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Vicor Puts Pedal to Metal for 48V EV Power Systems

Vicor Puts Pedal to Metal for 48V EV Power Systems

By Bolaji Ojo

What’s at stake:

Vicor has been in the power electronics market long enough to know when a new and potentially large market opportunity has emerged. This year, the company is going all out with plans to explore opportunities in the auto industry as it finally embarks on the planned rollout of its 48V power systems for electric vehicles. It’s a new area for the company, but it is leveraging 48V technology and expertise it has in-house and which it has offered in other hard and tough environments where reliability and durability are standard requirements. We talk with CMO David Krakauer about Vicor’s roots in power, its 48V offerings for EVs and how it plans to win over auto OEMs and tier-ones.

Vicor Corp. first made the announcement of its entrance into the automotive power market late last year, rolling out already certified 48V EV products and recognizing with the move a distinct change occurring in the electrification of electric vehicles.

The three products, which Vicor said it planned to roll out in 2025 to “support automotive OEM and tier one production” mark the company’s attempt to match some of its existing products and technologies with the growing demand for a different level of electrification systems for EVs.

In a press release, Patrick Walden, head of the company’s automotive business, noted that the new BCM6135, DCM3735 and PRM3735 which Vicor announced in October had already completed “the production part approval process with automotive customers.” What remains was for Vicor – starting in 2025 – to show it can be as critical a supply chain player in the power automotive industry as it is in aerospace, computing, defense, and industrial equipment.

It is now 2025 and Vicor is on a roll as promised. We caught up with David Krakauer, head of marketing and channel strategy, at Electronica in Munich late last year as the company was getting its 48V power systems ready for market. Krakauer promised the plan was all set for 2025. He also provided some insight into Vicor’s history and explained how the company was leveraging its strength in other markets as it powered into the automotive segment. Click the video link below to watch the interview.

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Designing AI Chips is Hard – Can AI help?

Designing AI Chips is Hard – Can AI help?

By Bolaji Ojo

What’s at stake:

The chips design world ran into a new thicket with the emergence of artificial intelligence as a serious area of product interest for semiconductors companies and systems’ makers. But designing AI chips isn’t quite the same as designing chips for SoCs, says industry veteran Moshe Zalcberg. Interestingly, he notes, the problems engineers encounter designing AI chips can also be solved by AI. But is the industry at that point now?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer the stuff of fables. It is here, happening all around us even if it hasn’t reached the striking magical levels of sci-fi movies. It will get there someday, though, observers note. But getting there will require copious amounts of high-end chips, memory, connectors and advanced processes.

Moshe Zalcberg as CEO of Veriest has been involved for years in chips design and chips verification. In a discussion with the Ojo-Yoshida Report, Zalcberg noted that designing and verifying AI chips will be faster if the industry can master the art of using AI to exponentially improve the processes. In essence, artificial intelligence can supply the intelligence and brute muscle required for AI to reach its full potential.

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DeepSeek: Stop the Panic

DeepSeek: Stop the Panic

By Bolaji Ojo

What’s at stake:

DeepSeek nearly sank Nvidia and other AI model players. Except DeepSeek itself is barely known by anyone, its true story still a mystery, and the likely impact on the artificial intelligence market undetermined. It won’t be the last enterprise to put a dent on the AI market, however, according to Market Traction’s Steve Carr who says many more such surprises are waiting in the wings, both in the West and in China.

The race for leadership of the artificial intelligence market got scrambled last week. The debut of China’s DeepSeek AI model sparked a selling frenzy on Wall Street as spooked investors dumped Nvidia and other AI-related stocks. The implications of DeepSeek’s platform are not clear, however. Not enough is known about how it was developed, meaning a full assessment of its market implications are months away.

What is clear is that DeepSeek’s AI model isn’t a result of any mega innovation in semiconductor or software processing, considering the Chinese company is leveraging resources from other models, including ChatGPT, and depended on chips from Nvidia Corp., the market’s leading vendor of AI semiconductors. This doesn’t take away from the disruptive effects DeepSeek has had on the market already, though. Other questions were raised in a webcast discussion with Steve Carr, founder of Markettraction.io and TalkingIoT.

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Eloy: The Future of Automotive is being Created in China

Eloy: The Future of Automotive is being Created in China

By Bolaji Ojo

Jean-Christophe Eloy has been closely involved in the electronics and semiconductor industries for several decades, during which period the founder and CEO of the Yole Group has observed a handful of transitions in the sector.

Another one is taking place now, according to Eloy, who says the current transformation of the technology world is multifaceted and deeper than previous ones because it encompasses most segments of the global economy. To further complicate the situation, the industry is also trying to wrangle down the disruptive impacts of geopolitical disputes and the uncertainties associated with the applications, investments and access to innovations in artificial intelligence, he noted.

In a webcast interview with editors of the Ojo-Yoshida Report, Eloy explored diverse topics of interest to the industry, ranging from AI to the increasing role of China in the semiconductor supply chain and the outlook for leading players like Nvidia and TSMC. He also delved into the fractious issue of how Taiwan’s relationship with China and the West will be resolved, suggesting that he sees a peaceful, negotiated resolution that while not pleasing to everyone would still be acceptable on a longer-term basis.

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GM Rips Away The Cruise 'Band-Aid'

GM Rips Away the Cruise ‘Band-Aid’

We got Phil Koopman, professor at Carnegie Mellon University, and Bryan Reimer, research scientist, as our podcast guests to discuss how GM’s decision to end its Cruise experiment affects the future of ADAS, robotaxis and personal autonomous vehicles (PAV).

A Come-to-De Geus Semiconductor Moment

Aart de Geus, executive chair, founder of Synopsys Inc, recipient of the 2024 SIA Robert Noyce Award, discusses industry-wide “waves” that have changed the world. He shares with us where technology developments in the computational age will take us.