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Samsung unveils technology road map to lure AI chip makers to its mfg biz

Samsung unveils technology road map to lure AI chip makers to its mfg biz

by | Jun 13, 2024 | Technology


Samsung also argues its ability to offer logic, memory and advanced packaging will help it make rapid progress in winning outsourced semiconductor manufacturing orders for AI-related chips | Photo: Bloomberg

3 min read Last Updated : Jun 13 2024 | 7:06 AM IST


By Ian King and Yoolim Lee

 


Samsung Electronics Co. unveiled a number of forthcoming advancements to its technology aimed at luring makers of AI chips to its manufacturing business. 

 


Though Samsung is the world’s No. 1 memory-chip maker, it has been trying to catch up with rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. in the foundry market, where companies manufacture customer-designed chips. Samsung laid out its chipmaking road map and outlined its vision for the artificial intelligence era at its annual foundry forum Wednesday at its US chip headquarters in San Jose, California. 


Samsung’s share in the foundry market slid to 11 per cent in the first quarter of this year from 11.3 per cent in the previous quarter, while TSMC’s share climbed to 61.7 per cent from 61.2 per cent during the same period, according to TrendForce. 


The South Korean chipmaker’s earnings are recovering, helped by demand for components used in AI computing systems. That’s bolstering its main memory chip division and also providing opportunities to win outsourcing orders. 


But Samsung has to prove its production is advanced and reliable enough to attract bigger commitments from demanding customers such as Nvidia Corp., which produces AI accelerators that are a must-have for all large technology companies. Samsung also faces a nascent challenge from Intel Corp., which is opening its plants in an attempt to win orders from former rivals. 


Advances in production technology, usually signified by smaller and smaller transistor dimensions, helps improve the performance of the electronic components. The race to smaller dimensions is key to winning orders for AI processors, some of the highest performing and most expensive chips in use. 


The advanced process introduced by Samsung uses so-called backside power delivery network technology, which places power rails on the backside of a silicon wafer. Such technology enhances power, performance and area while significantly reducing the drop in voltage, compared with its first-generation 2-nanometer process, the company said. 


Samsung also argues its ability to offer logic, memory and advanced packaging will help it make rapid progress in winning outsourced semiconductor manufacturing orders for AI-related chips.


The company predicted on Wednesday that its AI-related customer list will expand fivefold and revenue will increase by nine times over current levels by 2028. The company announced several new types of production technology and a layout for future AI-related chips that it said will help it win customers. 


Samsung executives declined to comment on the status of its attempts to supply the latest advanced memory chips to Nvidia or respond to reports that it hasn’t yet been able to achieve qualification of such chips at the US company.


Samsung also touted its gate-all-around — or GAA — technology, which is key for AI products. The company plans to mass produce its second-generation 3-nanometer process in the second half of this year and deliver GAA on its upcoming 2-nanometer process. In 2022, Samsung became the first in the industry to begin GAA-based 3-nanometer mass production. 


The chipmaker affirmed that its preparations for 1.4-nanometer are progressing smoothly, with performance and yield targets on track for mass production in 2027. 

First Published: Jun 13 2024 | 7:06 AM IST



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Apple likely to 'pay' OpenAI for ChatGPT through distribution, not cash

Apple likely to 'pay' OpenAI for ChatGPT through distribution, not cash

by | Jun 13, 2024 | Technology


ChatGPT will be offered for free on Apple’s products, but OpenAI and Apple could still make money by converting free users to paid accounts | Photo: Bloomberg

4 min read Last Updated : Jun 13 2024 | 6:57 AM IST


By Mark Gurman

 


When Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook and his top deputies this week unveiled a landmark arrangement with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into the iPhone, iPad and Mac, they were mum on the financial terms.

 


Left unanswered on Monday: which company is paying the other as part of a tight collaboration that has potentially lasting monetary benefits for both. But, according to people briefed on the matter, the partnership isn’t expected to generate meaningful revenue for either party — at least at the outset.


