Episode 116: Earnings (AAPL, QCOM), Intel's Chiplet Bet, AI Factory Thesis

The Circuit · 6 May 2025 · 52m · Episode 117

What this episode covers

Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg analyze recent earnings from Apple and Qualcomm, highlighting Apple's rapid manufacturing shift to India and Qualcomm's successful diversification into automotive and smart IoT. They then examine Intel's foundry strategy, focusing on its competitive chiplet architecture via EMIB and the cost advantages of its PowerVia technology. Finally, the hosts discuss the concept of 'AI factories,' arguing that purpose-built infrastructure should be viewed as a profit center rather than a traditional cost center.

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • EE Times Current · 43m

    Headline: Intel Throws a Curveball | The Book on Gallium Nitride

    Analysts Jim McGregor and Kevin Krewell of Tirias Research explain Intel's decision to establish a standalone foundry business, detailing the $20 billion investment, the separation from Intel's IDM operations, and the strategic collaboration with IBM on nanosheet technology. They discuss the challenges of competing with TSMC and Samsung, the importance of packaging expertise like Foveros and EMIB, and the need for immediate execution on 7nm processes. Additionally, EE Times editors Nitin Khanna, Dahad, and Maurizio de Paulo Emilio preview the new Aspencore Guide to Gallium Nitride, highlighting its applications in power electronics, EVs, and fast chargers, and its role as a reference for wide bandgap semiconductors.

  • EE Times Current · 29m

    Intel on Getting Its Mojo Back

    Intel SVP Sanjay Natarajan explains the company's IDM 2.0 strategy and detailed technology roadmap, aiming to regain manufacturing leadership by 2025 through innovations like RibbonFET and PowerVia. He highlights Intel Foundry Services (IFS) partnerships with AWS and Qualcomm, emphasizing Intel's unique 'one-stop-shop' capability combining process, packaging, and software. Natarajan details how backside power delivery (PowerVia) and High-NA EUV lithography will improve power efficiency and density, targeting parity with TSMC and Samsung by 2024 and leadership by 2025.

  • EE Times Current · 19m

    Risking RISC-V | Engineers & the Gig Economy | Chiplets

    Brian Santo discusses RISC-V's potential in smartphones, highlighting Qualcomm's investment in SiFive and its shift from IP licensing to silicon production. The episode explores engineering education at Olin College, emphasizing a broader curriculum integrating ethics and liberal arts, and examines the emerging chiplet ecosystem, noting technical hurdles like testing and thermal management identified by Intel's Ramuni Nagasetti. Finally, it recounts the history of Texas Instruments' Speak & Spell and the current activities of inventor Jean Franzon.

  • EE Times Current · 41m

    Interview: AMD CTO Papermaster | Interview: Imagination CEO Black | Where to Invest in 2020

    AMD CTO Mark Papermaster discusses the company's transition to 7nm Zen architecture, chiplet-based designs like the Threadripper 3990X, and the integration of specialized accelerators for AI workloads. Imagination Technologies CEO Ron Black explains the company's strategic pivot toward automotive graphics, ray tracing, and RISC-V cores, highlighting the resumption of its partnership with Apple. EE Times editors analyze 2020 investment trends, emphasizing that data generation from apps is driving semiconductor growth, with specific focus on memory, RF front-ends, and power infrastructure in developing economies.

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