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TIRIAS RESEARCH NEWSLETTER

(Formerly Wireless / DSP Newsletter)

April 24, 2018

This Issue:
Extension Media, US Denies Broadcom, IBM Think, OpenPOWER, NVIDIA GTC, AI/ML Everywhere, New TIRIAScasts, New Whitepapers

April is bringing a busy news cycle. We have some wrap ups on the OCP, NVIDIA GTC, OpenPOWER, and IBM Think conferences. The thread throughout these conferences was machine learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The Broadcom/Qualcomm drama is finally over, but Qualcomm is still working on closing the NXP deal. A report that Apple will drop Intel in future Mac products generated a lot of interest.

Please note that we are rebranding the Wireless/DSP Newsletter as the TIRIAS Research Newsletter to reflect its broader coverage. However, we will continue to cover the latest technology, including DSPs and other industry activities. If you have recommendations on what you would like to see in future newsletters, please send them to kevin(at)tiriasresearch.com

We always encourage you to check our website at www.TIRIASresearch.comfor our latest reports and whitepapers.

Extension Media & TIRIAS Research Team Up for 2018 Conferences

TIRIAS Research and Extension Media are finalizing two exciting conferences: the IoT DevCon and the Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence DevCon. The co-located conferences will be held June 5-6, 2018 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, California. The conferences will explore the hardware and software challenges of building up and debugging the variety of Internet of Things (IoT) applications, plus complex machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) systems such as medical devices, robots, drones, point-of-sale equipment, industrial automation, and others.

Kevin Krewell is the program chair for both the 2018 IoT DevCon and the Machine Learning & AI Developers Conferences. Please contact Kevin to set up meetings with TIRIAS Research.

The program schedules for the IoT DevCon and the Machine Learning & AI DevCon will be announced soon!

The Broadcom / Qualcomm Drama Concludes With a New Landscape for Mergers

With the US government blocking Broadcom’s hostile bid for Qualcomm, Qualcomm is now moving forward with its original plan to acquire NXP and become the only semiconductor vendor to power everything from sensors to the cloud. The deal is still under review / negotiation with the Chinese government but should close the first half of 2018.
The end of the Broadcom bid also signals a change in the acquisition winds. TIRIAS Research believes that we are likely to see fewer of these mega semiconductor deals. Just to raise the money for the $100+ billion bid, Broadcom had to engage three venture capital firms and a dozen banks. Even with the backing, the deal was still on shaky ground with our industry and economic forecast. (See Jim McGregor’s Forbes article Does A Hostile Takeover Of Qualcomm Still Make Sense For Broadcom And Investors? for details.) The semiconductor merger wave will continue but on a smaller and more focused basis. Areas likely to continue to see additional mergers include sensors, embedded / industrial solutions, and RF. Most recently announced was Microchip’s bid for Microsemi.

The AI Spring

Continuing the AI theme that dominated the discussions at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and Mobile World Congress (MWC), the latest round of conferences has been focused on making AI a reality everywhere from the cloud to handheld devices. The TIRIAS Research staff attended the OpenPOWER Summit, IBM Think, and NVIDIA GTC (GPU Technology Conference) to talk to some of the technology and system vendors working on AI solutions over the past month.

IBM

At IBM Think, IBM announced a partnership with Apple to combine IBM’s Watson Services with Apple’s Core ML application development platform. See Jim McGregor’s Forbes article Apple Partners With IBM For Mobile Machine Learning for more details.

The OpenPOWER Summit featured the introduction of the POWER9 processor, a step up from the POWER8, with more memory and system bandwidth. Both the OpenPOWER Summit and IBM Think featured a number of new systems, most combining the performance of the POWER9 with the latest NVIDIA Volta GPUs, connected through high-performance NVLink interfaces. The new POWER9, combined with the closely connected NVIDIA Volta GPUs, made impressive boosts in performance.

NVIDIA

At GTC, NVIDIA introduced newer versions of its Volta-based cards with higher thermal limits and twice the memory (32GB). The company also introduced the NVSwitch, an NVLink switch chip to interconnect more than eight GPUs (or NVLink enabled processors like the Power9). Paul Teich wrote Building Bigger, Faster GPU Clusters Using NVSwitches on The Next Platform to answer many of the questions Paul asked in his first look at the NVSwitch chip, Inside NVIDIA’s NVSwitch GPU Interconnect. The company combined the new Volta GPUs with NVSwitch chips to build the highest performance deep learning system ever: the 2 petaflops (half-precision floating point) DGX-2.

NVIDIA launched the second-generation DGX system in March. To build the 2 petaflops (half-precision floating point) DGX-2, NVIDIA had to first design and build the NVSwitch. While the company is only shipping NVSwitch as an integral component of its DGX-2 systems today, NVIDIA has not precluded selling NVSwitch chips to datacenter equipment manufacturers.

