Tag Archives: xlnx

Nvidia Conference: Virtual Reality, Smart Cars, Bartender Robots

Robot bartenders, a drone racetrack and liquid nitrogen-concocted food? Silicon Valley geeks know how to get down — and that’s just after-hours. Next week, graphics-chipmaker Nvidia ( NVDA ) is slated to host its annual GPU Technology Conference at the San Jose McEnery Conference Center where virtual reality, artificial intelligence and self-driving cars will take center stage. In conjunction, Nvidia will hold its analyst day Tuesday, when CEO Jen-Hsun Huang is scheduled to deliver a keynote talk. RBC Capital analyst Mitch Steves expects Nvidia to offer an update on its Pascal GPU architecture, virtual-reality offerings and automotive efforts. Steves upped his price target to 36 from 32 on Nvidia stock, which he rates a sector perform. “Overall, we are positive on the VR opportunity and believe that growth rates will remain robust,” he wrote in a research report. Virtual reality is getting a big splash this year, and tech names  Apple ( AAPL ), IBM ( IBM ), Alphabet ( GOOGL ) and Tesla Motors ( TSLA ) are on deck to attend the GTC alongside myriad startups like BriSky, a maker of industrial drones, and Lucid, which makes 3D cameras. Under the GTC umbrella, BriSky, Lucid and 10 others will compete Wednesday for $100,000 during the Emerging Companies Summit. Another eight are slated to present their VR tech in an eight-minute elevator pitch for a chance at $15,000. There’s no denying the summit’s success, which helped launch VR headset-maker Oculus and video game-streaming service Gaikai into worldwide recognition. Facebook ( FB ) later acquired Oculus for $2 billion, and Sony ( SNE ) paid $380 million for Gaikai. Mellanox Technology ( MLNX ) and Xilinx ( XLNX ) will present during the OpenPower Summit, Tuesday through Friday. Moore’s Law physics make power a challenge within the industry. Data centers need faster chips, but those chips overheat quicker. Other splashy GTC events include keynotes from IBM Watson Chief Technology Officer Rob High and Toyota Research Institute (under Toyota Motors ( TM )) CEO Gill Pratt on Wednesday and Thursday. Separately, GTC will feature speakers from Nvidia, Twitter ( TWTR ), IBM, Baidu ( BIDU ), Google and Disney ’s ( DIS ) Pixar.

Chinese ZTE Sanctions Over Iran Sales Could Hurt Apple Chipmakers

A new U.S. export ban against Chinese mobile gear maker ZTE related to its under-the-table sales to Iran could hurt  Apple ( AAPL ) chip suppliers Qualcomm ( QCOM ), Qorvo ( QRVO ) and Skyworks Solutions ( SWKS ), a Pacific Crest analyst wrote Wednesday. Regulators imposed the sanctions Tuesday, alleging that ZTE used four shell companies in China and Iran to “illicitly re-export controlled items to Iran in violation of U.S. export control laws.” The ban prohibits U.S. companies from selling to ZTE. Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi opposed the sanctions, saying that ZTE’s tech purchases support thousands of U.S. jobs, according to the AP. Chipmakers Cavium ( CAVM ), Integrated Device Technology ( IDTI ), Silicon Laboratories ( SLAB ) and Xilinx ( XLNX ) also sell to ZTE. “This approach will only hurt others without necessarily benefiting oneself,” Yi said at a new conference Tuesday. ZTE isn’t banned from selling products in the U.S. but cannot procure components from U.S. companies. U.S. firms can apply for an export license, but Pacific Crest analyst John Vinh sees the government unlikely to grant them. The development could shuffle the smartphone market. ZTE owns about 4% of the global smartphone market, Vinh wrote. Industry tracker IDC says that ZTE competes alongside Xiaomi and Huawei in the low-end to midrange smartphone market, vs. No. 1 smartphone vendor Samsung. Vinh expects short-term effects on chipmakers to be “negligible.” Longer term, he says that ZTE could lose share to Huawei, Ericsson ( ERIC ), Alcatel-Lucent ( ALU ), Nokia ( NOK ), Siemens ( SIEGY ), Xiaomi, Oppo and Lenovo. “Alternatively, ZTE could conform to the U.S. embargo list, which could result in sanctions being lifted,” he wrote. Xilinx is most at risk, with 3%-3.5% of total revenue stemming from sales to ZTE, Vinh estimates. Silicon Labs follows with 2%-2.5% of total revenue wrapped in ZTE sales. IDT, Qualcomm and Qorvo are each 2% tied to ZTE, Cavium 1%-2%, and about 1.5% of Skyworks’ sales stem from the Chinese smartphone maker. Wall Street largely yawned Wednesday, however. Midday on the stock market today , only Qualcomm stock was down, dipping a fraction. Cavium stock was up a fraction. Shares of Qorvo, Silicon Labs, Skyworks and Xilinx were all up more than 1%. Integrated Device Technology stock was up more than 2.5%.

Apple Supplier Qualcomm Flung Into Xilinx M&A ‘Smoke’

Programmable chip maker Xilinx (XLNX) fanned acquisition rumors Wednesday and an MKM analyst suggested a marriage with Apple (AAPL) supplier Qualcomm (QCOM) would make “strategic sense.” Xilinx stock soared as much as 12% in the morning on the stock market today, after late Wednesday Xilinx filed “change of control” documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In afternoon trading, shares were up 10%. Analysts pegged Xilinx as a