Today's Semiconductors Pulse
AMD CEO says AI boom revives focus on CPUs
AMD CEO Lisa Su said the rapid expansion of AI workloads is refocusing attention on central processing units. AMD also announced it will invest more than $10 billion in Taiwan’s ecosystem to accelerate AI infrastructure deployment.
Chip Gear Supplier KLA Posts Beat-And-Raise Fiscal Q3, But Stock Falls Late
KLA Corp. posted fiscal Q3 earnings of $9.40 per share on $3.42 billion revenue, topping FactSet expectations. Year‑over‑year results rose 12% in earnings and 11% in sales, and the company lifted its FY2026 outlook to $9.87 EPS and $3.58 billion sales. It also increased its quarterly dividend to $2.30 and added $7 billion to its share‑buyback program. Despite the beat, the stock fell more than 8% in after‑hours trading.
QCOM Beats Modest Forecast; Data‑Center Chips Drive Future
$QCOM expectations were modest this week quarter and it delivered. I stand by my assessment that what will move the needle for the company will be its data center entry with a portfolio of XPU, CPU, Custom, and Networking chips. The...
ASML Shares Slide 3% as AI Demand Doubts Spark EUV Equipment Volatility
ASML Holding saw its shares drop 3.3% on Tuesday after a Wall Street Journal report that OpenAI missed user and revenue targets, sparking fears of weaker AI‑driven demand for its ultra‑expensive EUV lithography tools. The sell‑off highlights the semiconductor sector’s...
FormFactor, Inc. Reports 2026 First Quarter Results
FormFactor, Inc. posted a record Q1 fiscal 2026 revenue of $226.1 million, up 5.1% sequentially and 32% year‑over‑year. Non‑GAAP gross margin jumped to 49.0%, 510 basis points above the prior quarter and 250 bps above the top of its outlook range, while...
Google’s Willow Chip Shows 13,000× Verifiable Quantum Advantage
Google’s Quantum AI team used its new Willow 105‑qubit chip to run the Quantum Echoes algorithm, delivering a 13,000‑fold speedup over the leading supercomputer. The result is the first hardware‑based, verifiable quantum advantage, moving quantum computing toward practical utility.
Former Google and Meta Engineers Build Memory-First AI Server to Challenge Nvidia's GPU Dominance
Former Google and Meta engineers have launched Majestic Labs AI, a startup that raised $100 million to develop a memory‑first server called Prometheus. The system pairs a proprietary AIU processor with up to 128 terabytes of high‑speed DRAM, claiming up to 1,000 times...
Fabric.AI Targets AI Infrastructure Bottlenecks with MicroLED Optical Interconnects
Fabric.AI, formerly StableX Technologies, has launched its Neural I/O chip, a MicroLED‑based optical interconnect designed to eliminate data‑movement bottlenecks in AI compute clusters. Developed with Kopin Corporation, the chip replaces copper and laser links with programmable MicroLED transceivers that deliver...
Nvidia Could Generate More Cash Than Apple, Microsoft Combined — BofA Says It's Time To Pay Shareholders
Bank of America reaffirmed its Buy rating on Nvidia, setting a $300 price target that implies about 43% upside from the current $210 share price. The firm highlighted that Nvidia’s valuation is roughly half that of its Magnificent 7 peers, trading...
Transceivers Boost In-Vehicle Audio Bandwidth
Analog Devices introduced the ADAA245x series of A2B 2.0 automotive audio bus transceivers, delivering 98.3 Mbps full‑duplex bandwidth—four times that of A2B 1.0. The devices support up to 119 audio channels and can tunnel Ethernet data via an Open Alliance SPI interface. They...
Timing Module Enables vRAN Synchronization
Microchip introduced the MD-990-0011-B, an M.2 plug‑in timing module built with Intel for Xeon 6‑SoC server platforms. The module delivers sub‑microsecond synchronization across GNSS, SyncE and PTP networks, targeting 5G virtualized RAN (vRAN) and low‑latency AI workloads. Integrated components include dual...
The Intel Lunar Lake CPU Performance Gains On Linux Over The Past Year
Benchmarking the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V in a Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Aura Edition shows notable CPU performance gains after a year of Linux updates. The original test on Ubuntu 25.04 used kernel 6.14, GCC 14.2 and Mesa 25.0, while the repeat on...
