The silicon arms race: NVIDIA’s challengers, custom ASICs, memory bottlenecks and export-control fallout.
459 articles
Taiwanese prosecutors indicted a senior Nvidia manager in connection with an alleged scheme to smuggle advanced AI chips into China. The case represents Taiwan’s first known crackdown on the black-market trade in high-end AI accelerators.
Bloomberg Technology · 26d ago
Xiaomi has unveiled a broader 玄戒 AI chip product family. The company also announced a new wide-folding smartphone, expanding its AI hardware and device portfolio.
Ifanr (爱范儿) · 26d ago
Marvell agreed to issue Google warrants covering up to 58.97 million shares, largely tied to future sales of customized ASIC products. The arrangement is designed to deepen Marvell’s Google relationship and potentially challenge Broadcom’s long-standing position in Google’s TPU ecosystem, although near-term TPU core orders appear unlikely.
虎嗅 · 27d ago
Nvidia has reportedly notified major customers that servers containing its AI chips will become more than 15% more expensive in many cases. The increases are expected to apply to systems shipped early next year, including configurations using Vera Rubin and Grace Blackwell chips, amid soaring memory costs.
SCMP Technology · 28d ago
Some of Nvidia’s largest customers have been notified that prices for servers containing its AI chips will rise by more than 15% in many cases. The increases are being driven in part by sharply higher memory chip costs.
Bloomberg Technology · 28d ago
Zhongcheng Hualong has launched the HL200 inference chip and a supporting supernode computing-cluster solution. The chip delivers up to 4P FP4 performance, reaches 5.12 TFLOPS/W, and supports clusters scaling to 10,240 cards.
IT之家 · 28d ago
Broadcom is reportedly in talks to raise more than $60 billion in debt for an AI chip financing deal. The arrangement is expected to benefit Anthropic and other AI companies, though terms have not been finalized.
Bloomberg Technology · 29d ago
The UK government is helping fund promising AI chip startups to establish a domestic presence in the sector. The initiative reflects a broader effort to build local capabilities in strategically important AI hardware.
Bloomberg Technology · 29d ago
European governments are providing state subsidies to domestic frontier AI labs, software companies, and chipmakers. The effort reflects growing concern that Europe could miss the economic benefits of the AI boom.
Bloomberg Technology · 29d ago
Alibaba invested RMB 67.7 billion in AI-related spending during a single quarter, covering areas such as computing power, Alibaba Cloud, T-Head and full-stack AI. Chairman Wu Yongming reportedly expects the investment to pay back within three years.
钛媒体 · 29d ago
Japan will allocate an additional ¥150 billion ($944 million) to chip startup Rapidus. The funding supports Japan’s long-shot effort to compete with major manufacturers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
Bloomberg Technology · 29d ago
Nvidia is reportedly in early discussions with Korean AI chip designer Rebellions about a potential collaboration. Options under consideration include a technical partnership, investment, or possible acquisition.
Bloomberg Technology · 29d ago
Chinese AI companies are optimising software to handle growing inference demand while access to high-end Nvidia processors remains limited. Domestic chips can support some inference workloads, but complex coding tasks still depend partly on scarce Nvidia capacity.
SCMP Technology · 30d ago
AI chip startup Fractile is reportedly in advanced talks to secure a valuation above $6.5 billion. The discussions follow a supply agreement with Anthropic and would represent more than a sixfold increase from its May valuation.
Bloomberg Technology · 31d ago
Marvell Technology has granted Google the right to purchase up to $12.2 billion of Marvell shares as part of a custom-chip arrangement. Google will buy Marvell’s custom chips, and Marvell’s stock rose as much as 14% after the disclosure.
The Next Web (TNW) · 31d ago
Samsung reportedly increased prices for new orders using its 4nm, 5nm, and 8nm foundry processes in July. Price increases reportedly reach 15% for customers in China as AI demand fills available 4nm capacity.
Tom's Hardware · 31d ago
Marvell Technology and Google expanded their chip-development partnership. The agreement includes a warrant allowing Google to purchase up to $12.2 billion worth of Marvell shares.
Bloomberg Technology · 31d ago
Samsung Electronics has reportedly raised prices for some new advanced foundry orders by up to 15%. Tight advanced-node capacity, driven by surging AI chip demand and TSMC constraints, is strengthening Samsung’s negotiating position.
cnBeta (Full RSS) · 31d ago
Rebellions CFO Sungkyue Shin said the AI chip startup is actively preparing for an initial public offering. A listing on South Korea’s main stock exchange is the company’s top priority.
Bloomberg Technology · 31d ago
Cerebras Systems introduced a new, faster computer powered by its own AI chips. The company says the system widens its performance advantage over Nvidia-based equipment.
Bloomberg Technology · 32d ago
VeriSilicon reported first-half revenue of RMB1.864 billion, up 91.37% year on year. AI-computing-related orders represented about 90% of the company’s new orders signed this year, highlighting strong demand for AI infrastructure.
TechNode · 32d ago
General Compute reportedly secured a $400 million loan using specialized SambaNova inference chips as collateral instead of GPUs. The deal is presented as a sign that investors are increasingly interested in inference-focused infrastructure for open-source AI models.
Reddit r/MachineLearning · 33d ago
Nvidia is exploring creative financing approaches to help customers afford its AI semiconductors. The strategy aims to keep the AI chip boom expanding by bringing Wall Street into customer purchasing and funding arrangements.
Bloomberg Technology · 33d ago
AMD raised $4.75 billion through its largest-ever US dollar bond offering, divided into four tranches maturing between three and ten years. The financing comes as AMD holds substantial cash reserves and has committed up to $5 billion to Anthropic.
The Next Web (TNW) · 35d ago
Microsoft may release its next-generation Maia 300 AI chip as early as September, signaling continued investment in custom AI infrastructure. The roundup also highlights Alibaba Cloud’s plan to more than double global data-center capacity and Meta’s lightweight AI model that runs on a single GPU.
钛媒体 · 40d ago
Intel plans to raise $15 billion in fresh capital, betting renewed AI enthusiasm can support its push into chips and physical AI. The segment also covers a rare Jefferies downgrade of Apple over iPhone roadmap concerns and Microsoft’s view that AI agents are changing software development.
Bloomberg Technology · 40d ago
Intel is offering $15 billion in common stock as it seeks to capitalize on surging demand for AI infrastructure. The move comes as markets await US inflation data and oil prices rise amid heightened pressure on Iran.
Bloomberg Technology · 40d ago
Microsoft is reportedly planning to significantly increase production of its next-generation AI chips, according to The Information. The move could strengthen Microsoft's control over the infrastructure supporting its AI services.
Bloomberg Technology · 40d ago
DeepX founder and CEO Lokwon Kim discusses the chip designer’s business strategy and latest funding. The conversation provides insight into the company’s plans in the AI semiconductor market.
Bloomberg Technology · 41d ago
AI-focused hedge fund Situational Awareness is investing $400 million in chip startup Source Foundry. The deal signals continued investor interest in AI semiconductor infrastructure despite the fund's reported difficulties.
TechCrunch AI · 41d ago