Year: 2026
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BWR 11: GTC and OFC
In this episode of the Byrne-Wheeler Report, hosts Joe and Bob discuss the latest developments in processors and interconnect, with a focus on data center infrastructure. Recorded shortly after major industry conferences GTC and OFC, the discussion offers an insider’s perspective on how the industry is racing to meet the demands of generative AI. The…
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Arm Chips Are Back, and This Time They Mean Business
Arm has entered the chip market with the AGI processor. Featuring 136 Neoverse cores and PCIe Gen6, it aims to outperform x86 servers by 2× per rack.
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What the Heck is a Groq?
Groq was one of many companies to realize that GPUs suboptimally execute neural networks. But like other NPU companies, it also failed to anticipate how AI models were changing. Groq’s technical shortcomings, along with the software and other challenges NPU startups face, diminished its products’ appeal to most customers. In a reversal, the strength-weakness duality…
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Meta Bares MTIA Roadmap, Accelerates NPU Development
Tamping down speculation about the viability of its MTIA AI accelerator, Meta has disclosed its roadmap for the NPU family. The company is speeding up the pace at which it introduces new versions, revealing plans to deploy three designs this year and next after recently deploying its third-generation MTIA300. We believe the first MTIA (now…
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Byrne-Wheeler Report Discusses AI Deals, Broadcom and Nvidia Earnings
Joe and Bob discuss deals (Nvidia-Meta, AMD-Meta, Amazon-OpenAI, Nvidia-OpenAI), AI-chip startup funding (MatX, Taalas, HyperAccel, SambaNova, Ayar Labs), and earnings announcements (Nvidia, Broadcom).
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New Funding and Chip Whisk SambaNova to its Next Stage
Hoary startup SambaNova has closed a $350 million Series E funding round, introduced the SN50 AI accelerator, and signed up SoftBank to deploy the new NPU. Following reports that Intel was considering acquiring the company, which Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan chairs, the beleaguered giant merely joined the funding round and signed a collaboration agreement. SambaNova…