➀ Cadence has introduced a new system chiplet based on Arm; ➁ The article delves into the motivations behind this move; ➂ The Briefing series provides further insights.
Recent #Arm news in the semiconductor industry
➀ The xAI Colossus team has received a Dell NVIDIA GB200 system, likely a NVL72 platform. ➁ The system features dual-tray compute nodes and NVLink switch trays, indicating a significant expansion in xAI's capabilities. ➂ The deployment of this system marks a transition to liquid cooling for Dell at xAI and a move towards Arm-based computing.
➀ Qualcomm's Oryon CPU cores use minimal Arm technology; ➁ Oryon cores are developed by Nuvia, a company co-founded by Gerard Williams III; ➂ Legal dispute between Arm and Qualcomm over Nuvia's architecture licenses and custom designs.
➀ The Arm v Qualcomm lawsuit in Wilmington continued, focusing on the amount of Arm technology in a Qualcomm PC processor; ➁ Arm's lawyer argued that the licensing contract covered Arm technology and its derivatives and modifications; ➂ Gerard Williams, CEO of Nuvia, acknowledged that some of Nuvia's design work might be considered derivatives or modifications of Arm's technology, but estimated the amount to be 'one percent or less'.
➀ NVIDIA has significantly upgraded the Jetson Nano with a huge performance increase of 57-70% in INT8 TOPS; ➁ The new Jetson Orin Nano Super Developer Kit offers a 50% increase in memory bandwidth to 102GB/s without hardware changes; ➂ The upgrade comes even to existing platforms with a Jetpack SDK update.
➀ Intel is facing increased competition from AMD, NVIDIA, and Qualcomm in the x86 chip space; ➁ Qualcomm disputes Intel's claims about high return rates for Snapdragon PCs; ➂ Qualcomm expects 30-50% of laptops to move to non-x86 platforms within five years.
➀ The Qualcomm vs Arm legal battle began in a Delaware courtroom. The case revolves around whether Qualcomm's architecture license with Arm covers designs done by Nuvia before it was acquired by Qualcomm. ➁ The dispute could cost Arm an estimated $50 million in revenue if Qualcomm's acquisition of Nuvia is not validated. ➂ Arm CEO Rene Haas and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon are expected to give evidence.
➀ Masayoshi Son, CEO of Arm's owner SoftBank, pledged a $100 billion investment in the US at Mar-a-Lago. President-elect Donald Trump hailed it as a 'monumental demonstration of confidence in America’s future'. ➁ Son expressed his hope that Trump would bring peace to the world and that his investment would create 100,000 jobs. ➂ This is Son's second major investment pledge in the US, following a $50 billion commitment after Trump's first election victory in 2020.
➀ Marvell's Structera A memory controller with 16 ARM cores is unveiled, showcasing its capabilities for CXL Type-3 memory expansion; ➁ The device is designed to enhance system compute and memory capacity, with potential for repurposing DDR4 DIMMs; ➂ The inclusion of ARM Neoverse V2 cores suggests high-performance applications beyond low-scale-out CPU cores.
➀ Windows 11 on Arm runs on selected Android smartphones but experiences rapid heating and significant battery drain; ➁ Despite performance issues, it can perform certain tasks and run older games; ➂ The experience is facilitated by Windows on Arm development focused on Qualcomm Snapdragon chips, with limitations due to incomplete driver support.
➀ Arm CEO, Rene Haas, expresses his views on Intel's current situation, highlighting the importance of innovation in the tech industry.
➁ Haas discusses Intel's strategic challenges, particularly the IDM vs. Fabless debate, and his belief in the potential advantages of vertical integration.
➂ The CEO addresses rumors about Arm's potential acquisition of Intel and its plans to expand its chip manufacturing business.
➀ Geekom is reportedly preparing the QS series of mini-PCs with the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chip; ➁ This device will be the first Snapdragon X Elite mini-PC, as Qualcomm unexpectedly canceled the Snapdragon X Elite dev kit; ➂ The mini-PC's specifications, pricing, or additional information are not yet known.
➀ NVIDIA has introduced a self-hosted version of the BlueField-3 DPU, designed for storage applications; ➁ The self-hosted version, known as B3220SH, features a PCIe switch and supports NVMe SSDs and GPUs; ➂ The BlueField-3 generation offers improved memory bandwidth and a 16-core Arm A78 infrastructure for lower-power network-attached CPU solutions.
➀ Cadence宣布开发并成功流片其首款基于Arm的系统芯片let；➁ 这标志着芯片let技术的重大进步；➂ 强调了Cadence通过其芯片let架构和框架推动行业领先解决方案的承诺。
➀ NVIDIA has announced a new Grace Blackwell platform with the NVIDIA GB200 NVL4, which combines two Arm-based Grace CPUs and four Blackwell GPUs. The platform is designed for lower power deployments with a power consumption of just over 6kW. The NVL4 module is targeted to be a large node with up to 1.3TB of combined coherent memory. ➁ The GB200 NVL4 is set to ship in the second half of 2025. ➂ The NVL4 is designed as an alternative to the higher power and higher GPU count platforms offered by NVIDIA, targeting specific deployment needs.
➀ Neil Druckmann discussed the evolving role of storytelling in video games with screenwriter Alex Garland, reflecting on the challenges and inspirations around narratives in games.
➁ Games like BioShock and The Last of Us demonstrated the full capability of narrative in gaming, challenging the industry's skepticism.
➂ Druckmann shared his early inspirations for narrative-driven games, including Monkey Island 2 and Half-Life 2.
➀ Reputable leaker Billbil-Kun reports that Death Stranding 2 pre-orders are expected to start in March, with a release date likely announced at SXSW 2025.
➁ The game will have a Standard Edition at $69.99 and a Collector's Edition at $229.
➂ The leak also confirms that Death Stranding 2 will launch with a physical Standard Edition, priced at $69.99 USD / 69.99 EUR, along with a Collector's Edition planned for North America and Europe, retailing at $229 USD.
➀ Dr. Prady Gupta is the Founder and Chief Scientist at Infinita Lab and Infinita Materials, focusing on materials testing and specialized chemicals for high-tech industries.
➁ Infinita Lab offers a network of over 2,000 accredited labs for comprehensive materials testing services.
➂ Infinita Materials specializes in custom inorganic chemicals for sectors like semiconductors and batteries.
➀ This paper discusses the post-silicon validation of the IBM POWER9 processor, highlighting its significance in the context of increasing multi-core processor adoption by hyperscalers.
➁ IBM's Threadmill, a tool for processor verification, has been enhanced since the POWER7, including optimized template allocation and debugging strategies for multi-core write drops.
➂ The validation methodology for POWER9 has significantly improved bug detection rates compared to POWER8, with new techniques like AI prioritization and hardware irritators to induce bugs.
➀ Traditional RF board design strategies are insufficient for high frequencies and dense layouts;
➁ Keysight and Modelithics collaborate on an advanced RF board simulation workflow;
➂ The use of 3D passive component models enhances simulation accuracy and reduces the risk of board re-spins.