Always Be Curious #176: Intel's back in black, American chip jobs, and James Webb telescope on Netflix

This week in ABC: Intel says its five nodes in four years strategy remains on track, there are tens of thousands of American chip jobs needed but missing, and Netflix does JWST.

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There’s a lot of emotion in science. ❤️ Many scientists are driven by purpose and they strongly identify with their work and its impact. If it concerns an idea that they themselves birthed (either by brain or by hand), then that identification can grow into personification. You are your work—your work is you. 🧑‍🎓👩‍💻👨‍🔬 There are few better examples of this than NASA’s multi-decade and 10 billion dollar project, the James Webb Telescope. 🛰 Netflix captured this dedication and passion really well in their brand new documentary “Unknown: Cosmic Time Machine”, which tells the story of the James Webb telescope from inception to launch. I’ve spotlighted the trailer below in this week’s For The Love Of Tech section. Timing-wise, this documentary marks the moment one year ago that the international team at NASA beamed down the first images from the telescope and shared them with the public. It was a moment of great emotional significance to the many men and women that dedicated their lives and careers to this space telescope. In NASA’s press conference, Scientific Missions lead Thomas Zurbuchen put it like this: “We are in the middle of getting the history-making data down. It’s really hard to not look at the universe in a new light and not just have a moment that is deeply personal. It’s an emotional moment when you see nature suddenly releasing some of its secrets, and I would like you to imagine and look forward to that.” At the same press conference, NASA’s deputy administrator Pam Melroy said: “What I have seen moved me, as a scientist, as an engineer, and as a human being.” 🙏❤️

Have a good week, stay safe and sound,

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👨‍💻The round-up in sci-tech💡

📱 Flip phones are having a moment — and all eyes are on Samsung now (The Verge)

Because time is a flat circle, flip phones are hot right now.

🌍 The invention that let fiber optics span the globe (IEEE Spectrum)

In 1985, Robert Mears’s EDFA was just gearing up to interconnect the world.

📚 A new book about 'The Apple II Age' celebrates the users (The New Stack)

The story of personal computing in the United States is not about the evolution of hackers but about the rise of everyday users, argues Laine Nooney, in the new book, "The Apple II Age: How the Computer Became Personal."

💥 The AI-powered, totally autonomous future of war is here (WIRED)

Ships without crews. Self-directed drone swarms. How a US Navy task force is using off-the-shelf robotics and artificial intelligence to prepare for the next age of conflict.

🏠 Look inside the world’s largest 3D-printed neighborhood in Texas (CNN)

The world’s largest community of 3D-printed homes is being built in Texas — and the neighborhood just unveiled its first completed house.

➗ Virtual Reality helps students improve their math literacy (IEEE Spectrum)

This startup’s platform teaches math using simulated real-world situations.

🎓 Scientist’s deep dive for alien life leaves his peers dubious (The New York Times)

Avi Loeb, a Harvard astrophysicist, says that material recovered from the seafloor could be from an extraterrestrial spacecraft. His peers are skeptical.

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🤓This week in chips⚠

🇺🇸 Intel's back in the black, says Arrow Lake already in the fab (Tom’s Hardware)

Intel pulls profit out of its hat.

🇹🇼 TSMC: 3nm chips for smartphones and HPCs coming this year (Anandtech) 

"We are seeing robust demand for N3 and we expect a strong ramp of N3 in the second half of this year, supported by both HPC and smartphone applications.”

🇹🇼 Driven by AI boom, TSMC to invest $2.9 billion in advanced chip plant in Taiwan (Reuters)

Driven by a surge in demand for artificial intelligence, Taiwanese chip maker TSMC plans to invest nearly T$90 billion ($2.87 billion) in an advanced packaging facility in northern Taiwan.

🇺🇸 Micron's new HBM3 is world's fastest at 1.2 TB/s, teases next-gen at 2 TB/s+ (Tom’s Hardware)

Fastest, densest and most power efficient high-bandwidth memory yet.

🇰🇷 Samsung to extend production cuts after $7 bln chip loss in H1 (Reuters)

Samsung said the worst is over for the global memory chip market but announced plans to extend production cuts, because a demand recovery is largely constrained to high-end chips used in artificial intelligence.

🇰🇷 Samsung reportedly investing in R&D for 3D stacking Gate-All-Around transistor technology (Digitimes)

“After memory products like NAND Flash and DRAM, it's reported that Samsung Electronics will conduct R&D for a "3D stacking" technology that can vertically stack system semiconductor transistors. Whether or not Samsung can gain dominance in advanced semiconductor technology with this move has drawn attention.”

🇯🇵 Rapidus: We want to serve TSMC's customers, but we won't be like TSMC (Tom’s Hardware)

Rapidus only wants to serve five to 10 companies, at least initially.

🇯🇵 Homegrown Japanese 2nm chips to cost 10x more than Japan's mainstream chips: Rapidus (Tom’s Hardware)

Chip manufacturing is going to get more expensive.

🇩🇪 Germany to pour $22 billion into chip production: Intel, TSMC to benefit (Tom’a Hardware)

Intel and TSMC set to get lion's share of Germany's chip subsidies.

🇨🇳 Huawei's breakthrough 7nm chips projected at 50% yield: report (Tom’s Hardware)

Huawei preps a 5G smartphone comeback with in-house-designed SoC.

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📈By the numbers📉

Intel’s second quarter 2023 financial results (Intel) 

“Intel remains on track to meet its goal of achieving five nodes in four years and to regain transistor performance and power performance leadership by 2025. The company announced an industry-first implementation of backside power using Intel PowerVia in a test chip, resulting in notable performance and efficiency gains. PowerVia will be incorporated into Intel 20A, expected to launch in the first half of 2024.”

Samsung’s second quarter 2023 financial results (Samsung)

“Global demand is expected to gradually recover in the second half of the year which should lead to an improvement in earnings driven by the component business. However, continued macroeconomic risks could prove to be a challenge in such recovery in demand.

STMicro boosts quarterly revenue 13% as auto demand drives sales (Bloomberg)

STMicroelectronics revenue in the second quarter rose 13% from a year earlier, slightly beating expectations, as demand from the auto industry drove sales. 

”Chipping away”: assessing the labor market gap facing the U.S. semiconductor industry (SIA) 

”We project the semiconductor industry’s workforce will grow by nearly 115,000 jobs by 2030, from approximately 345,000 jobs today to approximately 460,000 jobs by the end of the decade, representing 33% growth. Of these new jobs, we estimate roughly 67,000—or 58% of projected new jobs (and 80% of projected new technical jobs)—risk going unfilled at current degree completion rates. Of the unfilled jobs, 39% will be technicians, most of whom will have certificates or two-year degrees; 35% will be engineers with four-year degrees or computer scientists; and 26% will be engineers at the master’s or PhD level.”

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❤️For the love of tech❤️

🛰️ Unknown: Cosmic Time Machine (Netflix)

The James Webb Telescope stirs imaginations with vivid photos of distant galaxies. This documentary tracks its historic journey from inception to launch.

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Always Be Curious is the personal newsletter of Sander Hofman, Senior Creative Content Strategist at ASML. Opinions expressed in this curated newsletter are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer.