News/AI Chips
Why reasoning models like DeepSeek-R1 are increasing (not decreasing) demand for GPUs
The rise of advanced AI reasoning models like DeepSeek-R1 has transformed the computational landscape for AI infrastructure providers. Together AI has secured significant funding to meet growing enterprise demands for high-performance AI model deployment and reasoning capabilities. Recent funding and growth: Together AI has raised $305 million in Series B funding led by General Catalyst and Prosperity7, marking a significant expansion of its AI deployment platform. The company has experienced 6X year-over-year growth with over 450,000 registered developers Notable customers include AI startups like Krea AI, Captions, and Pika Labs The platform now supports multiple AI modalities including language, reasoning,...
read Feb 21, 2025Niantic plans $3.5B ‘Pokemon Go’ sale as HP acquires AI Pin
Whatever the "name of the game," it's going to have AR and VR written all throughout it. Here are some big happenings in that space... The virtual and augmented reality gaming landscape continues to evolve, with several major acquisitions and product launches reshaping the industry in early 2025. Notable developments include Niantic's potential sale of Pokémon Go and HP's acquisition of Humane's AI technology assets. Major industry shifts: Niantic is in negotiations to sell Pokémon Go to Scopely Inc. for approximately $3.5 billion, marking a significant change in the AR gaming space. The deal reflects challenges in AR gaming profitability, as...
read Feb 20, 2025AI startup Together raises $102M at $3.3B valuation
The artificial intelligence infrastructure market has seen rapid growth in cloud platforms that enable AI model development and deployment. Together AI, founded in 2022, has emerged as a key player by providing developers access to powerful GPU resources and supporting hundreds of open-source AI models. Latest funding milestone: Together AI has secured $305 million in a new funding round led by General Catalyst, valuing the company at $3.3 billion. The funding round included participation from Salesforce Ventures, Nvidia, Coatue, and Prosperity7 (Aramco Ventures' venture capital fund) This valuation represents more than a doubling from the company's previous $1.25 billion valuation...
read Feb 20, 2025South Korea goes big, targets 10,000 GPUs for national AI computing hub
The global artificial intelligence industry has created unprecedented demand for specialized graphics processing units (GPUs), which are essential components for training AI models and running advanced applications. South Korea has announced an ambitious initiative to acquire 10,000 GPUs for its national AI computing center, positioning itself as a serious contender in the international AI landscape. Strategic importance: South Korea's push to secure GPUs reflects a broader shift in AI competition from corporate rivalry to national-level innovation ecosystems. Acting President Choi Sang-mok emphasized the urgency of establishing robust AI infrastructure through public-private partnerships The government aims to launch services at its...
read Feb 14, 2025A closer look at the new AI systems powering autonomous vehicles
The automotive industry is rapidly integrating sophisticated AI systems into vehicles, requiring new semiconductor architectures that can process complex machine learning workloads while maintaining strict safety standards. Modern software-defined vehicles (SDVs) now process terabytes of sensor data through multiple AI models simultaneously, creating unique challenges for chip design and implementation. The fundamental challenge: Traditional automotive semiconductors must be completely reimagined to handle the massive parallel processing demands of modern AI models while meeting strict functional safety requirements. Vehicle systems now require dedicated AI accelerators and sophisticated memory architectures to manage everything from sensor fusion to predictive safety monitoring Key bottlenecks...
read Feb 13, 2025AI chips race heats up as DeepSeek gives Chinese chipmakers a boost
The development of AI models by Chinese company DeepSeek marks a significant shift in China's artificial intelligence chip landscape, particularly in relation to inference-based computing tasks. As U.S. export restrictions limit access to advanced chips, Chinese manufacturers are seeking alternative paths to AI development. The big picture: DeepSeek's focus on inference-based AI processing provides Chinese chipmakers an opportunity to compete more effectively in their domestic market, despite lagging behind U.S. competitors in raw processing power. DeepSeek's models prioritize computational efficiency over pure processing capability, allowing Chinese manufacturers to partially bridge the performance gap with U.S. chips Major Chinese tech companies...
