Nvidia challenger AI chip startup MatX raised $500M
The startup was founded by former Google TPU engineers in 2023.
chips
Intel Panther Lake laptop CPU review: call it a comeback
Intel’s been talking the talk for months about its new generation of laptop chips, the first made on its long-anticipated 18A process. 18A is meant to steer Intel back toward bluer waters by making its chips better, and, if possible, attracting chip designers like Qualcomm and Nvidia to use Intel’s foundries, not just its rival […]
A timeline of the US semiconductor market in 2025
From leadership changes at legacy semiconductor companies to wishy washy policy around chip exports, a lot happened last year.
Windows on Arm had another good year
In 2024, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X chips finally made Arm-based Windows laptops viable. Unlike previous Arm laptops that struggled to even run Windows well, this new class offered solid performance and the best battery life on Windows, and they impressed us in Microsoft’s own Surface Laptop and Surface Pro offerings. But inconsistent app compatibility remained the […]
The Vergecast RAM Holiday Spec-tacular
Happy Holidays! As we like to do on The Vergecast, we take this time of year to see our families, relax and recharge, and go extremely deep into a specific technology that matters right now. This year, we picked the tiny chip in all your devices that is suddenly a precious and expensive commodity: RAM. […]
Nvidia is reportedly testing tracking software as chip-smuggling rumors swirl
A new software option could make it possible to see the approximate location of some of Nvidia’s AI chips.
RAM is ruining everything
Memory suppliers just blew a hole in the PC gaming industry – and they’re about to do the same to everything else. For weeks, PC enthusiasts have borne the brunt of skyrocketing memory prices, but the shockwaves will soon impact a wider range of products as suppliers pour resources into a far bigger and more […]
Nvidia’s $2B Synopsys bet tightens its grip on the chip-design stack
The $2 billion investment in Synopsys, which makes software and components for designing semiconductor chips, deepens their existing partnership at a time when analysts scrutinize circular AI-industry deals and warn of a potential bubble.
Intel says star hire from TSMC didn’t steal secrets
Intel has defended itself against accusations that its latest executive hire stole trade secrets, as TSMC sues the exec and Taiwanese prosecutors say they’ve begun a probe into the incident. Wei-Jen Lo, a Taiwanese engineer, joined Intel this fall, hired to help the company improve its mass production processes. He’d previously worked at the American […]
Qualcomm reveals its not-so-elite Snapdragon 8 Gen 5
When Qualcomm announced its high-end Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset in November, it mentioned that a non-Elite version was on the way, designed to power a more affordable tier of flagship phones. Now, that chip has finally arrived, with some drops in performance but the same core feature set. Qualcomm compares the 8 Gen […]