In this enlightening conversation, Ben Bajarin hosts Apple executives Tom Boger and Tim Millet to discuss the significance of Apple Silicon in the company's product ecosystem. They delve into the relentless pursuit of performance per watt, the integration of hardware and software, and Apple's unique approach to AI and on-device intelligence. The discussion also covers how Apple manages to push performance boundaries in a landscape where Moore's Law is slowing down, emphasizing the importance...

In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss recent earnings reports from Arm and Qualcomm, analyzing market reactions and the implications of ongoing lawsuits. They delve into Qualcomm's diversification strategy, particularly in the automotive sector, and the potential impact of political changes on semiconductor policy. The conversation also touches on Nvidia's strong demand and supply constraints, highlighting the cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry and the challenges...

In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the latest earnings reports from AMD and Intel, focusing on market expectations, performance, and the challenges faced by both companies. They analyze AMD's struggle to meet high investor expectations in the AI market and Intel's ongoing turnaround efforts under CEO Pat Gelsinger, highlighting the balance between financial prudence and technological leadership. The conversation also touches on the mixed reactions from the market regarding...

In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the Qualcomm Snapdragon Summit, highlighting the company's return to custom cores, advancements in AI integration, and innovations in automotive technology. They also delve into the competitive landscape of automotive software, Qualcomm's branding evolution, and the ongoing legal drama with ARM regarding licensing issues. The conversation provides insights into the semiconductor industry and Qualcomm's strategic positioning in the market....

In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the recent earnings reports from major semiconductor companies, focusing on ASML's disappointing results and TSMC's optimistic outlook. They explore the cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry, the implications of Intel and AMD's collaboration on x86 architecture, and the competitive pressures from ARM. The conversation highlights the complexities of the market and the challenges faced by these companies in navigating demand and...

In this episode of The Circuit, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the recent AMD AI event, focusing on the advancements in CPU architecture, the competitive landscape with NVIDIA, and the importance of vertical integration in AI systems. They explore the role of CPUs in AI workloads, the complexities of total cost of ownership for hyperscalers, and AMD's growth projections in the market. In this conversation, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the dynamics of the AI accelerator market,...

In this episode, Ben Bajarin, Jay Goldberg, and Austin Lyons discuss the rapid evolution of AI technology and its implications for hardware and software. They explore the challenges faced by AI accelerators, the role of hyperscalers, and the investment landscape in AI startups. The conversation highlights the disparity between the fast-paced development of AI software and the slower advancements in hardware, particularly in the context of GPUs and dedicated AI accelerators. The speakers also...

In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the recent announcements from Meta at MetaConnect, particularly focusing on their new AR glasses concept. They compare Meta's approach to Apple's Vision Pro, exploring the implications of custom silicon, product timing, and the importance of developer ecosystems. The conversation also touches on the role of Google in the AR/VR space, the potential for an open ecosystem, and the excitement surrounding future technologies in this rapidly...

In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the current state of Intel, focusing on its challenges, board dynamics, and the implications of activist investors. They delve into Intel's foundry strategy, customer relationships, and the significance of the 18A technology. The conversation also touches on Qualcomm's interest in Intel and explores hypothetical merger scenarios, concluding with insights on the future of CPUs in an AI-driven market.

In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the recent advancements in AI software, particularly focusing on OpenAI's new model and its implications for silicon architecture. They explore the challenges of inference costs, the need for silicon innovation, and the competitive landscape involving Nvidia and Google. The conversation highlights the rapid evolution of AI technology and the ongoing race to keep up with software demands.

The conversation covers various topics related to Apple's recent product announcements, including the iPhone, wearables, Apple Silicon, and AI features. The hosts discuss the potential impact of the new iPhone lineup on sales volume and upgrades, as well as the significance of TSMC's involvement in supplying processors. They also highlight the design and features of the Apple Watch and AirPods, emphasizing the attention to detail and user experience. The conversation concludes with a...

In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss NVIDIA's recent earnings and the challenges of managing expectations in the stock market. They touch on the mispronunciation of NVIDIA, the volatility of the stock, and the impact of whisper numbers on investor sentiment. They also discuss the role of NVIDIA's CEO, Jensen Huang, and the difficulty of managing investor relations. The conversation covers topics such as the slowdown in growth, gross margins, and the sustainability of high...

