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Commentary / Analysis

• Shifting Sands in Silicon by Global Supply Chains (Monday Apr. 21, 2025)
  The global semiconductor manufacturing sector, the invisible engine powering the digital age, is undergoing a profound transformation marked by surging demand for artificial intelligence, intensifying competition among processor architectures, and a concerted effort to reshape intricate international supply chains.
  
  
• New Breakthroughs in China's RISC-V Chip Industry (Monday Apr. 21, 2025)
  Recently, RIVAI officially unveiled its next-generation high-performance processor, Lingyu, in Qianhai, Shenzhen.
  
  
• ASML targeted in latest round of US tariffs (Thursday Apr. 17, 2025)
  European and Japanese suppliers of semiconductor equipment are set to be targeted in the next round of tariffs by the US.
  
  
• Gartner Says Worldwide Semiconductor Revenue Grew 21% in 2024 (Tuesday Apr. 15, 2025)
  Worldwide semiconductor revenue totaled $655.9 billion in 2024, up 21% from $542.1 billion in 2023, according to final results by Gartner, Inc. NVIDIA climbed to the No. 1 position, overtaking Samsung Electronics and Intel for the first time.
  
  
• Why Do Hyperscalers Design Their Own CPUs? (Monday Apr. 14, 2025)
  U.S. hyperscalers like AWS, Google and Microsoft have designed their own CPUs for the data center in recent years, investing hundreds of millions of dollars into their own chip designs. All these CPUs are based on Arm. But with other options on the market, what motivates these companies to spend the time and money on building their own silicon?
  
  
• Beware of the Open-Source Licensing Gap (Monday Apr. 14, 2025)
  Two decades ago, Cisco, a global leader in networking and telecommunications equipment, acquired Linksys, a company that developed routers using embedded software. What started out as a routine acquisition developed into a cautionary tale of open-source compliance. Unbeknownst to Cisco, Linksys included open-source components licensed under the General Public License (GPL).
  
  
• Arm Powers Software-Defined Vehicle Revolution (Monday Apr. 14, 2025)
  Arm is enabling the automotive industry’s shift through its foundational compute technologies
  
  
• Analysts question TSMC-Intel JV plan (Monday Apr. 07, 2025)
  Financial analysts have poured cold water on the proposal for TSMC to run Intel’s fabs in a jv.
  
  
• Global Semiconductor Sales Increase 17.1% Year-to-Year in February (Monday Apr. 07, 2025)
  SIA today announced global semiconductor sales were $54.9 billion during the month of February 2025, an increase of 17.1% compared to the February 2024 total of $46.9 billion and 2.9% less than the January 2025 total of $56.5 billion.
  
  
• Will RISC-V reduce auto MCU's future risk? (Monday Apr. 07, 2025)
  
  
  
• Silicon Photonics and Co-Packaged Optics Shine a Light at OFC 2025 (Monday Apr. 07, 2025)
  The 2025 Optical Fiber Communications Conference, or OFC 2025, took place this week in San Francisco, Calif., amid the excitement of optical networking being one part of the solution to solving the many facets of AI compute bottlenecks.
  
  
• Intel brings 3nm production to Europe in 2025 (Monday Mar. 31, 2025)
  Intel is shifting high volume production of 3nm chips to Europe at its Fab34 in Ireland later this year.
  
  
• Qualcomm initiates global anti-trust complaint about Arm (Thursday Mar. 27, 2025)
  Qualcomm has initiated anti-competitive complaints against Arm in the US, Korea and Europe, reports Bloomberg.
  
  
• Strategies for Addressing More Complex Custom Chip Design (Monday Mar. 24, 2025)
  Unprecedented growth and demand for edge computing and high-performance computing (HPC) is creating new opportunities and significant challenges for custom chips. We spoke to Sondrel CEO Oliver Jones to discuss some of the approaches to addressing these needs.
  
  
• SoCs Get a Helping Hand from AI Platform FlexGen (Monday Mar. 24, 2025)
  FlexGen, a network-on-chip (NoC) interconnect IP, is aiming to accelerate SoC creation by leveraging AI.
  
