The semiconductor industry is experiencing rapid changes, ranging from the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) to the growing use of tariffs. The relentless march of artificial intelligence dominates headlines, powered by increasingly sophisticated silicon brains. In this narrative, chip designer Nvidia and manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) have emerged as the undisputed leaders, seemingly leaving legacy giant Intel struggling to keep pace.
Has any US president’s term in office in a century started as badly from a stock market perspective as Donald Trump’s term from January 20 to April 8, 2025? This has caused significant harm to investors. What makes it special is that the market turmoil can be attributed to the actions of President Donald Trump and his administration. There are also export restrictions. Technology giant Nvidia faces billions in losses due to Trump restrictions. Donald Trump’s administration has restricted the technology company’s exports of artificial intelligence chips to China. Semiconductors are at the heart of nearly all modern technology. The global race to secure component availability has been intensifying as demand for these essential parts grows.
Trump’s tariff mix is causing problems for the semiconductor industry as latest tariff plans could cause significant disruption to the global semiconductor supply chain. The Trump administration aims to boost domestic production, but the measures also threaten to raise production costs and make it more difficult to obtain components. Taiwan’s TSMC, which supplies 90 percent of the world’s advanced semiconductors, could face difficulties, which will affect American technology companies such as Apple, Nvidia and AMD.
April 7th, 2025, is now being dubbed “Orange Monday,” and it’s left global markets charred and investors crying into their diversified portfolios. Trump chip tariff threat throws wrench into global supply network. The Trump administration’s steps toward extending its tariffs to the semiconductor industry threaten many business. The strategy by Apple to diversify its manufacturing from China seemed like a solid strategy, until President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs” this hit many other countries, too. Trump tariffs threaten Apple’s supply chain, stock suffers steepest drop in 5 years.
Today, many automakers, including original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), contract manufacturers (CMs), and electronic manufacturing service (EMS) providers, face the dual challenge of keeping pace with rapid technological advancements while managing significant geopolitical risks affecting their supply chains. Trump’s planned tariffs on chip imports risk upending a global supply chain and could lead to oversupply as the US and other countries seek domestic production Pentagon leaders are calling for thousands of drones to prepare for war in the Pacific. But as Trump’s tariffs escalate tensions with China, they face an uncomfortable reality: Silicon Valley’s drone companies are addicted to Chinese components.
Trump has repeatedly called out and accused Taiwan of stealing the U.S. chip manufacturing business and touted tariffs on semiconductor imports. Trump wants to see more chip manufacturing to happen in USA. Semiconductors are at the heart of America’s strength, enabling the essential technologies that drive economic growth and national security. Semiconductors are at the heart of America’s strength, enabling the essential technologies that drive economic growth and national security. With demand for semiconductors projected to increase significantly by 2030 and beyond, semiconductor companies are ramping up production and innovation to keep pace. The Future of U.S. Semiconductor manufacturing in 2025 seems to be TSMC’s Expansion and Intel’s delay. Two major players in the industry, TSMC and Intel, stand at opposite ends of the current manufacturing landscape as the United States attempts to boost its domestic chip ecosystem. TSMC’s costly expansion and Intel’s delayed reshoring efforts represent the opposite ends of America’s semiconductor manufacturing efforts.
There are expert views that US chip production targets edge further out of reach under Trump administration because of FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt) on the markets now. The future of the CHIPS and Science Act and its manufacturing funding is increasingly doubtful. Donald Trump was vocal about his criticism of the CHIPS and Science Act that was meant to spur the build-out of a domestic semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem. The CHIPS Act has become a cornerstone of U.S. policy to revitalize domestic semiconductor manufacturing. When it was announced, a flurry of investments from semiconductor manufacturers quickly accumulated to over $400 billion. While its passage and funding allotment did not occur as quickly as initially planned—something noted by many chipmakers over the last few years—it received significant bipartisan support within the U.S. government. The president is beginning to take action against the law to pivot towards tariffs, hoping to entice companies to onshore production in a bid to avoid import tax hikes.
