Ep 184: Earnings TSMC/ASML/AEHR, State of AI Semis

The Circuit · 20 Jul 2026 · 59m · Episode 177

What this episode covers

Hosts Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg analyze recent earnings from TSMC, ASML, and AEHR, discussing how AI-driven demand is reshaping semiconductor manufacturing. They detail TSMC's increased CapEx for advanced packaging, ASML's expansion of High NA EUV capacity, and AEHR's role in critical burn-in testing for complex chiplets. The hosts also examine market sentiment, noting investor rotation away from semiconductors despite strong fundamentals, and debate the long-term ROI of massive AI infrastructure investments by hyper-scalers and neoclouds.

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • EE Times Current · 7m

    TSMC Scraps a Batch of Wafers | AI Limitations | ISSCC

    Alan Patterson reports that TSMC scrapped a batch of 12 and 16 nanometer wafers at Fab 14B in Tainan due to substandard photo resist, cutting Q1 revenue forecasts by $550 million. Junko Yoshida highlights Noriko Arai's book 'AI versus Chutolin,' emphasizing that current AI lacks true understanding and cannot read textbooks. Dylan McGrath and Rick Merritt cover the 2019 ISSCC, noting Intel's production-ready embedded MRAM at the 22nm node and discussions on unsupervised learning.

  • EE Times Current · 18m

    ON Semi’s Acquisition | TSMC’s Finer Nodes | Tesla’s AI Chip | China’s Fabless Companies

    Rick Merritt reports on ON Semiconductor's acquisition of GlobalFoundries' East Fishkill fab to transition to 300mm wafers and TSMC's roadmap updates on 7nm, 5nm, and advanced packaging. Junko Yoshida analyzes Tesla's new Full Self-Driving computer and criticizes the company's marketing of its autonomous capabilities. Echo Zhao discusses the 2019 China fabless survey, highlighting rapid growth, fragmentation, and the rise of IoT applications in the region.

  • The Amp Hour · 1h 09m

    Bonkers Birthday Badinage

    Hosts Dave Jones and Chris Gammell celebrate the 100th episode of The Amp Hour, discussing the show's growth to 5,000 listeners and the launch of a new discussion server based on the Hacker News engine. They analyze the semiconductor industry, noting TSMC's $8-10 billion investment in a 450mm wafer fab and Intel's dismissal of ARM as a competitor. The episode also covers practical engineering topics, including the use of gallium nitride (GaN) FETs, the TI LM5113 driver, and the feasibility of sourcing cheap Chinese electronics components for product design.

  • 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.

  • EMS@C-LEVEL · 9m

    Exploring the Convergence of SMT and Semiconductor Industries with ASMPT CEO Robin Ng

    Robin Ng, CEO of ASMPT, discusses the company's strategy for navigating disruptions in the semiconductor and SMT industries through close customer engagement and a unified process-oriented culture for its 11,000+ employees. He explains how the convergence of automotive electrification and advanced packaging drives demand for ASMPT's equipment, leveraging synergies between high-precision SEMI tools and high-speed SMT pick-and-place machines. Ng highlights the company's strong position in the AI-driven market, specifically noting that thermal compression tools (TCP) are currently in a 'sweet spot' due to the specific requirements of AI chip packaging.

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by The Circuit. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.