Semi Doped

Vikram Sekar and Austin Lyons
  • 5.0 (14)
  • TECHNOLOGY

The business and technology of semiconductors. Alpha for engineers and investors alike.

  1. Reiner Pope (MatX): Designing AI Chips From First Principles for LLMs

    6H AGO

    Reiner Pope (MatX): Designing AI Chips From First Principles for LLMs

    Reiner Pope is the co-founder and CEO of MatX, the startup building chips designed from first principles for LLMs. Before MatX, Reiner was on the Google Brain team training LLMs, and his co-founder Mike Gunter was on the TPU team. They left Google one week before ChatGPT was released. A counterintuitive throughput insight from the conversation: “Low latency means small batch sizes. That is just Little’s law. Memory occupancy in HBM is proportional to batch size. So you can actually fit longer contexts than you could if the latency were larger. Low latency is not just a usability win, it improves throughput.” We get into: • The hybrid SRAM + HBM bet, and why pipeline parallelism finally works • Overcoming the CUDA moat • Why frontier labs are willing to bet on an AI ASIC startup • Memory-bandwidth-efficient attention, numerics, and what MatX publishes (and what it does not) • Why 95% of model-side news is noise for chip design • Why sparse MoE drives MatX to “the most interconnect of any announced product” • How MatX uses AI for its own chip design • The biggest challenges ahead Chapters: 00:00 “We left Google one week before ChatGPT” 00:24 Intro: who is MatX 01:17 Origin story: leaving Google for LLM chips 02:21 GPT-3 and the “too expensive” problem 04:25 Why buy hardware that is not a GPU 05:52 Overcoming the CUDA moat 08:46 Early investors 09:35 The name MatX 09:59 The chip: matrix multiply + hybrid SRAM/HBM 12:11 Why pipeline parallelism finally works 14:22 Reading papers and Google going dark 15:20 Research agenda: attention and numerics 17:06 Five specs and meeting customers where they are 19:24 Why frontier labs are the natural first customer 20:32 Workloads: training, prefill, decode 22:18 Little’s law and the throughput case for low latency 24:29 Interconnect and MoE topology 26:35 Inside the team: 100 people, full stack 28:32 Agentic AI: 95% noise for hardware 30:35 KV cache sizing in an agentic world 32:11 How MatX uses AI for chip design (Verilog + BlueSpec) 34:23 Go to market: proving credibility under NDA 35:12 Porting effort for frontier labs 36:34 Biggest skepticism: manufacturing at gigawatt scale 37:32 Hiring plug Austin Lyons @ Chipstrat: https://www.chipstrat.com Vik Sekar @ Vik's Newsletter: https://www.viksnewsletter.com/

    39 min

  2. 2D AGO

    $300M for 70K Viewers | Intel x Elon, OpenAI x TBPN, Citrini's Strait of Hormuz Stunt

    Intel Foundry just partnered with Elon Musk’s Terafab. What is Terafab anyway, why vertically integrated fabs make sense but the economics don’t (yet!), and what Intel is doing here (hint: no idea). Then: OpenAI acquires TBPN for an estimated $100-300M. Not sure why, but the more interesting thing is the value of niche audiences when five companies control a trillion dollars in AI capex. And finally, Citrini Research sent an analyst to the Strait of Hormuz with a Pelican case full of spy gear, $15K cash, and Cuban cigars. The most unhinged research trip in Substack history. Austin Lyons — Chipstrat (https://chipstrat.com)                                                              Vik Sekar — Vik's Newsletter (https://www.viksnewsletter.com) Subscribe for weekly episodes on semiconductors, AI, infrastructure, and the business of chips.

    36 min
  3. NVIDIA's Marvell Strategy, Is Memory Different This Time?, Intel's Ireland Fab

    6D AGO

    NVIDIA's Marvell Strategy, Is Memory Different This Time?, Intel's Ireland Fab

    In this episode, Austin and Vik analyze NVIDIA's $2 billion investment in Marvell NVLink Fusion, exploring its implications for AI infrastructure, interconnect protocols, and the broader chip ecosystem. They also discuss the current memory market surge, DRAM pricing, and Intel's strategic fab buyback, providing deep insights into industry trends and future directions. On Substack Vik: https://www.viksnewsletter.com/ Austin: https://www.chipstrat.com/ Chapters 00:00 NVIDIA's $2 Billion Investment in Marvell 20:11 The Memory Market Crisis 20:16 The Future of Memory Pricing and Consumer Impact 22:55 The Cycle of Supply and Demand in Memory 27:23 AI's Impact on Memory Demand 31:46 Long-Term Agreements and Market Stability 35:07 Intel's Strategic Fab Buyback 40:44 Monopoly Analogy: Intel's Market Strategy