This week Ben and Jay are joined by AMD's EVP of Datacenter Solutions Forrest Norrod. AMD's acquisition of ZT Systems is a strategic move to enhance its position in the data center and AI market. ZT Systems is a leading systems design company focused on hyperscalers, with expertise in customized server and rack designs. By integrating ZT's design capabilities with AMD's silicon and software engineering, AMD aims to create better and more optimized AI server solutions. The acquisition also...

In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the tectonic shift happening in the semiconductor industry due to the rise of AI. They highlight the need for substantial improvements in energy-efficient computing performance and the importance of reducing power consumption. The conversation also touches on the role of companies like Applied Materials in driving innovation and advancements in the industry. They discuss Intel's investments in advanced packaging and lithography, as well as...

In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the current state of the stock market and the semiconductor industry. They explore the factors that may be contributing to the recent fluctuations in stock prices and the challenges faced by the semiconductor market. They also delve into the changing dynamics of data center design and the implications for the growth of AI. Additionally, they touch on the automotive semiconductor market and the delays in product releases. Overall, they...

This episode of The Circuit covers the recent earnings reports of semiconductor companies, including AMD, Arm, Qualcomm, and Intel. The hosts discuss the market sentiment, the strength of the data center infrastructure, and the growth potential of these companies. They highlight the cleverness of Arm's business model and the positive trends in their licensing and royalty revenue. They also analyze Qualcomm's performance, noting the anomaly in the automotive market and the misconception of...

In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss their observations and insights from their recent trip to China. They cover topics such as the challenges of semiconductors in China, the economic sentiment in the country, the impact of Huawei's comeback, the state of the semiconductor industry in China, the focus on AI and EVs, the impact of US sanctions, and the future of the industry. They also highlight the impressive technology they saw, such as surveillance cameras and manufacturing...

In this episode, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the recent earnings reports of NXP and Silicon Labs, as well as the latest updates from TSMC. They analyze the challenges and opportunities in the semiconductor industry, particularly in the areas of automotive, IoT, and AI. They also explore the pricing dynamics and competitive landscape between TSMC and Intel. Overall, the conversation highlights the importance of strategic vision, execution, and market demand in shaping the success of...

The conversation explores the question of how to monetize the massive investment in AI infrastructure and hardware. There is a mix of pessimism and optimism regarding the potential returns on this investment. The thesis is that AI is currently being used as a feature to improve existing processes, but there is a lack of consumer use cases that can justify the investment. The conversation also touches on the challenges of increasing power consumption and the need for additional power...

In this episode of The Circuit, Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg are joined by Scott Best to discuss cryptography. They explore the origins of cryptography, including Scott's personal journey and early experiences with decoding secret messages. They also delve into the practical applications of cryptography in everyday life, such as secure web browsing and firmware updates. Scott explains the concept of key size and how it determines the strength of encryption. The conversation concludes with a...

Nvidia briefly became the most valuable company in the world by market cap, surpassing Apple. This milestone highlights Nvidia's dominance in the semiconductor industry and its position as a leading company in AI computing. However, there are concerns about the sustainability of Nvidia's growth and the disconnect between its stock performance and the dynamics of the company itself. The platformization of GPUs is a key strategy for Nvidia, but it may not align with the preferences of...

Apple announced Apple intelligence, integrating AI in a very Apple way. They are focusing on on-device AI to align with their privacy philosophy. The features are only available on the most recent Apple Silicon iPhone pro and newer models. The implementation of AI is focused on useful feature-centric applications rather than general AI. Apple's infrastructure play with their own data centers and Apple Silicon has strategic implications and could potentially lead to them becoming a cloud...

Computex has evolved into an important tech trade show, with a focus on gaming, GPUs, and components for gaming and PCs. The show has seen a shift towards data center components and AI servers, which have become a significant category. AMD and Intel are both making chips for AI PCs, with AMD leading in NPU tops. Qualcomm's Snapdragon is ahead in performance, spooking other vendors. The PC landscape has permanently changed, with more competition for Intel. The evaluation of product truth is...

With Special guests, Austin Lyons and Paul Karazuba!  The conversation covers the topic of NPUs (Neural Processing Units) and delves into their architecture, performance, and relevance in the semiconductor industry. The discussion also addresses the use of tops per watt as a metric for NPU performance and the design origins of NPUs, including the use of licensed IP and the evolution from DSPs to NPUs. The conversation delves into the topic of NPUs (Neural Processing Units) and their...