IoT is a catch all marketing team that has been bandied about for decades. There is really no such thing as IoT, but the number of connected devices is growing rapidly, and likely to accelerate as the cost of chips brings connectivity to many new areas.
We believe, with increasing conviction, that the market for IoT chips is not going to go to Arm. But it is not going to go to x86 or Intel either. It is going to go RISC V.
China is outpacing US VC investments in semis by 6:1, but so much of the future of technology and the economy is dependent on semis. Now is a great time to be a US Deep Tech venture investor.
China’s 1,000+ fabless chip design companies are largely emerging in greenfield, new markets – new technologies like AI or new customers like Chinese auto OEMs.
If Nvidia cannot buy Arm – the company is probably an IPO candidate, or possibly the target of a consortium of competing buyers with a private equity company providing arms length governance.
Two Chinese companies – Tencent and Innosilicon – launched chips this month that look to be important steps forward for China’s semis efforts.
Are patents the new Oil? – China’s courts are paving the way for Chinese companies to change the way the global patent system runs.
China’s Patent March: In which the word “Encourage” does a lot of work – China is seeking to move its economy up the value chain, and this has meant a shifting series of conflicts over IP in many industries.
What is Going on with Arm China? – Arm’s China JV has gone fully rogue, declaring independence, adding quite a wrinkle to this ongoing drama.
Idle Speculation on Nvidia and Arm – Could Nvidia’s acquisition plans for Arm break? Probably not, but Arm customers hate the deal, regulators do not seem to like it either, and it is possible Softbank could find better ROI with an alternative path.
Digits to Dollars 