In this episode of The Circuit, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the latest developments in the semiconductor industry, focusing on the sectors of data centers, PCs, mobile, automotive, and industrial semiconductors. They analyze the performance of companies like Intel, AMD, Nvidia, Apple, Qualcomm, and NXP, and explore the factors influencing their success or challenges. The conversation highlights the impact of AI on the industry, the dynamics of the Chinese market, the potential for a sup...
May 07, 2024•36 min•Ep. 67
Summary In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the skyrocketing capex by cloud hyper scalers and its implications. They explore the significant growth in capex spending by companies like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon, and the connection between capex and revenue growth. They also discuss the challenges of monetizing AI investments and the need for clear consumer use cases. The conversation touches on the potential for new innovations in AI wearables, AR glasses, autonomous cars, a...
Apr 29, 2024•40 min•Ep. 66
Episode Summary The recent downturn in semiconductor and AI-related stocks has sparked concerns about a bubble. The volatility in these stocks can be attributed to the unpredictability of retail investors and traders. The market is experiencing a correction, but it does not indicate a slowdown in AI. The hype around AI has been tempered by the realization that progress is slower than expected. The energy constraint is a topic of discussion, but improvements in hardware and software will continue...
Apr 22, 2024•40 min•Ep. 65
This episode of The Circuit discusses the recent trend of companies developing their own custom CPUs and accelerators for AI workloads. Google, Amazon, and Microsoft have all announced their own custom chips, while Facebook and Marvell are also entering the custom chip market. The conversation also touches on the challenges and trade-offs of custom silicon, the impact on NVIDIA, and the difficulty of accurately sizing the AI market. The hosts highlight the uncertainty surrounding the future of A...
Apr 15, 2024•44 min•Ep. 64
Summary In this conversation, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the recent Intel webinar on the foundry business and the financial breakout for Intel Foundry Services (IFS). They analyze the financial details, including the higher costs and lower margins than expected, and the potential for improvement in the future. They also discuss the impact of the CHIPS Act and the subsidies received by TSMC for their Arizona foundries. The conversation concludes with a discussion on Intel's progress und...
Apr 09, 2024•30 min•Ep. 63
In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the competition faced by Nvidia in the semiconductor industry. They explore various competitors, including AMD, Intel, and startups like Grok, Etched, and Cerebras. They also delve into the threat posed by custom silicon and the strategies of hyperscalers like Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and Amazon. Overall, the conversation highlights the challenges and opportunities for Nvidia in maintaining its position as a leader in the market. In this ...
Apr 03, 2024•49 min•Ep. 62
Nvidia's recent keynote highlighted their dominance in the data center and their position as a platform company. They offer a full stack solution and are recognized for their sum of the parts story. While some customers may be concerned about getting locked into Nvidia's ecosystem, many appreciate the simplicity and turnkey nature of their offerings. The importance of inference and the transition to generative AI was also discussed, highlighting the complexity of scaling and the need for compute...
Mar 25, 2024•45 min•Ep. 61
In this conversation, Ben Bajarin, Jay Goldberg, and Austin Lyons discuss the semiconductor industry and the role of AI accelerators. They cover topics such as the future of Intel, the spectrum of AI accelerators, the dominance of Nvidia in training, the failure of accelerator startups, and the debate between general-purpose and specialized accelerators. They also explore the issue of GPU bloat and the need for alternative solutions in the accelerated computing space. The conversation explores t...
Mar 18, 2024•50 min•Ep. 60
In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the thermal problem faced by data centers and other electronic devices. They are joined by Carl Schlachte, the CEO of Ventiva, a company that provides innovative cooling solutions. The conversation covers the origin story of Ventiva, the challenges faced by the company, and the unique technology they offer. They also discuss the traditional cooling technologies in the market and how Ventiva's approach differs. The episode highlights the impor...
Mar 13, 2024•44 min•Ep. 59
Summary In this episode of The Circuit, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the infrastructure side of telecom at Mobile World Congress. They highlight the importance of the show for telecom operators and the focus on networking and telecom infrastructure. The conversation covers the current state of 5G deployment and the upcoming transition to 6G. They also discuss the challenges and concerns in upgrading core networks and the potential costs and timing of 6G. The decline of millimeter wave te...
Mar 05, 2024•45 min•Ep. 58
Summary This episode of The Circuit discusses the recent Intel Foundry event and Nvidia's earnings. The conversation explores Intel's focus on becoming a leading foundry and its bet on advanced packaging. The hosts also discuss concerns about Intel's culture and execution, as well as the response from TSMC. The episode concludes with predictions about the future of the market and the role of Intel in the industry. In this conversation, Jay Goldberg and Ben Bajarin discuss the future of TSMC and ...
Feb 26, 2024•50 min•Ep. 57
Summary In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the puzzle of Intel foundries and the challenges of determining their revenue. They explore historical economics data points and the exit zone for leading-edge fabs. They analyze the revenue and financial projections for Intel Foundry Services (IFS) and the need for external customers. They also discuss the long-term outlook for IFS and potential scenarios for the future, including strategic partnerships and acquisitions. The episode ...
Feb 19, 2024•41 min•Ep. 56
Summary The conversation discusses Sam Altman's plan to raise $7 trillion for semiconductors and the potential challenges and motivations behind it. It explores the idea of negotiation and leaked stories as part of the process. The conversation also delves into the simultaneous demand for compute in both hardware and software industries and the need for breakthroughs in technology. It highlights the importance of economic efficiency and competitiveness in the semiconductor industry. The conversa...
