What’s at stake:
RISC-V cores are quietly seeping into the MCU fabric of the global automotive market. Of course, if you are focused only on the Western market, that’s not exactly what you see today. But, as Chinese OEMs turn massively toward RISC-V, the rest of the world needs a workable Plan B.
The more powerful AI becomes, the more polarizing it gets. Some people love it, others loathe it, and there are those who are becoming increasingly fearful of what may be coming our way.
What’s at stake:
Despite passage of the CHIPS and Science Act, the U.S. semiconductor industry will continue to struggle with workforce problems. Issues include the absent “pipeline” (of engineering students aspiring to the semiconductor industry), and the long “ramp up” period (as long as eighteen months) before newly hired graduates can contribute to VLSI designs. At stake is the U.S. industry’s talent level for leadership in the global electronics industry.
First some background.
Many reports from think tanks, consulting firms (Deloitte, McKinsey, Brookings) and semiconductor industry associations (SEMI, SIA), are sounding the alarm of a widening talent shortage in the U.S. chip industry.
Deloitte analysts bluntly declared that the industry is facing “looming talent cliff and low industry appeal.” This is happening despite forecasts that the industry will reach a market size of $1 trillion by 2030, driven by increasing demand for advanced chips across sectors like AI, automotive, and industrial applications.
Read More »Chip Industry’s Talent Drain: Can Apple Buck the Trend?
Tenstorrent, an AI startup, scored big with a commission from the Japanese government to train at its U.S. offices up to 200 semiconductor engineers from Japan over the course of five years.
Under this “Engineering Training Program” supported by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) and Japan’s Leading-edge Semiconductor Technology Center (LSTC), selected engineers will have the opportunity to learn and work on Tenstorrernt’s cutting-edge AI/ML technology. Welcome to AI chip design school.
The program – almost two years in the making – is a brainchild spawned jointly by METI and Tenstorrent.
Read More »Japan and Tenstorrent Plan ‘AI Chip Design School’
What’s at stake:
Edge AI – or AIOT (Artificial Intelligence of Things) – on the embedded market has been a hot notion among MCU vendors for more than a few years. So, how’s it going? Will AI skate on every edge?
It’s coming, say edge AI proponents, but very slowly.
One reality that must be acknowledged is that edge AI, despite its hype, was never previously a fait accompli, nor is it today.
Read More »Who Decides Edge AI Winners in Embedded?
Anyone involved in the design of large digital silicon chips is familiar with the term Network-on-Chip (NoC), but relatively few people are cognizant of the underlying concepts.
By Ron Wilson
What’s at stake:
Backside Power Delivery is being promoted by all three foundry majors. It has advantages, but will substantially complicate wafer processing and multi-die module design, with undetermined costs to users. Intel, TSMC, and, more faintly, Samsung are singing the praises of backside power delivery (BPD). Recently, Synopsys raised their voice in harmony, pledging support for TSMC’s efforts. But what is BPD, what does it imply, and who, outside the giant foundry trio, really cares?
This story begins a decade ago, when foundries began drilling tiny holes deep into wafers and then thinning the wafers — grinding away the back side of the wafer until the remainder was thin enough to expose the bottom of the hole. Filled with conductive material, the hole became a via — an electrical path from the front side to the back side of the wafer. This allowed connections on the back of the wafer for easier packaging and die stacking.
Read More »Getting to the Bottom of Backside Power Delivery
By Bolaji Ojo
Samsung Electronics has been unequivocal about its intentions regarding its foundry unit. The division, one of the last captive semiconductor fabrication operations in the world, is not available for sale. A spin-off is not in the cards either.
Neither concept makes sense, anyway.
A hook-up with Intel Foundry Services sounds even more ridiculous. And yet, speculators in the market are hawking this idea. A recent news report claims Intel had asked for a meeting with its Korean rival to discuss the formation of a foundry alliance that would be better positioned to compete against market leader Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC).
Read More »Intel-Samsung Foundry Union is a Non-Starter
By Peter Clarke
What’s at stake:
Access to Arm’s processor architecture is fundamental to Qualcomm’s business and has put it in a position to supply chipsets for the next generation of AI-enabled computers and Android smartphones. Therefore, a dispute between the companies is important to Microsoft and Samsung and numerous other PC and smartphone companies in their battles with Apple.
Going to court would not end Qualcomm Inc.’s endeavors immediately – technology-based legal disputes notoriously take years if not decades to resolve – but it would inhibit customer engagement and accelerate a transition to alternatives such as AI-forward architectures with RISC-V processors used for house-keeping.
And there is much at stake for Arm: Qualcomm’s revenue is one thing but more importantly is the idea of Arm as a benign third-party supplier of processor IP for many.
Read More »Arm vs. Qualcomm Marks the End of an Era
With this “Anatomy of Software” Panel, we zoomed in on the “S” in “SDV”.
