The Circuit

In this episode of The Circuit, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the recent AMD AI event, focusing on the advancements in CPU architecture, the competitive landscape with NVIDIA, and the importance of vertical integration in AI systems. They explore the role of CPUs in AI workloads, the complexities of total cost of ownership for hyperscalers, and AMD's growth projections in the market. In this conversation, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the dynamics of the AI accelerator market, the performance of AMD's stock in relation to market expectations, the future of inference and compute demands in AI, and the developments in autonomous vehicles. They explore the implications of AI advancements on semiconductor demand, the challenges of scaling autonomous technology, and the evolving landscape of AI capabilities.

In this episode, Ben Bajarin, Jay Goldberg, and Austin Lyons discuss the rapid evolution of AI technology and its implications for hardware and software. They explore the challenges faced by AI accelerators, the role of hyperscalers, and the investment landscape in AI startups. The conversation highlights the disparity between the fast-paced development of AI software and the slower advancements in hardware, particularly in the context of GPUs and dedicated AI accelerators. The speakers also delve into the future of real-time training and inference, emphasizing the need for integrated systems over disaggregated ones.

In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the recent announcements from Meta at MetaConnect, particularly focusing on their new AR glasses concept. They compare Meta's approach to Apple's Vision Pro, exploring the implications of custom silicon, product timing, and the importance of developer ecosystems. The conversation also touches on the role of Google in the AR/VR space, the potential for an open ecosystem, and the excitement surrounding future technologies in this rapidly evolving field.

In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the current state of Intel, focusing on its challenges, board dynamics, and the implications of activist investors. They delve into Intel's foundry strategy, customer relationships, and the significance of the 18A technology. The conversation also touches on Qualcomm's interest in Intel and explores hypothetical merger scenarios, concluding with insights on the future of CPUs in an AI-driven market.

In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the recent advancements in AI software, particularly focusing on OpenAI's new model and its implications for silicon architecture. They explore the challenges of inference costs, the need for silicon innovation, and the competitive landscape involving Nvidia and Google. The conversation highlights the rapid evolution of AI technology and the ongoing race to keep up with software demands.

The conversation covers various topics related to Apple's recent product announcements, including the iPhone, wearables, Apple Silicon, and AI features. The hosts discuss the potential impact of the new iPhone lineup on sales volume and upgrades, as well as the significance of TSMC's involvement in supplying processors. They also highlight the design and features of the Apple Watch and AirPods, emphasizing the attention to detail and user experience. The conversation concludes with a discussion on Apple's investment in healthcare and the role of AI as an enabling technology. The conversation discusses the state of AI applications and the need to shift the focus from AI itself to the features it enables. They also touch on Apple's use of AI and its integration with Google and OpenAI. The conversation explores the challenges of rolling out AI features, particularly in China, and the importance of positive word-of-mouth in driving adoption. They highlight the potential of Genmoji to create FOMO and drive interest in new hardware. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the format of Apple keynotes and the possibility of returning to live events.

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 margins in the semiconductor industry. In this conversation, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the reasons why they are not concerned about a bubble popping in the tech industry. They highlight the high demand for NVIDIA's products, the company's superior total cost of ownership (TCO) relative to competitors, and the continued growth of AI and data center infrastructure. They also touch on the potential for NVIDIA to expand its software business. The conversation then shifts to Intel, with the news that the company is exploring strategic options, including spinning off its Foundry division. Ben and Jay discuss the challenges of spinning off Foundry and the potential for a white knight investor to step in and support Intel.Use code TC24 at wwic24.com

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 AMD to accelerate time-to-market and support their customers in deploying AI systems faster. AMD plans to divest the manufacturing side of ZT Systems and continue to collaborate with OEM and ODM partners.

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 the release of their PDK. The episode concludes with a discussion on the breakthrough in high NA EUV technology by Imec.

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 insights into the trends and challenges in the semiconductor industry.

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 Qualcomm as a PC play. Overall, the hosts provide insights into the semiconductor industry and the factors influencing the market. In this conversation, Jay Goldberg and Ben Bajarin discuss the recent earnings calls of Qualcomm and Intel. They analyze the key takeaways and discuss the challenges and opportunities faced by both companies. The conversation covers topics such as Qualcomm's diversification strategy, the importance of product competitiveness for Intel, and the need for management to execute effectively. They also highlight the significance of process improvement and the potential impact on future performance. Overall, the conversation provides insights into the current state and future prospects of these two tech giants.

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 systems.

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 semiconductor companies.

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. The potential for new and innovative AI applications is discussed, but there is uncertainty about whether these will be able to generate significant revenue.

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 discussion on the future of cryptography and the potential impact of quantum computers.

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 who are looking for more diverse solutions. The future of the data center market and the demand for AI capabilities remain uncertain.

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 provider for developers. The closed-loop environment of security and privacy is a key advantage for Apple. The integration of client to cloud with a common software layer is a powerful trend. Other companies like Arm are also exploring this approach.

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 crucial, as performance and battery life are key factors. In the data center space, AI servers are gaining attention and have higher content per dollar than general-purpose servers. However, market sizing for AI servers is challenging due to varying estimates and counting methods. The conversation explores the market potential for silicon sales to hyperscalers and tier two/tier three cloud service providers. It discusses the growth of the hyperscaler market and the potential for the tier two/tier three market to also grow. The conversation also touches on the challenges faced by new entrants in the market and the dominance of Nvidia in the AI server market. It explores the role of networking components in AI data centers and the margin opportunities for companies in the AI server market. The conversation concludes with a discussion on Arm's CSS service and its expansion into mobile and client markets.

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 into various devices. The speakers discuss the origins of NPUs, their design philosophy, and the potential impact on consumer devices. They also explore the role of NPUs in edge devices, AI PCs, and the future of consumer use cases for AI. The conversation concludes with predictions about the widespread adoption of NPUs and their potential impact on the market.

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 main takeaways include the strong position of Windows in the PC ecosystem, the growth of Nvidia's data center networking business, and the potential impact of a dedicated inference chip. The conversation also discusses the competition in different parts of Nvidia's stack and the volatility that may come with the stock split.