Reuters reports that “some officials have expressed concern Trump could seek to invalidate binding grant agreements struck in the Biden administration.” Some projects are already facing uncertain futures. There is fear that US chip production targets edge further out of reach under Trump administration. Intel’s ambitious $28 billion semiconductor factory in Ohio has experienced significant delays. Originally planned as a cornerstone of Intel’s strategy to restore chip manufacturing to the U.S. and part of the CHIPS and Science Act’s push for government approval, the delay in Ohio raises questions about Intel’s ability to meet its goals for American chip production. The delay also raises questions about the future stability of the semiconductor industry in the U.S. for companies that don’t have the same capital as giants like TSMC.
There are also some agreements that seem to show some wins with the new tariffs politics. Trump announces $100 billion investment in U.S. from TSMC. Also Nvidia aims to spend several hundred billion dollars to procure US-made chips and electronics over the next four years, the Financial Times reported.
TSMC’s New Arizona Fab! Apple Will Finally Make Advanced Chips In The U.S.
While Trump’s tariff policy might boost investments into the U.S. by semiconductor manufacturers looking to avoid added costs, it won’t solve the labor shortage impacting the industry. Solving the problem will require a combined effort from chip manufacturers, education leaders, and government support. Those will be challenges. Semiconductor Industry Association project the semiconductor industry’s workforce will grow by nearly 115,000 jobs by 2030, from approximately 345,000 jobs today to approximately 460,000 jobs by the end of the decade, representing 33% growth. Of these new jobs, we estimate roughly 67,000—or 58% of projected new jobs (and 80% of projected new technical jobs)—risk going unfilled at current degree completion rates. Intel’s Ohio project, touted as one of the most ambitious semiconductor production facilities in the U.S., has faced delays due to logistical challenges, workforce issues, and regulatory hurdles. TSMC also had to delay its Arizona production schedules when it became clear there wasn’t enough specialized labor to operate its new facilities. This situation is not inherently unique to the U.S., as China, the EU, and even chip powerhouse Taiwan face obstacles caused by the labor shortage. To create a strong domestic ecosystem, the U.S. must grow a strong workforce that can run the new facilities.
In addition to chips there is will to have move the whole electronics products back to USA from Asia. Experts doubt Trump line that tariffs will shift manufacturing from Asia. The White House is insisting that Donald Trump’s vision of Apple’s flagship iPhones being manufactured in the US will come to fruition, despite assertions from analysts and the company itself that it would not be possible.. The reason seems to be that the US does not have the workforce of other nations where the vast majority of its electronics are currently manufactured, such as China, which makes about 85% of iPhones, India and Vietnam. The Wall Street Journal reported that, based on conversations with manufacturing experts, making and assembling all the components required to build an iPhone in the US would be impossible. “But shifting some manufacturing here? Not totally insane,” wrote WSJ’s tech team. For propaganda purposes China Creates Mocking AI Video of Average Americans Working in Garment Factory.
Intel 2025: Intel is in problem, and it is expected that it will sell some of it’s parts in 2025. In March Intel Corporation announced that its board of directors has appointed Lip-Bu Tan, an accomplished technology leader with deep semiconductor industry experience, as chief executive officer. The cutting-edge High Numerical Aperture Extreme Ultraviolet (High NA EUV) lithography tools is not expected to be production-ready until 2027 for a later node, designated 14A. It is expected that before that Intel would be forced to rely on existing Low NA EUV technology for 18A, likely employing complex and costly multi-patterning techniques. But new feature in Intel’s 18A is the utilization of BSPDN (Backside Power Delivery) that can give improved power efficiency along with signal integrity. Intel’s 18A is said to report an SRAM density equal to that of TSMC’s N2 process, signaling a massive breakthrough for the IFS and its semiconductor ambitions. Nvidia and Broadcom are running manufacturing tests with Intel, using the company’s most advanced production techniques, known as 18A. AMD is also evaluating whether Intel’s 18A manufacturing process is suitable for it.
TSMC-Intel semiconductor race is pretty much on, and it looks like the competition is going to get a lot more fiercer. Dutch company ASML – the sole global supplier of all EUV lithography machines – High NA EUV represents the next generation of this critical technology. TSMC gained ground by adopting EUV and at the same time, Intel extended the life of older DUV technology with complex multi-patterning, ultimately losing its process leadership.
