1. Xilinx announced the acquisition of Shenjian Technology, the specific amount was not disclosed;
Xilinx, Inc. (NASDAQ: XLNX), a global leader in adaptive and intelligent computing, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of Shenjian Technology. Shenjian Technology is a Beijing-based company. Start-ups, with industry-leading machine learning capabilities, focus on neural network pruning, deep compression technology and system-level optimization.
Xilinx announced the completion of the acquisition of Shenjian Technology on July 18, 2018
Since its inception in 2016, Shenjian Technology has been developing machine learning solutions based on Xilinx's technology platform, and the two companies are working closely together. The deep network technology-optimized neural network pruning technology runs on Xilinx FPGA devices. It can achieve breakthrough performance and the best energy efficiency in the industry. Since 2017, Xilinx has become a major investor in Shenjian Technology together with other well-known investment institutions around the world.
Shen Jian, CEO of Shenjian Technology, said that we are very pleased to further deepen the cooperation between Shenjian Technology and Xilinx, so that both parties can more closely cooperate to provide leading machine learning solutions for users in China and around the world.
Shen Jian Technology CTO said that as one of the early investors, Xilinx accompanied Shenjian Technology to explore the potential of machine learning and witnessed our innovation and development in this field. We look forward to this transaction, Together, we will take our machine learning solution to a whole new level of performance.
Salil Raje, executive vice president of Xilinx Software Business, said that we are very excited about Shenjian Technology's participation in the Xilinx family. We look forward to their participation to further enhance Xilinx's world-leading engineering research and development capabilities and accelerate Xilin. Think about creating a company vision that is flexible and smart. The talent and innovation are the core of Xilinx's development. In the future, Xilinx will continue to increase its investment in Shenjian Technology and continue to promote the company's deployment of machines from cloud to end applications. The common goal of learning to accelerate.
After the acquisition, Shenjian Technology will continue to operate in its Beijing office as part of the Xilinx Greater China family with more than 200 employees. The specific financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. 2. The deadline is approaching! CNBC: If the deadline is not extended, Qualcomm plans to terminate the acquisition of NXP;
According to CNBC's David Faber, if Qualcomm and NXP's M&A transaction is not extended before the July 25 deadline, Qualcomm plans to terminate the transaction.
In October 2016, Qualcomm announced the acquisition of Dutch semiconductor giant NXP for $110 per share. In February 2017, in response to a malicious acquisition by Broadcom, Qualcomm raised its offer for NXP, from $110 per share. To $127.50 per share, the overall quotation increased from $38 billion to $43 billion.
The mergers and acquisitions between Qualcomm and NXP were only approved by Chinese regulators at the global regulatory level. At one time, there was a dawn, but then the Sino-US trade became increasingly tense, and ZTE encountered a US ban, and the prospects gradually dimmed. In the industry's view, China has used Qualcomm's and NXP's transactions as a bargaining chip against Sino-US trade wars and ZTE events.
Brian Modoff, executive vice president of Qualcomm's strategy and M&A business, hopes that the issue of Sino-US trade friction can be resolved as soon as possible. He also said that China is the focus of Qualcomm's business development and cooperation, and Qualcomm's commitment to China is also unwavering. Chinese regulators can approve Qualcomm's acquisition of NXP as soon as possible. If approved by regulators, Brian Modoff said it can complete the acquisition target for the acquisition of NXP's outstanding shares.
3. MediaTek A22, red rice 6A first mining;
According to the micro-network news, MediaTek announced today that it has launched the 曦力A series product line to benefit the wider smartphone market with its complete functions and low power consumption. MediaTek is committed to enabling all consumer groups to enjoy advanced technology at reasonable prices. Convenience. Based on the success of the P-Series (P20, P22, P23 and P60) for the mainstream market, MediaTek further expands its product line, launches the new A-Series, and features some high-end products. Decentralized to the mass market with a large user base, highlighting the corporate mission of MediaTek's 'enhancing and enriching the public life'.
Li Zonglin, general manager of MediaTek's wireless communications division, said: 'With the advancement of technology, we have seen the enthusiasm of the general public to embrace new technologies and emerging electronic products year by year, so we launched the Philip A series, which will be like artificial intelligence. Advanced technology is put into the A series, allowing more people to enjoy the advanced technology dividend in advance. A is the initial letter of Advanced, with advanced meaning, which means that the A series will continue to be based on the consumer's original knowledge. Iterative upgrades, improve the user experience, and subvert people's perception of mass-market phones.'
The first product of the series, the A22, has been launched recently. It uses a quad-core Cortex-A53 architecture clocked at 2.0GHz, advanced 12nm FinFET process technology and CorePilot technology, without sacrificing performance. Excellent low-power advantage. In addition, the A22 brings artificial intelligence technology to mass-market mobile phones for the first time, which means consumers can enjoy face recognition, face unlocking, smart photo albums, etc. without having to pay high prices. AI functionality. The A22 also supports MediaTek's NeuroPilot SDK and the latest AI development framework (such as Android NN), making it easier for third-party vendors to develop AI applications for A22-equipped devices.
