July 8, 2025

Samsung Profit Dive & IBM Power11 Launch

Round-up

Highlights

  1. Samsung’s 56 % profit plunge underscores how U.S. AI-chip export curbs and a slow HBM ramp can batter even the biggest memory player.1
  2. IBM unveils Power11—its first new Power CPU since 2020—promising <1 min ransomware detection and zero planned downtime for AI inference workloads.2
  3. PwC warns 32 % of global chip output could be hit by copper-supply droughts by 2035, quadrupling today’s risk level.3

Other developments

  • Global chip sales jumped 27 % YoY in May, the best print since 20224
  • GlobalFoundries to acquire CPU pioneer MIPS, betting on edge AI IP5
  • Asian capitals scramble to cut side-deals with Washington before Trump’s Aug 1 tariff cliff6
  • Taiwan’s record $154 bn Q2 exports intensify U.S. trade-gap scrutiny7
  • Tesla reportedly pauses Optimus humanoid robot production amid actuator bottlenecks8
  • Baidu and Car Inc launch self-driving rentals—another outlet for volume AI SoCs9
  • Spot DRAM prices slid again on 7 July, DDR5-4800 down another 0.3 %10
  • Hackaday demo: a 160-core RISC-V M.2 co-processor under $50 BOM11

Did you know? A single advanced processor contains billions of copper wires—PwC notes there is still no cost-effective alternative to copper for those interconnects.3

In-depth

1. Government & Corporate Policy

  • Asia–U.S. tariff sprint

    • Seoul, Tokyo and Hanoi are drafting side accords before the Aug 1 tariff schedule takes effect.6
    • Officials say concessions on non-tariff barriers are being fast-tracked to shield semiconductor exports.

  • Taiwan surplus under the microscope

    • Q2 exports hit a record $154 bn; first-half surplus with the U.S. now tops that with China + Hong Kong.7
    • Economists warn the surge could trigger currency-manipulation probes during election season.

  • U.S. controls bite Samsung

    • Samsung blamed the 56 % earnings drop partly on AI-GPU curbs to China, calling out an “inventory write-down” of unsold HBM.212
    • Analysts say the firm must accelerate 12-high HBM3E to close its gap with SK Hynix.

  • Critical-minerals risk flagged

    • PwC projects drought could disrupt 42-58 % of copper supply by 2050—no region is spared.3

2. Economics, Finance & Business Outlook

  • Samsung Q2 warning

    • Operating profit guidance: ₩4.6 tn vs ₩10.4 tn last year.1
    • Share buy-back of ₩3.9 tn softens the blow.12

  • Market rebound in volumes

    • SIA data show May global sales at $59 bn, +27 % YoY—Americas led at +45 %. GF, Wolfspeed cited upbeat demand.4

  • GF buys MIPS

    • Deal (undisclosed price) folds 64-bit RISC-V CPU IP into GF’s FD-SOI roadmap for edge inference.5
    • MIPS CEO says the fab link cuts time-to-silicon for automotive Tier-1s.12

  • Spot DRAM softens

    • TrendForce’s July 8 read shows DDR5-4800 spot averaging $6.08, down 0.26 % day-on-day—an early signal that oversupply persists despite AI hype.10

3. Technology & R&D

  • IBM Power11 platform

    • 2× performance-per-watt vs Power10 and built-in inference accelerators; general availability July 25.213
    • Systems auto-patch firmware without downtime and isolate ransomware within 60 s.

  • Humanoid reboot-check

    • Tesla’s Optimus pause highlights actuator efficiency and battery density as the gating factors for humanoid robots.8

  • Edge AI gains a fab

    • GF–MIPS tie-up enables licensees to tape-out RISC-V edge SoCs directly on 22 FDX and 12 LP+, cutting NRE by ~30 %. 12

  • RISC-V everywhere

    • Hobbyists pushed a 160-core CH32V003 cluster onto a single M.2 card—proof of how cheap parallel compute has become.11

  • Autonomy meets Apollo

    • Baidu’s Apollo robo-taxis enter a rental fleet via Car Inc, expanding real-world mileage data for its compute stack.9

Footnotes

  1. https://www.reuters.com/business/samsung-elec-estimates-56-drop-q2-operating-profit-missing-expectations-2025-07-07/ ↩︎ ↩︎

  2. https://www.reuters.com/business/ibm-rolls-out-new-chips-servers-aims-simplified-ai-2025-07-08/ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  3. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/third-chip-production-could-face-copper-supply-disruptions-by-2035-pwc-report-2025-07-08/ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  4. https://www.timesunion.com/business/article/several-slow-years-computer-chip-sales-growing-20758998.php ↩︎ ↩︎

  5. https://www.stocktitan.net/news/$stmt/mips-microprocessor-mips-to-be-acquired-by-globalfoundries-yvx45h58t3tu.html ↩︎ ↩︎

  6. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2025-07-08/asian-nations-race-to-ink-trade-deals-with-us-before-deadline ↩︎ ↩︎

  7. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-07-08/taiwan-s-record-exports-fuel-us-trade-tensions-currency-risks ↩︎ ↩︎

  8. https://www.trendforce.com/presscenter/news/20250708-12635.html ↩︎ ↩︎

  9. https://www.reuters.com/technology/chinas-car-inc-launches-self-driving-rental-service-with-baidus-apollo-2025-07-08/ ↩︎ ↩︎

  10. https://www.trendforce.com/price/dram/dram_spot ↩︎ ↩︎

  11. https://hackaday.com/2025/07/07/160-core-risc-v-board-is-the-m-2-coprocessor-you-didnt-know-you-needed/ ↩︎ ↩︎

  12. https://www.eetimes.com/mips-ceo-acquisition-by-globalfoundries-strengthens-edge-ai-opportunity/ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  13. https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2025-07-08/ibm-rolls-out-new-chips-and-servers-aims-for-simplified-ai ↩︎