The arrangement includes weaving ChatGPT, a digital assistant that responds in plain terms to information requests, into Apple’s Siri and new writing tools. Apple isn’t paying OpenAI as part of the partnership, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the deal terms are private. Instead, Apple believes pushing OpenAI’s brand and technology to hundreds of millions of its devices is of equal or greater value than monetary payments, these people said.


Meanwhile, Apple, thanks to OpenAI, gets the benefit of offering an advanced chatbot to consumers — potentially enticing users to spend more time on devices or even splash out on upgrades.


Representatives of Apple and OpenAI declined to comment.


The pact with OpenAI is part of a broader push by Apple into AI. The iPhone maker laid out the plans during a keynote address at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, showing off AI features for the iPhone, iPad and Mac. The non-ChatGPT capabilities — branded as Apple Intelligence — were designed by the company in-house. 


But even if money wasn’t a major factor in the Apple-OpenAI deal, remuneration could come into play later. 


Under the current structure, the partnership could become costly for OpenAI, which needs to pay Microsoft Corp. to host ChatGPT on that company’s Azure cloud-computing systems. The more people use ChatGPT, the more OpenAI’s expenses rise. And the integration into Apple devices — while optional for users and limited to the company’s recent products — threatens to add significantly to the computing budget.


ChatGPT will be offered for free on Apple’s products, but OpenAI and Apple could still make money by converting free users to paid accounts. OpenAI’s subscription plans start at $20 a month — a fee that covers extra features like the ability to analyse data and generate more types of images. 


Today, if a user subscribes to OpenAI on an Apple device via the ChatGPT app, the process uses Apple’s payment platform, which traditionally gives the iPhone maker a cut.


Apple’s deal with OpenAI isn’t exclusive, and the iPhone maker is already discussing offering Google’s Gemini chatbot as an additional option. That agreement should be in place later this year.


Apple has also held talks with Anthropic as a potential chatbot partner, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg earlier this year. The idea is to ultimately offer a range of AI services to users — similar to the way Apple has different search engine options in its Safari browser.


Eventually, Apple aims to make money from AI by striking revenue-sharing agreements whereby it gets a cut from AI partners that monetise results in chatbots on Apple platforms, according to the people. The company believes that AI could chip away at the billions of dollars it gets from its Google search deal because users will favor chatbots and other tools over search engines. Apple will need to craft new arrangements that make up for the shortfall.


Apple’s own AI services won’t be as costly to deliver because most of them are handled on the devices themselves, rather than through cloud computing. Still, the company is ramping up its data center operations to support new online AI services that handle more advanced tasks.


To make Apple Intelligence a success, the company will need to expand it to other languages and countries. That may be a challenge in China, one of Apple’s biggest overseas markets, where services like ChatGPT and Gemini are barred. 


The company has yet to reach a deal with a local Chinese provider to handle chatbot features, but has been considering an arrangement with companies such as Baidu Inc. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., according to the people. For now, Apple Intelligence is only available in American English, but the company is aiming to support more languages next year.

First Published: Jun 13 2024 | 6:57 AM IST



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IT firms acquire niche players in ER&D to generate new revenue streams

IT firms acquire niche players in ER&D to generate new revenue streams

by | Jun 12, 2024 | Technology


4 min read Last Updated : Jun 12 2024 | 9:49 PM IST


Information technology (IT) services companies are increasingly acquiring niche players, mostly in engineering research & development (ER&D), as it is a high-growth sector offering opportunities to generate new revenue streams.


Cognizant’s acquisition of Belcan for $1.3 billion earlier this week, as well as Infosys’ dual acquisitions of in-tech for $480 million and InSemi for $34 million earlier this year, are clear indicators of this trend.


“We believe that acquiring Belcan will strengthen Cognizant’s position in the sizeable and fast-growing ER&D services market,” said Cognizant Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ravi Kumar S.


