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Tag: Intel

  • RIP RealSense: Intel Shutting Down Camera and Sensor Division

    RIP RealSense: Intel Shutting Down Camera and Sensor Division

    Intel is continuing to trim down and refocus on its core semiconductor business and is shutting down RealSense as part of that.

    RealSense is Intel’s AI-driven cameras for use with robotics, facial recognition, digital signage and more. According to CRN, the company is shutting down that division as a result of poor sales and lackluster adoption.

    The company confirmed its plans in a statement to CRN, although it said it remains committed to supporting existing customers.

    “We are winding down our RealSense business and transitioning our computer vision talent, technology and products to focus on advancing innovative technologies that better support our core businesses and IDM 2.0 strategy,” the spokesperson said in the statement.

    “We will continue to meet our commitments to our current customers and are working with our employees and customers to ensure a smooth transition,” the spokesperson added.

  • Intel Scores Amazon and Qualcomm as Foundry Clients

    Intel Scores Amazon and Qualcomm as Foundry Clients

    Intel has scored a big win in its efforts to rebuild its semiconductor manufacturing, with Qualcomm and Amazon set to use its foundries.

    New CEO Pat Gelsinger is determined to reverse Intel’s recent fortunes, and is betting big on the company doubling down on its own manufacturing. The company made headlines when it announced plans to build two foundries in Arizona, to the tune of $20 billion. Intel has also been rumored to be trying to buy GlobalFoundries.

    According to Reuters, Intel has scored a major win, with Amazon and Qualcomm set to use the company’s new foundries. Qualcomm, in particular, will use Intel’s 20A chipmaking process, ideal for the company’s mobile chips.

    Intel is clearly intent on gaining ground against TSMC, which has long-since eclipsed Intel and poached major customers, such as Apple. The company sees close partnerships with the likes of Amazon and Qualcomm as a key component of that goal.

    “There have been many, many hours of deep and technical engagement with these first two customers, and many others,” Gelsinger said.

  • Intel Beats Expectations on Q2 Results

    Intel Beats Expectations on Q2 Results

    Intel reported its Q2 results, beating expectations on strong semiconductor demand.

    Intel reported GAAP $19.6 billion in revenue for the second quarter, coming in at $1.24 per share. Much of the revenue was the result of a 33% year-over-year increase in PC platform volumes.

    The company also raised its full-year 2021 guidance to $77.6 billion GAAP, and $73.5 billion non-GAAP. This is an increase of $1 billion over original guidance.

    “There’s never been a more exciting time to be in the semiconductor industry. The digitization of everything continues to accelerate, creating a vast growth opportunity for us and our customers across core and emerging business areas. With our scale and renewed focus on both innovation and execution, we are uniquely positioned to capitalize on this opportunity, which I believe is merely the beginning of what will be a decade of sustained growth across the industry,” said Pat Gelsinger, Intel CEO. “Our second-quarter results show that our momentum is building, our execution is improving, and customers continue to choose us for leadership products.”

    The company still has many challenges ahead, not the least of which is the semiconductor component shortage.

  • Intel May Be Trying to Buy GlobalFoundries

    Intel May Be Trying to Buy GlobalFoundries

    Intel may be making a major play in the semiconductor industry, attempting to purchase GlobalFoundries.

    GlobalFoundries was created in 2008 when AMD spun off its manufacturing arm when it went fabless. GlobalFoundries has gone on to become the fourth-largest foundry.

    Meanwhile, Intel is working to revive its fortunes under new CEO Pat Gelsinger, making a major acquisition a very real possibility. According to The Wall Street Journal a possible deal could be worth as much as $30 billion.

    GlobalFoundries is denying the report, so it remains to be seen if a deal will happen.

  • TSMC Turns in Record Quarter, Warns of Ongoing Shortages

    TSMC Turns in Record Quarter, Warns of Ongoing Shortages

    TSMC reported its quarterly earnings, including record sales and an 11% increase in revenue.

    TSMC is the world’s leading semiconductor manufacturer. The company is the primary chip-maker for Apple, and also makes chips for Intel, Qualcomm, AMD, NVIDIA, Alphabet and others.