Other features of the Philip A22 include:
· Support 13 million + 8 million pixel dual camera or 21 million pixel single camera, 20:9 HD + full screen
· Supports LPDDR3 and LPDDR4 memory specifications, giving handset manufacturers greater design flexibility
· Support Cat.7 and dual card dual VoLTE/ViLTE
· Bluetooth 5.0, connecting mobile phones to smart home devices
· 802.11 ac Wi-Fi, higher bandwidth and data throughput, enhance online gaming and multimedia streaming experience.
· Multiple GNSS options (GPS, Glonass, Beidou, Galileo), compared to the previous generation, the first positioning time (TTFF) is 57% faster, the accuracy is increased by 10%, and the power consumption is reduced by 24%.
At present, the first mobile phone red rice 6A equipped with Philip A22 has been fully launched.
4. Qualcomm President Amon talks about strategy: halving mobile business VR is the star of tomorrow;
'Global Network Technology Reporter Zhang Zhiying' After US President Trump took out four months to prevent Broadcom from acquiring Qualcomm, foreign media Business Insider interviewed Qualcomm President Cristiano Amon and talked about future growth. Plan. He pointed out that the VR device will be the next star of tomorrow, and revealed that Qualcomm's mobile business revenue may be reduced to half of total revenue in the future.
Qualcomm President Cristiano Amon Qualcomm President Cristiano Amon Apple patent war and Broadcom's dual mergers and acquisitions, Qualcomm wants to prove to shareholders that its business diversification Future potential. Qualcomm plans to double the use of cellular technology products, such as automotive infotainment systems, virtual reality headsets, etc. to achieve this goal.
Qualcomm's processor chips cover almost all smartphones, but Qualcomm believes it can do more. Qualcomm hopes to surpass its main revenue-generating mobile business, expand its business in adjacent areas, and expand its products. Strategy, with or without NXP, maintains its position in the chip market.
'We have been waiting for two years. We have been waiting for NXP's acquisition, and a lot of things have happened in two years.' Cristiano Amon pointed out, 'We have established a diversified business. The acquisition of NXP is accelerating this one. Strategy, it will not bring new strategies, but it will help the original strategy and make it bigger and faster.'
Mobile business may shrink to half of Qualcomm’s revenue
More than 80% of Qualcomm's product revenue comes from smartphone sales, but if everything goes according to plan, it may change. 'Think of us as a variety of wireless devices,' said Amon, who described Qualcomm's focus on 'high Performance, low power calculations'.
Amon hopes to see that half of Qualcomm's revenue component comes from mobile devices, and the other half comes from other types of devices. But there is still a way to go. Data shows that Qualcomm brought $16.5 billion in products in FY2017 Revenue. Among them, $3 billion comes from business units other than mobile, accounting for only 18% of total business. However, non-mobile revenues are growing rapidly, and 2017 data is 25% higher than 2016, up 75% from 2015.
Although Qualcomm continues to develop its smartphone processor, mobile growth has slowed in recent quarters due to the saturation of 4G cellular technology. Amon expects that once the 5G device is released in the Android ecosystem in the first half of 2019, the growth rate is expected Pick up again.
By 2020, Amon expects 5G smartphones to become mainstream, which is good news for Qualcomm, because manufacturers will look for new wireless chipsets by then. 'We hope users are addicted to speed, unlimited data rates, expected 2020 , the industry can return to double-digit growth rates. '
VR device is the next star of tomorrow
Qualcomm's Opteron processor is suitable for all new VR devices. Facebook has also teamed up with Qualcomm to think that the next important market will be virtual reality and augmented reality. In fact, Facebook Oculus Go, Google Daydream and HTC Vive Pro are equipped Qualcomm Xiaolong processor. 'Today, every VR device is based on the Snapdragon chip,' said Amon.
In May, Qualcomm announced a new XR chipset called the Xiaolong XR1, which provides everything needed to power a VR headset, including a WiFi antenna. However, foreign media also pointed out that the chip does not yet have a cellular modem. Future versions of these chips may change.
Amon expects that once 5G is more widely available, VR and AR will be booming, and the headset will not be so cumbersome, more elegant, and convenient for users to carry around.
Amon believes that the small chip will make these devices look like everyday glasses. He said that when people wear cellular-attached augmented reality glasses, the device can provide them with news, how much gasoline in the fuel tank, etc. information.
The future will be the world of the Internet of Things
Outside the mobile space, Qualcomm envisions an Internet of Things (IoT) device world that can connect to the Internet as quickly and reliably as a mobile phone.
The 5G trend coupled with the push for unlimited data opens new doors for connected devices to have an always-on Internet connection like a smartphone. Qualcomm has achieved some success in the wearables market, with 80% of Android Smart watches use Qualcomm's Snapdragon Wear chip.
Amon also said that Qualcomm can expand its business in the industrial Internet of Things field to supply power to automation machinery and other large equipment, especially if the successful acquisition of NXP, this plan will be smoother.
'You have never had the ability to support industrial-grade Internet in the wireless world, and 5G will bring the ability to have mission-critical services and create a new industry beyond cellular smartphones for cellular networks,' said Amon.
