Semiconductor & Technology Specialist, Ingenuity

William Keating

Semiconductor & Technology Specialist

Ingenuity

Our focus is exclusively on in-depth research & consulting in the broader semiconductor industry. We focus on the key players, namely Intel, Micron, Qualcomm, Apple, Samsung, NVIDIA, AMD, TSMC & Global Foundries - as well as some of the lesser known, but nonetheless critical, companies such as ASML (for EUV), Mellanox, Cavium, Xilinx etc. We specialise in their products, roadmaps, process technologies, competitive advantages & threats etc. We also help our clients understand the implications of new and emerging technologies, e.g. 3D X-Point, 3D NAND, Carbon Nanotubes, Autonomous Driving, Graphene, Silicon Photonics, Wafer-Level Optics, Artificial Intelligence, FPGA, GPU, ASIC etc. 

Semiconductor Analysis & Research

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

Tesla first began to equip its Model S with self-driving technology in October 2014 and announced the launch of its "Autopilot" software to take advantage of those sensors exactly one year later. In separating the sensors from the software, and making that software incrementally available via over-the-air (OTA) updates, the company heralded an entirely new approach to autonomous driving that has since come to be both derided and admired in equal measure. Tesla's autopilot capability was widely regarded as ground-breaking when it was first introduced and many would argue that it was the catalyst for its peers and competitors to rapidly accelerate their autonomous driving investments and roadmaps.Since that time, Tesla's self-driving roadmap has seen many twists and turns. Their partnership with MobilEye, upon whose chips their initial autopilot roll-out critically depended, ended abruptly and acrimoniously in the wake of a fatal crash involving one of their Model S vehicles in May 2016. Their backup plan, the development of a custom ASIC chip to replicate MobilEye's functionality, was still in its infancy, forcing Tesla to turn to NVIDIA for its DRIVE PX platform. That same fatal crash was the impetus for a total redesign of their sensor suite. The new hardware platform was launched in October 2016 with the announcement that all future Tesla cars would be fully equipped with the hardware &amp; sensors required for full self-driving capability.As automobiles equipped with the new self-driving hardware rolled off the production lines, they were missing the software to make them work, meaning that they lacked basic advanced driving features such as automatic emergency braking (AEB), adaptive cruise control (ACC) etc. Tesla promised to deliver those capabilities incrementally in the following months, but inevitably, delays ensued and reliability concerns arose when they were initially released. Only in recent months has Tesla's "Enhanced Autopilot" begun to approach the same level of capability as its original launch version. Tesla CEO Elon Musk's commitment to demonstrating fully autonomous driving from US coast-to-coast by the end of 2017 failed to materialize, although he has recently stated that it should happen within 3-6 months. Meanwhile, the rapidly growing availability of new safety features such as AEB, the launch of competing driver assistance features such as General Motors (GM)"Super Cruise" and the publicly announced plans for driverless taxi pilots by both Waymo and GM have eroded Tesla's leadership. Indeed, one research firm, Navigant, doesn't even rate Tesla in its latest top ten leaders list.   In this Insight, we review the history of autonomous driving at Tesla, tracing its roots from the original autopilot launch to the present day. We examine the technology behind Tesla's self-driving platform and highlight their steadfast refusal to incorporate LIDAR in their sensor suite as every other competitor has done. Finally, in the wake of another fatal Tesla crash, we ask the very important question, how safe is Tesla Autopilot?

