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

Equity Bottom-Up

General Motors Co. manufactures and markets new cars and trucks. The Company offers features for special needs drivers, OnStar vehicle protection, service, parts, accessories, maintenance, XM satellite radio, features for commercial owners, and more. General Motors offers its vehicles and services worldwide.

<ul>
<li>GM announced it will no longer continue to fund its loss making Cruise subsidiary, effectively ending its RoboTaxi ambition. Market reaction? Nothing.</li>
<li>Microsoft has already announced it will write off its $800 million investment made back in 2021 when Cruise was valued at $30 billion</li>
<li>Root cause? The tsunami that was triggered by Cruise's botched response to an accident in October 2023. </li>
</ul>


GM announced it will no longer continue to fund its loss making Cruise subsidiary, effectively ending its RoboTaxi ambition. Market reaction? Nothing.
Microsoft has already announced it will write off its $800 million investment made back in 2021 when Cruise was valued at $30 billion
Root cause? The tsunami that was triggered by Cruise's botched response to an accident in October 2023. 


General Motors Abruptly Pulls The Plug On Cruise

Intel Corporation designs, manufactures, and sells computer components and related products.  The Company's major products include microprocessors, chipsets, embedded processors and microcontrollers, flash memory products, graphics products, network and communications products, systems management software, conferencing products, and digital imaging products.

<ul>
<li>Laser focus, transparency and adoption of a "say do" approach to measuring success are now the order of the day at Intel</li>
<li>Data Center roadmap not in good shape and if IFS can't deliver, MJ won't hesitate to outsource DC products to TSMC alongside existing Client products.</li>
<li>Gaudi is not a mass market product, Falcon Shores won't be great either but we will listen, learn, iterate and fail quickly. Watch out NVIDIA !</li>
</ul>


Laser focus, transparency and adoption of a "say do" approach to measuring success are now the order of the day at Intel
Data Center roadmap not in good shape and if IFS can't deliver, MJ won't hesitate to outsource DC products to TSMC alongside existing Client products.
Gaudi is not a mass market product, Falcon Shores won't be great either but we will listen, learn, iterate and fail quickly. Watch out NVIDIA !


Intel. Laser Focus & No More Meaningless Life-Time Value Foundry Deal Updates

Advanced Micro Devices / Equity Bottom-Up

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) produces semiconductor products and devices. The Company offers products such as microprocessors, embedded microprocessors, chipsets, graphics, video and multimedia products and supplies it to third-party foundries, as well as provides assembling, testing, and packaging services. AMD serves customers worldwide.

<ul>
<li>AMD’s Lisa Su has been honoured as Time’s CEO of the year, a fitting tribute to a leader who  pulled off what many thought to be impossible</li>
<li>Despite flawless execution and carving out a brand new $5 billion market segment within AI Acceleration, AMD's share prices is down 44% from its 52 week high</li>
<li>AMD will ultimately face headwinds from Arm but, for the time being, their growth will come from continuing to take market share from Intel and building on their Instinct platform </li>
</ul>


AMD’s Lisa Su has been honoured as Time’s CEO of the year, a fitting tribute to a leader who  pulled off what many thought to be impossible
Despite flawless execution and carving out a brand new $5 billion market segment within AI Acceleration, AMD's share prices is down 44% from its 52 week high
AMD will ultimately face headwinds from Arm but, for the time being, their growth will come from continuing to take market share from Intel and building on their Instinct platform 


<ul>
<li>Pat Gelsinger took to X to invite us to join him in 24 hours of “praying and fasting” for Intel’s 100k employees to help them navigate “this difficult period”</li>
<li>This is an unprecedented move never before seen in the semiconductor world, albeit we suspect that IBM may have dabbled in something similar to resurrect their 2nm process prowess</li>
<li>This coming Thursday is the proposed date. Don't expect miracles, this could take until the following Monday for the full impact to manifest itself in terms of share price appreciation</li>
</ul>


Pat Gelsinger took to X to invite us to join him in 24 hours of “praying and fasting” for Intel’s 100k employees to help them navigate “this difficult period”
This is an unprecedented move never before seen in the semiconductor world, albeit we suspect that IBM may have dabbled in something similar to resurrect their 2nm process prowess
This coming Thursday is the proposed date. Don't expect miracles, this could take until the following Monday for the full impact to manifest itself in terms of share price appreciation


Intel Ex-CEO Calls For 24 Hours Of Prayer & Fasting For Intel's Remaining 100k Employees

<ul>
<li>Earlier this week, at the UBS Global Technology Conference, Intel CFO and co-interim CEO David Zinsner declared that the company's "core strategy remains intact"</li>
<li>Recently onboarded GM of IFS Dr. Naga Chandrasekaran, explained that while 18A remains on track, there are still "many milestones" to be met before it ramps in H225</li>
<li>He also admitted that 18A is more geared towards HPC, is skewed in favour of Intel Products and that 14A will likely be more suitable for the broader semiconductor ecosystem</li>
</ul>


Earlier this week, at the UBS Global Technology Conference, Intel CFO and co-interim CEO David Zinsner declared that the company's "core strategy remains intact"
Recently onboarded GM of IFS Dr. Naga Chandrasekaran, explained that while 18A remains on track, there are still "many milestones" to be met before it ramps in H225
He also admitted that 18A is more geared towards HPC, is skewed in favour of Intel Products and that 14A will likely be more suitable for the broader semiconductor ecosystem


Intel CFO @ UBS Global Technology Conference "Core Strategy Remains Intact"

Dr. William Keating is a highly experienced senior executive with over 25 years experience in the IT/Semiconductor Industry. The majority of Dr. Keating's career was spent at Intel Corporation where he held senior leadership positions in Europe, the US and Asia from 1992 through 2014. He served as Intel's IT Director for APAC, China & Japan from 2005 through 2014 when he was based in Hong Kong and was responsible for the IT systems (Infrastructure, Networks, Data Centres, ERP, Sales & Marketing systems, Business Intelligence etc. ) for all of Intel's offices & factories through the region. From 1998 through 2005, he was the founder & director of an internal IT Consulting Organisation (IT Flex Services), a 500-person team which remains a core part of the Intel IT Organisation to this day. Dr. Keating's first 6 years at Intel were spent in charge of the Factory Automation Systems (Robotics, Databases, Networks, Servers, Clients etc.) supporting Intel's then state-of-the-art 200mm factory network. Since leaving Intel in 2014, Dr Keating established his own Technology Research & Consulting Company (www.ingenuity.hk) where he focuses on the products, roadmaps & technologies of companies such as Intel, AMD, Samsung, Apple, Micron- as well as the key equipment suppliers to those companies e.g. ASML, AMAT, Canon, Nikon etc. Dr. Keating specializes in niche topics of high significance within the semiconductor industry. These include the future of Moore's Law and in particular the significance of Lithography in maintaining Moore's Law (EUV, SDA, NanoImprint), the role & growth of the GPU in specialised applications such as Deep Learning (Neural Networks) for Voice, Image & Pattern recognition at companies such as Facebook, Google & Baidu. He also holds regular discussions on the future of memory, in particular the rise of 3D NAND and the emergence of new memory technologies such as 3D Xpoint.