    The company has now reported record revenue of $13.29 billion, a 28% increase. Net profit was up 11%, coming in at $4.81 billion.

    “Our second quarter business was mainly driven by continued strength in HPC and Automotive-related demand,” said Wendell Huang, VP and Chief Financial Officer of TSMC. “Moving into third quarter 2021, we expect our business to be supported by strong demand for our industry-leading 5nm and 7nm technologies, driven by all four growth platforms, which are smartphone, HPC, IoT and Automotive-related applications.”

    TSMC is projecting third-quarter revenue to come in somewhere between $14.6 billion and $14.9 billion.

    According to Bloomberg, the company also warned chip shortages could continue into next year, although automakers may see some relief as early as this quarter.

  • Apple and Intel Adopting TSMC’s 3-Nanometer Tech

    Apple and Intel Adopting TSMC’s 3-Nanometer Tech

    Apple and Intel are already working to adopt TSMC’s latest innovation, 3-nanometer chip production.

    TSMC is the leading chipmaker in the world, manufacturing semiconductors for many of the leading tech companies. Apple is one of its biggest customers, and uses chips from TSMC in its iPhone, iPad and Mac platforms. Similarly, Intel outsources some chip production to TSMC as well.

    TSMC is moving to 3-nm production, which will provide an estimated 10-15% performance boost and a 25-30% reduction in power consumption, compared to the company’s industry-leading 5-nm.

    According to Nikkei Asia, Apple and Intel are already testing their chip designs with TSMC’s 3-nm production, and hope to start commercial output by the second half of next year. It’s believed the Apple iPad will be the first device powered by 3-nm chips, although Nikkei’s sources said Intel’s planned volume exceeds the iPad so far.

    Either way, Apple and Intel’s work to quickly adopt the new tech illustrates just how important TSMC has become to the chip industry, and how far ahead of its rivals the company really is.

  • Windows 11 CPU Requirement Angering Users

    Windows 11 CPU Requirement Angering Users

    Microsoft has announced its upcoming Windows 11 and, while there’s much to like, its CPU requirements are upsetting some users.

    Windows 11 is the next major iteration of the Windows operating system. It includes a number of major new features, not the least of which is the ability to run Android apps, both from the Microsoft Store and via sideloading.

    The OS CPU requirement, however, will leave many users out in the cold, even those with relatively new, powerful devices. According to Microsoft, Windows 11 will only support Intel 8th Gen Core and AMD Ryzen 2000 series and newer CPUs. Older CPUs will not be able to run the new OS.

    Particularly surprising is the fact that the company’s own Surface Studio 2 runs the older Intel 7th Gen Core CPU, meaning it will not be able to run Windows 11 despite costing over $3,000.

    While leaving older hardware behind is a common practice for Apple, Microsoft has traditionally supported older hardware longer as a result of the larger user base and the company’s focus on the business market. Microsoft is clearly willing to break with tradition to bring to market the benefits and security upgrades Windows 11 promises.

  • AMD Scores Win as Google Cloud Chooses AMD EPYC Processors

    AMD Scores Win as Google Cloud Chooses AMD EPYC Processors

    AMD has scored a big win over rival Intel, as Google Cloud has selected the AMD EPYC processors to power its new family of Tau Virtual Machines (VMs).

    Intel has long been the dominant chipmaker in the data center industry, along with desktop and mobile computers, but missteps and mismanagement have opened the door for AMD. For its part, AMD’s latest chipsets have been providing superior performance to Intel, paving the way for AMD to make significant inroads in the desktop, mobile and gaming industries.

    Google has now selected the company’s EPYC processors to power its Tau VMs, in a further blow to Intel. The Tau VMs “offers 56% higher absolute performance and more than 40% higher price performance for scale-out workloads,” further validating AMD’s performance benefits.

    “At Google Cloud, our customers’ compute needs are evolving,” said Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud. “By collaborating with AMD, Google Cloud customers can now leverage amazing performance for scale-out applications, with great price-performance, all without compromising x86 compatibility.”

