We Launch Weekly SDV Video Podcast Series
Episode 1 opens the series with a comprehensive overview of Software-Defined Vehicles on May 29
Featured
Could SoftBank’s Son Kill Arm with His AI Vision?
By Peter Clarke
What’s at stake:
Arm, founded in 1990, more or less invented the business model of licensing circuits and computing architectures as intellectual property. It achieved success in what were then new, embedded markets, such as mobile phones, industrial and automotive electronics. The Arm architecture is now penetrating servers, AI, PCs and high-performance computing. But all is at risk if SoftBank insists on using Arm to compete with customers such as Nvidia. That is unless you consider Arm’s licensing business model will soon be on the wane due to a flight to RISC-V.
Nikkei reported last week that Arm Holdings plc is planning to set up an AI chip division and have an AI processor on sale in the Fall of 2025. And that this would be the behest of majority shareholder SoftBank Group and its CEO Masayoshi Son.
Arm has not previously sought to compete with its licensees and its independence was always seen as a strength. If SoftBank insists on indulging in vision-driven tinkering with the Arm business model, it could hasten the rise of the open-source, extensible RISC-V ISA as the go-to alternative to Arm.
Read More »Could SoftBank’s Son Kill Arm with His AI Vision?
Can Machines Outsmart Human Mischief?
What’s at stake:
Automation sits at a pivotal intersection between men and machines. Developing automated systems that don’t aggravate consumers is an art not yet perfected. Since the debacle of Amazon’s cashierless checkout systems, the new entrant in this game is Grabango, a startup with different technologies.
Automation has always been a double-edged sword.
On one hand, automation is a priority for most corporations who strive to lower their operational costs, efforts for which they expect to be richly rewarded by Wall Street.
Some consumers who want to associate with the “cool factor” of autonomous vehicles, smart homes, or barcode checkout systems at the supermarket also welcome automation.
On the other hand, automation also makes people suspicious.
Read More »Can Machines Outsmart Human Mischief?
The Bastard Art of Thinking like a Machine
When confused by technology, it might help — and cost less — to switch back to human-mode
Wait! Wasn’t AEB Already Solved?
What’s at stake:
Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) is a safety function already enabled by robotaxis. It’s also in the ADAS package featured in many new vehicles. So, how come carmakers are suddenly worried about complying with requirements – both on deadline and performance – newly mandated by NHTSA?
The Autonomous Vehicle (AV) industry has long spun the fairy tale that fully automated vehicles, just around the corner, will start saving people’s lives in droves.
But it’s 2024 now and that corner is not in sight.
Meanwhile, in another hitch for the automotive industry, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has handed down a final mandate for automatic emergency braking (AEB) in all passenger cars and light trucks by September 2029.
Read More »Wait! Wasn’t AEB Already Solved?
Microsoft, Data Centers and the AI Paradox
Taking a page from Bitcoin miners constantly seeking cheaper power sources, Microsoft Corp.’s planned $3.3 billion investment in Wisconsin represents the next wave of data center expansion driven by generative AI.
The massive project, which is also being promoted as a jobs creator, is nevertheless bound to strain power grids already groaning under the weight of surging electricity demand.
With data center hubs like Northern Virginia approaching full capacity, and quickly running short of power, Microsoft and other hyperscale cloud providers are eyeing new locations away from the coasts as electricity demand soars. The rise of generative AI and the resulting explosion of new server farms required to handle large-language models are expected to drive demand for electricity through the roof.
Read More »Microsoft, Data Centers and the AI Paradox
China EV Road Trip & Beijing Auto Show
Tu Le, Sino Auto Insights’ founder, assessing Xpeng’s EV on a 1,500 mile road trip, wonders how much Elon Musk can charge for Tesla’s FSD when many Chinese vehicles with similar ADAS systems are already on the road. He shares insights from the recent Beijing Auto Show.
Western Car OEMs’ New Motto: ‘Copy China’
By Junko Yoshida
What’s at stake:
Why are incumbent automakers flocking to China? Gaining a share in China – now the world’s largest automotive market – is an obvious reason. But there’s another, bigger reason. They want Chinese partners.
Auto OEMs in the West know they need the nimbleness and daring necessary to build cars at a 12-18-month design cycle, faster than the current cycle of several years.
In short, they want to copy China.
Read More »Western Car OEMs’ New Motto: ‘Copy China’
This Semiconductor Market ‘Recovery’ Is Uneven and Crash Prone
By Bolaji Ojo
What’s at stake:
Questions are being raised about the strength and viability of the current semiconductor market upturn. One analyst says he’s not certain a recovery is even taking place. Why? Unit shipments, which lead the typical cyclical upturn, are down. Sales at some companies keep dropping, while rising at others. This means the capex budgets of the last several years may be based on a false growth premise.
If a semiconductor market recovery is taking place right now, it must be the oddest upturn the industry has seen in its 60-plus years.
Veterans of the industry might, in fact, be forgiven for thinking the chips market has become unmoored from the fundamentals of its cycles. Unit shipments are down, inventories remain stubbornly high while average selling prices (ASP) are up. These facts do not align properly and are indicators of a market in data crisis.
Read More »This Semiconductor Market ‘Recovery’ Is Uneven and Crash Prone
Dig Deeper on Sustainable Manufacturing: Actions, Not Words
Junko Yoshida and George Leopold, host The Ojo-Yoshida Report’s Dig Deeper series on sustainable semiconductor manufacturing, assessing the prospects for reducing the chip industry’s carbon footprint.