Intel reported a 2024 net loss of $18.8 billion, its first since 1986, driven by large impairments. Intel was trying to get in on the AI bandwagon and invested a lot in it. It turned out that they have no chance of getting in on the AI bandwagon and ARM chips are still eating their x86 CPU market. This is a big business problem. Intel is expected to sell some of it’s parts. Multiple companies have expressed interest in buying parts of Intel. Intel is likely to be broken up into at least two, possibly even three or more pieces. Who will get Altera in 2025? Was the first question that was answered. Intel’s breakup begins with sale of $8.75B-valued Altera to private equity giant Silver Lake. Then we are waiting for the next move in Intel’s plan to shed non-core assets and reinvent itself. Hell freezes, pigs fly: Rumor has it that Intel could merge with AMD’s former foundry in potential multi-billion deal with GlobalFoundries or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) and the world’s number two chip design firm Broadcom divide its assets up. We will sew that is happening later this year.
The buildout of AI infrastructure in the US has reached a macro-level scale, and ensuring continuous growth will require ample availability of capital. There is a fear that the economic uncertainty induced by Trump tariffs could become the single largest barrier to American AI supremacy because economic uncertainty often leads to delays, and delays leads to contractions. Fortunately, on a micro level, research indicates that the tariffs will not impact (for the most part) the competitiveness of the United States in AI infrastructure costs but rather through capital accessibility. Let’s wait to see how changing tariffs, loopholes, and global trade for AI-related infrastructure equipment. Cost of capital is rising, with soaring 10 year interest rates, and the tightening of financial conditions could likely lead to a short-term slowdown in the AI infrastructure buildout.. Tariffs can potentially have major short-term impact on US hyperscalers if they affect the key components. At the moment GPU servers are largely exempted from tariffs, but optical module costs will increase by 25-40%. Some manufacturers are significantly better positioned than others. Mexico is already a large assembly hub and will take a central role in this new world order. Datacenter construction costs could increase by mid-to-high single digits – but the TCO impact for GPU cloud operators is likely less than 2%.increase. Retaliatory tariffs targeting US Big Tech are possible.
Sources:
https://futurism.com/elon-musk-trouble-donald-trump-tariffs
https://www.salkunrakentaja.fi/2025/04/trump-tullifarssi-aloitteleva-sijoittaja/
https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/orange-monday-2025-stock-market-crash
https://trib.al/3SqaBJz
https://knowyourmeme.com/editorials/guides/why-are-people-calling-today-orange-monday-memes-inspired-by-the-2025-stock-market-crash-explained
https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Trade-war/Trump-tariffs/Trump-chip-tariff-threat-throws-wrench-into-global-supply-network
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-03-20/nvidia-will-spend-hundreds-of-billions-on-chips-made-in-us-ft
https://yle.fi/a/74-20156456
https://wccftech.com/intel-18a-process-reportedly-comes-with-sram-density-on-par-with-tsmc-n2/
https://www.semiconductors.org/chipping-away-assessing-and-addressing-the-labor-market-gap-facing-the-u-s-semiconductor-industry/
https://futurism.com/elon-musk-trouble-donald-trump-tariffs
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/03/tsmc-to-announce-100-billion-investment-in-us-chip-plants.html
https://www.manufacturingdive.com/news/trump-biden-chips-act-future-federal-cuts-layoffs-musk/741052/
https://etn.fi/index.php/opinion/17239-trumpin-tariffisekoilu-aiheuttaa-ongelmia-puolijohdealalla
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/17249-tunnelin-paeaessae-naekyy-jo-valoa
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-03-05/trump-calls-for-end-to-52-billion-chips-act-subsidy-program