    “We designed 3rd Gen AMD EPYC processors to meet the growing demand from cloud and enterprise customers for high-performance, cost-effective solutions with optimal TCO,” said AMD President and CEO Dr. Lisa Su. “We work closely with Google Cloud and are proud they selected AMD to exclusively power the new Tau VM T2D instance which provides customers with powerful new options to run their most demanding scale-out workloads.”

  • Intel Considering a Purchase of Chipmaker SiFive

    Intel Considering a Purchase of Chipmaker SiFive

    Intel is looking at possibly purchasing chipmaker SiFive, as it looks to compete with Arm Holdings.

    Once the dominant chipmaker in the world, Intel has lost its luster, losing much of the mobile market to Arm Holdings. Arm’s chips are renowned for offering the optimal blend of performance and battery life. Apple has used Arm-based designs to power the iPhone and iPad for years, and recently began migrating its Mac platform away from Intel, in favor of its Arm-based custom silicon.

    Intel is keen to reassert its dominance, even stating it would love to get Apple back as a customer. A big step toward regaining its spot at the top is designing chips that can compete in the mobile market and challenge Arm head-on.

    According to Bloomberg, Intel is looking at SiFive as a possible option to help jumpstart its ambitions. SiFive currently designs chips based on the RISC-V architecture, and employees several individuals who helped create the architecture. RISC-V is seen as one of the primary competitors to Arm, targeting the same type of applications. Unlike Arm, however, RISC-V was designed to be open source, making it a cheaper alternative.

    Because its open source, companies are increasingly seeing RISC-V as an attractive option, with Alibaba recently announcing its Apsara cloud OS would support the chip. Its open source nature is especially attractive to Chinese companies looking to avoid the sanctions and bans Huawei has faced.

    Beyond China, many companies are keeping an eye on RISC-V as a result of NVIDIA’s efforts to acquire Arm. Arm has long been considered the Switzerland of the semiconductor industry, willing to work with anyone and everyone. Many companies fear NVIDIA may change that, reserving Arm’s best technology and designs for itself, hurting its relationships with its customers and costing them a competitive advantage.

    Intel has reportedly offered as much as $2 billion for SiFive, considerably more than the $500 million it was valued at during its last round of funding in 2020. Should the deal go through, it may help put RISC-V adoption into overdrive.

  • TSMC Has Begun Construction on Arizona Factory

    TSMC Has Begun Construction on Arizona Factory

    TSMC has begun construction on its $12 billion Arizona factory, an important part of efforts to revitalize the US semiconductor industry.

    The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the danger of US industries being so reliant on oversees manufacturing for critical components, like semiconductors. As the pandemic forced factories to shut down, and slowed international trade, US companies were severely impacted. Multiple industries continue to suffer through one of the worst semiconductor shortages in history.

    The Trump administration made an effort to lure chip manufacturers to the US, talking with both Intel and TSMC about opening new factories in the country. Intel has committed to building two foundries in Arizona, to the tune of $20 billion. Meanwhile, TSMC has committed to a $12 billion factory, also in Arizona.

    According to U.S. News & World Report, TSMC has begun contraction on its factory, and is on track to begin volume production of its 5nm chips in 2024.

  • Intel CEO: Semiconductor Shortage Could Last Several Years

    Intel CEO: Semiconductor Shortage Could Last Several Years

    Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has reiterated the company’s view that the semiconductor shortage could last several years.

    Semiconductors are in short supply, thanks to the pandemic and resulting, complicating factors. Production was initially hurt as a result of lockdowns, and demand has been up significantly as more people rely on laptops and tablets for remote work. Gaming and cryptocurrency mining has also strained supply.

    Two months ago, Gelsinger said the shortage would last for another couple of years. According to Reuters, Gelsinger is now saying it could take a couple of years just to address shortages in foundry capacity and components.

    “But while the industry has taken steps to address near term constraints it could still take a couple of years for the ecosystem to address shortages of foundry capacity, substrates and components,” Gelsinger said in a virtual session at the Computex trade show in Taipei.

    Gelsinger also credited the transition to remote work and remote learning as one of the single biggest drivers, saying it had led to a “cycle of explosive growth in semiconductors” that has placed huge strain on global supply chains.”