NVIDIA also announced the company’s Deep Learning Accelerator (NVDLA)—originally designed for its automotive chipset—will now be available as part of Arm’s Project Trillium AI platform. Previously, NVIDIA announced that it would open source the NVDLA, and Arm announced Project Trillium as a complete AI/ML hardware and software platform that would also support 3rd party accelerators.

In addition, NVIDIA announced the Drive Constellation Simulator for automotive training (See Jim McGregor’s Forbes article NVIDIA Drives Autonomous Vehicles Forward Despite Uber Accident.)

The Drive Constellation program allows automotive OEMs and equipment providers to train autonomous systems without having actual autonomous vehicles on the road. The system leverages NVIDIA’s cloud and automotive solutions. This comes on the heels of recent deaths involving Uber autonomous vehicle and a Tesla driving in autonomous mode. The Uber accident resulted in Arizona banning Uber autonomous vehicles.

Cadence

Additionally, there have been a number announcements aimed at AI in devices. AI at the edge is being enabled through real-time sensor data processing by intelligent edge devices, typically using trained inference models. One technology for edge inference is the Cadence Vision Q6 DSP for vision and AI processing. The new DSP increases the performance by 1.5x over the previous Vision P6 DSP. The licensed blocks can be combined with a wide range of SoCs for applications ranging from mobile devices to autonomous cars. Look for more information on the Vision Q6 and other upcoming announcements shortly.

Qualcomm

At the chip-level, Qualcomm announced the introduction of new family of chips, the QCS series for a wide variety of IoT applications, particularly small form factor, battery, and thermal constrained applications (See Jim McGregor’s EE Times article Qualcomm Brings AI, Vision Processing to IoT).

The QCS605 and QCS603 combined Qualcomm’s Artificial Intelligence Engine (AIE) with Qualcomm’s Spectra Image Signal Processor (ISP) and image processing technology as a vision AI processing platform. While similar to the company’s Snapdragon platform for smartphone, the QCS family is specially targeting IoT applications.

Forecast

TIRIAS Research expects to see a flurry of IP and chip announcements in the coming months, with the introductions of new devices using these technologies starting in the fall. AI processing continues to advance at an incredible rate supporting TIRIAS Research’s forecast that 95% of all new devices will leverage some form of AI by 2025.

TIRIAS Research is also addressing the broader issues of AI, including its impact on society and how society should view AI. (See Jim McGregor’s Tech News World article What Should We Expect From AI?).

Not all Cores are Equal

One of the biggest changes occurring in the technology industry is the shift back to more customized chips. With advanced tools, licensable IP, 3rd party design resources, and semiconductor foundry services, developing custom chips is easier than ever and a way for OEMs to differentiate their products.
However, choosing the right IP is not as straightforward as you may think. Jim McGregor looks at what the differences are in choosing a processor architecture in The Difference Between ARM, MIPS, x86, RISC-V And Others In Choosing A Processor Architecture on Forbes.

Living with the Always-Connected PC

The collaboration between Microsoft, Qualcomm, Arm, and PC OEMs continues to gain momentum. Microsoft will announce support for 64-bit applications with a new software development kit Microsoft’s Build conference in May. This eliminates yet another barrier to using Arm-based PCs for more challenging workloads like designing and gaming. TIRIAS Research just received the ASUS NovaGo PC and will be testing it over the next month. Look for a review from Principal Analyst Jim McGregor as he puts the ASUS NovaGo to the test on the road and in the office.

The Intelligence of Things: the True IoT

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) continue to dominate the focus of the high-tech industry, with new AI solutions for everything from a smartphone to the cloud. Most of the conferences TIRIAS Research is attending over the next several months will all have a strong focus on AI and ML. While AI & ML are still evolving, we are in the midst of a market inflection point that will forever change the electronic industry. Look for more information and research on AI/ML from TIRIAS Research.

Additional Articles by TIRIAS Research

Open Compute Iron Is All About Acceleration by Paul Teich on The Next Platform
The Open Compute Project (OCP) held its 9th annual US Summit recently, with 3,441 registered attendees this year. While that might seem small for a top-tier high tech event, there were also 80 exhibitors representing most of the cloud datacenter supply chain, plus a host of outstanding technical sessions. We are always on the hunt for new iron, and not surprisingly the most important gear we saw at OCP this year was related to compute acceleration.

IBM Has An AI Training Advantage by Paul Teich on Forbes
This article focuses on the “under the hood” IBM Snap ML machine learning work IBM announced last week at Think 2018, that will soon accelerate Watson and POWER AI training performance even further.

