Gilder’s Guideposts Newsletters
Hidden Geography of Chip-Making Revenue, Manufacturing—and Tariffs
The semiconductor industry is more fragmented than one may know. U.S.-based semiconductor companies dominate headlines with a 50.4% global market share, but the factories that make the chips are mostly in Asia. Wall Street rewards Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA), Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO) and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) for their soaring revenue and […]
Nvidia Is Giving Legitimacy to Quantum Computing
Introduction We have a compelling technology story to share with you. In a March 2025 article published in Gilder’s Guidepost, we wrote: “Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Wants to Buy a Quantum Computing Company — My Thinking Outside the Box: He’s Playing 4D Chess.” I proposed that Huang’s public dismissal of quantum computing in January—saying that useful systems were […]
Broadcom and the Rise of Custom AI Silicon
The artificial intelligence (AI) boom is redrawing the boundaries of the semiconductor industry. While Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) captures headlines for its record-setting graphics processing unit (GPU) revenues, the deeper structural transformation lies in the move toward custom silicon. Particularly important are AI-specific application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Microsoft (NASDAQ: […]
KLA: Guardian of Yield in the Age of Atomic Precision
Introduction: In a World of $30,000 Wafers, Imperfection Is No Longer an Option The future of computing will not be built on brute force—it will be built on atomic precision. In a world where each 2nm wafer can cost nearly $30,000, the smallest defect is not a nuisance—it is a financial catastrophe. As the cost […]
Dell Advances from Dorm Rooms to Data Factories in the AI Age
The name Dell is iconic in the technology world. There was a time when Dell Technologies (NASDAQ: DELL) was known as a scrappy personal computer (PC) builder from Texas. Over the decades, DELL has reinvented itself with every great technological shift. The company’s original business model—fueled by Intel’s (NASDAQ: INTC) early silicon and a direct-to-consumer […]
Wolfspeed– Anatomy of a Failed Company
Silicon carbide (SiC) is a semiconductor popular in power electronics for electric vehicles such as Teslas, broadband wireless communications moving to 5G and 6G, power generation for AI datacenters, and military and space applications. Because of its stability at high frequencies, temperatures, powers, and pressures, it’s hot stuff for the technology future. Recent Gilder reports […]
President Trump’s Middle East Visit Unleashes Wave of AI Semiconductor Deals
President Donald Trump’s May 2025 trip to the Middle East produced much more than just a flare of headlines. It triggered a wave of strategic semiconductor and AI infrastructure announcements that will reshape the geopolitical landscape of advanced computing. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) emerged as the two dominant regional hubs, drawing […]
Show Me the Power!
Here’s a surprise. Your boring old electrical utility, you know that stock no hip tech investor like you would ever let into his portfolio, could become the high-tech growth company of the future—if it makes the right adjustments swiftly. As AI model training accelerates and workloads scale, U.S. electricity demand, which had been flattish since […]
Trump’s Semiconductor Dilemma: Sanctions Fuel the Very Growth They Meant to Stop
Chinese vs. Non-Chinese WFE Growth: A 2024 Reality Check The U.S. government’s export controls on semiconductor manufacturing equipment were intended to isolate China technologically. Instead, they have catalyzed a market bifurcation that now works to China’s advantage. A detailed review of 2024 revenue data reveals just how stark the divergence has become between Chinese and […]
AI Cloud Competition Keeps Accelerating
Hyperscalers and the Role of AI Infrastructure Recent headlines suggest that the artificial intelligence (AI) buildout might be slowing. Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) was reported to be canceling up to 2 gigawatts (GW) of data center leases—nearly one-third of its global capacity—and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is said to be pausing some overseas expansion talks. These stories […]