https://www.eetimes.com/trumps-revamp-of-chips-act-aims-at-big-investments/
https://www.techradar.com/pro/hell-freezes-pigs-fly-rumor-has-it-that-intel-could-merge-with-amds-former-foundry-in-potential-multi-billion-deal
https://www.techspot.com/news/106408-nvidia-transitions-advanced-cowos-l-chip-packaging-signaling.html
https://wccftech.com/intel-18a-process-reportedly-comes-with-sram-density-on-par-with-tsmc-n2/?fbclid=IwY2xjawIltX9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHYvnrhR4eesq60Y5LSNJolLapE3d5cLhC_nGCgoVHz228stCegxQkjiEzw_aem_H4OUKANJtC2QMgoj7aB83A
https://www.theedgesingapore.com/views/tech/intel-nears-end-tsmc-and-broadcom-ready-deals
https://semianalysis.com/2025/04/10/tariff-armageddon-gpu-loopholes/
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/syug00y9rkx#google_vignette
https://futurism.com/elon-musk-trouble-donald-trump-tariffs
https://hillsboroherald.com/the-hillsboro-oregon-gambit-is-intel-about-to-rewrite-the-rules-of-chipmaking-with-a-secret-weapon-and-a-surprising-ally/
https://futurism.com/china-mocking-ai-video-americans-sweatshop
https://futurism.com/trump-iphones-america
https://www.lightreading.com/smartphones-devices/Trump-tariffs-won%27t-bring-iPhone-manufacturing-to-US-shores
https://www.techzine.eu/news/infrastructure/130056/dutch-attempt-to-keep-asml-is-at-a-gridlock/
https://dawn.fi/uutiset/2025/04/04/nintendo-switch-2-ennakkotilaukset-siirretty-trump-tullit
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-03-20/nvidia-will-spend-hundreds-of-billions-on-chips-made-in-us-ft
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHat_LYrpQE
https://newsroom.intel.com/corporate/intel-appoints-lip-bu-tan-chief-executive-officer
https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/exclusivetsmc-pitched-intel-foundry-jv-to-nvidia-amd-and-broadcom-sources-say-3922603
123 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Kif Leswing / CNBC:
Intel cancelled planned fab projects in Germany and Poland, and will consolidate its testing and assembly operations in Vietnam and Malaysia — Intel reported second-quarter results on Thursday that beat Wall Street expectations on revenue, as the company’s new CEO Lip-Bu Tan announced significant cuts in chip factory construction.
Intel beats on revenue, slashes foundry investments as CEO says ‘no more blank checks’
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/24/intel-intc-earnings-report-q2-2025.html
Intel reported second-quarter results on Thursday that beat Wall Street expectations on revenue, as new CEO Lip-Bu Tan announced significant cuts in chip factory construction.
In a memo to employees, Tan said that the first few months of his tenure had “not been easy.”
Intel shares are up 13% so far this year as of Thursday’s close after plummeting by 60% in 2024, their worst year on record.
Michael Acton / Financial Times:
Intel reports Q2 revenue flat YoY at $12.9B, vs. $11.9B est., a $2.9B loss due to restructuring and impairment charges, and forecasts Q3 revenue above estimates — US chipmaker posts positive revenue and forecast as it cuts jobs — Intel chief executive Lip-Bu Tan pushed ahead …
https://www.ft.com/content/1d4eeada-8d49-4827-bdfa-d93d3dd0dd95
Tomi Engdahl says:
Reuters:
Intel plans to cut its workforce from 96,400 that it reported at the end of June to 75,000, or about 15%, through attrition and “other means” by the end of 2025
Intel is cutting more jobs as CEO Tan tries to fix manufacturing missteps
https://www.reuters.com/business/intel-is-cutting-more-jobs-ceo-tan-tries-fix-manufacturing-missteps-2025-07-24/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Jay Peters / The Verge:
Apple releases the first public betas of iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, watchOS 26, and tvOS 26, with its new Liquid Glass design language — The public betas for iOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, watchOS 26, and more are here. … Apple has officially released the first public betas for its next major software updates.
