Apple – Asking for suits

Digital advertising is not worth the risk. Apple is building up its advertising business which I think is very likely to attract a raft of lawsuits from the other digital ecosystems alleging unfair competition and demanding tens of billions in damages. Research carried out by the FT (see here) concludes that Apple is planning on doubling the headcount in its...

  • Comments Off on Apple – Asking for suits
  • 194

USA vs. China – Semiconductor debate

Evolution means China will never catch up. The USA’s clampdown on AI silicon sales to China has reignited the debate as to whether China can become independent on semiconductors, but I think that all the evidence points to China making very little headway towards this goal. This is not a new issue as it was 2015 when China put together...

  • Comments Off on USA vs. China – Semiconductor debate
  • 130

USA vs. China – Turn of the screw

USA increases pressure on China. Restrictions are being placed on the export of advanced AI chips for the data centre to China and Russia which will slow China’s strategy to become a technological superpower demonstrating that while the world remains dependent on Silicon, China is at a big disadvantage. The US Government has increased its regulation of advanced AI silicon...

  • Comments Off on USA vs. China – Turn of the screw
  • 122

Arm vs. Qualcomm – Trouble in paradise

RISC-V is the only beneficiary of civil war. Arm has launched a strange-looking lawsuit against Qualcomm that looks like an attempt to earn higher royalties from one of its biggest customers or a move by Apple to delay and hinder the development of a competing product for its M series of processors. Arm has filed a complaint against Qualcomm that...

  • Comments Off on Arm vs. Qualcomm – Trouble in paradise
  • 499

Snap – Macro maelstrom

Snap has further to fall. Snap is laying off 20% of its workforce in order to stem the negative cash flow in a sure sign that Snap thinks that this downturn is not going to be short-lived. At the same time, HP reported Q2 2022 revenues that declined YoY as a result of weak demand that it also expected to...

  • Comments Off on Snap – Macro maelstrom
  • 239

China vs USA – War of numbers

US delistings now very unlikely. The impasse over audit inspections by US regulators of US-listed Chinese companies seems to have been resolved in a clear sign that China has more to lose from delisting Chinese companies than the USA does. The row over audit inspections has been going on for more than ten years with the USA requiring that companies...

  • Comments Off on China vs USA – War of numbers
  • 220

Nvidia FQ2 2023 – The hangover

Crypto gives Nvidia a big headache. Nvidia reported difficult results and soft guidance as the hangover from the crypto party continues to be a big headache. FQ2 2023 revenues / EPS were $6.7bn / $0.51 in line with revised guidance but well below its forecasts made three months ago (see here). As expected, the main culprit was Gaming where revenues...

  • Comments Off on Nvidia FQ2 2023 – The hangover
  • 300

Summer break – Back August 29th

RFM has decided to exchange sunshine and warmth for the pouring rain, low clouds and greenery of Scotland. Normal service will resume on August 29th. 

  • Comments Off on Summer break – Back August 29th
  • 278

WeRide – Txai hailing

WeRide has a long way to go. WeRide is running a test service in the United Arab Emirates but despite a pretty high placing in the California DMV data, experiencing it makes it very clear that it still has a long way to go. WeRide is a Chinese autonomous driving start-up that has partnered with the Abu Dhabi Department of...

  • Comments Off on WeRide – Txai hailing
  • 251

Unity – Love triangle

Two is a company, three is a crowd. AppLovin, a marketing and monetisation toolkit for app developers has offered to acquire Unity in a deal that looks defensive as it fears both the impact of greater vertical integration and the digital advertising slowdown on its ability to compete. AppLovin has both a set of marketing tools and a suite of...

  • Comments Off on Unity – Love triangle
  • 324