  • Microsoft Azure and AWS Leading in IoT Onboarding and Lifecycle Management

    Microsoft Azure and AWS Leading in IoT Onboarding and Lifecycle Management

    A new Competitive Assessment report puts Microsoft Azure and AWS leading the pack in IoT deployment.

    AWS and Microsoft Azure are the two largest cloud platforms, and the two companies play an important role in IoT. According to ABI Research, the two companies are also leading the pack in core IoT deployments.

    “Understanding the intricacies of the market is key,” Dimitrios Pavlakis, Senior Analyst of IoT and Digital Security at ABI Research. “Cloud device management alone is not enough to guarantee victory; the importance of critical partnerships is as relevant as ever to increase market reach and not be consumed by the competition. Intelligent solutions and automation are required for a sustainable lifecycle management environment, and even criteria like dev-tools and resource modularity can greatly add to the popularity of certain solutions and shape future IoT-borne revenue streams.”

    According to ABI Research, Pelion, Intel, Telit, Device Authority, Thales, and Digicert were in the middle of the pack, with Avsystem and Sequitur Labs following.

    All together, twelve criteria were used in the assessment, including encryption and hardware security, dev tools, cloud, software options, IoT connectivity and ecosystem support, strategic partnerships, regulatory policies, FOTA, automation, trusted ID, pricing and monetization.

    “Innovation without a clear device-to-cloud roadmap, a flexible monetization strategy, and a solid partnership circle is utterly meaningless in most cases,” Pavlakis concludes.

  • Oracle Offering Arm-Based Cloud Computing

    Oracle Offering Arm-Based Cloud Computing

    Oracle has announced it is offering Arm-based cloud computing, using processors from Ampere Computing.

    Arm Holdings designs semiconductors and licenses those designs to other companies. The processors offer a combination of power and efficiency that make them ideally suited for use in compact spaces, making them the preferred chips for smartphones and tablets. Those same qualities also make them ideal for data center operations, where cooling and power requirements are at a premium.

    Oracle now joins Amazon as one of the companies offering Arm-based cloud computing services, powered by Ampere A1 Compute chips. Oracle is touting its cost, a mere one cent per core hour, as the industry’s lowest cost per core.

    “We see increasing demand for server-side Arm computing and adding Arm-based compute instances to our extensive portfolio of offerings enables customers to pick and choose the right processors for their workloads,” said Clay Magouyrk, executive vice president, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. “Now customers who need an Arm platform for development can get the flexibility, scalability, and price-performance they need. We’re also making it really easy for developers to move their apps and develop new ones on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.”

    “Ampere instances on OCI is a breakthrough for developers. Oracle’s Free Tier is a great offering that allows them to test the OCI Ampere A1 compute platform and experience the first-cloud native processor that delivers predictable performance, scalability and power needed,” said Renee James, founder, chairman and CEO, Ampere Computing. “The Oracle Cloud has all the tools developers need to try new technology, get excited about new platforms and develop new applications.”

    Arm semiconductor adoption in the data center is another increasingly worrying sign for Intel. While Arm has dominated the mobile market, Intel was the king of traditional computers and the data center. Last year, however, Apple announced it was switching its Mac platform to its own custom silicon, based on Arm designs. Microsoft has started following suit, pushing Windows on Arm.

    With Amazon and Oracle both supporting Arm-based cloud computing, Intel’s last stronghold is now under full assault.

  • Nissan, Suzuki and Mitsubishi the Latest Automakers Impacted by Semiconductor Shortage

    Nissan, Suzuki and Mitsubishi the Latest Automakers Impacted by Semiconductor Shortage

    Nissan, Suzuki and Mitsubishi are joining the ranks of automakers impacted by the semiconductor shortage, announcing halted or reduced production.

    The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a severe shortage of semiconductors. Originally the issue stemmed from factories being close due to lockdowns and quarantine. The problem has been exacerbated by a huge uptick in demand for computers, tablets and gaming consoles as people have been working and gaming from home.

    Ford, Honda and BMW have already felt the impact. GM has even gone so far as to ship trucks without their full complement of fuel economy chips, leading them to have worse fuel mileage than previous models.

