This Episode is Part 3 of a 3 episode mini-series where we are joined by AI chip expert Dr. Mrinal Iyer.

We dive into the competition among giants such as TSMC, Intel, NVIDIA, AMD, Google, and even Apple. The battle is all about how these companies are grappling with the challenges of high-capacity and high-bandwidth memory while pushing the limits of computing.

While Intel had been dominating the AI hardware field, TSMC, the contract manufacturer that produces chips for Apple, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, and others, started stepping up in manufacturing technology around 2018, leading to an explosion of competition. The rapid growth of this sector has raised questions regarding energy consumption and environmental impact, as large AI models like GPT-3 can require significant power to function.

The podcast delves into the remarkable rise of TSMC, geopolitical tensions around semiconductor manufacturing, Google's vertically integrated AI approach, and the future of photonics as a potential game-changer in computing speed and power reduction. With new advancements on the horizon, the landscape of AI hardware is constantly changing and shaping the future of technology.

Guest: Dr. Mrinal Iyer https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrinal-iyer/

Hosts:

Chaithanya (Chait) Bandi - https://www.linkedin.com/in/chaithanya-bandi/

Siddharth (Sid) Shankar - https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddshankar/

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Outline:
(0:00 ) Current competition landscape: New entrants vs the incumbants

(8:34 ) New technologies and issues: Photonics, energy consumption etc.

(21:06 ) The Business of Chips : the phenomenal rise of TSMC