Why Our Machines Will Never Be as Smart as We Are
By Girish Mhatre
What’s at stake?
Some foresee the advent of a maliciously motivated superintelligence. Don’t worry – it’s not going to happen. Strong AI is a myth.
Featured
TSMC in the Running for European Chips Act Funding
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is engaged in intense negotiations with the EU to build a fab in Europe, according to European industry sources.
The development places TSMC solidly back in the running for European Chips Act (ECA) funding.
Read More »TSMC in the Running for European Chips Act Funding
China Seen Outspending U.S. in R&D by 2025
What’s at stake?
China’s astounding R&D investments over the last two decades place it in direct competition with the United States, where declining federal investments are partially shored up by rising corporate R&D. The research sweepstakes represents the front lines of the global competition to lead in science and technology innovation.
ST Doubles Down on Internal Chip Production
By Bolaji Ojo
What’s at stake?
STMicroelectronics has driven a stake into the heart of speculation it may become a fabless enterprise. With plans to sharply jack up capex and add to its fabs, ST breathes new life into the IDM model as supply constraints and geopolitical concerns continue to alter the dynamics of the semiconductor industry.
PreAct Going Close-Up to Cut Lidar Cost
What’s at stake?
Elon Musk once famously called lidars a “fool’s errand,” a claim that has yet to be entirely disproven. Despite their high-precision performance advantages, lidars remain too costly to become an indispensable sensing modality in ADAS. Against the odds, a startup called PreAct sees a volume opportunity for “dirt-cheap” near-field lidars, not the long- or medium-range lidars most other players are pursuing.
MEMS Microspeakers Target ‘Smart’ Hearables
By Rebecca Day
What’s at stake?
The nascent “hearables” sector will require small, low-power devices along with expanded edge computing capacity. Bosch is betting emerging MEMS technology will help fit the bill.
Podcast: China’s EV/AV Sectors on a Roll
Our guest on this episode is Tu Le, founder and managing director of Sino Auto Insights, a Beijing-based “innovation and management” consulting firm.
Read More »Podcast: China’s EV/AV Sectors on a Roll
RISC-V Beyond Embedded: How Many Cores Will It Take?
What’s at stake?
The momentum behind RISC-V is well-known. But the market penetration of the RISC-V cores is harder to pin down. Reportedly, there’s a RISC-V core in every earbud. But will the core ever grow up to be a full-fledged smartphone processor, on par with an Arm-based apps processor?
So, how many RISC-V cores did the semiconductor industry ship in 2021?
That’s a basic question to ask about RISC-V’s commercial success.
Read More »RISC-V Beyond Embedded: How Many Cores Will It Take?
GM, Red Hat Join Forces on Auto OS
By George Leopold
General Motors and IBM-owned Red Hat announced this week they are collaborating on an in-vehicle operating system that would provide safety certification for GM’s Ultifi software platform while facilitating over-the-air software updates for connected vehicles.
Read More »GM, Red Hat Join Forces on Auto OS
Nvidia Accelerates China’s Transition From EVs to AVs
By Junko Yoshida
What’s at stake?
China achieved dominance in EVs by sewing up the battery supply chain. Will Chinese carmakers also command the global AV market, or will they be beholden to SoC platforms developed by Western semiconductor suppliers?