    42 min
  4. ARM AGI CPU has entered the chat, TurboQuant thrashes memory stocks

    MAR 27

    ARM AGI CPU has entered the chat, TurboQuant thrashes memory stocks

    In this episode, Austin and Vik analyze recent developments in GloFo patent lawsuits, the impact of TurboQuant on AI inference, and ARM's strategic move into silicon for agentic AI workloads. Read Vik's substack: https://www.viksnewsletter.com Read Austin's substack: https://www.chipstrat.com Chapters 00:00 Patent Wars in Semiconductor Industry 07:14 Understanding TurboQuant and Its Implications 24:42 Innovations in Memory Management 28:00 The Rise of ARM AGI CPUs 32:56 Agentic AI and CPU Compatibility 39:54 Performance Metrics in Agentic AI 44:52 ARM's Market Timing and Challenges

    52 min
  5. MicroLEDs Ain’t Dead, Micron Snags Vera Rubin

    MAR 20

    MicroLEDs Ain’t Dead, Micron Snags Vera Rubin

    Austin and Vik break down a packed week in semiconductors, covering GTC, OFC, and Micron earnings. The conversation kicks off with Jensen Huang's bold claim that engineers should spend $250K/year on AI tokens, and whether companies will buy tokens or token generators (i.e., on-prem hardware like the Dell Pro Max with GB300). They dig into the CapEx vs OpEx tradeoffs, data security concerns, and how sharing GPU resources might end up looking a lot like the old EDA license model. Next up: Micron crushed earnings and appears to be designed into Vera Rubin for HBM4 — despite months of rumors saying otherwise. Austin and Vik unpack the nuance around HBM pin speeds, memory node base dies, and what Micron's massive new fab investments in Taiwan, Singapore, Idaho, and New York mean for the memory cycle. The back half of the episode dives into optical interconnects for AI scale-up. A new industry consortium (OCI-MSA) has formed with Meta, Broadcom, NVIDIA, and OpenAI to standardize optical components. Vik explains why traditional indium phosphide lasers might be overkill for short-reach scale-up, and makes the case for micro LEDs — a "slow but wide" approach that could fill the gap between copper and conventional optics. They also touch on Credo's expanding product portfolio (and the infamous purple-to-orange cable saga), plus Lumentum's new VCSEL work for scale-up. Vik - https://www.viksnewsletter.com/ Austin - https://www.chipstrat.com/ CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro & GTC/OFC Conference Overload 2:09 Jensen's $250K Token Budget Per Engineer 5:08 On-Prem Inference vs. Cloud Token Spending (Dell Pro Max, CapEx vs OpEx) 6:44 Sharing GPU Resources Like EDA Licenses 8:16 Data Security & On-Prem Privacy Concerns 9:53 Matthew Berman's Fine-Tuned Open Claw Agent 10:35 Vik Sets Up Open Claw on a Home Server 11:53 Always Be Clauden (ABC) – Managing Agents from Your Phone 13:34 Micron Earnings & HBM4 in Vera Rubin 16:39 HBM Pin Speeds & the Micron Design-In Debate 20:17 Micron's New Fab Investments & Memory Cycle Fears 23:49 Why AI Drives a Step Change in Memory Demand 26:30 Optical Compute Interconnect MSA (OCI-MSA) 29:48 Scale-Up Optics: Do We Need New Technology? 30:58 Micro LEDs – The "Slow but Wide" Approach 35:45 Micro LEDs vs. Copper vs. Traditional Optics 36:55 Credo's Product Spectrum & the Purple Cable Story 39:31 VCSELs & Lumentum's 1060nm Scale-Up Play

    43 min
  6. Quick Takes: Nvidia Keynote at GTC

    MAR 17

    Quick Takes: Nvidia Keynote at GTC

    Vik and Austin unpack the Nvidia GTC keynote with fresh, top-of-mind takes while trying to breakdown key announcements, what matters and what doesn't. They discuss Groq's LPX, optics+copper for scale up, new CPU requirements, CPO for networking, and what agents means for software, and much, much, more. Check out Austin's substack: https://www.chipstrat.com Check out Vik's substack: https://www.viksnewsletter.com Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Keynote Context 03:18 Keynote Highlights and Gaming Innovations 06:18 Generative AI: The Three Eras 09:28 Inference: The New Revenue Generator 12:21 NVIDIA's Tiered Approach to AI Models 15:30 The Grok Chip and Its Role 18:35 Vera Rubin System: A Full Data Center 21:18 CPU Demand and Performance 24:31 Networking Innovations and Future Directions 32:32 Innovations in PCB Technology 34:06 Scaling GPU Systems 36:57 Understanding the STX Rack and AI Storage 38:23 The Rosa CPU and Its Significance 40:07 Digital Twin Platforms and AI Factories 43:53 NVIDIA's New Software Innovations 47:09 The Future of Token Budgets in AI 54:15 Balancing CapEx and OpEx in AI Deployments