Apple releases public betas of its new software updates with Liquid Glass
The public betas for iOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, watchOS 26, and more are here.
https://www.theverge.com/news/695142/apple-public-betas-liquid-glass-ios-macos-26
Tomi Engdahl says:
Todd Bishop / GeekWire:
In a memo, Satya Nadella addresses the “enigma” of layoffs while “Microsoft is thriving”, saying the transition into the AI era “might feel messy at times” — Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella addressed the growing internal unease inside the tech giant Thursday morning …
In new memo, Microsoft CEO addresses ‘enigma’ of layoffs amid record profits and AI investments
https://www.geekwire.com/2025/in-new-memo-microsoft-ceo-addresses-enigma-of-layoffs-amid-record-profits-and-ai-investments/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ben Schoon / 9to5Google:
Google’s lead for Home and Nest Anish Kattukaran apologizes for Assistant reliability issues on home devices and announces “major improvements” later this year — Google Assistant has, especially in the context of the smart home, been crumbling over the past couple of years.
Google acknowledges Assistant issues with Home, teases ‘major improvements’ coming
https://9to5google.com/2025/07/23/google-home-assistant-tease-major-improvements/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bloomberg:
AMD CEO Lisa Su says she expects TSMC’s Arizona-made chips to cost “more than 5% but less than 20%” above TSMC’s Taiwan-made chips, and to arrive by 2025′s end
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-07-23/amd-ceo-su-sees-chips-from-us-tsmc-plant-costing-5-to-20-more?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc1MzM2NTcyMCwiZXhwIjoxNzUzOTcwNTIwLCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJTWlY4Nk1HUEZITjkwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJBMTc4NDk2MTA2M0M0RDBBQjdCRENDN0NCMEVERDIxRSJ9.qhTZEJ2kJcoBMpIx4oyBhQ3xs3onA77KhFN6Lz4Rb94
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel is aggressively cutting its workforce, planning to shrink it by more than one-third to combat operating losses and achieve financial stability.
Read more here: https://wccftech.com/intel-plans-to-lay-off-up-to-30-of-its-workforce-cutting-over-15000-jobs/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel abandons chip plants in Germany and Poland, confirms more layoffs
CEO Lip-Bu Tan says strategy shift will focus on customer needs, efficiency, and cutting costs
https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/25/intel_european_retreat/
Ailing chip giant Intel is ditching its manufacturing sites in Germany and Poland and signaling further job cuts ahead as its new leader tries to stem the losses and turn the Silicon Valley pioneer’s fortunes around.
In a memo to all employees, chief executive Lip-Bu Tan said he was choosing a different approach to building up the firm’s foundry business that would be “aligned with the needs of customers” as well as judicious and disciplined.
“With that in mind, we have decided not to move forward with previously planned projects in Germany and Poland,” he said.
This means that the much-vaunted megafab near Magdeburg in eastern Germany, first announced in 2022, will not be built. Intel was planning to invest more than €30 billion (about $35 billion) in the chip factory, but it ran into delays and former chief Pat Gelsinger put it on hold last year.
Its cancellation means that Intel stands to lose out on the €10 billion ($11.7 billion) in subsidies it was set to receive from the German government as EU Chips Act funding for the site.
Tan said that Intel remains “deeply committed” to investing in the US, but will also be further slowing construction of its fabrication plant in Ohio to “ensure our spending is aligned with demand.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Clear Linux OS terminated as Intel trims the fat
Chipmaker halts updates and support, urges users to migrate immediately
iconRichard Speed
Mon 21 Jul 2025 // 15:57 UTC
Intel has abruptly killed off Clear Linux OS, ending Chipzilla’s decade-long adventure in this part of the Linux world.
https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/21/intel_clear_linux_dead/?td=keepreading
In a statement on the Clear Linux Project forums, Intel said it would continue to contribute to the wider Linux arena, but the end was nigh for the operating system.
It also instructed users to migrate as quickly as possible, since Intel would no longer be patching, updating, or maintaining the OS.
The abrupt end comes as Intel’s new boss, Lip-Bu Tan, reportedly admitted that the company had fallen out of the top ten semiconductor companies. Cuts and layoffs have become a feature of the company, and the relatively obscure Clear Linux OS project seemed unlikely to escape the chopping block.
Clear Linux OS was optimized for Intel silicon (although the tweaks also worked for AMD chips). It arrived in 2015, initially aimed at cloud workloads, but also found its way onto the desktop. In addition to performance optimizations, the operating system was relatively minimal. Its stateless architecture, where a separation between the user and system files is maintained, also had its admirers.
