After decades of dominance by a few key players, the semiconductor race has been blown wide open. The shift is driven partly by a new demand for AI-specific chips, according to a report from Andy Patrizio in Ars Technica.
Why it matters: There's a lot of new money pouring into a lucrative sector, setting up an explosion of new players — and another venue for the AI arms race between the US and China.
The backdrop: Until fairly recently, the desktop and mobile semiconductor markets were unipolar, ruled by Intel and ARM, respectively. Several changes blew the lid off the industry, Ars reports, but the rise of computing-intensive AI has led to the biggest proliferation of new technologies from both established companies and new players.
The old guard:
The upstarts:
People see a gold rush; there’s no doubt.— Brad McCredie, VP of IBM Power systems development, to Ars Technica
Why now? Specialized tasks like machine learning benefit from tailored chips that do one thing well — and efficiently — rather than many things more slowly, Patrizio writes. Different types of machine learning benefit from different chip architectures, opening up a whole range of new needs.
What's next: Many of the chips being developed will never see the light of day, either because they're being made for companies' internal use, or because they'll quickly be bulldozed by the considerable competition. But there's a hefty prize in store for the winners.
Go deeper: Nerd out on the gory details at Ars Technica
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