# Episode 15: Growth Drivers for Semiconductors in the Datacenter

- Show: [The Circuit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit)
- Published: 2023-04-17
- Length: 43m
- Episode: 15
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2023-04-17-episode-15-growth-drivers-for-semiconductors-in-the-datacenter
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/f430b404

## Summary

Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the shifting economics of data center semiconductors, highlighting that while total silicon content is growing, CPU share is declining as GPU, FPGA, and accelerator workloads expand. They analyze how hyperscalers like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft are pursuing custom silicon to control roadmaps and solve specific pain points, such as Google's TPU for YouTube, while noting the high risks for startups entering the accelerator market. The conversation emphasizes that heterogeneous compute is driving value, with high-intensity workloads like LLM training justifying expensive chips like Nvidia's H100, whereas commodity workloads remain on cheaper, parallelizable infrastructure.

## Chapters

- [0:13](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2023-04-17-episode-15-growth-drivers-for-semiconductors-in-the-datacenter#t=13) Introduction: Data Center Growth and Workload Value
- [4:47](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2023-04-17-episode-15-growth-drivers-for-semiconductors-in-the-datacenter#t=287) Compute Intensity vs. Parallelization in Workloads
- [9:44](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2023-04-17-episode-15-growth-drivers-for-semiconductors-in-the-datacenter#t=584) Cost Equations: H100s, Training Time, and Rack Value
- [14:16](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2023-04-17-episode-15-growth-drivers-for-semiconductors-in-the-datacenter#t=856) Market Fluidity, Intel's Share, and LLM Scaling
- [26:46](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2023-04-17-episode-15-growth-drivers-for-semiconductors-in-the-datacenter#t=1606) New Entrants, Startups, and the Heterogeneous Compute Opportunity
- [31:29](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2023-04-17-episode-15-growth-drivers-for-semiconductors-in-the-datacenter#t=1889) Hyperscaler Custom Silicon: Google, Amazon, and Microsoft
- [38:35](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2023-04-17-episode-15-growth-drivers-for-semiconductors-in-the-datacenter#t=2315) Strategic Roadmap Control and FPGA Economics

## Topics

- [Chips, FPGAs & semiconductors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/chips-and-fpgas)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)

## Most relevant to

large enterprises

## Mentioned

- Nvidia (company)
- H100 (product)
- A100 (product)
- Intel (company)
- AMD (company)
- Google (company)
- Amazon (company)
- Microsoft (company)
- TPU (product)
- Graviton (product)
- Zion (product)
- FPGA (other)
- Lattice (company)
- Xilinx (company)
- Altera (company)
- Baidu (company)
- Alibaba (company)
- Tencent (company)
- Apple (company)
- Qualcomm (company)
- Samsung (company)
- Havana (company)
- Cranium (product)
- Inferentia (product)
- GPT (product)
- AutoGPT (product)
- Kim GPT (product)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [How Much is Enough for Hyperscale Companies?](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2019-07-26-how-much-is-enough-for-hyperscale-companies) (EE Times Current)
- [Ep. 27 | Two Google Senior VPs of Engineering: From Shipping Containers to Today's Data Centers](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2021-06-22-ep-27-two-google-senior-vps-of-engineering-from-shipping-containers-to-todays-da) (Moore's Lobby)
- [Whither Semiconductors? The Wheels on the Bus Go ‘Round and ‘Round](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2021-07-16-whither-semiconductors-the-wheels-on-the-bus-go-round-and-round) (EE Times Current)
- [Heterogeneous Computing with Raja Koduri](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2024-07-18-heterogeneous-computing-with-raja-koduri) (Oxide and Friends)
- [Google TPU vs Nvidia GPUs: Token Per Watt Dominance, or the Era of Scaling Is Over?](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/built-2-scale/2025-11-26-google-tpu-vs-nvidia-gpus-token-per-watt-dominance-or-the-era-of-scaling-is-over) (Built 2 Scale)

## Citing this page

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