Compared to the big beasts of the Linux world, it was always a niche player. However, as with many niche distributions, it had its devoted fans. Those fans clearly did not include Intel’s new boss.
The Clear Linux OS repo is to be archived in read-only mode, meaning that a fork will be required if anyone chooses to pick up the baton.
One user on the Clear Linux forums commented: “Seriously? No grace period, users are supposed to instantly migrate? That’s not very serious honestly.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel is laying off 24,000 employees and retreating from some countriesIntel will push out 24,000 people over the full year. It’s already laid off thousands.
https://www.theverge.com/news/713388/intel-q2-2025-leave-germany-poland-costa-rica?fbclid=IwY2xjawL05ttleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHpF9m4PeURUpp3Qk-EEq9GQRFogA3N4OfrqbFb34WTgfZkm_6Xqf96Fbd3ba_aem_3hwlICMTyPnQZOK1f-_luw
In April, Intel attempted to announce layoffs without announcing layoffs. “We have not set any headcount reduction target,” Intel spokesperson Sophie Metzger told The Verge. But the company has laid off thousands of employees since — and today, in the company’s Q2 2025 earnings, it has revealed that Intel will dramatically shrink as a result of those layoffs. Intel says it will retreat from planned projects in Germany and Poland, end its assembly and test operations in Costa Rica, and finish 2025 with just around 75,000 “core employees” in total.
Intel employed 109,800 people at the end of 2024, of which 99,500 were “core employees,” so the company is pushing out around 24,000 people this year — shrinking Intel by roughly one-quarter. (It has also divested other businesses, shrinking the larger organization as well.)
It’s just the latest revelation about how deep Intel’s new CEO Lip-Bu Tan is willing to cut as he attempts to flatten the organization after years of troubles and a lackluster response to the AI boom. In late June, Intel shut down its automotive chipmaking business and revealed it’d lay off up to 20 percent of silicon factory workers; in July, it spun out its RealSense computer vision business.
Today, on the company’s earnings call, Intel’s CEO says that Intel had overinvested in new factories before it had secured enough demand, that its factories had become “needlessly fragmented,” and that it needs to grow its capacity “in lock step” with achieving actual milestones.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Micron Exits Market for 3D XPoint™ Memory
https://memverge.com/micron-exits-market-for-3d-xpoint-memory/
“With immediate effect, Micron will cease development of 3D XPoint™ and shift resources to focus on accelerating market introduction of CXL-enabled memory products.”
“Micron has now determined that there is insufficient market validation to justify the ongoing high levels of investments required to successfully commercialize 3D XPoint at scale to address the evolving memory and storage needs of its customers.”
What This Means to Big Memory
Micron exiting the 3D XPoint market has the IT industry wondering what this means to the future of persistent memory (PMEM) and Big Memory Computing consisting of DRAM, PMEM, and memory virtualization software.
The MemVerge point-of-view is:
1 – The Big Memory Imperative – there is a fundamental need for the capabilities that PMEM and Big Memory deliver. The explosive growth of real-time data and memory-centric apps calls for new memory economics, capacity, availability, and composability.
2 – Innovation – innovative new memory chips, fabric interconnects like CXL, and memory virtualization software are needed for a new class of memory infrastructure to emerge.
3 – The bottom line – is we interpret the Micron announcement to mean Micron will focus on CXL-compatible DRAM while Intel, and others in the future, will deliver CXL-compatible PMEM. Both are needed for Big Memory Computing fabrics of the future with heterogenous memory and processors.
The Big Memory Imperative
Micron remarks suggest there is insufficient market validation for PMEM and Big Memory.
MemVerge’s opinion is the growth of real-time data and memory-centric apps are market validation of strong demand for higher PMEM density and lower cost. The explosion of memory-centric apps also validates a critical need for composable, software-defined memory with capacity, performance, availability, mobility, and security that can be tailored for each app.
Since the invention of DRAM over 50 years ago, server and workstation memory has remained expensive, scarce, and volatile.
Applications have been satisfied with the Von Neuman model of extending DRAM capacity by using IO to virtual memory in storage.
