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

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.

<ul>
<li>NVIDIA's data center revenues tripled YoY in CY 2023 and are on track to more than double in CY 2024</li>
<li>When Intel dominated the data centre and minted tens of billions annually, its customers benefited even more, minting hundreds of billions. </li>
<li>If NVIDIA's business model succeeds, its customers will succeed even more. This will make it extremely difficult for NVIDIA to remain the #1 global market cap stock. </li>
</ul>


NVIDIA's data center revenues tripled YoY in CY 2023 and are on track to more than double in CY 2024
When Intel dominated the data centre and minted tens of billions annually, its customers benefited even more, minting hundreds of billions. 
If NVIDIA's business model succeeds, its customers will succeed even more. This will make it extremely difficult for NVIDIA to remain the #1 global market cap stock. 


Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>Global semiconductor equipment billings amounted to $26.4 billion in Q124, down 6% QoQ and down 2% YoY</li>
<li>China's annual WFE spending has roughly doubled between 2020 and 2023 to $36.6 billion</li>
<li>A combination of China's WFE customers including new entrants and a high failure rate among semi startups means that spending has not yet translated into corresponding increase in semi output</li>
</ul>


Global semiconductor equipment billings amounted to $26.4 billion in Q124, down 6% QoQ and down 2% YoY
China's annual WFE spending has roughly doubled between 2020 and 2023 to $36.6 billion
A combination of China's WFE customers including new entrants and a high failure rate among semi startups means that spending has not yet translated into corresponding increase in semi output


Semiconductor WFE Q124 Revenues, China's Share & What Are They Doing With All Those Tools?

<ul>
<li>Greatly reduced growth-related WFE CapEx, cannibalisation of legacy node WFE for leading edge transitions and surging demand for HBM will likely trigger mainstream memory shortages by EOY 2024 </li>
<li>Both Nanya and Winbond are well positioned to benefit from any industry-wide shortages</li>
<li>If Samsung can sort out its HBM woes, it will be line for a re-rating</li>
</ul>


Greatly reduced growth-related WFE CapEx, cannibalisation of legacy node WFE for leading edge transitions and surging demand for HBM will likely trigger mainstream memory shortages by EOY 2024 
Both Nanya and Winbond are well positioned to benefit from any industry-wide shortages
If Samsung can sort out its HBM woes, it will be line for a re-rating


Samsung, Nanya, Winbond. Watch This Space...

Micron Technology, Inc., through its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets dynamic random access memory chips (DRAMs), very fast static random access memory chips (SRAMs), Flash Memory, other semiconductor components, and memory modules.

<ul>
<li>HBM revenue on track to jump from a few hundred million in 2024 to "multiple" billions in 2025</li>
<li>Micron expects to become FCF positive in the second half of their fiscal 2024 and to have a record revenue year in their fiscal 2025. </li>
<li>Micron's is doing custom work on their HBM solutions. Customers are signing LTAs with defined pricing. This could easily spread to Micron's non-HBM products also. </li>
</ul>


HBM revenue on track to jump from a few hundred million in 2024 to "multiple" billions in 2025
Micron expects to become FCF positive in the second half of their fiscal 2024 and to have a record revenue year in their fiscal 2025. 
Micron's is doing custom work on their HBM solutions. Customers are signing LTAs with defined pricing. This could easily spread to Micron's non-HBM products also. 


Micron's HBM. Multiple Billions Incoming..

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>Intel's 2023 10K includes two new risk sections relating to its foundry plans and Smart Capital approach to funding them. </li>
<li>It labels its foundry plan as "Highly Risky" and rates its chances of success as "highly uncertain"</li>
<li>They also helpfully warn that they have "limited experience" with the third party foundry business, just FYI</li>
</ul>


Intel's 2023 10K includes two new risk sections relating to its foundry plans and Smart Capital approach to funding them. 
It labels its foundry plan as "Highly Risky" and rates its chances of success as "highly uncertain"
They also helpfully warn that they have "limited experience" with the third party foundry business, just FYI


Intel Warns That Its Foundry Strategy Is "Highly Risky" & Its Success Is "Highly Uncertain"

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.