Waaree Energies to Foray Into Semiconductors; Approves ₹10,000 Crore Fundraise
Waaree Energies announced a strategic entry into power semiconductors by transferring its Waaree Semicon unit to the operational subsidiary Waaree Power, a move aimed at building PV‑diode, IGBT and MOSFET capabilities for renewable‑energy and EV applications. The board also approved...
Defense Department Awards over $200M to 26 R&D Projects
The U.S. Department of Defense granted more than $200 million in second‑year funding to 26 research projects under the Microelectronics Commons program. The awards, delivered via the S2MARTS Other Transaction Authority, complement the $269 million allocated in 2024 and support hubs in...
Silicon Motion Secures Major MicroSD Controller Win for Nintendo Switch 2, Boosting Revenue
Silicon Motion Technology Corp. announced that its SM2708 microSD Express controller will power the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2, securing an estimated 80% share of the console’s memory card market. The win helped the chipmaker’s memory‑card revenue more than double YoY...
WeRide and Lenovo Commit to Deploy 200,000 Level‑4 Robotaxis by 2031
WeRide and Lenovo sealed a partnership at Auto China 2026 to roll out 200,000 Level‑4 autonomous vehicles, including robotaxis, over the next five years. The deal hinges on Lenovo’s HPC 3.0 compute platform, which slashes hardware costs by 50% and total...
China Tech Giants Race to Secure Huawei AI Chips
Chinese tech powerhouses ByteDance, Tencent and Alibaba are scrambling to secure Huawei's Ascend 950 AI chips after the debut of DeepSeek's V4 model, which is tuned specifically for Huawei silicon. Cloud providers and GPU‑rental services have also placed fresh orders,...
Vishay Specialty Thin Film Introduces Thin Film Metallized Submount Platform
Vishay Intertechnology unveiled a thin‑film metallized submount platform aimed at next‑generation optical transceivers, RF modules and advanced packaging that demand high thermal conductivity, precise alignment and low‑loss signal paths. The solution leverages aluminum‑nitride (AlN) ceramic substrates and pre‑deposited AuSn or...
The Google Pixel 11 Will Reportedly Feature a 5-Year-Old GPU
Google’s upcoming Pixel 11 line is rumored to ship with the Tensor G6 chipset, which may still use the 2021 PowerVR CXTP‑48‑1536 GPU. The GPU scored roughly 3,700 points in Geekbench, far below the 26,000 points of Samsung’s Galaxy S25, raising concerns about graphics...
FOMO Is Why Enterprises Pay for GPUs They Don't Use — and Why Prices Keep Climbing
Enterprises are running GPU fleets at roughly 5% utilization, a six‑fold gap from a realistic 30% target, according to Cast AI’s 2026 State of Kubernetes Optimization Report. The shortage‑driven fear of losing capacity forces companies into long‑term reservations, even as...
Google Pays Up to $1B for Intel TPU Capacity
Amazing that it only took this bullet point to move $INTC this way today (from 3pdata shop) but then again the Apple chowda is out there today "Intel appears to have won the GOOGL/MTK TPU ramping in late CY27. "We...
How Is the RAM Crisis Impacting Emerging Markets?
AI‑driven demand for memory has sparked a global RAM shortage, pushing up prices for any device that contains a semiconductor. Emerging markets, where 77% of MEA smartphone sales are sub‑$200 models, feel the squeeze hardest because price hikes represent 50‑100%...
HB3DM Demo Achieves 10 GB/Stack, 5.3 TB/S
News from @Intel and @SoftBank SAIMEMORY from @VLSI_2026 Paper T17.5 First demo of HB3DM ➡️ 9 layer, 3 micron per stack ➡️ 1 logic + 8 DRAM layers, ➡️ 13.7k TSVs/layer with hybrid bonding ➡️ 1.125 GB/layer, so 10 GB per stack ➡️ 0.25 Tb/sec/mm2...
Eval Board Simplifies GaN-Based BLDC Motor-Drive Design
Efficient Power Conversion unveiled the EPC91121 evaluation board at APEC 2026, a compact 79 × 80 mm three‑phase inverter built around its Gen‑7 EPC2366 40‑V eGaN transistor. The board delivers up to 70 A peak (50 A RMS) from 18‑30 V inputs and supports 150 kHz PWM, enabling...