Not anymore. In-memory databases and fraud analytics in financial services, customer profiling in social media, recommendation engines in retail, 3D animation in media & entertainment, genomics in health sciences, and security forensics, to name just a few, are now demanding memory infrastructure with the capacity to handle massive data sets and avoid the performance hit of IO to storage.
As you can see in the chart on the right, IDC projects real-time data will comprise almost 25% of all data by 2024. They also project in 2021, 60-70% of the Global 2000 will have at least one mission-critical real-time workload.
The Big Memory Imperative
Micron remarks suggest there is insufficient market validation for PMEM and Big Memory.
MemVerge’s opinion is the growth of real-time data and memory-centric apps are market validation of strong demand for higher PMEM density and lower cost.
IDC projects real-time data will comprise almost 25% of all data by 2024. They also project in 2021, 60-70% of the Global 2000 will have at least one mission-critical real-time workload.
The Innovation Occurring to Meet the Big Memory Imperative
Micron says they will, “shift resources to focus on accelerating market introduction of CXL-enabled memory products.” This implies that 3D Xpoint™ technology will not be CXL-enabled.
The MemVerge point-of-view is that 3D Xpoint™ technology will be CXL-enabled.
The following are 3 areas of innovation that underpin Big Memory Computing:
1 – Memory Chips – different types of memory such as PMEM and MRAM are emerging to address requirements for cost, capacity, and persistence that can’t be addressed by DRAM.
2 – Fabric Interconnects – open standards like CXL will open the door for applications to leverage different types of processors and memory interconnected in a Big Memory fabric.
3 – Memory Virtualization Software – fabrics interconnected by CXL will need software, like Memory Machine from MemVerge, to abstract applications from the changes needed to support different processors and memory, and to make the memory resources composable.
The Bottom Line
Micron exiting the market for 3D Xpoint memory, and the comments in their announcement, calls into question the viability of persistent memory and Big Memory computing.
The bottom line is there is strong and growing customer demand to transform a market with a $100 billion revenue opportunity. Furthermore, the huge demand and revenue opportunity will drive continued investments in PMEM and Big Memory Computing.
MemVerge interprets the Micron announcement to mean they are exiting the market for 3D Xpoint to focus on their core DRAM and NAND businesses, leaving it to Intel, and others in the future to deliver CXL-compatible PMEM.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2025/07/30/elektroniikan-komponenttijakelu-lasku-jatkui-edelleen/
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/17723-euroopan-komponenttikauppa-odottaa-edelleen-kaeaennettae-parempaan
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/17724-kaennykkaelaturi-kutistuu-mutta-teho-kasvaa
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/17722-mems-antureissa-miljardikauppa-st-osti-nxp-n-toiminnot
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/opinion/17719-yrityksillae-ei-ole-varaa-odottaa-siirtymistae-windows-11-een
Windows 10:n tuki päättyy 14. lokakuuta 2025. Aika käy vähiin, ja organisaatioiden siirtyminen Windows 11:een ei etene riittävän nopeasti. Panasonic TOUGHBOOKin tuore tutkimus osoittaa, että viivyttely ei ole vain tekninen tai hallinnollinen haaste – se on suora liiketoimintariski.
Tutkimuksen mukaan jopa 98 % organisaatioista uskoo tarvitsevansa Microsoftin maksullista Extended Security Update (ESU) -palvelua, jos siirtymää ei saada valmiiksi ajoissa. Ilman sitä riskit kasvavat merkittävästi: kiristyshaittaohjelmien ja tietomurtojen uhka, sääntelyvaatimusten rikkominen ja mainehaitat nousevat keskeisiksi huolenaiheiksi. Yli puolet vastaajista ei usko voivansa ylläpitää tietoturvaa ilman päivitystä tai ESU:ta.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Noah Smith / Noahpinion:
A look at why the AI data center building boom could spark a financial crisis akin to 2008, including the rising use of debt financing via private credit funds — This time let’s think about a financial crisis before it happens. — The U.S. economic data for the last few months is looking decidedly meh.
Will data centers crash the economy?
