this post was submitted on 28 Dec 2024
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AI phones could sustain chip sector if data centre spending slows, says Nvidia supplier [Financial Times] (archive.ph)
submitted 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) by [email protected] to c/hardware
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Source Financial Times article

Summary

Demand for artificial intelligence-enabled smartphones could help to protect parts of the semiconductor industry from a “vicious” downturn if investment in data centres slows, said the chief executive of the world’s largest provider of chip testing machines.

A fall-off “may not last long and then it may go right back up, but because of the concentration [of hyperscalers] right now in the market, any slowdown in the data centre buildout is going to have big reverberations in the supply chain”, said Lefever.

In contrast, demand for AI smartphones was “kind of slow” but could take off rapidly, Lefever said.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I somehow doubt "AI smartphones" will be able to replace the tens of billions of dollars of spend per quarter we see for data centre GPUs.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago

Yeah this doesn't make much sense to me either. I doubt "AI smartphones" will increase the total number of devices a person owns, whereas the the recent boom in datacenters directly leads to more devices sold. And the chips used there are also vastly more valuable.

AI might lead to each device needing slightly more/larger/more powerful chips, which means a bit more money per unit, but nothing earth shattering. Unless they drastically add new capabilities the average person won't change their budget that much.

I also doubt change will happen at such a rapid rate that people feel the need to instantly abandon perfectly fine and recently bought phones for "AI smartphones". Sure there will be some early adopters as with every innovation, but i imagine the majority will just stick with their regular update cycle and eventually end up with one through that way. Which doesn't lead to faster churn rate or more devices sold.

In return, if i get my wish and phones finally become fully capable desktop replacements (maybe with a docking station for home use), then it could even decrease the number of devices a person owns.

[–] BananaTrifleViolin 6 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Demand for AI phones is slow because the AI bubble is a crock of crap.

The uses for AI on personal devices are not currently compelling, just as the AI industry as a whole is struggling to find ways to make money. So people are not rushing out to buy devices that specifically have AI chips.

Maybe it will come, but at the moment it's just a bubble.

The mobile sector is not going to save the overvalued companies supplying AI chips - companies like Nvidia. The market is saturated and big tech companies are at some point going to stop stockpiling unused chips to "stay ahead". This is a typical boom and crash scenario.

AI isn't going anywhere but the overinflated expectations will.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago

When they run out of datacenter investment, they will run large AI queries across millions of mobile devices; Like a shitty, unsolicited, reverse SETI@Home

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 weeks ago

Oh thank heavens I was so worried

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago

Maybe demand is slow because nobody wants a fucking chatbot relabeled as "AI"