In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss NVIDIA's recent earnings and the challenges of managing expectations in the stock market. They touch on the mispronunciation of NVIDIA, the volatility of the stock, and the impact of whisper numbers on investor sentiment. They also discuss the role of NVIDIA's CEO, Jensen Huang, and the difficulty of managing investor relations. The conversation covers topics such as the slowdown in growth, gross margins, and the sustainability of high gross ...
Sep 03, 2024•47 min•Ep. 83
This week Ben and Jay are joined by AMD's EVP of Datacenter Solutions Forrest Norrod. AMD's acquisition of ZT Systems is a strategic move to enhance its position in the data center and AI market. ZT Systems is a leading systems design company focused on hyperscalers, with expertise in customized server and rack designs. By integrating ZT's design capabilities with AMD's silicon and software engineering, AMD aims to create better and more optimized AI server solutions. The acquisition also allows...
Aug 26, 2024•34 min•Ep. 82
In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the tectonic shift happening in the semiconductor industry due to the rise of AI. They highlight the need for substantial improvements in energy-efficient computing performance and the importance of reducing power consumption. The conversation also touches on the role of companies like Applied Materials in driving innovation and advancements in the industry. They discuss Intel's investments in advanced packaging and lithography, as well as th...
Aug 20, 2024•34 min•Ep. 81
In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the current state of the stock market and the semiconductor industry. They explore the factors that may be contributing to the recent fluctuations in stock prices and the challenges faced by the semiconductor market. They also delve into the changing dynamics of data center design and the implications for the growth of AI. Additionally, they touch on the automotive semiconductor market and the delays in product releases. Overall, they provide...
Aug 14, 2024•40 min•Ep. 80
This episode of The Circuit covers the recent earnings reports of semiconductor companies, including AMD, Arm, Qualcomm, and Intel. The hosts discuss the market sentiment, the strength of the data center infrastructure, and the growth potential of these companies. They highlight the cleverness of Arm's business model and the positive trends in their licensing and royalty revenue. They also analyze Qualcomm's performance, noting the anomaly in the automotive market and the misconception of Qualco...
Aug 02, 2024•50 min•Ep. 79
In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss their observations and insights from their recent trip to China. They cover topics such as the challenges of semiconductors in China, the economic sentiment in the country, the impact of Huawei's comeback, the state of the semiconductor industry in China, the focus on AI and EVs, the impact of US sanctions, and the future of the industry. They also highlight the impressive technology they saw, such as surveillance cameras and manufacturing sy...
Jul 30, 2024•38 min•Ep. 78
In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the recent earnings reports of NXP and Silicon Labs, as well as the latest updates from TSMC. They analyze the challenges and opportunities in the semiconductor industry, particularly in the areas of automotive, IoT, and AI. They also explore the pricing dynamics and competitive landscape between TSMC and Intel. Overall, the conversation highlights the importance of strategic vision, execution, and market demand in shaping the success of semi...
Jul 25, 2024•39 min•Ep. 77
The conversation explores the question of how to monetize the massive investment in AI infrastructure and hardware. There is a mix of pessimism and optimism regarding the potential returns on this investment. The thesis is that AI is currently being used as a feature to improve existing processes, but there is a lack of consumer use cases that can justify the investment. The conversation also touches on the challenges of increasing power consumption and the need for additional power generation. ...
Jul 16, 2024•42 min•Ep. 76
In this episode of The Circuit, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg are joined by Scott Best to discuss cryptography. They explore the origins of cryptography, including Scott's personal journey and early experiences with decoding secret messages. They also delve into the practical applications of cryptography in everyday life, such as secure web browsing and firmware updates. Scott explains the concept of key size and how it determines the strength of encryption. The conversation concludes with a disc...
Jul 11, 2024•48 min•Ep. 75
Nvidia briefly became the most valuable company in the world by market cap, surpassing Apple. This milestone highlights Nvidia's dominance in the semiconductor industry and its position as a leading company in AI computing. However, there are concerns about the sustainability of Nvidia's growth and the disconnect between its stock performance and the dynamics of the company itself. The platformization of GPUs is a key strategy for Nvidia, but it may not align with the preferences of hyperscalers...
Jun 24, 2024•42 min•Ep. 74
Apple announced Apple intelligence, integrating AI in a very Apple way. They are focusing on on-device AI to align with their privacy philosophy. The features are only available on the most recent Apple Silicon iPhone pro and newer models. The implementation of AI is focused on useful feature-centric applications rather than general AI. Apple's infrastructure play with their own data centers and Apple Silicon has strategic implications and could potentially lead to them becoming a cloud service ...
Jun 17, 2024•33 min•Ep. 73
Computex has evolved into an important tech trade show, with a focus on gaming, GPUs, and components for gaming and PCs. The show has seen a shift towards data center components and AI servers, which have become a significant category. AMD and Intel are both making chips for AI PCs, with AMD leading in NPU tops. Qualcomm's Snapdragon is ahead in performance, spooking other vendors. The PC landscape has permanently changed, with more competition for Intel. The evaluation of product truth is cruci...
Jun 11, 2024•44 min•Ep. 72
With Special guests, Austin Lyons and Paul Karazuba! The conversation covers the topic of NPUs (Neural Processing Units) and delves into their architecture, performance, and relevance in the semiconductor industry. The discussion also addresses the use of tops per watt as a metric for NPU performance and the design origins of NPUs, including the use of licensed IP and the evolution from DSPs to NPUs. The conversation delves into the topic of NPUs (Neural Processing Units) and their integration i...
Jun 02, 2024•52 min•Ep. 71
In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the recent Google I/O event and the introduction of new TPUs and CPUs. They also explore the ARM architecture in the data center and the potential for switching between different ARM CPUs. Additionally, they touch on Qualcomm's launch of Windows on ARM and the significant adoption of Qualcomm SKUs by major OEMs. The conversation covers various topics including the dynamics in the PC space, Nvidia's earnings, and the 10-to-1 stock split. The m...
May 28, 2024•47 min•Ep. 70
In this episode of The Circuit, Ben Bajarin interviews Esam Elashmawi, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer of Lattice, about the world of Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). They discuss the basics of FPGAs, their unique capabilities, and their pervasiveness across various applications. They also explore the advantages of FPGAs over Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) and the flexibility they offer in terms of customization and reprogramming. Esam highlights the role of FPGAs i...
May 22, 2024•38 min•Ep. 69
In this episode of The Circuit, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg interview Aart de Geus, the executive chair and co-founder of Synopsys, about the semiconductor industry and the evolution of electronic design automation (EDA). They discuss the concept of EDA and how it allows designers to simulate and optimize circuits without physically building them. Aart de Geus highlights the shift from analog to digital design as a major inflection point in the industry. He also explains the role of EDA tools i...
May 13, 2024•42 min•Ep. 68
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
