1. Grab the baseband business and dig the president. Intel and Qualcomm's comprehensive war;
Abstract: As two giants in the PC and mobile communications field, Intel and Qualcomm have been in good condition before, and occasionally conflicts are only rubbing on the edge of each other. But in the present and in the future, based on the needs of their respective strategies and future development, The two companies have begun to enter each other's core territories, and compete in some emerging business areas, the competition is gradually intensifying.
Episodes on August 3rd (Reporter Zhang Yiqun) Intel recently made a series of 'grab people, grab the grain, grab the land' move to make Qualcomm a bit hurt. After monopolizing this year's new iPhone series baseband chip big single, recently rumored Intel Plan to dig Qualcomm executives to take the post of CEO.
As the two giants in the PC and mobile communications field, Intel and Qualcomm have been in peace with each other. Occasionally, the conflict is only rubbing on the edge of each other. But in the present and in the future, based on the needs of their respective strategies and future development, the two Enterprises have begun to march into each other's core territories, and compete in some emerging business areas, and the competitive situation is gradually intensifying.
Following the resignation of Ke Qiqi at the end of June, Intel has been looking for candidates for new CEOs. It is reported that Qualcomm's current president, Cristiano Amon, and former executive Anand Chandraseker (Anand Chandrasekher) Already on the shortlist. In addition to Amon and Anand, Intel's CEO candidate list includes several Intel's current and former executives.
Intel needs to find a strong leader as soon as possible and lead the company to move forward. At present, Intel is at a critical development time node. Last month, Intel celebrated its 50th anniversary celebration, while at the same time, in the data center business. In the field, Intel is facing strong challenges from competitors such as AMD. Intel has been postponed on 10nm processors and is expected to be launched next year. AMD has plans to launch 7nm process processors next year.
Intel's top 6 CEOs are all from within the company, and the entry of Amon and Anand into the Intel CEO indicates that Intel hopes to recruit senior leaders from outside to gain new horizons and ideas to seek breakthroughs.
Amon is a veteran of Qualcomm. He has been serving Qualcomm since 1995 and was promoted to the position of President of Qualcomm last year. Amon's ability is unquestionable, but perhaps some bad luck, after the acquisition of Broadcom, the acquisition of NXP failed, with Apple's 1. Qualcomm has always been in the whirlpool of public opinion, as well as litigation in global regulatory agencies.
In particular, after the failure of the acquisition of NXP and the loss of Apple's baseband orders, there were reports in the US media that the rumored president, Amon, might resign as a 'back pot'.
Anand joined Qualcomm from Intel in 2012. Before leaving Qualcomm in May this year, he was the head of Qualcomm's server chip division. After Anand's departure from Qualcomm, his server chip team also carried out large-scale staff adjustments. The number was halved and was planned to the QCT department. This was interpreted by the media as a strategic contract for Qualcomm's $1 billion implementation cost reduction plan, weakening some otherwise unimportant businesses, focusing on core business.
In the field of semiconductor and mobile communications, the flow of talents in the industry and the phenomenon of mutual excavation are common. Enterprises value the resources that executives have, and learn from each other's shortcomings to make up for their lack of business capabilities.
Take Apple, Qualcomm, Intel to give a few examples, Apple is now developing its own baseband chip is not news, the chip team's boss comes from Qualcomm responsible for the baseband business. Adnan has been working at Intel before coming to Qualcomm Responsible for server chip work, Qualcomm announced in 2016 to enter the server chip field, Adnan became the person in charge.
Penny Baldwin, the newly appointed chief marketing officer of Qualcomm last year, worked for many years at Intel and participated in the successful marketing case of 'intel inside'. She said in an interview with the micro-network reporter in July that Qualcomm this year. Adjusted the market strategy, no longer put on 30-second TV commercials, and turned to deliver rich content, focusing on the 'story' of Qualcomm's service industry. Obviously, Qualcomm hopes to help her in To B through her marketing experience in To C. Market expansion in the field.
Marching into the other side of the hinterland
In addition to the pursuit of executives, Intel also launched an impact on Qualcomm's core baseband business, which stems from the deterioration of Qualcomm's relationship with Apple.
Apple does not want to rely on a single vendor on the core components, and introduces multiple vendors in the form of differentiated orders, but ultimately to achieve the replacement of its own products. On the processor side, not only does the iPhone produce its own A-series processors, Also produced S series for Apple Watch, W series for wireless headphones.