  
• Global Top 10 IC Design Houses See 49% YoY Growth in 2024, NVIDIA Commands Half the Market, Says TrendForce (Thursday Mar. 20, 2025)
  TrendForce reveals that the combined revenue of the world’s top 10 IC design houses reached approximately US$249.8 billion in 2024, marking a 49% YoY increase.
  
  
• China Bets on Homegrown Chip Tech With RISC-V Push (Monday Mar. 17, 2025)
  Beijing intensifies promotion of open-source architecture amid semiconductor tensions
  
  
• The Case for Hardware-Assisted Verification in Complex SoCs (Monday Mar. 17, 2025)
  Synopsys recently launched two new hardware-assisted verification (HAV) systems, intended to address the need for specialized hardware to manage the complexity of modern chip design. In this article, we look at the rationale for HAV and look into the two new systems.
  
  
• Intel's New CEO Called "Strong Choice" to Respin Company (Thursday Mar. 13, 2025)
  Intel’s new CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, is a good choice to turn the struggling U.S. chipmaker around, according to analysts who spoke to EE Times.
  
  
• How AI Will Define the Next Silicon Supercycle (Monday Mar. 10, 2025)
  Silicon technologies define the billions of devices we use today, as well as powering solutions in the data center and cloud that are vital for processing in the age of AI.
  
  
• Arm vs. Qualcomm: The Legal Tussle Continues (Tuesday Mar. 04, 2025)
  Arm and Qualcomm's legal battle intensifies with new lawsuits and chip design plans. Stay updated on this complex tech saga.
  
  
• Interview with Xiphera CEO - Adapting to Market Changes (Wednesday Feb. 26, 2025)
  The security IP industry is undergoing major changes, driven by ongoing consolidation. In this evolving market, Xiphera - an independent European security IP vendor with an extensive portfolio - remains a Finnish company committed to delivering optimised solutions for the full spectrum of customers’ security needs.
  
  
• Semiconductor Industry Faces a Seismic Shift (Wednesday Feb. 26, 2025)
  Intel’s potential sale and split, Arm’s own chip, supply chain geopolitics, and Europe’s ambitions
  
  
• Intel in advanced talks to sell Altera to Silverlake (Thursday Feb. 20, 2025)
  Intel is reported by Bloomberg to be at an advanced stage in exclusive negotiations to sell a majority stake in its FPGA unit Altera to private equity fund Silverlake Partners.
  
  
• TSMC Will Not Take Over Intel Operations, Observers Say (Monday Feb. 17, 2025)
  TSMC will not take over the chipmaking operations of struggling U.S. rival Intel, according to industry analysts.
  
  
• ARM signs Meta as first chip product customer, says report (Monday Feb. 17, 2025)
  ARM has signed Meta Platforms Inc., formerly Facebook, as its first customer for a chip product as it transitions from being only a licensor of chip IP, according to the Financial Times.
  
  
• Worldwide Silicon Wafer Shipments and Revenue Start Recovery in Late 2024, SEMI Reports (Thursday Feb. 13, 2025)
  In the second half of 2024, worldwide silicon wafer demand started to recover from the industry downcycle seen in 2023, the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG) reported in its year-end analysis of the silicon wafer industry.
  
  
• Could Thomas Caulfield lead Intel or a merged Intel-GloFo? (Wednesday Feb. 12, 2025)
  Speculation has started to circulate that Thomas Caulfield, CEO of Globalfoundries Inc., could be set to replace Pat Gelsinger as permanent CEO of struggling chip giant Intel.
  
  
• Semiconductor Giants Navigate AI Boom & Trade War (Wednesday Feb. 12, 2025)
  The semiconductor industry, a critical engine of the global economy, is currently undergoing a complex transformation, driven by the explosive boom of artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing. However, the industry also faces macroeconomic uncertainties and evolving geopolitical swifts.
  
  
• OpenAI to tape-out on TSMC 3nm this year (Wednesday Feb. 12, 2025)