The Circuit

In this episode of The Circuit, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg are joined by Scott Best to discuss cryptography. They explore the origins of cryptography, including Scott's personal journey and early experiences with decoding secret messages. They also delve into the practical applications of cryptography in everyday life, such as secure web browsing and firmware updates. Scott explains the concept...

Nvidia briefly became the most valuable company in the world by market cap, surpassing Apple. This milestone highlights Nvidia's dominance in the semiconductor industry and its position as a leading company in AI computing. However, there are concerns about the sustainability of Nvidia's growth and the disconnect between its stock performance and the dynamics of the company itself. The platformiza...

Apple announced Apple intelligence, integrating AI in a very Apple way. They are focusing on on-device AI to align with their privacy philosophy. The features are only available on the most recent Apple Silicon iPhone pro and newer models. The implementation of AI is focused on useful feature-centric applications rather than general AI. Apple's infrastructure play with their own data centers and A...

Computex has evolved into an important tech trade show, with a focus on gaming, GPUs, and components for gaming and PCs. The show has seen a shift towards data center components and AI servers, which have become a significant category. AMD and Intel are both making chips for AI PCs, with AMD leading in NPU tops. Qualcomm's Snapdragon is ahead in performance, spooking other vendors. The PC landscap...

With Special guests, Austin Lyons and Paul Karazuba!  The conversation covers the topic of NPUs (Neural Processing Units) and delves into their architecture, performance, and relevance in the semiconductor industry. The discussion also addresses the use of tops per watt as a metric for NPU performance and the design origins of NPUs, including the use of licensed IP and the evolution from DSPs to N...

In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the recent Google I/O event and the introduction of new TPUs and CPUs. They also explore the ARM architecture in the data center and the potential for switching between different ARM CPUs. Additionally, they touch on Qualcomm's launch of Windows on ARM and the significant adoption of Qualcomm SKUs by major OEMs. The conversation covers various...

In this episode of The Circuit, Ben Bajarin interviews Esam Elashmawi, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer of Lattice, about the world of Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). They discuss the basics of FPGAs, their unique capabilities, and their pervasiveness across various applications. They also explore the advantages of FPGAs over Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) and the fle...

In this episode of The Circuit, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg interview Aart de Geus, the executive chair and co-founder of Synopsys, about the semiconductor industry and the evolution of electronic design automation (EDA). They discuss the concept of EDA and how it allows designers to simulate and optimize circuits without physically building them. Aart de Geus highlights the shift from analog to...

In this episode of The Circuit, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the latest developments in the semiconductor industry, focusing on the sectors of data centers, PCs, mobile, automotive, and industrial semiconductors. They analyze the performance of companies like Intel, AMD, Nvidia, Apple, Qualcomm, and NXP, and explore the factors influencing their success or challenges. The conversation high...

Summary In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the skyrocketing capex by cloud hyper scalers and its implications. They explore the significant growth in capex spending by companies like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon, and the connection between capex and revenue growth. They also discuss the challenges of monetizing AI investments and the need for clear consumer use cases. The conve...

Episode Summary The recent downturn in semiconductor and AI-related stocks has sparked concerns about a bubble. The volatility in these stocks can be attributed to the unpredictability of retail investors and traders. The market is experiencing a correction, but it does not indicate a slowdown in AI. The hype around AI has been tempered by the realization that progress is slower than expected. The...

This episode of The Circuit discusses the recent trend of companies developing their own custom CPUs and accelerators for AI workloads. Google, Amazon, and Microsoft have all announced their own custom chips, while Facebook and Marvell are also entering the custom chip market. The conversation also touches on the challenges and trade-offs of custom silicon, the impact on NVIDIA, and the difficulty...

Summary In this conversation, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the recent Intel webinar on the foundry business and the financial breakout for Intel Foundry Services (IFS). They analyze the financial details, including the higher costs and lower margins than expected, and the potential for improvement in the future. They also discuss the impact of the CHIPS Act and the subsidies received by TS...

In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the competition faced by Nvidia in the semiconductor industry. They explore various competitors, including AMD, Intel, and startups like Grok, Etched, and Cerebras. They also delve into the threat posed by custom silicon and the strategies of hyperscalers like Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and Amazon. Overall, the conversation highlights the cha...

Nvidia's recent keynote highlighted their dominance in the data center and their position as a platform company. They offer a full stack solution and are recognized for their sum of the parts story. While some customers may be concerned about getting locked into Nvidia's ecosystem, many appreciate the simplicity and turnkey nature of their offerings. The importance of inference and the transition...

In this conversation, Ben Bajarin, Jay Goldberg, and Austin Lyons discuss the semiconductor industry and the role of AI accelerators. They cover topics such as the future of Intel, the spectrum of AI accelerators, the dominance of Nvidia in training, the failure of accelerator startups, and the debate between general-purpose and specialized accelerators. They also explore the issue of GPU bloat an...

In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the thermal problem faced by data centers and other electronic devices. They are joined by Carl Schlachte, the CEO of Ventiva, a company that provides innovative cooling solutions. The conversation covers the origin story of Ventiva, the challenges faced by the company, and the unique technology they offer. They also discuss the traditional coo...

Summary In this episode of The Circuit, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the infrastructure side of telecom at Mobile World Congress. They highlight the importance of the show for telecom operators and the focus on networking and telecom infrastructure. The conversation covers the current state of 5G deployment and the upcoming transition to 6G. They also discuss the challenges and concerns in...

Summary This episode of The Circuit discusses the recent Intel Foundry event and Nvidia's earnings. The conversation explores Intel's focus on becoming a leading foundry and its bet on advanced packaging. The hosts also discuss concerns about Intel's culture and execution, as well as the response from TSMC. The episode concludes with predictions about the future of the market and the role of Intel...

Summary In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the puzzle of Intel foundries and the challenges of determining their revenue. They explore historical economics data points and the exit zone for leading-edge fabs. They analyze the revenue and financial projections for Intel Foundry Services (IFS) and the need for external customers. They also discuss the long-term outlook for IFS and...

Summary The conversation discusses Sam Altman's plan to raise $7 trillion for semiconductors and the potential challenges and motivations behind it. It explores the idea of negotiation and leaked stories as part of the process. The conversation also delves into the simultaneous demand for compute in both hardware and software industries and the need for breakthroughs in technology. It highlights t...

Summary In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the outsized expectations for AI growth and the impact on stock market reactions. They explore the challenges of modeling AI growth and the difficulty of charging more for AI features. They also discuss the potential for AI to accelerate refreshment cycles and the importance of realistic expectations. The conversation highlights the sma...

Summary In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss Intel's recent earnings call and the challenges the company is facing. They analyze the guidance provided by Intel and the concerns raised by investors. The conversation also delves into Intel's core businesses, including the consumer and data center groups, and the impact of competition from companies like Nvidia. The hosts explore Int...

Summary In this conversation, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the latest news and trends in the semiconductor industry, with a focus on TSMC's strong earnings and growth forecast. They explore the importance of AI in TSMC's business and the strong position of NVIDIA in the AI market. They also discuss the challenges of designing AI-first silicon and the need for differentiation in AI accelera...

Summary In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss their experience at CES and the presence of AI in various products. They explore the evolution of massage chairs and the AI wash in the industry. They also analyze the two tracks of AI at CES, with a more muted presence in big vendor booths and a greater focus in Eureka Park. The conversation delves into the role of AI in semiconductor...