By Junko Yoshida

What’s at stake:
Carmakers see a big opportunity for software-defined vehicles and subscription-based services that “update” and “upgrade” vehicles after purchase. Can OEMs justify lifetime software support for their vehicles’ safety and security, or will third-party repair services pop up to magically fix complex machine-learning based software problems? Or will carmakers simply limit production and shorten a model’s lifespan, leaving many perfectly operative used cars – lacking safety software updates – in the junkyard?

By Junko Yoshida

What’s at stake:
As a slew of power electronics semiconductor companies pour billions of dollars into silicon carbide (SiC) production, Bosch, the German automotive Tier One, is making clear its intention to crash the SiC party. But why would Bosch want to come to the U.S., rather than building a resilient SiC supply chain in Germany?

Bosch this week announced plans to acquire assets of the U.S. chip manufacturer TSI Semiconductors in Roseville, Calif. The deal would convert TSI facilities currently offering a full range of logic CMOS process technologies into a U.S. manufacturing site. There, the German company would produce SiC chips on 200-millimeter wafers starting in 2026.

But what’s behind Bosch’s move?

By Junko Yoshida

What’s at stake:
Chips going inside data centers are one of the fastest growing market segments. Big guns like Nvidia, AMD and Intel are all making some progress while Marvell is betting on its Compute and Custom” strategy. Does the company stand a chance?   

Last week, Marvell Technology announced that it has demonstrated the industry’s first 3nm data infrastructure silicon.

By Junko Yoshida

What’s at stake:
For a long time, spending on security was never a priority for most IoT/embedded system vendors. Their rationale: Why spend money to prepare their devices for events that rarely happen? However, as an onslaught of cybersecurity regulation looms on the horizon, complacency is a risky option.

“Cybersecurity does not help sell IoT products,” Colin Duggan, CEO & cofounder of BG Networks, recently told us. He added that getting companies to make the commitment to IoT cybersecurity “is more difficult than it sounds.”

This has been true despite serious cases of damage done by insecure connected systems.

By Junko Yoshida

What’s at stake:
In contrast to most MCU suppliers in the world, Sony has not built its own IoT developers’ community. Sony’s angle is, however, its technology prowess in image sensors. Will the Raspberry Pi community fill the gap for Sony? 

Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corp. this week revealed it invested an undisclosed sum in Raspberry Pi Ltd., the trading arm of Raspberry Pi Foundation.

This marks the first investment in Raspberry Pi by a semiconductor company, confirmed Eben Upton, Raspberry Pi’s CEO.

By Junko Yoshida

What’s at stake:
“Saving lives” on roads shouldn’t be a pie-in-the-sky ‘vision’ owned by companies pushing self-driving cars. To save lives today, we need something far more earthbound: stop people from drinking and driving. Can in-vehicle alcohol detection systems freshly mandated in the U.S. address the problem, and will consumers cooperate?

Throwing technologies at social problems has always been a tricky proposition.