read Feb 12, 2025Qualcomm’s new chip enhances CPU and GPU for midrange phones
It can be a great thing, being mid. The mobile processor market is seeing significant advancement in budget segment capabilities with Qualcomm's latest announcement. The Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 represents a substantial upgrade for affordable, midrange Android phones, bringing features previously reserved for higher-end devices. Core improvements: The new Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 processor delivers an 11% CPU performance boost and 29% GPU enhancement compared to its predecessor. The chip features a modern octa-core CPU configuration with Cortex-A720 and Cortex-A520 cores, replacing the older Cortex-A78 and Cortex-A55 architecture Gaming capabilities are enhanced through features like Game Super Resolution for visual...
read Feb 12, 2025Vance: Not even TSMC is safe from tariffs in shift to American-made chips
The Trump administration has outlined an approach to artificial intelligence that emphasizes domestic chip production and minimal regulation. At a recent Paris AI Summit, Vice President JD Vance articulated this vision, focusing on American manufacturing of advanced AI processors. Policy cornerstone: The administration plans to implement tariffs on foreign-made semiconductors, including those from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), to boost domestic chip production. The proposed tariffs could increase costs for consumer electronics like personal computers, smartphones, and graphics cards This policy aims to reduce dependence on foreign chip manufacturers and strengthen U.S. semiconductor capabilities The initiative represents a significant shift...
read Feb 11, 2025Cerebras and Perplexity partner to develop ultra-fast AI search
The rise of AI-powered search has created intense competition among technology companies seeking to challenge traditional search engines. Cerebras Systems and Perplexity AI have formed a strategic partnership to develop ultra-fast AI search capabilities using specialized hardware. Partnership Details: Cerebras Systems and Perplexity AI have unveiled a collaboration centered on Perplexity's new Sonar model, which operates on Cerebras's specialized AI chips. The Sonar model achieves speeds of 1,200 tokens per second, making it one of the fastest AI search systems currently available Built on Meta's Llama 3.3 70B foundation, Sonar represents a significant investment in speed-optimized AI search Perplexity will...
read Feb 11, 2025AI chip startup Positron secures $23.5M to challenge Nvidia
The artificial intelligence chip industry is experiencing rapid growth as major tech companies invest heavily in AI infrastructure. Positron, a Reno-based startup, has emerged as a potential competitor to Nvidia's dominance in the AI chip market. Key funding details: Positron has secured $23.5 million in seed funding from notable investors including Valor Equity Partners, Atreides Management, Flume Ventures, and Resilience Reserve. Valor Equity Partners, known for its investments in Elon Musk's ventures, leads the investment round The funding will be used to scale production of Positron's U.S.-manufactured AI chips in Arizona Technical advantages: Positron's chips offer significant power efficiency improvements...
read Feb 11, 2025Confident continent: EU chief claims Europe remains competitive in AI development
The European Union is making ambitious moves in artificial intelligence development, with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announcing plans for massive AI investment during the AI Action Summit in Paris. The EU's strategy centers on creating AI gigafactories and mobilizing €200 billion in investment, positioning itself as a serious contender against the United States and China. Key announcement and context: The European Commission has unveiled InvestAI, an initiative aimed at mobilizing €200 billion for AI investment across the European Union. The initiative includes a €20 billion AI gigafactories fund to develop four specialized facilities for training complex AI models...
read Feb 10, 2025NXP acquires edge AI chipmaker Kinara for $307M
The semiconductor industry is seeing increased consolidation in the edge AI space as companies position themselves for the growing demand in industrial IoT and automotive markets. NXP Semiconductors' acquisition of Kinara represents a strategic move to strengthen its AI processing capabilities at the network edge. Deal Overview: NXP Semiconductors has announced plans to acquire US-based edge AI chipmaker Kinara for $307 million, with the transaction expected to close in the first half of 2025. The acquisition will integrate Kinara's neural processing units (NPUs) and AI software into NXP's industrial and IoT processor portfolio The two companies already have an existing...