Tesla first began to equip its Model S with self-driving technology in October 2014 and announced the launch of its "Autopilot" software to take advantage of those sensors exactly one year later. In separating the sensors from the software, and making that software incrementally available via over-the-air (OTA) updates, the company heralded an entirely new approach to autonomous driving that has since come to be both derided and admired in equal measure. Tesla's autopilot capability was widely regarded as ground-breaking when it was first introduced and many would argue that it was the catalyst for its peers and competitors to rapidly accelerate their autonomous driving investments and roadmaps.Since that time, Tesla's self-driving roadmap has seen many twists and turns. Their partnership with MobilEye, upon whose chips their initial autopilot roll-out critically depended, ended abruptly and acrimoniously in the wake of a fatal crash involving one of their Model S vehicles in May 2016. Their backup plan, the development of a custom ASIC chip to replicate MobilEye's functionality, was still in its infancy, forcing Tesla to turn to NVIDIA for its DRIVE PX platform. That same fatal crash was the impetus for a total redesign of their sensor suite. The new hardware platform was launched in October 2016 with the announcement that all future Tesla cars would be fully equipped with the hardware &amp; sensors required for full self-driving capability.As automobiles equipped with the new self-driving hardware rolled off the production lines, they were missing the software to make them work, meaning that they lacked basic advanced driving features such as automatic emergency braking (AEB), adaptive cruise control (ACC) etc. Tesla promised to deliver those capabilities incrementally in the following months, but inevitably, delays ensued and reliability concerns arose when they were initially released. Only in recent months has Tesla's "Enhanced Autopilot" begun to approach the same level of capability as its original launch version. Tesla CEO Elon Musk's commitment to demonstrating fully autonomous driving from US coast-to-coast by the end of 2017 failed to materialize, although he has recently stated that it should happen within 3-6 months. Meanwhile, the rapidly growing availability of new safety features such as AEB, the launch of competing driver assistance features such as General Motors (GM)"Super Cruise" and the publicly announced plans for driverless taxi pilots by both Waymo and GM have eroded Tesla's leadership. Indeed, one research firm, Navigant, doesn't even rate Tesla in its latest top ten leaders list.   In this Insight, we review the history of autonomous driving at Tesla, tracing its roots from the original autopilot launch to the present day. We examine the technology behind Tesla's self-driving platform and highlight their steadfast refusal to incorporate LIDAR in their sensor suite as every other competitor has done. Finally, in the wake of another fatal Tesla crash, we ask the very important question, how safe is Tesla Autopilot?  

Managing Director, Zero One, Zero One

Vincent Fernando, CFA

Managing Director, Zero One

Zero One

Founded in 2015, Zero One produces independent investment research and provides corporate finance advisory services with a focus on both listed and private technology companies. Founder Vincent Fernando has over 20 years of experience in US and Asia capital markets.

Independent Investment Research

Equity Bottom-Up

Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) - ADR / Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>Samsung's foundry business is losing more customers to TSMC, who is perceived as lower risk.</li>
<li>TSMC, UMC Monthly Sales: TSMC up strong but plateauing, UMC lackluster, confirming 2 big trends.</li>
<li>Memory Monitor: Nanya results miss; highlights weakness in non-AI demand.</li>
</ul>


Samsung's foundry business is losing more customers to TSMC, who is perceived as lower risk.
TSMC, UMC Monthly Sales: TSMC up strong but plateauing, UMC lackluster, confirming 2 big trends.
Memory Monitor: Nanya results miss; highlights weakness in non-AI demand.


Taiwan Tech Weekly: TSMC Taking More Samsung Customers; Hon Hai Unveils Major AI Projects

Technology / Semiconductor / Internet Research

Nicolas Baratte

Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) / Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>AI demand will remain strong but is plateauing in terms of YoY growth. The rest of end-demand remains weak (Consumer, PC, Auto, Industrials). TSMC and UMC monthly sales confirm this. </li>
<li>TSMC high growth plateau ~40% YoY: AI (Nvidia Broadcom, AMD), Intel, new smartphone chips. Comps will get harder early 2025. Valuations are high but not extreme: limited upside and downside.</li>
<li>UMC lackluster at ~6% YoY growth, reflecting lackluster end-markets from smartphone, Consumer Elec, PC, Auto &amp; Industrials. Average valuations; in need of an elusive catalyst.</li>
</ul>


AI demand will remain strong but is plateauing in terms of YoY growth. The rest of end-demand remains weak (Consumer, PC, Auto, Industrials). TSMC and UMC monthly sales confirm this. 
TSMC high growth plateau ~40% YoY: AI (Nvidia Broadcom, AMD), Intel, new smartphone chips. Comps will get harder early 2025. Valuations are high but not extreme: limited upside and downside.
UMC lackluster at ~6% YoY growth, reflecting lackluster end-markets from smartphone, Consumer Elec, PC, Auto &amp; Industrials. Average valuations; in need of an elusive catalyst.


TSMC, UMC Monthly Sales: TSMC up Strong but Plateauing, UMC Lackluster, Confirming 2 Big Trends

Taiwan Tech Focused Senior Analyst

Patrick Liao

<ul>
<li>For 2nm technology, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/taiwan-semiconductor-manufacturing-company" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:11230:1" rel="noopener">Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) (2330 TT)</a> should start <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/apple-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:666:1" rel="noopener">Apple (AAPL US)</a> iPhone 17 production in the middle of 2025, most likely.  </li>
<li>TSMC's competitors, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/samsung-electronics-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:191:1" rel="noopener">Samsung Electronics (005930 KS)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/intel-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:16764:1" rel="noopener">Intel Corp (INTC US)</a> are running foundry business and keeping owning manufacturing business at the same time, which is contradictory to purely foundry business.</li>
<li>To making the advanced chip in the US, we consider the main main concern still the cost.</li>
</ul>


For 2nm technology, Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) (2330 TT) should start Apple (AAPL US) iPhone 17 production in the middle of 2025, most likely.  
TSMC's competitors, Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) and Intel Corp (INTC US) are running foundry business and keeping owning manufacturing business at the same time, which is contradictory to purely foundry business.
To making the advanced chip in the US, we consider the main main concern still the cost.