“Infosys continues to strengthen its ER&D leadership with decades of experience in digital engineering. Together with in-tech, Infosys Topaz, and the recently acquired InSemi’s semiconductor expertise, we have successfully created deeper capabilities for the next phase of automotive innovation in the arena of software-defined vehicles,” Dinesh Rao, executive vice-president (V-P) and co-delivery head at Infosys, said at the time of the acquisition.


Analysts pointed out several advantages that IT companies gain from these acquisitions.


“The primary advantages include access to cutting-edge ER&D capabilities, which are crucial for enhancing business resilience, shaping future revenue streams, and maintaining a competitive edge in a software and data-driven world. It allows expansion into the high-growth ER&D sector, which boasts a robust 10 per cent annual growth rate, outpacing the stagnant 2 per cent growth of traditional IT services. It also leads to higher valuations, as companies with substantial ER&D portfolios are rewarded with premium valuations by the market,” said Sidhant Rastogi, president of Zinnov.


Sandeep Nayak, partner at Bain & Company, concurs, “Over the past year or so, the core IT services business has been a bit stressed, and many of the deals are not net new. Such niche acquisitions have the potential to create new buying centers, new revenue streams, and new areas of growth. A lot of the success depends on how well the integrations are being done.”


For the majority of Indian outsourcing vendors, the proportion of ER&D services to overall revenue falls within a band of high single digits to mid-teens, said Pritesh Thakkar, research analyst at Prabhudas Lilladher.


“Given that spending on IT services remains weak at the current juncture, outsourcing vendors are seeking new opportunities to fill these gaps. Additionally, the addressable market potential for ER&D services continues to increase, as original equipment manufacturers and Tier-I suppliers are more willing to outsource than before, and there are few potential players in the market to capture these opportunities. Furthermore, the premiumisation, domain expertise, and skillset required to deliver ER&D projects are much higher than those needed for IT services,” said Thakkar.


IT companies are climbing the value chain by acquiring companies that specialise in specific industry sectors, said Aditya Narayan Mishra, managing director and CEO of Ciel HR Services.


“Acquiring companies with such niche capabilities gives them immediate access to specialised talent, expertise, and technologies; also, deep client relationships. This strategy helps large IT firms fortify their service offerings, command price premiums, and improve profitability.”


With product engineering capabilities, IT firms are also able to meet client demand for greater agility and accountability in the delivery of services.


“The trend of Indian IT firms enhancing their product engineering offerings, either by acquisition or organic growth, will continue. Traditionally, service engagements were focused on specific tasks, such as managed infrastructure services or application support and maintenance. However, our clients are increasingly recognising the need to transition from these traditional outsourcing models to continuous product engineering services, which offer the benefits of increased agility, accountability, and end-to-end ownership,” said Manjunath Bhat, V-P analyst at Gartner.


There are examples of other acquisitions as well.


This year, mid-sized IT firm Happiest Minds acquired Noida-based digital engineering firm PureSoftware for $94.5 million and the US-based digital product engineering company Aureus Tech Systems for $8.5 million.


Last year, HCLTech acquired ASAP Group, a German automotive engineering services provider, for €251.1 million (about $270 million). In 2022, Tech Mahindra acquired the German digital engineering firm Com Tec Co IT for €310 million ($333 million).

First Published: Jun 12 2024 | 9:00 PM IST



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Tech wrap Jun 12: Xiaomi 14 Civi launched, Pixel June Feature Drop and more

Tech wrap Jun 12: Xiaomi 14 Civi launched, Pixel June Feature Drop and more

by | Jun 12, 2024 | Technology


4 min read Last Updated : Jun 12 2024 | 8:03 PM IST


Xiaomi has launched in India the Xiaomi 14 Civi. Like other smartphones in the Xiaomi 14 series, the Xiaomi 14 Civi is a camera-centric smartphone with imaging system co-engineered with German optics entity Leica. The smartphone sports a triple-camera system on the back and a dual-camera system on the front. It is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, paired with up to 12GB RAM and 512GB on-board storage.


