1 quantum‑sensing system at Integrated Service Technology (iST) in Hsinchu, Taiwan, marking the first Asian installation of the technology. The system provides non‑destructive, high‑resolution 3D imaging of current pathways in advanced chip architectures, including 2.5D/3D...
The Power Market: Three Applications, One Ecosystem
IDTechEx projects the global power electronics market to surpass $65 billion by 2036, driven by a 10% CAGR fueled primarily by data‑center expansion and electric‑vehicle (EV) adoption. Silicon IGBTs remain prevalent, but wide‑bandgap (WBG) devices—especially SiC MOSFETs—are set to dominate EV...
X-FAB Q1 Shows Strong Wide-Bandgap Growth
X‑FAB reported Q1 2026 revenue of $195.6 million, a modest 4% YoY decline, while its wide‑bandgap segment surged. SiC wafer shipments jumped 195% YoY to 14,300 units and wide‑bandgap revenue rose 152% YoY to $15.1 million. Microsystems achieved an all‑time‑high $33.7 million, up 42%...
Space Force Taps K2 Satellites to Test Laser Communications for Missile-Defense
The U.S. Space Force has chosen K2 Space’s satellites to demonstrate laser‑based optical crosslinks for the Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) Space Modernization Initiative. The FY2027 budget allocates $180 million to the program, with $7.3 million earmarked for the crosslink tests that will...
The $320Bn Li-Ion Battery Market for EVs in 2036 (Video)
IDTechEx released a video projecting the global lithium‑ion battery market for electric vehicles to reach roughly $320 billion by 2036. The forecast assumes a compound annual growth rate of about 15 % as EV sales expand across passenger cars, commercial trucks, buses...
Huawei’s AI Chip Sales Surge as Nvidia Stalls in China
Huawei reported a sharp rise in AI‑chip sales, driven by strong demand from Chinese cloud providers and data‑center operators. The company’s Ascend series saw revenue growth of roughly 70% year‑on‑year, while Nvidia’s sales in China slipped about 15% in the...
LG UltraGear 27‑inch OLED Gaming Monitor Sets World‑Record 540 Hz/720 Hz Refresh Rates
LG unveiled the UltraGear 27GX790B‑B, a 27‑inch OLED gaming monitor that can run at 540 Hz in QHD and 720 Hz in HD, priced at $999. The panel earned the Society for Information Display’s Display of the Year award, highlighting its Dynamic...
Saramonic Air SE Delivers Football‑Field Range Wireless Audio
Saramonic Air SE wireless microphone review, including tests and audio demo. This compact wireless lav mic system keeps a strong connection at distances beyond the length of a football field, giving vloggers tons of flexibility. My review: https://t.co/9xHsO8Y3WI #microphone https://t.co/iO2EObjOyu
Samsung's $199 Galaxy A17 Spurs Budget Flagship Shift as Chip Constraints Loom
Samsung's sub‑$200 Galaxy A17 is gaining attention as a viable alternative to the $1,299 Galaxy S26 Ultra, offering 5G, a high‑refresh display and six years of software support. The move reflects growing consumer appetite for affordable flagship‑grade phones as chip...
Amazon CFO Olsavsky Flags $1 B Cost Rise From LEO Satellite Program in Q1 2026
Amazon posted $181.5 billion in first‑quarter revenue, a 17% year‑over‑year gain, while CFO Brian T. Olsavsky warned that the company expects a $1 billion cost increase linked to its low‑Earth‑orbit (LEO) satellite program. The CFO also highlighted higher transportation costs, a new...
Yale‑Google‑UCSB Team Demonstrates Superconducting Circuit That Tracks Moving Protons
Researchers from Yale, Google Quantum AI and UC‑Santa Barbara have built a superconducting quantum circuit that can follow individual protons in real time, reproducing quantum tunneling effects seen in chemistry and biology. The breakthrough, detailed in PRX Quantum, promises cleaner,...
Dreame Unveils Four L60 Series Robot Vacuums with Hot‑Water Mopping and 35,000 Pa Suction
Dreame introduced four new L60 series robot vacuums at its Dreame NEXT event in San Francisco, pricing them between $1,000 and $1,400. The lineup adds hot‑water mop cleaning, up to 35,000 Pa suction and Matter‑compatible smart‑home integration, signaling a push into...
SpaceComputer to Conduct On-Orbit Test of Secure Computing Infrastructure
SpaceComputer, a Singapore‑based startup, will test its Space Fabric hardware‑software stack in orbit on an undisclosed satellite in October. The system links ground stations with satellites using physically isolated, cryptographically secured computing elements, and includes a dual‑secure‑element redundancy scheme. A...
Amazon's $300 Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker Is 90% Off During a Rare Deal
Amazon is offering the Vanzon Portable Bluetooth Speaker at a 90% discount, slashing the price from $300 to $30. The speaker delivers 24‑watt output, IPX7 waterproof protection, and up to 24 hours of battery life on a single charge. It...
Telent Reappointed for Wiltshire Signal Maintenance
Telent has been reappointed by Wiltshire County Council to maintain its traffic signal network after a competitive tender. The renewed contract includes proactive and reactive services for junction signals, pedestrian crossings and roadside technology, with about 95% of sites monitored...
Roborock Qrevo Curv 2 Flow Impressively Cleans Floors
Yes, it's another robot vacuum and mop in the spotlight, but I have to admit, this Roborock unit does a splendid job cleaning. Here's my detailed demo and review of the brand new Roborock Qrevo Curv 2 Flow Robot Vacuum...
Schools Are Choosing MacBook Air over Chromebooks, Says Tim Cook
I want the OEMs who tell me schools don’t buy Macs to hear what @tim_cook said today “We’re seeing school systems like the Kansas City Public Schools that are switching from Chromebooks and Windows PCs to the MacBook Air....
Good Luck Getting a Mac Mini for the Next ‘Several Months’
Apple CEO Tim Cook warned on the earnings call that Mac Mini demand will outstrip supply for several months, driven by rapid adoption of generative AI tools like OpenClaw. The base model sold out and the 512 GB configuration was discontinued,...
Old Oil Field Powers New 1MW Data Centre
👏👏👏👏👏👏 A hearty congratulations to Pilot Energy + Kala Data in Western Australia who have successfully plugged a cute little 1 megawatt data centre into some spluttering fossil fuel turbines located at a decaying, dying oil field run by...
LA Bans Copper Theft Protectors to Keep Union Overtime
LA banned this device that protects lampposts from having their copper stolen because it would prevent the union overtime hours generated by repairing said copper thefts.
Can A Samsung Tablet Replace A Laptop?
Samsung’s flagship Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra, equipped with a 14.5‑inch AMOLED screen and a MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ processor, can function as a laptop for many users. Paired with the Book Cover Keyboard and Samsung DeX, the tablet delivers multi‑monitor support, virtual...
Why the Same Android App Works Differently on Different Phones
Since 2021 Google has required all new Play Store apps to be uploaded as Android App Bundles (AAB). When a user taps Install, Play’s Dynamic Delivery slices the bundle and generates a device‑specific APK based on CPU architecture, GPU, screen...
Data Centers Overpromise 500GW, Reality Caps at 50GW
I joined the Prof G Markets pod to talk about the Data Center Debate. Data centers are promising 500GW to communities but can only realistically build 50GW by 2030 due to GPU, memory, and CPU limits. Empty promises are fueling...