This time let’s think about a financial crisis before it happens.
https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/will-data-centers-crash-the-economy
The U.S. economic data for the last few months is looking decidedly meh. The latest employment numbers were so bad that Trump actually fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, accusing her of manipulating the numbers to make him look bad. But there’s one huge bright spot amid the gloom: an incredible AI data center building boom.
AI technology is advancing fast, threatening (promising?) to upend many sectors of the economy. Nobody knows yet exactly who will profit from this boom, but one thing that’s certain is that it’s going to take a lot of computing power (or “compute”, as they say). AI models take a lot of compute to train, but nowadays they also take a lot of compute to do inference — i.e., to “think about” and answer each question you ask. Inference compute now represents most of the cost of running advanced AI models, and increases in inference compute are responsible for many of the ongoing performance gains. So compute needs are probably only going to grow as AI keeps getting better.
Whoever provides this compute is going to make a huge amount of revenue. Whether that means they’ll make a lot of profit is another question, but let’s table that for right now; you can’t make profit if you don’t make revenue. So right now, tech companies have the choice to either sit out of the boom entirely, or spend big and hope they can figure out how to make a profit.
Roughly speaking, Apple is choosing the former, while the big software companies — Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon — are choosing the latter. These spending numbers are pretty incredible
Tomi Engdahl says:
Paul Kedrosky:
As a percentage of US GDP, AI datacenter capex is already larger than peak telecom spending during the dot-com era and is approaching the railroad spending boom — AI capex is so big that it’s affecting economic statistics, boosting the economy, and beginning to approach the railroad boom
Honey, AI Capex is Eating the Economy
https://paulkedrosky.com/honey-ai-capex-ate-the-economy/
AI capex is so big that it’s affecting economic statistics, boosting the economy, and beginning to approach the railroad boom
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/17731-trumpin-kuparitullit-iskevaet-yhdysvaltain-elektroniikkateollisuuteen-piirilevyt-kallistuvat-selvaesti
Tomi Engdahl says:
Asa Fitch / Wall Street Journal:
Microsoft’s Q4 earnings show its non-AI “core infrastructure business” is booming, with consumer productivity software revenue up 20%, its best uptick in years
Asa Fitch / Wall Street Journal:
Microsoft’s Q4 earnings show its non-AI “core infrastructure business” is booming, with consumer productivity software revenue up 20%, its best uptick in years
https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/microsoft-is-an-ai-darling-but-its-core-businesses-are-booming-too-2213126f?st=o6gNZ9&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/17733-intel-peruu-jaettimaeisen-tehdasinvestoinnin-saksassa-irtisanomisia-luvassa
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nikkei Asia:
DRAM prices remain high after doubling from May 2025 to June 2025, amid speculation that China’s CXMT may have halted DDR4 production to focus on DDR5 and HBM
DRAM prices soar as China eyes self-reliance for high-end chips
Push toward more profitable advanced chips could cause DDR4 memory shortage
https://asia.nikkei.com/business/tech/semiconductors/dram-prices-soar-as-china-eyes-self-reliance-for-high-end-chips
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cheng Ting-Fang / Nikkei Asia:
Sources: TSMC fires several employees for violating rules related to obtaining sensitive info on 2nm chip tech; TSMC says it detected “unauthorized activities”
TSMC fires workers for breaching data rules on cutting-edge chip tech
Prosecutors are investigating the matter under Taiwan’s National Security Act
https://asia.nikkei.com/business/technology/tsmc-fires-workers-for-breaching-data-rules-on-cutting-edge-chip-tech
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mike Isaac / New York Times:
Silicon Valley has shifted from Web 2.0 to a new “hard tech”, AI-dominated era with fewer perks and a more serious mood, as startups use San Francisco as a base — In a scene in HBO’s “Silicon Valley” in 2014, a character who had just sold his idea to a fictional tech company …
Silicon Valley Is in Its ‘Hard Tech’ Era
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/04/technology/ai-silicon-valley-hard-tech.html?unlocked_article_code=1.bk8.t0w-.jiIF3FBqqrfO&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Goodbye to the age of consumer websites and mobile apps. Artificial intelligence has ushered in an era of what insiders in the nation’s innovation capital call “hard tech.”