    59 min
  7. Meta's Inference Accelerator & Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI)

    MAR 13

    Meta's Inference Accelerator & Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI)

    Austin recaps moderating an agentic AI panel at Synopsys Converge, then gives an in-depth technical breakdown of Meta's MTIA custom silicon. Why they're building it, how chiplets let them ship a new chip every 6 months, and how the roadmap is shifting toward gen AI inference. Vik digs into Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI), the vertically integrated Texas laser shop whose stock went from $1.48 to $100+, and whether history is about to rhyme.                      Austin Lyons: https://www.chipstrat.com Vik Sekar: https://www.viksnewsletter.com/                                                                                                                                    Topics covered: • Agentic AI in chip design — how it changes roles for junior and senior engineers • Optical circuit switching and what it means for Arista's business model • Meta's ad-serving pipeline: Andromeda, Lattice, and the GEM foundation model • Why custom silicon (MTIA) makes sense at Meta's scale • MTIA chiplet strategy — 4 generations in 2 years • AAOI's vertical integration, Amazon's $4B warrant deal, and the 2017 parallel Chapters: 0:00 Intro 1:26 Synopsys Converge — Agentic AI Panel 9:44 Vik's Article: Optical Circuit Switching & Arista 14:43 Meta MTIA — A New Chip Every 6 Months 21:32 Why Custom Silicon Makes Sense for Meta 27:22 MTIA Chiplet Strategy & Roadmap 33:56 Gen AI Fits Meta's Business Model 36:31 How Meta Ships Chips So Fast 40:30 Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) Deep Dive 45:02 Amazon's $4B Warrant Deal 48:54 Can AAOI's Lasers Compete with Lumentum? 53:16 AAOI's Aggressive Capacity Buildout 55:35 History Rhymes: AAOI's 2017 Boom & Bust 1:00:55 Wrap-Up #semiconductors #chips #tech #meta #MTIA #AAOI #optics #inference #AI

    1h 2m
  8. The Great Optics-Copper Crossroads

    MAR 7

    The Great Optics-Copper Crossroads

    This week, Austin and Vik break down the optics vs. copper debate that rocked semis this week. Nvidia dropped $4 billion on Lumentum and Coherent, Credo posted a blowout quarter betting on copper, and then Hock Tan shocked everyone claiming 400G per lane works over copper in Broadcom’s labs — potentially pushing CPO out to 2030+. Plus, Vik’s 4D chess conspiracy theory on why Hock Tan is talking up copper when Broadcom is a CPO company. Like, subscribe, and drop your thoughts on the copper vs. optics debate in the comments! Subscribe to our newsletters: * Chipstrat by Austin Lyons — chipstrat.com * Vik’s Semiconductor Newsletter by Vik Sekar  — viksnewsletter.com Chapters (00:00) - Newsletter Plugs: Groq LPUs & Broadcom’s Laser Business (03:15) - Dynamo & the Rise of Workload-Specific Hardware (08:04) - Austin’s Broadcom Laser Deep Dive (09:53) - The Week’s Whiplash: Optics Monday, Copper Wednesday (17:50) - Why Nvidia Invested $4B: Geopolitics, Supply & the HBM Playbook (24:15) - CPO Lasers & Optical Circuit Switches (26:16) - Credo Earnings: 200% YoY Growth & the Copper Bull Case (31:09) - Reliability, AECs & Oracle’s GPU Cluster Problem (35:48) - Credo’s Optics Play: Micro-LED Active Cables & the CPO Timing Risk (38:45) - Broadcom Earnings: Hock Tan’s Copper Bombshell (43:34) - Customer-Owned Tooling: Hock Tan Says “Good Luck” (44:25) - Vik’s 4D Chess Theory: Why Hock Tan Talks Up Copper (47:03) - Wrap-Up: It’s Both — The Real Question Is Timing

    48 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
14 Ratings

About

The business and technology of semiconductors. Alpha for engineers and investors alike.

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  • Creator
    Vikram Sekar and Austin Lyons
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    21
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Semi Doped
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