EP 125: What's Going on with RISC-V? Update on Intel, Everything is AI!

The Circuit · 14 Jul 2025 · 38m · Episode 126

What this episode covers

Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the recent consolidation in the RISC-V ecosystem, highlighted by GlobalFoundries' acquisition of MIPS and the sale of Codasip, noting that RISC-V is shifting from an academic project to a component within larger SoCs from companies like Qualcomm and Intel. They analyze Intel's strategic pivot, specifically the decision to abandon external sales of its 18A process in favor of focusing on the upcoming 14A node, while also addressing CEO Pat Gelsinger's admission that Intel will not compete in AI training. Finally, the hosts examine the 'everything is AI' market dynamic, where massive hyperscaler capital expenditure is driving growth across unrelated sectors like energy and chemicals, creating a 'picks and shovels' environment involving Neoclouds and real estate.

Mentioned

Companies
GlobalFoundries, Intel, TSMC, Qualcomm, Codasip, Synopsys, Cadence, NVIDIA, AMD, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Oracle
Also
MIPS, RISC-V, AWS, Azure, GCP, Neoclouds

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