Feb 12, 2024•38 min•Ep. 55
Summary In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the outsized expectations for AI growth and the impact on stock market reactions. They explore the challenges of modeling AI growth and the difficulty of charging more for AI features. They also discuss the potential for AI to accelerate refreshment cycles and the importance of realistic expectations. The conversation highlights the small gains of AI in software and the experimentation stage of AI. They conclude by emphasizing the nee...
Feb 04, 2024•42 min•Ep. 54
Summary In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss Intel's recent earnings call and the challenges the company is facing. They analyze the guidance provided by Intel and the concerns raised by investors. The conversation also delves into Intel's core businesses, including the consumer and data center groups, and the impact of competition from companies like Nvidia. The hosts explore Intel's partnership with UMC to increase trailing edge capacity and the potential for specialized trail...
Jan 29, 2024•37 min•Ep. 53
Summary In this conversation, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the latest news and trends in the semiconductor industry, with a focus on TSMC's strong earnings and growth forecast. They explore the importance of AI in TSMC's business and the strong position of NVIDIA in the AI market. They also discuss the challenges of designing AI-first silicon and the need for differentiation in AI accelerators. The conversation touches on the dynamics of leading-edge manufacturing, the transition from fi...
Jan 22, 2024•38 min•Ep. 52
Summary In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss their experience at CES and the presence of AI in various products. They explore the evolution of massage chairs and the AI wash in the industry. They also analyze the two tracks of AI at CES, with a more muted presence in big vendor booths and a greater focus in Eureka Park. The conversation delves into the role of AI in semiconductor vendors and the importance of on-device AI. They discuss the balance between cloud and edge AI and t...
Jan 16, 2024•40 min•Ep. 51
Summary In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss their hopes and predictions for the semiconductor industry in 2024. They cover topics such as the need for clarity of direction in automotive semis, the potential for partnerships and spin-offs in the industry, the importance of venture funding for semiconductor startups, the need for a more balanced and realistic narrative around AI, and the challenges and tensions between the US and China in the chip industry. They also make some sp...
Jan 08, 2024•40 min•Ep. 50
Summary In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss recent semiconductor events, including Marvell's analyst day, AMD's Advancing AI event, and Intel's AI Everywhere event. They analyze the key takeaways from each event, including Marvell's focus on data infrastructure, AMD's new chiplet SOC and AI capabilities, and Intel's architectural advancements in client and data center products. The hosts also discuss the challenges and opportunities in the AI PC market and share their holiday w...
Dec 18, 2023•42 min•Ep. 49
Summary In this conversation Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg have a discussion with Rene Haas, President of ARM, provides an overview of the company and its role as the brain that powers electronic devices. He explains ARM's business model of designing CPUs and licensing them to chip manufacturers. Haas discusses the value capture and increasing ARM's share of the value in the market. He highlights the growth drivers for ARM in various industries, including PCs, cloud data centers, networking, auto...
Dec 11, 2023•37 min•Ep. 48
The conversation explores the current state of the Japanese semiconductor industry and its history of decline in the 1990s. It discusses the structure of the industry, key players, and recent developments such as the establishment of Rapidus, a consortium aimed at advancing semiconductor fabrication in Japan. The conversation also touches on the visit of Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry to UC Berkeley and the potential for collaboration between the US and Japan in the semiconducto...
Dec 05, 2023•39 min•Ep. 47
In this week's episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg chatted about companies pushing the limits of what is possible with technology and breaking new ground with new products and experiences. They discuss the impacts this has on the semiconductor landscape and why its a necessary, even if awkward, step to progress.
Nov 29, 2023•33 min•Ep. 46
Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg dive into the recent announcements from Microsoft around their new custom silicon chips. They also discuss MediaTek's ambitions, shared from the MediaTek executive summit last week, where they are doubling down on helping people build custom silicon for the data center.
Nov 20, 2023•39 min•Ep. 45
Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg analyze Arm's most recent quarterly earnings in this episode. These also happen to be Arm's first earnings report and investor call as a public company. Ben and Jay discuss the read from the earnings and the investor call and insights learned.
Nov 13, 2023•38 min•Ep. 44
In this episode of our short series in Back to Basics, Jay Goldberg shares the key moments in Qualcomm's story that led to the market position they have today.
Nov 06, 2023•33 min•Ep. 43
Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss key news bits from Qualcomm's Snapdragon Summit, Apple's Scary Fast event where new M3 Apple Silicon was announced, and what it means for the market as a whole and for architecture competition.
Oct 31, 2023•44 min•Ep. 42
Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg share what they thought were the most interesting and telling takeaways from TSMC's earnings. Why TSMC can give us insight into semiconductor segment recovery, and the coming battle brewing with process technology competition.
Oct 23, 2023•42 min•Ep. 41
Ben Bajarin is joined by guest Huiming Bu from IBM Research to discuss the future of the transistor (design) and advanced packaging. They also discuss some of the larger technology challenges facing the semiconductor industry in the years to come.
Oct 16, 2023•33 min•Ep. 40
Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the anticipated update to the entity list facing US and China semiconductor relations. They also discuss the relevance of the RISC-V being discussed as potentially being regulated as it relates to China as well.
Oct 09, 2023•29 min•Ep. 39
Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg welcome guest Steven Woo, a Fellow at Rambus, to discuss the wide world of memory. The discussion covers how memory differs from logic, the many types of memory and their purpose and function, how to gauge innovation in memory advances, and the key applications driving the need to innovate more in memory.
Oct 02, 2023•37 min•Ep. 38