Google has announced the June Feature Drop for Pixel devices that brings new features and capabilities to the Pixel smartphones and Pixel Watches. The software update brings Gemini Nano AI model integration into Pixel 8 and Pixel 8a smartphones, and enables car crash detection on the Pixel Watch 2. Google said that these new features will start rolling out on Pixel devices from today onwards and will be available on all supported devices in the coming weeks.


On June 10, during its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple unveiled “Apple Intelligence,” a suite of AI-powered tools embedded in the next-generation platforms: iOS 18 for iPhone, iPadOS 18 for iPad, and macOS Sequoia for Macs. However, the subsequent headlines focused on Apple’s partnership with OpenAI for integrating ChatGPT into its intelligence suite. This development has sparked curiosity among technology enthusiasts about how the Apple-OpenAI partnership will function, given Apple’s emphasis on privacy in its intelligence systems. Additionally, there is speculation about potential collaborations with other technology companies like Google to enhance AI capabilities further.


Japanese electronic brand Toshiba on June 12 launched Google TV platform-based C350NP range of smart televisions in India. Offered in 43-inch, 50-inch, 55-inch, and 75-inch display options, the Toshiba C350NP Smart TVs support Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos surround sound. Priced at Rs 26,999 onwards, all four display sizes will be available for purchase from June 12 on e-commerce platforms Amazon India and Flipkart.


Motorola Edge 50 Ultra is set to launch in India on June 18, announced China’s Lenovo-owned smartphone brand. Third smartphone in the Motorola Edge series, the Ultra model will join the Edge 50 Pro and Edge 50 Fusion. The smartphone will be offered in three Pantone validated colours – Peach Fuzz, Forest Grey, and Wood. While the Peach Fuzz will be offered in frosted glass finish, the Forest Grey will boast vegan leather texture, and the Wood colour option will feature a back cover made from real wood.


Google’s video streaming platform YouTube is rolling out a new feature, which allows creators to publish videos on the platform with multiple thumbnails. Called “Thumbnail Test and Compare”, the feature enables access to advanced features where creators can test various thumbnails and compare the video performance in a couple of weeks’ time from the day of publishing. Announced last year in June, YouTube’s thumbnail test and compare feature is now rolling out widely to all creators on the video streaming platform.


X could make likes on posts private from June 12, reported The Verge. According to the report, likes by the premium subscribers of the social media platform were already hidden, but now the feature is being rolled out widely. After the feature is implemented, likes count will still be active and you will see the number of likes on your post but the likes on other people’s posts will be hidden.


On stage on Monday CEO Tim Cook’s Apple announced a splashy deal with OpenAI to include its powerful artificial intelligence model as a part of its voice assistant, Siri. But in the fine print of a technical document Apple published after the event, the company makes clear that Alphabet’s Google has emerged as another winner in the Cupertino, California, company’s quest to catch up in AI.


Taiwanese chip design giant MediaTek is developing an Arm-based personal computer chip that will run Microsoft’s Windows operating system, according to three people familiar with the matter.


Alphabet’s Google said on Tuesday that Brazil will be the first country to test an anti-theft feature for Android phones that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to identify when a phone has been stolen and lock the device’s screen.

First Published: Jun 12 2024 | 8:03 PM IST



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Elon Musk's X could start hiding likes on public posts from today: Report

Elon Musk's X could start hiding likes on public posts from today: Report

by | Jun 12, 2024 | Technology


2 min read Last Updated : Jun 12 2024 | 5:03 PM IST


X, formerly known as Twitter, could hide likes on posts from June 12, reported US-based consumer technology news platform The Verge. According to the report, likes by the premium subscribers of the social media platform were already hidden, but now the feature is being rolled out widely. Elon Musk, owner of X, has also reshared a tweet with a screenshot of the news.


After the feature is implemented, the Likes tab on users profile will be gone. Likes count will still be active and you will be able to see the number of likes on your post but the likes on other people’s posts will be hidden. You have the option to hide likes manually but with this feature will be hidden by default for all. There is still no clarity if view count will be visible.