A year ago, Apple began to develop its own GPU, and in the panel aspect, Foxconn's panel factory in the United States hopes to achieve self-supplied screens.
The same is true for the baseband. With the escalation of the contradiction with Qualcomm, Apple introduced the Intel baseband in 2016. However, Intel baseband did not support CDMA before, and it can only be used on some carrier networks. Intel's orders account for only a small part.
This year's exclusive baseband supplier for the new iPhone is indeed unexpected. But it also shows that the Intel baseband has made significant progress in performance. The newly launched XMM7560 has achieved support for CDMA and mass production.
Some analysts pointed out that after successfully acquiring Apple's baseband orders, Intel's baseband business revenue will exceed $2 billion. Although the proportion of annual revenues of more than $60 billion is not large, Apple's support has enabled Intel to achieve Qualcomm's hinterland.
Qualcomm is responding to lawsuits from Apple, and on the grounds of Intel's baseband patent infringement, it is required to ban the sale of Intel-based iPhone products in the US, and the current lawsuit is still under further investigation. The latest news shows that Qualcomm hopes Intel Providing technical documentation for the new baseband chip may mean that Qualcomm will pull Intel into patent litigation.
On the other hand, Qualcomm is also trying to enter the field familiar to Intel.
For example, the data center server chip business mentioned above, although currently subject to the strategic contraction of the external environment, Qualcomm clearly stated that it will not give up this market, ARM architecture still has its advantages.
In Qualcomm's big strategy, mobile computing services including mobile PC, VR, AR and so on are regarded as 'stars of tomorrow'. Now Qualcomm has launched the main 'full-time online, always connected' notebook products, based on ARM architecture, mobile processing Qualcomm '骁龙本' from the transplant, with its long battery life, high-speed connection is gradually recognized and accepted by the market. If Intel can not effectively respond, then this field will be the same as the baseband, gradually rushed by Qualcomm.
In addition to the above, in the 5G, Internet of Vehicles, Automated Driving, Internet of Things and other fields, both sides are competing, and these areas are also regarded as the key to future business.
Qualcomm, which has been established for 30 years, is working hard for its next 30 years, the vision of connecting all things. Intel, which has been established for 50 years, is also facing the future by the traditional PC to support the transformation of cloud computing and the Internet of Everything. The Internet of Things era Arrival, the chip giants are embarking on a new journey, the contest has just begun. (Proofreading / Fan Rong)
2. Say goodbye to Nvidia, Tesla's self-developed chip has finally come out!
Abstract: At present, Tesla is developing a hardware called 'Hardware3'. Compared with the technology based on off-the-shelf technology, designing and manufacturing its own AI hardware can give Tesla a higher competitive advantage and help Tesla. Stand out among car manufacturers.
1. It has long been a secret for Tesla to build its own custom chip for autonomous driving.
It can be said that Tesla is one of the few automakers to develop autonomous driving technology, but what is different is that the company has been developing its own chips for artificial intelligence computing, rather than relying on chips such as NVIDIA. Manufacturer's system. Develop autopilot chips from AMD digging corners
Musk first publicly mentioned this self-developed autopilot chip project, which was at a company event in December 2017.
At the time Tesla's autopilot hardware used NVIDIA's graphics card, Musk invited chip architect Jim Keller from AMD to serve as Tesla's vice president of hardware development, and said 'we think that the current JK team's team developed autonomous driving special AI hardware is the best in the world. '
However, Keller left Tesla in April this year, after the accident in Tesla was accused of being related to the autonomous driving system. Even so, Keller and many other AMD former architects and senior executives have formed a single inside Tesla. team.
Today the team is led by Pete Bannon, a chip architect who also switched to Tesla more than two years ago. He worked for Apple for nearly 8 years and joined Tesla in 2016.
Musk said in the company's second-quarter earnings conference call this year, 'We have been preparing this matter privately for two or three years. I think it is time to make the news public.' - Tesla is developing a name for himself. Called 'Hardware3' hardware, which will be used in ModelS, ModelX and Model3 to achieve autopilot functionality. Bannon confirmed in the second quarter earnings conference call that his team has produced chips and has been mounted on test vehicles for actual roads. test.
Why Tesla gave up NVIDIA
For a long time, Tesla relied on the NVIDIA Drive platform, but the reason why it is based on self-developed chips can be more personalized and efficient.
