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electric vehicle software

Automakers Accelerate Shift Toward EV, Software Prowess

By Junko Yoshida

What’s at stake?
A lingering chip shortage has given semiconductor makers the upper hand for now with car manufacturers. But the changing profile of the auto industry, whose work force is increasingly IT-savvy, is transforming the way traditional automotive chip suppliers design devices. Qualcomm, Mobileye and Nvidia remain the leaders in big-brain chips for next-generation vehicles, leaving others like NXP and Renesas scrambling to redefine their roles in the EV/ADAS market. 

Evident at the recent Electronica show in Munich was a shift in the balance of power between automotive OEMs and semiconductor suppliers.

Read More »Automakers Accelerate Shift Toward EV, Software Prowess
5G satellite communications

Can Your 5G Handset Talk via Satellites?

By Ron Wilson

What’s at stake?
Major efforts are underway to build low-earth-orbit satellites that act as 5G base stations, communicating directly with conventional 5G handsets. Can this scheme work technically? And if so, can industry and governments sort out the labyrinth of business and regulatory issues it would create?

Imagine that your 5G smartphone would work anywhere—not just in the urban corridors where non-standalone 5G has been deployed today, but in rural villages, in the middle of nowhere, on planes, at sea: around the world. That vision is included within the international wireless standards body 3GPP’s recent Release 16. And it is the subject of accelerating research—and competition—among 5G technology suppliers and satellite communications providers.

Read More »Can Your 5G Handset Talk via Satellites?
Arm vs. Qualcomm

Arm’s Qualcomm Lawsuit Is Just About Money, Right?

By Mike Feibus

What’s at stake?
Arm filed late August a lawsuit against Qualcomm Inc. and Nuvia, Inc. for breach of license agreements and trademark Infringement. But the lawsuit might not be as straightforward as it first appeared. At stake here is a new Arm processor developed by Qualcomm for laptops, which leverages technology innovated by Nuvia, now owned by Qualcomm. So, here’s the billion-dollar question: why is Arm — with the prospect of collecting royalties for each of Qaulcomm’s performance-packed processors — suing to prevent Qualcomm from making the chips?

Read More »Arm’s Qualcomm Lawsuit Is Just About Money, Right?
CEO Roundtable at Electronica

Semiconductor CEOs Embrace New Geopolitical ‘Normal’

By Bolaji Ojo

What’s at stake:
Western chipmakers see some justifications and benefits arising from U.S. restrictions on technology exports to China. Cutting off access to advanced manufacturing equipment, they said, would limit China’s ability to innovate in areas such as new chip materials.

Western semiconductor executives may worry over the decoupling of the global economy as a result of geopolitical tensions between U.S.-allied nations and China, but they are not averse to benefiting from the imbroglio.

Read More »Semiconductor CEOs Embrace New Geopolitical ‘Normal’
Chips for lives, a keynote speech by Frans Van Houten, a former CEO of Philips

‘Ugly Truth’ About the Medical Chip Shortage

By Junko Yoshida

What’s at stake?
The roles semiconductor technologies play in the future of medical science and software-defined vehicles are huge. Still, chipmakers are not addressing the continued chip shortage faced by medical technology suppliers and healthcare providers.

While chip shortages affecting the automotive sector get most of the media attention, a retired industry executive warns that a lack of components used in medical devices has real-life consequences.

Read More »‘Ugly Truth’ About the Medical Chip Shortage
Chinese lidar company Hesai's point cloud image

Lidar Market Upheaval: Who’s Next for M&A?

By Junko Yoshida

What’s at stake?
Lidar startups that developed new and innovative technologies once appeared to be ushering in the robotaxi era. But the automotive industry’s demands, coupled with geopolitics, have transformed the market, forcing lidar startups to fight for survival. Who should merge with whom, and which companies are acquisition targets?  

Ouster and Velodyne are the first two lidar companies to announce a merger among a wave of anticipated consolidations. The pair declared they were joining forces in early November.

Read More »Lidar Market Upheaval: Who’s Next for M&A?
Xi Jinping meets Joe Biden

Dire Straits: China Moves Hastening TSMC’s Geo-Diversification

By George Leopold

What’s at stake:
Will a military crisis in Taiwan “decouple” global semiconductor supply chains?

Perhaps no other facet of the global economy is as dependent on a handful of companies as is the strategic semiconductor industry, historian Chris Miller notes in his new book, Chip War. The prime examples include foundry giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and the Netherlands’ ASML, which builds all of the market’s extreme-ultraviolet manufacturing equipment.

Read More »Dire Straits: China Moves Hastening TSMC’s Geo-Diversification
IBM 2nm process

Dissecting Rapidus, Japan’s Shiny New Chip Project

By Junko Yoshida

When Japan announced late last week a national project to launch a semiconductor company dubbed Rapidus, backed by the country’s biggest companies in partnership with IBM, I suspect I was not alone when I groaned, “Not again.”

Many understand that Japan loves ambitious long-term R&D projects. These national initiatives provide a pretext for ministry officials to goad Japanese corporations into pooling their resources to create new technologies. The point is to keep Japan competitive in advanced technologies.

Read More »Dissecting Rapidus, Japan’s Shiny New Chip Project
Eliyan founders (from left): Syrus Ziai, Ramin Farjadrad, Patrick Soheili

Eliyan Goes Do-or-Die with Die-to-Die Interface Technology

By Junko Yoshida.

What’s at stake?
Chiplets are emerging as the go-to technology for advanced SoCs designed for AI accelerator, data center and cloud computing applications. Despite years of implementation, these chiplets still face many challenges, including interconnect interfaces and protocols, packaging and quality control. Startup Eliyan is confident it has a technology that helps chipmakers overcome those hurdles.

Read More »Eliyan Goes Do-or-Die with Die-to-Die Interface Technology