The chip industry has had a rough few years, recovering from long-term supply shortages and then being thrust into the heart of the US-China battle for control of supply lines. valuable technology.
But an industry associated with volatility has long been quietly excited that artificial intelligence (AI) could be the key to long-term stability.
US company Nvidia dominates the market for specialized chips called GPUs, which are ideal for training AI programs like the hugely popular ChatGPT chatbot.
“Technology trends are going in Nvidia’s direction,” corporate vice president Ronnie Vasishta told AFP this week at the event. Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona.
This has made Nvidia the biggest player in the field — and one of the biggest of any kind in the field. USA – at a valuation of $580 billion.
Traditional rivals like INTEL and Qualcomm are currently in the process of maneuvering, desperate to make sure they don’t miss an opportunity.
Microscopic components, also known as semiconductors, are essential in everything from smartphonePCs and electric cars to sophisticated weapons, robots and all sorts of other high-tech machines.
AI already has a lot of features in all these areas, and the advent of chatbots has only pushed it further into the public imagination.
Even in a field where low-level engineers speak, enthusiasm is palpable. – ‘Scratch the surface’ – “The most interesting thing right now is AI,” Cristiano Amon, the boss of rival company Qualcomm, told a Wall Street Journal event at MWC.
He wants the world’s phones to be equipped with chips that can handle even the most complex AI-related tasks, largely because Qualcomm is the leader in phone chips.
Vasishta was equally excited.
“Where and how is AI used? Maybe it’s easier to answer where it’s not used,” he said.
Another chip company, UK-based Arm, is even further back in the production chain. Nvidia — it provides designs used by chip vendors.
The company’s Chris Bergey told AFP that AI has huge potential.
The chips Nvidia makes are well-suited to training AI models in data centers, he said, but smartphones need chips that can work on those models.
“It’s a huge opportunity and it’s popular,” he said.
He compares the AI revolution to the advent of applications, which emerged about 15 years ago and rapidly changed the way we use technology.
“Definitely AI is something that has a lot of interesting uses, and we’re still scratching the surface of where we’re going.” – ‘Very good’ – However, with french fries, nothing is easy.
Supply chains are incredibly complex — consulting firm Accenture estimates that a chip has to cross borders 70 times before it gets into a phone, camera or car.
Countries like China and the United States want greater control.
And there’s another problem: the factories that make most of the world’s chips are in Taiwan, an autonomous island claimed by China.
This could bring China and the United States into direct conflict.
More gently than ever, semiconductor executives will not be drawn into discussions of these issues.
“We don’t really take a position on geopolitics, we comply with all the US regulations required as a US company,” Vasishta said.
Bergey, who has been in the industry for 25 years, said he has seen the chips go from “very cool” to “very boring”.
“They’re great right now, maybe too cool with so much attention,” he said.
“It’s a dynamic thing the industry is dealing with and we’ll have to see how these play out.”