World's First 1000‑Layer QLC Flash Multi‑Stacked Cell Array
News from @KIOXIAAmerica at @VLSI_2026 Paper T1.4 World's first Multi-Stacked Cell Array scalable to 1000+ layer stacked QLC Flash ➡️ Quad-Level Cell using MSA-CBA ➡️ Overcomes cell degredation, wafer warpage, and large blcok size ➡️ Uses F2F and B2F Cu bonding for 2x218 WL ➡️...
🎥 Plasma Beyond Fusion: Powering Next Gen Semiconductor Manufacturing & Materials
The Deep Tech Live panel highlighted plasma’s emerging role as a cornerstone for next‑generation semiconductor manufacturing and advanced materials. By enabling atomic‑level manipulation, plasma is essential for the high‑performance chips required by Physical AI applications. Traditional trial‑and‑error chemistry can’t keep...
TSMC's A16 Chip Delivers Super Power Rail Gains
News from @TWSemicon at @VLSI_2026 Paper T1.5 TSMC will present their A16 technology ➡️ A16 is N2P with backside power delivery ➡️ TSMC calls BSPDN 'Super Power Rail' ➡️ +8-10% perf or +15-20% power saving ➡️ Up to +8-10% chip density (logic + SRAM) ➡️ Mass...
Intel 18AP Delivers Up to 18% Power Gains, 9% Performance Boost
News about @Intel 18AP from @VLSI_2026 Paper T1.2 Intel 18AP will offer 9% perf or 18% power over 18A ➡️ New VT pairs, low and high power devices ➡️ Numbers based on Arm core sub-block ➡️ 30% skew corner tightening ➡️ Matched SRAM Vmin Conference is...
SWAP Hub Earns DoW Year 2 Award Investment From NSTXL
The Department of War’s second‑year awards channel an additional $200 million into the Microelectronics Commons, with the Southwest Advanced Prototyping (SWAP) Hub securing roughly $25.4 million for five high‑impact projects. Funding supports an integrated RF GaN effort for next‑generation 5G/6G defense amplifiers,...
Memory Stocks Surge; NVDA Remains Core Long
📺 MEMORY STOCKS ARE EXPLODING & WHY I’M STILL LONG $NVDA Memory stocks are exploding after $STX delivered a blowout quarter, triggering massive upside across names like $MU and $SNDK. This group has been trend-perfect — higher highs, respecting moving averages, strong earnings...
TSMC Cashes Out, Sells Remaining Arm Stake for $231M
Taiwan Semiconductor $TSM has sold its remaining stake in Arm Holdings $ARM TSMC Partners sold 1.11M ARM shares at an average price of $207.65 per for a total of ~$231 Million
TANAKA to Showcase Advanced Semiconductor Materials and Circular Economy Initiatives at SEMICON Southeast Asia 2026
TANAKA Precious Metal Technologies will exhibit at SEMICON Southeast Asia 2026 in Kuala Lumpur, showcasing a full suite of precious‑metal materials for semiconductor front‑end, packaging and testing, including bonding wires, silver sintering paste, AgSn TLP sheets, sputtering targets, probe pins,...
AWS Hits 28% Growth, Chips Hit $20B Run Rate
$AMZN “AWS is growing 28% (our fastest growth in 15 quarters) on a very large base, our chips business topped a $20 billion revenue run rate (growing triple digits year-over-year)" Folks were hoping for 30+ % but still growing.
Inference Market Explodes, Driving NVIDIA’s 17‑fold Revenue Surge
The inference market is the fastest growing market in the world & it’s splitting up. Each modality is developing its own inference stack. NVIDIA’s data center revenue was flat through 2022. Then ChatGPT launched. Three years later : 17x growth. https://t.co/wytykE1AWh
Georgia Tech and NCKU Show Alumina Nanowires Boost TIM Conductivity 452% Over Neat Epoxy
Georgia Institute of Technology and National Cheng Kung University published a paper showing that epoxy thermal interface materials reinforced with ultralong alumina nanowires reach 0.78 W/(m·K) at 28 wt % loading – a 72% jump over ceramic‑particle fillers and a 452% improvement versus...
Generational Semiconductor Breakthrough: New Material Transforms Industries
Introducing new materials into industrial processes can be a revolution for customers across industries. In the semiconductor space for example, a new, gamechanging material is introduced about once in a generation... https://t.co/wgKZN1tLZ1
Semiconductor Boom: Chatting with Former CHIPS Act Lead
When @SoumayaKeynes and I were working on our book, semiconductors were the sector that *EVERYONE* kept talking about. I am so excited this week to chat with the incredible Dan Kim, who ran the CHIPS Act implementation office for the...