    According to Reuters, Nissan is now planning on halting production for some models in its Mexico plant, while Suzuki will idle three of its factories in the Shizuoka prefecture from three to nine days.

    “A global shortage of semiconductors has affected parts procurement in the auto sector. Due to the shortage, Nissan is adjusting production and taking necessary actions to ensure recovery,” a Nissan spokeswoman told Reuters.

    Intel is trying to step up to help with the auto semiconductor shortage, but its plans won’t bear fruit for another six to nine months.

  • TSMC and MIT Leapfrog IBM, Make 1nm Breakthrough

    TSMC and MIT Leapfrog IBM, Make 1nm Breakthrough

    TSMC and MIT have made a major advancement in semiconductor design, with a 1nm breakthrough.

    TSMC is a global leader in the semiconductor industry. The company makes chips for Apple, Qualcomm, AMD, NVIDIA, Alphabet, Huawei and Intel. Currently, TSMC uses 5nm chips. AMD is working to transition to 5nm and Intel is still struggling to move to 7nm. IBM made headlines when it announced it had made a breakthrough on 2nm chips, although they aren’t expected for another four years.

    MIT and TSMC have now one-upped IBM, according to Taiwan News, making a major breakthrough with 1nm chips. The discovery was initially made by MIT, although MIT’s researchers were using TSMC components.

    The announcement is further bad news for Intel. Once the leader in semiconductor design, Intel has increasingly faced supply and development issues, leading it to turn to TSMC to outsource some production. With TSMC now closing in on 1nm, the gap between the two companies will only continue to widen.

  • IBM First to Announce 2nm Chips

    IBM First to Announce 2nm Chips

    IBM has hit a major milestone, being the first company to announce 2nm chips.

    While IBM is in the process of transitioning to a company focused on hybrid cloud services, it nonetheless has a long history of semiconductor design. The company currently makes two lines of commercial chips, the Power series for Linux and Unix servers, and the zArchitecture for mainframes.

    The current leader is TSMC, with its 5nm designs, although AMD will be moving to 5nm this fall. Meanwhile, Intel is struggling to even reach 7nm. Although IBM says the new chips won’t be available for four years, there will be significant benefits to the new design.

    In particular, the new chips will quadruple cell phone battery life, only requiring a charge every four days. The chips will also offer significant advancement for autonomous vehicles, speed up laptops and slash the carbon footprint of data centers.

    “The IBM innovation reflected in this new 2 nm chip is essential to the entire semiconductor and IT industry,” said Darío Gil, SVP and Director of IBM Research. “It is the product of IBM’s approach of taking on hard tech challenges and a demonstration of how breakthroughs can result from sustained investments and a collaborative R&D ecosystem approach.”

  • Windows 10X Not Coming in 2021, Maybe Never

    Windows 10X Not Coming in 2021, Maybe Never

    Microsoft will not ship Windows 10X in 2021, and may never release the operating system (OS), according to new a report.

    Windows 10X is a modernized version of the Windows 10 OS that sheds its legacy code and focuses on a simpler interface. Originally, the OS was seen as being an ideal option for foldable devices, with full multi-screen support.

    As a result of the pandemic, Microsoft had to shift focus to improving Windows 10 and making it as capable as possible as people’s needs changed, leaving little resources available for a revamped version. Windows 10X faced delays, as well as changes to its scope, specifically with a single-screen version planned for 2021 and a multi-screen support in 2022.

    It appears the company has changed direction once again, with Petri reporting that Microsoft will not ship Windows 10X in 2021. What’s more, the revamped OS may never see the light of day in its current form.

    As Petri points out, market factors are against Microsoft’s efforts on this one. With the PC industry beginning to shift in the direction of Arm processors, lead by Apple’s M1, it no longer makes sense to spend resources on a revamped version of Windows to run on Intel. Instead, those resources would be better used helping the Windows ecosystem move to the Arm architecture.

  • Ford, BMW and Honda’s Production Impacted by Semiconductor Crisis

    Ford, BMW and Honda’s Production Impacted by Semiconductor Crisis

    Ford, BMW and Honda are all experiencing major production issues as a result of the global semiconductor shortage.