TSMC (2330.TT; TSM.US): The Productivity and Profitability Are the Essential Competitiveness.

Podcast On the Business of Semiconductors, The Circuit

The Circuit

Podcast On the Business of Semiconductors

A Podcast On the Business of Semiconductors. With Jay Goldberg and Ben Bajarin

<ul><li>Transition from the Internet era of servers to the AI era of backend</li><li>Software advancements are outpacing silicon capabilities</li><li>Question raised about who will benefit from advances in AI technology, particularly in terms of hardware market competitiveness</li></ul>This content is sourced through publicly available sources and has been machine generated. Information displayed is for general informational purposes only.

Transition from the Internet era of servers to the AI era of backendSoftware advancements are outpacing silicon capabilitiesQuestion raised about who will benefit from advances in AI technology, particularly in terms of hardware market competitivenessThis content is sourced through publicly available sources and has been machine generated. Information displayed is for general informational purposes only.

Episode 88: AI Accellerators, Startup graveyard? With Special Guest Austin Lyons

United States

NVIDIA Corporation designs, develops, and markets three dimensional (3D) graphics processors and related software.  The Company's products provide interactive 3D graphics to the mainstream personal computer market.

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NVIDIA Corp (NVDA US)

Autonomous Driving- The Tesla Delusion

In the wake of Elon Musk's launch (relaunch?) of Tesla's RoboTaxi yesterday (which tanked the company's share price), you might be interested to...

William Keating

Taiwan Tech Weekly: TSMC Taking More Samsung Customers; Hon Hai Unveils Major AI Projects

Samsung's foundry business losing customers to TSMC due to perceived lower risk; TSMC and UMC sales trends confirm industry shifts, while Nanya...

Vincent Fernando, CFA

TSMC, UMC Monthly Sales: TSMC up Strong but Plateauing, UMC Lackluster, Confirming 2 Big Trends

AI demand remains strong but YoY growth is plateauing. The rest of Tech end-demand remains weak (Consumer, PC, Auto, Industrials). Sept. monthly...

Nicolas Baratte

TSMC (2330.TT; TSM.US): The Productivity and Profitability Are the Essential Competitiveness.

TSMC may start producing iPhone 17 with 2nm technology in mid-2025, while competitors Samsung and Intel face challenges with their mixed business...

Patrick Liao

Episode 88: AI Accellerators, Startup graveyard? With Special Guest Austin Lyons

The transition to the AI era of backend technology is being driven by software advancements outpacing hardware advancements in the silicon...

The Circuit

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)

Autonomous Driving- The Tesla Delusion

In the wake of Elon Musk's launch (relaunch?) of Tesla's RoboTaxi yesterday (which tanked the company's share price), you might be interested to...

William Keating

Taiwan Tech Weekly: TSMC Taking More Samsung Customers; Hon Hai Unveils Major AI Projects

​Samsung's foundry business losing customers to TSMC due to perceived lower risk; TSMC and UMC sales trends confirm industry shifts, while Nanya...

Vincent Fernando, CFA

TSMC, UMC Monthly Sales: TSMC up Strong but Plateauing, UMC Lackluster, Confirming 2 Big Trends

AI demand remains strong but YoY growth is plateauing. The rest of Tech end-demand remains weak (Consumer, PC, Auto, Industrials). Sept. monthly...

Nicolas Baratte

TSMC (2330.TT; TSM.US): The Productivity and Profitability Are the Essential Competitiveness.

​TSMC may start producing iPhone 17 with 2nm technology in mid-2025, while competitors Samsung and Intel face challenges with their mixed business...

Patrick Liao

Episode 88: AI Accellerators, Startup graveyard? With Special Guest Austin Lyons

The transition to the AI era of backend technology is being driven by software advancements outpacing hardware advancements in the silicon...

The Circuit

Samsung's foundry business losing customers to TSMC due to perceived lower risk; TSMC and UMC sales trends confirm industry shifts, while Nanya...

TSMC may start producing iPhone 17 with 2nm technology in mid-2025, while competitors Samsung and Intel face challenges with their mixed business...