Bannon said that when it joined Tesla, employees considered many options, including NVIDIA graphics, and said they had talked with ARM personnel. ARM provided technical support for chips from Qualcomm and other chip makers. 'No one starts from scratch. Start doing bottom-up design, but we choose to go this way. '
Musk said that Tesla plans to expand the size of the AI chip team and invest in the technology as soon as possible. He said that the cost of the new self-developed AI chip is comparable to the current system used by Tesla in its cars, but the calculation And processing power will be higher. Tesla Motors currently uses components from NVIDIA.
It is understood that Tesla's new chip is currently undergoing road testing. Unlike previous autopilot systems that rely on NVIDIA GPUs, the upgraded hardware will run at 2,000 frames per second – a significant increase from 200 frames. Achieve an order of magnitude improvement.
In Musk's view, designing and manufacturing his own AI hardware can give Tesla a higher competitive advantage than relying on off-the-shelf technology, helping Tesla stand out among automakers.
According to industry analysts, independent research and development of AI chips can help Tesla improve efficiency, focus on demand, and take the lead in the market. However, this is destined to be a difficult road, and Tesla is only taking the first step. Proofreading / Fan Rong)
3. Qualcomm expects that the 'Internet of Things' chip will contribute more than $1 billion to revenue this fiscal year;
Reuters August 3 - Qualcomm said on Thursday that it is expected that smart chips, semiconductor chips connected to speakers and other devices other than the core business of mobile phone chips will bring more than $1 billion in revenue to the company this fiscal year.
The latest figures show that Qualcomm can still diversify its revenue sources after acquiring the Dutch chipmaker NXP Semiconductors last month.
Qualcomm shares rose 0.17% on Friday at $64.88. (End) (Compiled by Wang Yang; Revised by Liu Jing)
4. Passive components are out of stock, or the price is nearing the end;
Manufacturers of laminated ceramic capacitors (MLCC) passive components have successively delivered beautiful transcripts. As capacitors, resistor prices and shipments have grown at the same time, the value of Taiwan’s exports has risen sharply. Even the customs officers are surprised. Passive components can create excellent export performance. However, the market is worried that the one-year out-of-stock and price hikes are coming to an end. Although the Taiwan passive component factory has performance support, it can't resist the torrent of stock price decline. At this stage, MLCC is not a question of rising prices. It is a question of how many customers have to accept. If MLCC customers don’t buy them, they can’t get them outside, and then they will return to the original MLCC manufacturers. It may be out of stock, and even if the order is re-ordered, I don't know how long it will take to get the turn. Therefore, as long as there is a supply contract, even if the price rises, the customer will not let go. Currently including Guoju, Huaxinke At the present stage, manufacturers such as Heshentang will not have to worry about no orders at all. As for the MLCC manufacturer Huaxin Branch, the second quarter revenue exceeded NT$11 billion, a record high, plus industry. Disposal of Japanese solar lure In the second quarter, the profit reached 4.367 billion yuan, which was more than doubled from the first quarter. The profit in the first half of the year increased by 6 times. Due to the good market conditions of the MLCC at this stage, the board of directors of Huaxin Branch has increased the capital through cash. MLCC. He Shentang specializes in vehicle-based, industrial control, charger and other niche-type high-pressure MLCC. Under the market's strong buying power and strategic adjustment, the proportion of self-made MLCC revenue in the second quarter has exceeded 50%, and the gross profit margin is from 30%. Up to 38.9%. Although the production capacity of Heshentang MLCC is much lower than that of Guoju and Huaxinke, it is still actively expanding. With the installation of imported MLCC equipment, about 15% of new capacity will be opened in the third quarter. Both the gross profit margin and the gross profit margin have positive benefits. MLCC leading factory Murata (Murata) revenue growth of 25.7% in the second quarter, mainly for smartphone performance expansion, automotive electronics, 5G base station pull, etc., driving MLCC sales performance In the second quarter of Murata, sales of capacitors such as MLCC increased by 31.3% year-on-year, including sales of inductors, connectors, sensors, etc., which increased by 71.6%. It can be seen that sales of components such as MLCC and inductors play a major role in revenue growth. As for the price increase of MLCC, Murata said that it is negotiating with customers. MLCC manufacturer TDK season 2 benefiting car MLCC Sales increased, combined revenue increased 