    The global pandemic sparked a semiconductor shortage as a result of production issues resulting from lockdowns. In addition, the move toward remote work has caused tablets and computers to see their highest demand in some time.

    The auto industry has been one of the hardest hit, with automakers across the spectrum experiencing production delays as a result of the chip shortage. According to Bloomberg, multiple automakers have signaled trouble, all within a 12-hour timeframe.

    Honda plans to halt production at three of its factories in Japan. BMW will cut back production in plants in both Germany and England. Meanwhile, Ford has warned its earnings for the year will suffer as a result of the chip shortage.

    Chipmakers the world over are working to address the crisis. Intel is even working with automotive chipmakers to bring its manufacturing abilities to bear. In spite of that, expects believe the semiconductor challenge will last at least a couple of years.

  • TSMC: Chip Shortages Won’t Ease Until 2023

    TSMC: Chip Shortages Won’t Ease Until 2023

    TSMC has delivered further bad news on the semiconductor shortage, predicting supplies chain tightness won’t completely ease until 2023.

    The world is experiencing a significant shortage of semiconductors, with multiple industries currently being impacted. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has warned the shortage could last a couple of years, and now TSMC has issued a similar assessment.

    TSMC specializes in manufacturing semiconductors for partner companies, and is the premier chipmaker for Apple. The company also makes chips for Qualcomm, Alphabet, AMD, NVIDIA and Huawei, and will make the i3 for Intel.

    According to Bloomberg, TSMC believes shortages will begin to ease for the auto industry next quarter, but the overall industry will continue to experience shortages throughout the rest of the year and into next.

    “We see the demand continue to be high,” CEO C.C. Wei said. “In 2023, I hope we can offer more capacity to support our customers. At that time, we’ll start to see the supply chain tightness release a little bit.”

  • Intel CEO: Global Semiconductor Shortage Will Last a Couple of Years

    Intel CEO: Global Semiconductor Shortage Will Last a Couple of Years

    Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has weighed in on the global semiconductor shortage, and it’s not good news for those wanting a quick fix.

    The semiconductor industry is experiencing a massive shortage amid skyrocketing demand. Automakers have been forced to shut down factories, or ship trucks without all of the fuel management chips they would normally have. Apple is rumored to be pushing back some production as a result of the shortage, and NVIDIA recently announced it would continue to struggle with demand through the rest of the year.

    In an interview with The Washington Post, Gelsinger said the shortage would likely last for a couple more years. Intel is working to help automotive chipmakers use the company’s factories to boost supply, but that isn’t a quick fix.

    “We do believe we have the ability to help,” said Gelsinger. But “I think this is a couple of years until you are totally able to address it,” he said. “It just takes a couple of years to build capacity.”

    Intel has warned that it would be six to nine months before its factories would deliver the first chips aimed at the automotive industry.

    “That in no way addresses all of it, but every little bit helps. We can help alleviate some pressure,” added Gelsinger.

  • Parallels Desktop 16.5 Runs Arm Windows 10 on M1 Mac 30% Faster

    Parallels Desktop 16.5 Runs Arm Windows 10 on M1 Mac 30% Faster

    Parallels has released the latest version of Parallels Desktop, boasting up to 30% faster performance running Arm Windows 10 on M1 Macs.

    Parallels is one of the premier virtualization programs for the Mac. It has been a mainstay for Mac users looking to run Windows on Intel-based Macs for years. With Apple’s transition to its custom silicon, virtualization was one of the few types of software that didn’t automatically work in Rosetta 2, Apple’s translation layer that allows Intel-based software to run on the new machines.

    Fortunately, Parallels has updated its software to fully support the M1, as well as the older Intel machines. When running Windows 10 on Intel machines, Parallels offers native speeds, comparable to what would be achieved on a dedicated Wintel machine.

    When running on the M1 Macs, however, Parallels achieves significantly better performance. Running on the M1 requires a copy of Windows 10 on Arm Insider Preview. However, when paired with Parallels Desktop 16.5, users can see performance “up to 30 percent better than a Windows 10 VM running on Intel-based MacBook Pro with Intel Core i9 processor.”

    Licensed users of parallels 16 can update to the new version at no cost.