Apple Rumored To Be Replacing Intel With Its Own Chips by Kevin Krewell on Forbes
A recent report out of Bloomberg indicates that Apple may be on the cusp of replacing Intel Core processors in the Mac product line with its own Arm-based processor. The question then becomes: why is Apple moving to its own processors? Or is this just a price negotiating tactic?

Recent Quotes

Trump’s Tariff List to Impact Supply Chain
by Dylan McGrath, EE Times, April 4, 2018
“The lack of a lot of consumer products indicate the administration doesn’t want to hurt consumers, at least not directly,” said Kevin Krewell, a principal analyst with TIRIAS Research, told EE Times. “But tariffs often do lead to higher prices for finished goods.”
“It is really difficult to put tariffs on finished electronics goods because of the global nature of our industry,” said Jim McGregor, principal analyst at TIRIAS Research. “The semiconductors may be fabed in the U.S., Taiwan, Europe or Japan; the final assembly is likely done in China, Malaysia, or somewhere else in Asia; the system assembly could be done in China or Mexico; and the final device could enter the country from any number of other ports around the world.”

Intel Could Lose Apple Business on Two Fronts
by Dylan McGrath, EE Times, April 3, 2018
“I think there is a double threat to Intel. Intel will also likely lose Apple’s modem business once Apple integrates a modem into its mobile SoCs, which will likely be in the same time frame,” said Jim McGregor, principal analyst at TIRIAS Research, in an email exchange with EE Times.
Kevin Krewell, a principal analyst at TIRIAS, told EE Times that Apple is likely to begin the transition with its thin Mac Air notebooks, then move to professional notebooks and later desktop Macs.

Nvidia Taps Memory, Switch for AI – Intel’s Nervana aims to leapfrog Nvidia in 2019
by Rick Merritt, EE Times, March 27, 2018
”The existing Nervana product will really be a software development vehicle. It was built on 28nm process before Intel bought the company and it’s not competitive with Nvidia’s 12nm Volta design,” said Kevin Krewell, a senior (ed: principal) analyst with TIRIAS Research.
Volta’s added memory and NVSwitch “keeps Nvidia ahead of the competition. We’re all looking forward to the next process shrink, but, as far as production shipping silicon goes, Volta still has no peer,” he added.

Valve Soothes SteamOS Fans After Yanking Steam Machines
by David Jones, Linux Insider, April 8, 2018
“SteamOS is still around, but the subset of hardcore gamers that really want to use a Linux distro is really small,” noted Paul Teich, principal analyst at TIRIAS Research.
Cutting-edge gaming demands now include support for virtual reality, which could reinvigorate the console and high-end PC market, Teich noted. Valve would need to do something different to penetrate this market.

Larry Page’s Self-Flying Taxi Set for New Zealand Test Runs
by David Jones, TechNewsWorld, March 15, 2018
Air taxi services would have to be set up to take off and land at designated pickup and dropoff points, and the artificial intelligence technology would have to be tested to make sure it could safely navigate urban corridors, said Paul Teich, principal analyst at TIRIAS Research.
“That will be different than testing human pilots,” he told TechNewsWorld.

Open-Sourced Windows File Manager Gets New Life on Windows 10
by David Jones, Linux Insider, April 10, 2018
“It’s a bit of nostalgia, a blast from the past, simply because it was captured and maintained,” said Paul Teich, principal analyst at TIRIAS Research.
File Manager could service as a nice addition for an introductory course for someone who wants to learn about file systems, he told LinuxInsider.

Intel Hits the Gas Pedal With 8th Gen Core Processors
by Richard Adhikari, TechNewsWorld, April 5, 2018
However, “most of the performance improvements come from system acceleration using Octane memory and improved chipset networking,” noted Kevin Krewell, principal analyst at TIRIAS Research.
“These are parts to fill in market gaps in the product line,” he told TechNewsWorld. “Nothing really pushed the limits except the i9-8950HK.”

Please remember to look for other articles from TIRIAS Research through our media partners: Forbes, EE Times, The Next Platform, and ECT News, including CRM Buyer, TechNewsWorld, Linux Insider, E-Commerce Times.

—
TIRIAS Research senior analyst David Teich has his own take on the NVIDIA GTC 2018. “NVIDIA is a company founded on graphics acceleration for games on PCs. The world has changed. In recent years the deep learning (DL) segment of artificial intelligence (AI) realized that the matrix processing used for display graphics works well for neural networks. The growth curve of the GPU market has increased because of that demand.”
—

#TIRIAScast Podcasts

Principal Analysts Jim McGregor, Kevin Krewell, and Paul Teich talk about all the news from the NVIDIA GTC 2018.

Jim and Kevin talk about the possibility that Apple will move its Mac PCs over to its own Arm-based processors. In addition, they discuss the possibility that Apple could also build its own cellular modem in the future.