18.5% year-on-year, business benefits increased by 53.1%, including MLCC, inductive components, aluminum electrolytic capacitors and film capacitors, all of which delivered beautiful transcripts, while battery-based energy applications also grew significantly. It can be seen that the demand for passive components in the automotive electronics, electric vehicles and other markets is rapidly expanding. However, TDK also said that the market prospects are unclear and the US-China trade friction is not optimistic about future performance. Although the performance of the passive components in the first half of 2018 is good. However, in the second half of the year and 2019, 2020, whether the market demand for passive components such as MLCC continues to be strong, and whether the equipment delivery period of up to one and a half years is digested in advance, so that the manufacturer's expansion plan will be realized earlier, in the case of a sharp increase in supply. It may cause the price hike trend to come to an abrupt end. Due to market noise, including MLCC, aluminum electrolytic capacitors, solid capacitors, chip resistors and upstream ceramic substrates, aluminum foil and other products are out of stock and price information is becoming increasingly chaotic, passive component suppliers If you are in a chaotic position, is it worth to watch the price again? It is worth watching. DIGITIMES
5. Ann Bunny announced the Android mobile phone performance list in July. The full screen is Qualcomm Xiaolong 845;
Summary: With the launch of mobile phones equipped with the Snapdragon 845 processor, the scale has been formed. There is no doubt that Ann Bunny’s July Android mobile phone performance list will be screened by Qualcomm.
Set micro-network news (text / Luo Ming) Ann Bunny announced the Android phone performance list in July yesterday, as expected, TOP10 mobile phone manufacturers are all equipped with the Snapdragon 845 processor, the following is the specific details.
On the processor side, we said earlier, TOP10 was swept by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor.
In terms of mobile phones, Xiaomi's black shark game mobile phone has been TOP1 for two consecutive months. OPPO and vivo's flagship position is the first runner-up. By the way, OPPO's flagship machine Find X is airborne TOP2, which is strong.
Compared with the Android phone performance list in June, we found that:
On the processor side, Qualcomm's processor has dominated the Android performance list TOP10 for two consecutive months. The previous Kirin 970 processor has disappeared. Qualcomm has won, as for MediaTek, not to mention it.
In terms of mobile phones, the Red Devils phone originally equipped with the Snapdragon 835 processor stubbornly occupied the 10th place in the Android performance list. As other mobile phones equipped with the Snapdragon 845 processor went on the market, it was forced to be squeezed out of the list.
In June and July, Ann Bunny Android mobile phone performance list TOP10, we can not draw a conclusion, in the next two or three months, Ann Bunny's Android phone performance list will continue to be equipped with Qualcomm Xiaolong 845 processor Mobile phone screen, until the mobile phone equipped with Kirin 980 processor is listed. (Proofreading / Luo Ming)
6.ASML ships new lithography machine NXT2000i: for 7nm/5nm DUV process
According to foreign media reports, the lithography machine ASML (Asma) has begun to ship the new Twinscan NXT: 2000i DUV (NXT: 2000i dual workpiece deep ultraviolet lithography machine), which can be used for 7nm and 5nm nodes. NXT: 2000i It will be an effective complement to the NXE:3400B EUV lithography machine. After all, TSMC/GF's first generation 7nm is based on the DUV process.
At the same time, NXT:2000i has become the highest overlay product of ASML, reaching the same 1.9nm as 3400B (2.4nm for 5nm and 3.5nm for 7nm). ASML will start at the end of this quarter. The Twinscan NXT:2000i is available at an undisclosed price. Currently, the NXE:3400B EUV lithography machine is priced at $120 million, and the traditional ArF immersion lithography machine (14nm node) is priced at $72 million, NXT: The 2000i is definitely between the two.
Finally, a brief introduction to ASML, which was born out of Philips' lithography R&D team in the Netherlands, accounted for 70% of the global lithography machine market in 2017. It is an absolute brother, followed by Canon, Nikon and Shanghai Microelectronics.
The integrated circuit undergoes various processes such as material preparation, masking, photolithography, etching, cleaning, doping, mechanical polishing, etc. in the fabrication process, among which the photolithography process is the most critical, and it is the advanced manufacturing process of the entire integrated circuit industry. The important indicator is the transfer between the mask pattern and the silicon substrate pattern during the chip manufacturing process. (The structure of the transistor device and the connection path between the transistors are carved out.)