This weekly newsletter pulls together summaries of the top ten most-read Insights across Tech Hardware and Semiconductor on Smartkarma.
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1. Apple Intelligence. What’s Another Year?
- Apple failed to deliver on the highly anticipated Siri makeover, noting that it didn’t meet their quality standards and effectively pushing it out for another full year
- Internal rivalries, divided opinions on the direction AI should take, organizational restructuring, unwillingness to do meaningful acquisitions would all appear to be contributing to Apple’s AI woes
- Apple’s peers are advancing their AI ambitions at warp speed, investing heavily, taking bold risks and mostly delivering on their promises. Apple is the polar opposite. What’s another year? Failure.
2. Micron Q325 Earnings: NAND’s Surprising Rebound While HBM Already @$6 Billion Annual Run Rate.
- Q325 revenues of $9.3 billion, up 15% QoQ and up 37% YoY and $500 million above the guided midpoint. This represented a new quarterly revenue record for the company
- Micron forecasted current quarter revenues of $10.7 billion, up 15% QoQ, with gross margin of 42%, up 300 basis points sequentially
- HBM negotiations for 2026 supply & pricing still ongoing. Could Micron be holding out for a better deal?
3. TSMC (2330.TT; TSM.US): Will Rapidus Threaten TSMC’s 2nm Market? We Think It’s Too Early to Say (II)
- Japan’s Fujitsu Ltd (6702 JP) is currently developing a 2nm CPU named “MONAKA” (link). The CPU is planned to be manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) – ADR (TSM US).
- Rapidus has to deal with high technical barriers, tight timelines, heavy R&D costs, market and profitability challenges.
- Talent shortage in Japan: A lingering pain for the Semiconductor industry
4. Coatue Doubles Down On An AI Supercycle @ EMW 2025
- Cloud 2025 CapEx consensus increased 70% from January 2024 to the present day $365 billion
- Google page views declined 8% since the launch of ChatGPT
- Apart from the Mag7, Coatue is heavily focusing investment on companies involved in AI-required power delivery, AI software and AI semiconductors
5. Taiwan Dual-Listings Monitor: TSMC Historically High Spread Persisting; UMC High Premium
- TSMC: +22.1% Premium; Consider Shorting ADR Spread at Current Level
- UMC: +3.5% Premium; Extreme vs. History, Consider Shorting ADR Spread
- ASE: +2.4% Premium; Approaching Level to Long the ADR Spread
6. Memory Monitor: Micron Reinforces AI Memory Tailwinds, But Broader Supply Chain Recovery Gradual
- Micron Results Beat Across the Board, AI Product Mix Drives Gross Margin Upside
- No Evidence Yet of Hyperscaler Pullback, But No Significant Increase in Outlook Either
- Conclusion: AI-Driven Strength Continues, But Divergence Across the Memory Supply Chain Persists
7. Taiwan Tech Weekly: 1.4nm Slips from Samsung’s Grip? Why Intel May Be TSMCs Sole Next Gen Competitor
- Samsung’s 1.4nm Technology Delay Highlights Potential That Intel Could End Up the Only Viable Alternative to TSMC — Maintain Structural Long for TSMC
- Micron Results Today Will Provide Insight Into Resilience of AI/HPC Equipment Demand
- TechChain Insights: Himax Threatened by China Auto Chip Push? CPO Tech with TSMC Remains Bright Spot
8. TechChain Insights: Himax Threatened by China Auto Chip Push? CPO Tech with TSMC Remains Bright Spot
- China’s push for 100% auto chip localization by 2027 poses risk to Himax, which derived 75% of 1Q25 revenue from China. We engaged the company for comments./
- Himax may avoid direct targeting due to Taiwanese roots and local production via CN Nexchip, and we believe is less vulnerable than Western firms like NXP, TI, and Wolfspeed.
- Copackaged Optics (CPO) industry momentum continues to build as Himax continues role alongside TSMC and FOCI; industry moves from Nvidia, AMD validate long-term optical interconnect opportunity Himax is positioned for.
9. Mediatek Rising in Smartphones and Beyond – Q1 Market Share, Nvidia Partnership, TSMC Node Advantage
- 1Q25 Smartphone Chipset Market Share Data — Shows Growth Outperformance for Mediatek
- Nvidia Partnership Helping Mediatek Break Into PCs and Handheld Gaming Devices — High End Graphics Performance for Small Form Factors
- Smartphones Expected to Rapidly Switch to Advanced Node Chipsets by 2026 — This Plays to Mediatek’s TSMC Advantage