Samsung Hits $1T Valuation as AI Chip Demand Drives Eightfold Profit Surge

Insider Brief Sony Semiconductor Solutions and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufaccturing Company announced a plan to form a strategic partnership focused on developing and manufacturing next-generation image sensors, with the companies highlighting future applications in robotics, automotive systems and physical AI. According to a joint press release, the companies signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to create […]

TSMC backs renewables during record demand for energy-hungry chip manufacturing.

SoftBank-backed UK group says its first in-house semiconductor has drawn strong demand

Samsung crossed the $1 trillion valuation mark after shares surged on AI-driven chip demand, making it only the second Asian company after TSMC to hit the milestone.

Bargains are disappearing and the cost of gadgets such as MacBooks and PS5s is rising as AI competes for memory chips The end of the cheap laptop, the bargain phone and affordable games consoles may be on the horizon. Not because new models are more hi-tech, but because the cost of computer components has shot up. Recently, the biggest manufacturers of laptops and phones, including Microsoft, Samsung and Dell, started putting up prices and pulling cheaper models – which is going to make finding budget phones and laptops under £400 much harder. Continue reading...

AI chipmaker Cerebras Systems is moving toward a long-awaited public offering, planning to sell 28 million shares priced between $115 and $125, which would value the company at up to $26.6 billion — a significant jump from its $23 billion Series H valuation just months ago. The company’s Wafer-Scale Engine 3 chip targets AI inference workloads, claiming […]

Apple has held “exploratory” talks about manufacturing processors for its devices in the US, Bloomberg reports. The move seems to reflect Apple’s need to secure additional chip supplies to meet growing demand for its products, but could also represent a contingency plan to reduce the company’s reliance on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC’s) advanced manufacturing facilities in Taiwan. I doubt this means Apple doesn’t want to work with TSMC, nor does it mean TSMC is cooling on Apple. I suspect company management is far more concerned about what might happen in the event China attacks TSMC’s home nation.  Contingency planning  That concern seems legitimate in the context of unravelling of international relations and a recently-disclosed warning the CIA gave to tech leaders back in 2023. Executives from Apple, AMD, and Qualcomm were all warned that China might attack Taiwan. Such an attack would comprise a huge threat to the entire tech industry. Speaking at the World Econ

AI chip maker Cerebras is heading for a blockbuster IPO that could value it at $26.6 billion or more. It's relationship with OpenAI is deep and rich.