# Episode 105: Sanity Check on Custom ASICS?

- Show: [The Circuit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit)
- Published: 2025-02-17
- Length: 41m
- Episode: 106
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2025-02-17-episode-105-sanity-check-on-custom-asics
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/0ea64881

## Summary

Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the debate between custom ASICs and GPUs in AI compute, arguing that GPUs retain significant value due to software flexibility and installed base. They analyze the uneven maturity of hyperscaler silicon efforts, noting Google's TPU success versus the struggles of Amazon's Trainium and Meta's MTIA. The conversation then shifts to analog semiconductors, highlighting their critical role in humanoid robotics and data center power management, with specific mentions of Infineon's inventory buildup linked to NVIDIA's Blackwell.

## Chapters

- [0:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2025-02-17-episode-105-sanity-check-on-custom-asics#t=6) Introduction and the Custom ASIC Debate
- [6:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2025-02-17-episode-105-sanity-check-on-custom-asics#t=367) Hyperscaler Strategies: Google, Amazon, and Meta
- [12:51](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2025-02-17-episode-105-sanity-check-on-custom-asics#t=771) The Hidden Costs of Custom Silicon and TCO
- [18:10](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2025-02-17-episode-105-sanity-check-on-custom-asics#t=1090) GPU Programmability and the AMD Opportunity
- [28:30](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2025-02-17-episode-105-sanity-check-on-custom-asics#t=1710) The Undervalued Analog Semiconductor Market
- [34:15](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2025-02-17-episode-105-sanity-check-on-custom-asics#t=2055) Analog in Robotics and Data Centers

## Topics

- [Chips, FPGAs & semiconductors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/chips-and-fpgas)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Robotics & autonomy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/robotics-and-autonomy)
- [Sourcing & supply chain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sourcing-and-supply-chain)

## Most relevant to

large enterprises

## Mentioned

- NVIDIA (company)
- AMD (company)
- Google (company)
- TPU (product)
- Amazon (company)
- Trainium (product)
- Inferentia (product)
- Meta (company)
- MTIA (product)
- Microsoft (company)
- Maia (product)
- Intel (company)
- Texas Instruments (company)
- Infineon (company)
- NXP (company)
- Analog Devices (company)
- Blackwell (product)
- Deep Seek (company)
- CUDA (product)
- PyTorch (product)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [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)
- [Can the Nvidia Monopoly on AI Chips Be Broken?](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2026-03-16-can-the-nvidia-monopoly-on-ai-chips-be-broken) (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)
- [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)
- [AI NEWS | Episode 31](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/built-2-scale/2025-12-03-ai-news-episode-31) (Built 2 Scale)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2025-02-17-episode-105-sanity-check-on-custom-asics. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to The Circuit.