The new feature arrives after Elon Musk reportedly told the engineers at X that he wanted to remove the tweet action buttons and wanted to shift focus to impressions.


The hiding of likes is a way to let users protect their public image. Haofei Wang, Director of Engineering at X in May had confirmed the move stating public likes are incentivising wrong behaviour on the platform. He also added, “many people feel discouraged from liking content that might be “edgy” in fear of retaliation from trolls, or to protect their public image”.


Enrique Barragan, senior software engineer had also taken to X to clarify that users will be able to see the number of posts and replies on their own post but likes of users will not be visible on other posts.


Likes impact the algorithm and the user is shown similar posts to the one that is liked most and this feature will result in curation of a timeline similar to their interests.

First Published: Jun 12 2024 | 5:03 PM IST



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Apple Intelligence could get Google's Gemini integration in future: Report

Apple Intelligence could get Google's Gemini integration in future: Report

by | Jun 12, 2024 | Technology


3 min read Last Updated : Jun 12 2024 | 4:51 PM IST


On June 10, during its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple unveiled “Apple Intelligence,” a suite of AI-powered tools embedded in the next-generation platforms: iOS 18 for iPhone, iPadOS 18 for iPad, and macOS Sequoia for Macs. However, the subsequent headlines focused on Apple’s partnership with OpenAI for integrating ChatGPT into its intelligence suite. This development has sparked curiosity among technology enthusiasts about how the Apple-OpenAI partnership will function, given Apple’s emphasis on privacy in its intelligence systems. Additionally, there is speculation about potential collaborations with other technology companies like Google to enhance AI capabilities further.


Apple Intelligence and Privacy


Apple describes its Apple Intelligence as a “personal intelligence system” that integrates generative AI capabilities into iPhones, iPads, and Macs, with a primary focus on user privacy. Apple Intelligence utilises the on-device processing power of M-series Apple Silicon for Macs and iPads and the A17 Pro chip for iPhones. However, requests for advanced features requiring more processing power are handled in the cloud. For cloud processing, Apple said it has developed Private Cloud Compute (PCC), which ensures that user data is accessible only to the user and not even to Apple. Apple states in its security blog that once a response to a user’s request is sent, “personal data leaves no trace in the PCC system.”


Apple’s partnership with OpenAI


In an interview with Fast Company, Craig Federighi, Apple Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, explained how OpenAI’s ChatGPT has been integrated into the Apple ecosystem while maintaining user privacy. Federighi clarified that OpenAI’s ChatGPT does not power Apple Intelligence; instead, both systems independently provide AI capabilities on the same device. Apple Intelligence is driven exclusively by Apple’s LLMs and AI models, with no data sent to OpenAI without user permission. For instance, to receive ChatGPT-powered responses through Apple’s voice assistant Siri, users must permit Siri to send a request to ChatGPT.


OpenAI, in a blog post detailing its partnership with Apple, confirmed that requests to ChatGPT from Siri and other Apple AI tools are protected. OpenAI stated that such requests are not stored, and users’ IP addresses are obscured.


A potential deal with Google


While ChatGPT integration with Apple’s operating system will be available to users with iOS 18, Federighi indicated that Apple might collaborate with other large language model (LLM) providers in the future. According to 9To5Mac, he said, “We think ultimately people are going to have a preference perhaps for certain models that they want to use, maybe one that’s great for creative writing or one that they prefer for coding. And so we want to enable users ultimately to bring a model of their choice.” He specifically mentioned that Apple could integrate models like Google Gemini in the future.


Although Apple has not yet formalised a deal with Google for Gemini AI integration, it is already utilising Google’s technology to power its AI models. A report by Reuters indicated that according to a technical document released by Apple, the company’s engineers used Google’s cloud-based tensor processing units (TPUs) to train Apple’s foundational AI model. While Apple has not detailed the extent of its reliance on Google’s chips and software, it is likely that both companies have been collaborating in the AI space for several months.

First Published: Jun 12 2024 | 4:50 PM IST



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