read Feb 10, 2025OpenAI-TSMC partnership aims to reduce reliance on NVIDIA chips
The development of custom AI processors has become a strategic priority for major tech companies seeking to reduce their reliance on Nvidia's dominant GPU technology. OpenAI is now joining this trend with its own chip development program, aimed at creating custom AI accelerators for its large language models and other AI applications. Project Overview: OpenAI is in the final design stages of its first custom AI processor, with plans to partner with TSMC for manufacturing using 3-nanometer process technology. The chip project is being led by former Google chip designer Richard Ho, with a team of 40 engineers collaborating with...
read Feb 8, 2025Private equity consortium buys Japanese chipmaker FICT for $660M
MBK Partners and Formfactor have formed a consortium to acquire Japanese printed circuit board manufacturer FICT in a deal valued at $660 million. Deal Structure and Participants: The acquisition involves MBK Partners taking an 80% stake in FICT, while Formfactor will acquire the remaining 20% from current owner Advantage Partners. The transaction, valued at 100 billion yen, is expected to close within the current quarter FICT, based in Nagano, Japan, was originally a Fujitsu subsidiary before being spun off in 2002 The company specializes in high-end printed circuit boards for supercomputers, semiconductor testing equipment, and base stations Strategic Rationale: The...
read Feb 7, 2025Amazon is priming to invest $100B in AI infrastructure in 2025
Amazon plans to invest approximately $100 billion in AI infrastructure during 2025, with CEO Andy Jassy highlighting unprecedented opportunities in the AI space. Core announcement: Amazon's Q4 capital expenditure of $26.3 billion represents the expected quarterly spending rate for 2025, with the majority allocated to AI infrastructure for AWS. The investment supports AWS's AI business, which is growing at triple-digit rates year-over-year AWS generated Q4 net sales of $28.8 billion, a 19% increase from the previous year Operating income for AWS reached $10.6 billion in Q4, up from $7.2 billion in Q4 2023 Technical infrastructure details: Amazon is developing a...
read Feb 7, 2025Nanoscale AI chip processes data with light, outperforms silicon
Engineers have developed a miniature AI chip that can be mounted directly on optical fiber endpoints to process data carried by light signals. Key Innovation: The chip, which is smaller than a grain of salt, represents a breakthrough in optical data processing, enabling direct processing of light signals from optical fibers with enhanced efficiency. The technology leverages the physics of light for data processing, offering a novel approach to handling optical signals By processing data directly at the fiber endpoint, the chip eliminates the need for conversion to traditional electronic signals Technical Advantages: The new design offers substantial improvements over conventional data...
read Feb 7, 2025US export controls need AI-savvy overhaul after DeepSeek
DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company, has demonstrated the ability to train a GPT-4-level language model for just $5.6 million, challenging previous assumptions about the resources required for advanced AI development. Key development: DeepSeek's achievement in December has sparked intense debate about the effectiveness of U.S. export controls on AI chips and their impact on global AI development. The company's ability to train a sophisticated AI model at a fraction of expected costs represents a significant technological breakthrough Their success demonstrates how companies can leverage efficiency improvements to overcome hardware limitations The $5.6 million price tag stands in stark contrast to...
read Feb 2, 2025Cadence Design and Arm develop first system chiplet for ADAS and drone applications
The semiconductor industry's first system chiplet for ADAS, drones, and AI applications has been developed by Cadence Design Systems in collaboration with Arm. Key Innovation: Cadence Design Systems has created the industry's first Arm-based system chiplet, a device that manages resources in multi-chiplet System-on-a-Chip (SoC) designs. The system chiplet includes a system processor, safety management processor, various controllers, and a Network on Chip (NoC) It features Cadence PHY IP for LPDDR5 memory and uses Universal Chiplet Interconnect Express (UCIe) for inter-chiplet communications The design complies with Arm's Chiplet System Architecture (CSA), ensuring interoperability with other chiplets Technical Context: A system...