AI Hyperscalers' $414 Billion Cap‑Ex Surge Reshapes SaaS Infrastructure
The five largest AI hyperscalers reported $414 billion in capital expenditures last year, a 70% rise, and project $700 billion this year. Their spending surge directly influences the scalability, cost structure, and competitive dynamics of cloud‑based SaaS providers.
Designers Choose EMIB Over TSMC for Strategic Benefits
Thanks Gemini lol. I used "strategic bridge" as a frame for EMIB intentionally but can't find the exact report. Joy. Gemini at least somewhat helpful. As @austinsemis and I will outline soon, there are very good reasons designers...
Semi Market
Damned If We Do and Damned If We Don't 💫Semi Surge Seems Stressed 💫Semi Reflexivity In Full View 💫The Stealth Buyer Still In The Room https://t.co/ObymQYFfzf
WAVE-N Specialized Video Processing NPU for Edge AI Systems
Chips&Media unveiled the WAVE‑N specialized video‑processing NPU to meet the growing demand for high‑performance, low‑power AI inference on edge devices. The accelerator combines massive parallel compute, on‑chip memory buffers, and dedicated tensor units to speed up computer‑vision workloads such as...
Spirit Electronics Named Authorized Distributor for Microchip Technology, Expanding High Reliability Semiconductor Access for Defense and Aerospace Programs
Spirit Electronics announced it is now an authorized distributor for Microchip Technology in the Americas, giving defense and aerospace customers direct, DFARS‑compliant access to Microchip’s high‑reliability semiconductor portfolio. The partnership covers radiation‑tolerant and radiation‑hardened MCUs, MPUs, FPGAs, power devices and...
AI in Design Verification: Where It Works and Where It Doesn’t
AI is moving from theory to practical assistance in IC design verification. It shows clear value in data‑rich, repetitive tasks such as coverage gap analysis, regression triage, and bug grouping, where it can cut manual effort and speed coverage closure....
AI Export Controls Are Not the Best Bargaining Chip
The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee advanced export‑control bills and the Chip Security Act aims to block advanced chips from reaching China, treating semiconductors as the AI chokepoint. Analysts argue that this hardware‑centric view is outdated because AI progress now...
EU Project Team Aims to Significantly Reduce Onboard Charger Size Using GaN Chips
The EU‑funded HiPower 5.0 consortium is developing a 22 kW onboard charger that occupies just four litres, a third of the volume of current 12‑litre designs. The size cut is driven by bidirectional gallium‑nitride (GaN) switches supplied by Infineon, which combine the...
UBS Lifts Intel Price Target to $83, Sparking Bullish Wave After Surprise Earnings Beat
UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri raised Intel's price target to $83 from $65, a 28% jump, after the company posted a Q1 revenue of $13.6 bn and EPS of $0.29, beating consensus. The move triggered a flurry of upgrades from Citi, Wedbush...
UK Gov't Teases New "AI Hardware Plan"
The UK government announced a forthcoming “AI Hardware Plan” aimed at capturing a 5% share of the global AI chip market. The initiative will debut at London Tech Week in June, backed by an initial £100 million ($125 million) fund for domestic...
US Futures Slip as AI Spending Doubts Hit Brent, Fueling Options Volatility
U.S. equity futures slid 0.7% to 1.2% after a Wall Street Journal report that OpenAI missed revenue and user targets, reviving concerns over its $1.5 trillion AI‑spending plan. At the same time, Brent crude surged past $111 a barrel, pushing commodity...
GDWN Foundry Extension Approved, Completion Set for August
#GDWN foundry extension planning approved…unanimously I hold & this is great news …building is scheduled to complete in August https://t.co/dp6OTU3JDO
US Halts Chip Gear Shipments To China’s Hua Hong
The U.S. Commerce Department has issued “is‑informed” letters to domestic semiconductor equipment makers, ordering them to stop shipments to Hua Hong’s Chinese fabs. Companies such as Lam Research, Applied Materials and KLA are among those notified. The move targets Hua Hong’s Fab 6...
BYD Hikes ADAS Price 21% as AI Demand Triggers DRAM Shortage
BYD announced a 21% price increase for its God’s Eye B ADAS, raising the option from roughly $1,450 to about $1,680 per vehicle starting in May. The hike targets select models across the Dynasty, Ocean, and Fang Cheng Bao lineups, while customers who...