Two other areas of growth for Qualcomm are the network, which focuses on providing high-quality WiFi connectivity for homes and offices, as well as laptops connected to cellular networks like smartphones.
In June 2017, its first notebook processor was officially released. A year later, 16 telecom operators around the world, including T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T and Deutsche Telekom, began to provide connectivity to these chips. The latest version of the chip The Snapdragon 850 was announced in June. The chip will debut on Samsung's Windows 10 machine, but the details of the computer have not yet been announced.
Connected cars have become Qualcomm's 'success story'
In April, Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf revealed a $4 billion order inventory of its reserve auto supplier on the earnings conference call. Qualcomm believes one of the successful growth areas is Cooperation with car partners.
Amon said, 'We work with the world's 25 best brands in the automotive market. In addition, we have now worked with more than 15 brands to design dashboards and infotainment systems. This is a very successful new market.'
Qualcomm has a 15-year-old automotive portfolio that can be used for telematics, automotive emergency assistance, GPS tracking, anti-theft and other tools, and connects cars to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
In the past four years, the company has focused on automotive infotainment systems. As of January, infotainment sales accounted for $1 billion, or one-third of the company's auto orders.
It is worth mentioning that if NXP reaches an agreement, Qualcomm will gain a greater foothold in this field. NXP has a large number of businesses in the field of non-connected automotive semiconductors, and its functions include automotive control and security. Said that these are just combined with existing Qualcomm products.
5. Heterogeneous integration... the next key to semiconductors;
The speed of information explosion is amazing. In 2015, Twitter had 100,000 messages per minute. By 2018, it had increased to 500,000. The number of views per minute on Youtube was 1.3 million in 2015. It has come in 2018. 4.3 million.
In just three years, three or four times the increase in information violence, the device or carrier that indicates the information must be closely followed, otherwise it will not be able to meet the bottom-up demand growth.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the invention of integrated circuits (ICs). Over the past 60 years, computers, notebooks, mobile phones and networks equipped with ICs have greatly improved the ability of information computing, and have greatly changed the way people live. Changes in human life patterns In particular, the way of communicating and receiving messages further forces IC computing power to increase relatively.
The development of integrated circuits is fast. More than 20 years ago, the size of an IC was 1 micron, almost 100 times that of today. The storage capacity is more than 10,000 times. In the past, a computer had almost one room to accommodate. The chip function on a small mobile phone has surpassed the computing power of the past computer.
Although every 1 to 1.5 years, the semiconductor chip can be twice as powerful as Moore's Law, it will still be effective in the next ten years. However, many people are worried that the end will come soon. When traditional silicon chips are exposed through process technologies such as exposure and development. When it comes to the limit, how do humans continue to make semiconductor chip functions continue to be strong?
Non-traditional chips through heterogeneous integration technology have become the solution for the market to start thinking about. Heterogeneous integration refers to putting different chips together through packaging or other technologies to make the chip more powerful. For example, past memory It is separate from the chip of the central processing unit. Nowadays, the integration of the two has become a trend. Not only that, but the combination of sensors and non-silicon materials such as LEDs or communication chips is also a hot trend in the semiconductor industry.
As early as ten years ago, ITRI has invested in research and development in related fields, including 3D IC, wafer level packaging technology, Silicon Phonotics, Micro LED, etc. Quality integration application case.
In simple terms, heterogeneous integration technology is the desire to integrate IC chips of different functions into another silicon wafer, glass or other semiconductor material by packaging technology or semiconductor process.
In general, heterogeneous integration has two major advantages: First, when designing an IC, it is not necessary to design all functions on the same chip, which can improve the efficiency of design development. Second, break through the physical limitations of silicon, Can apply silicon to a variety of different fields.
The Institute's ongoing silicon photonics program is an example of typical heterogeneous integration. Because silicon is not suitable for processing optical signals, there are many semiconductors in the optical fiber communication that are not using silicon, but materials such as gallium arsenide. The silicon chips must be connected in series and switched out to be bridged with the fiber network. The power consumed and the computing capacity are self-explanatory.
The silicon photonics program is to find a way to do what is originally done on GaAs, which can be directly integrated on the silicon platform. Finally, electricity can be used to control the light, thus reducing the manufacturing cost of the fiber-optic communication semiconductor and speeding up the design.
Obviously, heterogeneous integration will be the key technology for the next wave of semiconductor development, including the United States, Japan, and China.
In the past, Taiwan's semiconductor industry had two major advantages: first, the upstream and downstream supply chains were complete, and second, there were many semiconductor talents. However, in the face of the process limits of traditional chips, Taiwanese companies must strive for innovation breakthroughs in order to continue to maintain competition in the future semiconductor market. Advantage.
In particular, artificial intelligence, automatic driving, 5G and other emerging technologies are driving the continuous growth of information processing. Taiwan's semiconductor industry can only achieve the next generation of semiconductor heterogeneous integration of new technologies, so that the industry can successfully transform and upgrade and create new heights.
(The author is the director of the Institute of Electro-optical Systems, ITRI)