By Bolaji Ojo

What’s at stake: The stakes for power semiconductor makers in the Edge AI market are immense, encompassing billions of dollars in potential revenue, leadership in technological innovation, and a pivotal role in shaping the future of intelligent, energy-efficient devices. Those who can deliver the most advanced, dependable, and sustainable solutions stand to define the next era of electronics.

Artificial intelligence has rapidly evolved from a futuristic concept to a transformative force reshaping every sector of the global economy. But while much of the early excitement around AI centered on massive data centers and cloud-based supercomputers, the focus in recent years has shifted toward the “edge,” the network’s frontier, where data is generated and decisions must be made instantly.

Edge AI, which refers to the deployment of AI models on local devices rather than in distant clouds, is favored to drive everything from smart cameras and autonomous vehicles to industrial robots and wearable health monitors. As the intelligence of these devices grows, however, so too does the complexity of their power requirements. The race is on among semiconductor manufacturers, device makers, and system integrators to deliver energy-efficient, high-performance solutions that will define the next era of intelligent technology.

Read More »Edge AI Hangs on Power: Can Chipmakers Meet Up?

Three companies currently dominate the EDA world, but some startups armed with AI are pushing in, creating unprecedented opportunities to challenge the established order.

By Bolaji Ojo

To Nvidia Corp. CEO Jensen Huang, all his company needs to wallop Chinese AI competitors and remain dominant in the communist nation is for America to remove restrictions on the shipment of advanced technologies to China.

He is wrong. Current American sales policy is not the biggest obstacle to the growth of Nvidia’s market share in China. Although Washington has slapped repeated restrictions on the export of advanced technologies to many competing nations, including China, the mere lifting of these sanctions will only exacerbate the challenges facing foreign tech companies in the country.

A deep dive into the dynamics of global commerce, military and geopolitical rivalries among the world’s leading national players will reveal a more complex portrait than can be explained by the simple narratives emerging from the current focus by analysts, industry executives and observers on export restrictions, tariffs and the imposition of stringent rules and regulations.

Read More »Nvidia Set to Step Into China’s Tech-Transfer Trap

By Peter Clarke

What’s at stake: GlobalFoundries has elevated its status as a major foundry by agreeing to acquire MIPS, buying out its investors. However, the move also complicates the foundry’s business model at a time when RISC-V licensing is struggling in an Arm- and AI-dominated market.

GlobalFoundries Inc. has agreed to buy San Jose, Calif.-based semiconductor IP vendor MIPS Tech LLC and a first reaction might be: “Why?”

The reasoning behind the deal does not seem straightforward and it is hard to assess without knowing the agreed price. But it does signify that with a semiconductor industry driven to an inflection point by AI, there is scope to re-evaluate business models, values, and opportunities.

That said, the deal has not come completely out of left field. MIPS has been aligned with GlobalFoundries for some time. GlobalFoundries has adopted and used MIPS’ processor cores’ manufacturing processes in its business, including in the industrial and automotive markets.

But is the agreed acquisition, which is due to close in the current half of the year, subject to customary cond[itions, a sign of broken business models or distress at one or both parties?

Read More »GlobalFoundries Deepens the Foundry-IP Conundrum with MIPS Deal

By Bolaji Ojo

What’s at stake: Electronics makers have so far succeeded in convincing President Donald Trump to spare them as he wages a war on America’s trading partners using the threats of tariffs on exports to the United States. With the chip market being such an integral part of the global economy, the tariffs will eventually impact the industry. Chipmakers concerned about the uncertainties resulting from the tariffs and tariff threats wonder if there is a permanent exit ramp for them.

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Donald Trump’s return to aggressive tariffs on other countries’ exports to America has reignited debate in the technology market with semiconductor executives wondering if or when the sector will be at the receiving end of punitive measures. Some say uncertainties trail their operations as they engage in hit-or-miss dodgeball maneuvers with America’s president.

Capital expenditure planning is taking a hit, according to industry observers. Although most chipmakers are focused on daily operational activities, decisions on long-term investments are being impacted by the cloudy outlook injected into the business by the tariff threats as well as growing unease about the geopolitical squabbles that have intensified in recent years.

With a new round of tariffs targeting semiconductors and related electronics, industry leaders, investors, and policymakers are asking: Will semiconductor suppliers find ways to dodge these tariffs, or is the global chip supply chain about to face a seismic shock?

Read More »Chipmakers May Evade Tariffs but Not the Full Effects

By Bolaji Ojo

What’s at stake: At stake in the memory market is control over the core technology powering AI, data centers, and next-gen devices, a segment worth nearly $200 billion this year. With soaring demand, rising Chinese competition, and geopolitical risks threatening the electronics supply chain, whoever leads in memory manufacturing will shape the future of tech innovation and global economic power.

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In the high-stakes world of technology, semiconductor memory has become the ultimate prize, with the industry’s titans and ambitious challengers vying for dominance in a market reshaped by AI, geopolitical maneuvering, and relentless innovation.

As the digital era’s backbone, memory chips are not just components but also strategic assets that have elevated their makers into the new role of power brokers of the global economy. We ask: How much power do they wield and how will this be used as demand from AI continues to skyrocket? Also, will these companies be able to avoid the reckless investments they’ve in the past done with disastrous impact on their operations?

Read More »AI Fuels the Memory Boom but Who’s Leading the Charge?

By Peter Clarke

What’s at stake: AI and RISC-V as drivers of commercial semiconductor activity have each been around for a dozen years or so. A lot of startups were formed to address these opportunities in the early years. However, it is often the established player that wins the market and venture capital does not have infinite patience. A reframing of the opportunities is triggering startup closures and more are likely to follow.

Business activity ebbs and flows in cycles while technology comes in waves.

The two are not unrelated. The mix of human herd-mentality, commerce and external factors such as politics, tend to modulate a repeated business cycle of about three to five years duration.

Meanwhile, academic progress based on previous technical achievements can produce a groundswell of activity often in the form of startups. These startups – or established players backing the same technology – can move the frontier forward, which in turns sets the context for consolidation and fresh academic investigations.

With that as a background, I sense we are at a turning point and that a broad shake out is about to happen in processor-based startups. This includes AI, RISC-V and more general processor activity. This is related, in part, to the maturity of the AI and RISC-V paradigms.

Read More »Startup Maturity Crash is Picking Up Speed

By Bolaji Ojo

What’s at stake: Renesas has thrown its weight fully behind gallium nitride and will be adding investments to the product line, while hitting pause on silicon carbide. Does this represent a trend rather than the decision of a single company to focus on a segment where it believes it has an edge? Renesas’ move favors the company, because it allows it to concentrate resources and product development efforts on GaN. The latest move raises the question of when and whether Renesas will reconsider SiC anytime soon.

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Renesas Electronics has sent a strong signal to the power semiconductor industry, announcing a major expansion of its gallium nitride (GaN) business only weeks after pausing its silicon carbide (SiC) operations.

The move underscores a rapidly shifting landscape in power electronics, where the rivalry between GaN and SiC is intensifying as both technologies vie for dominance in high-growth sectors like AI data centers, electric vehicles, and renewable energy.

Read More »Renesas’ Power IC Strategy Shift Puts the Spotlight on GaN