read Feb 2, 2025US tech leaders and lawmakers want more restrictions on Chinese access to AI tech
A growing number of US technology executives and lawmakers are calling for increased restrictions on Chinese AI companies' access to advanced chips and the US market, following the release of DeepSeek's competitive R1 model. Market dynamics and competitive concerns: The emergence of DeepSeek's cost-effective R1 model has sparked anxiety among Silicon Valley executives about potential Chinese competition in the AI sector. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has publicly advocated for stricter export controls on AI chips to China, arguing they are crucial for maintaining US technological dominance Industry leaders are simultaneously praising DeepSeek's technical achievements while pushing for measures to limit...
read Feb 1, 2025US probes DeepSeek’s potential use of restricted AI chips
DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company that recently launched a highly successful AI assistant, is under U.S. Commerce Department scrutiny regarding potential use of restricted AI chips. The central development: The U.S. Commerce Department is investigating whether DeepSeek has accessed U.S.-manufactured AI chips that are currently restricted from being shipped to China. DeepSeek's AI assistant launch created significant market impact, becoming the most downloaded app on Apple's App Store The company's success triggered concerns about U.S. AI leadership, contributing to a $1 trillion decline in U.S. technology stock values DeepSeek claims its AI model operates more efficiently than U.S. counterparts, using...
read Feb 1, 2025What the headlines on DeepSeek are missing, according to RAND
The DeepSeek AI company has achieved significant technical progress while operating under U.S. export controls on advanced AI chips to China, demonstrating both efficiency gains and limitations in the current regulatory landscape. Key developments: DeepSeek has managed to train advanced AI models using Nvidia H800 chips, which were specifically designed to comply with initial U.S. export controls. The company trained its V3 model using 2,000 H800 chips, showing impressive efficiency DeepSeek previously operated Asia's first 10,000 Nvidia A100 cluster and reportedly maintains 50,000 "Hopper" chips The timing of their R1 model release coincided with President Trump's inauguration, potentially for strategic...
read Jan 31, 2025US lawmakers push to further limit China’s access to Nvidia chips
Two U.S. lawmakers have called on the Trump administration to consider new restrictions on Nvidia AI chip exports to China, specifically targeting their use by Chinese AI firm DeepSeek. Key developments; Representatives John Moolenaar (R) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D) are leading a bipartisan effort to scrutinize AI chip exports to China through the House Select Committee on China. The lawmakers specifically highlighted concerns about Nvidia's H20 chip, which currently falls outside U.S. export control restrictions Their request is part of a broader Commerce and State Department review of the U.S. export control system The lawmakers claim DeepSeek has made "extensive...
read Jan 31, 2025Trump to meet with Nvidia on Friday to discuss AI advancements
The big picture: President Donald Trump is set to meet with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at the White House on Friday, as the administration contemplates new restrictions on AI chip exports to China. Key developments: The meeting comes at a crucial time as the U.S. prepares to implement stricter controls on AI chip exports this spring. The Trump administration is evaluating potential limitations on Nvidia's H20 chips, specifically designed for the Chinese market These discussions are in early stages and build upon export control policies initiated during the Biden administration The H20 chips, which can run AI software, were originally...
read Jan 31, 2025Samsung Q4 profit plummets, missing analyst expectations
Samsung's Q4 2023 earnings report reveals mixed results, with strong revenue growth but declining quarterly profits due to increased research and development costs in its semiconductor division. Financial Overview: Samsung posted fourth-quarter revenue of 75.8 trillion Korean won ($52.2 billion), exceeding analyst expectations despite operational challenges. Revenue increased by approximately 12% year-over-year Operating profit grew 130% compared to the previous year but fell 29.3% quarter-over-quarter to 6.5 trillion won Samsung shares responded negatively, dropping 2.2% in South Korean trading Memory Segment Performance: Samsung's memory business achieved record-high quarterly revenue but faced profit pressures due to strategic investments and production costs....
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