Jim and Paul recorded their impressions of IBM Think.

All the #TIRIAScast podcasts can be found on SoundCloud.

New Research Reports

Machine Learning

TIRIAS Research Machine Learning Overview is the first report in the TIRIAS Research Machine Learning service. Machine learning (ML) is having a major impact on the technology sector. Infrastructure to applications are being designed to leverage the benefits of machine learning. But what is machine learning? This report addresses that question with an overview of ML today. It describes the stack, from business need, through software and algorithms, to the infrastructure and chips needed to support a new way of processing information. In conjunction with the report, we are offering 30 minutes of consulting time with Senior Analyst David Teich, ML Practice lead, to discuss answer questions about machine learning, the market, and its outlook. Report Price: US$400

To purchase this report and schedule a time with the analyst, please contact Kendra McGregor at kendra@tiriasresearch.com.

David Teich, Machine Learning Analyst
With more than 35 years of high-tech industry experience focused on B2B software, David’s experience spans development, systems consulting, sales, and marketing on platforms spanning mainframes, mid-sized systems (UNIX, Linux, and other), Apple and Wintel PCs, and mobile devices.

AR/VR

The new AR/VR research service has had a great reception. In The Cloud is the New Training Ground for Virtual Reality, we look at the potential for VR to move to the cloud to enable mobile clients to deliver high-performance experiences otherwise inaccessible for the next decade. In Virtual Reality is the New Training Ground for Artificial Intelligence, we examine the intersection of VR and AI in the cloud to advance AI training through advanced visual and sensor simulation.

The TIRIAS Research AR/VR service is led by Simon Solotko, an accomplished VR and AR pioneer who serves as a mentor at the German Accelerator.

For more information on the TIRIAS Research AR/VR service, please refer to the attached information or contact Simon Solotko at simon@tiriasresearch.com or by phone at 512-508-1054.

TIRIAS Research Whitepapers

Three recent whitepapers of note include…

AMD Optimizes EPYC Memory with NUMA

This TIRIAS Research whitepaper looks at how AMD designed the EPYC server chip, balancing between system cost, die area, memory bandwidth, and memory latency. AMD achieved that goal by using the efficiencies of multichip module (MCM) technology and the company’s new Infinity Fabric (IF) technology.

Dell EMC Accelerates Pace in Machine Learning

In 2017, Dell EMC and NVIDIA announced a strategic agreement to jointly develop new datacenter products based on NVIDIA’s Volta generation GPUs, specifically for high-performance computing (HPC), data analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI) workloads. TIRIAS Research believes the agreement, coupled with continuous product line updates, will generate momentum for Dell EMC in ML applications.

The Instantaneous Cloud: Emerging Consumer Applications of 5G Wireless Networks, sponsored by NGCodec.

To support the 5G Cloud VR SIG, TIRIAS Research has released its latest whitepaper. TIRIAS Research tracks the intersection of emerging technology and the invention of new applications. Emerging 5G networks will carry consumer context and input into the cloud, and stream contextual or graphically intense experiences back down to users with low latency, nearly eliminating our ability to perceive lag in even the most sophisticated and immersive user experiences. New applications which take advantage of fast response and high sustained bandwidth can form an instantaneous cloud which provides visually immersive experiences directly to consumers. Key technologies include cloud experience engines, graphics rendering, and video encoding. Architectures include cloud-edge computing with servers designed specifically for streaming high performance graphics experiences, virtualized and available to mobile users from the cloud.

Server TCO

The whitepapers for the Qualcomm Centriq server SoC can be found here.

All our whitepapers can be found here.

TIRIAS Researchers Around the Globe!

Find TIRIAS Research Analysts at these events.

• Facebook F8 Conference, San Jose, May 1-2, 2018: Kevin Krewell
• Big Communication Event, Austin, TX, May 14-16, 2018: Paul Teich
• Embedded Vision Summit, Santa Clara, CA, May 22-23: Kevin Krewell
• Augmented World Expo, Santa Clara, CA, May 30-31, 2018: Kevin Krewell
• IoT DevCon, Santa Clara, CA, June 5-6, 2018: Kevin Krewell
• Computex, Taipei, Taiwan, June 5-9, 2018: Jim McGregor

For meetings with the TIRIAS Research staff, please reach out to the analyst.

As always, we encourage your feedback
Kevin Krewell, Jim McGregor, Paul Teich

TIRIAS Research is a high-tech research and advisory firm, an independent third-party resource to high-tech companies. We provide custom research and advisory services on technologies, markets and ecosystems to a select group of technology industry leaders. Our Principal Analysts have decades of in-depth expertise in silicon, software, and systems specification, design and deployment.

http://www.tiriasresearch.com/about/
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The newsletter formerly written by Will Strauss on DSP and wireless technology.

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