CASPA hosted a successful online seminar titled “Next-Generation AI Silicon: Investment Strategies and Market Trends” on January 18, 2025. The event attracted over 300 registrations with more than 230 active participants, highlighting the semiconductor community’s strong interest in AI hardware developments and investment opportunities.
The seminar featured two distinguished speakers: Dr. Ian Cutress, CEO and Chief Analyst of More Than Moore and host of TechTechPotato as the keynote speaker, and Dr. Xuhui Shao, Managing Partner of Foothill Ventures as the panel speaker. CASPA Head of Symposium Team Catherine Que hosted the event and CASPA President Dr. Zhibin Xiao moderated the panel discussion.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Xiao provided an overview of CASPA’s history and its commitment to fostering next-generation talent in the semiconductor industry. He highlighted the organization’s growth to over 9,000 members across 11 regional chapters and its role in promoting technological advancement.
Dr. Cutress’s keynote presentation focused on the evolving landscape of AI silicon, particularly emphasizing the transition to the chiplet era. He provided a comprehensive analysis of the market’s four main battlegrounds: datacenter training, datacenter inference, localized inference, and edge inference. Notable insights included the dominance of NVIDIA and AMD in datacenter applications, while companies like Qualcomm are making significant strides in localized inference solutions.
The presentation highlighted significant funding activities in the AI hardware startup space, with over $3 billion raised in 2024 alone and a cumulative investment of $17 billion. Dr. Cutress analyzed several success stories and cautionary tales, including Tenstorrent’s collaboration with Rapidus on AI chiplets for the Japanese market, and the challenges faced by companies like Graphcore and Mythic AI.
During the panel discussion, Dr. Shao brought valuable insights from an investor’s perspective, emphasizing the unique characteristics of the current AI wave compared to previous technological revolutions. The discussion touched on crucial topics such as the challenges of software development for AI hardware, the importance of having broader market strategies beyond single-customer focus, and the role of startups in driving innovation in niche areas like memory interfaces and power management.
A significant portion of the discussion focused on emerging technologies, including advanced packaging, connectivity solutions, and co-packaged optics. The speakers emphasized how these technologies are becoming increasingly critical for next-generation AI systems, particularly in addressing data locality and performance challenges in large-scale AI deployments.
The panel discussion and Q&A session also explored other various topics, including:
- The future trajectory of agentic AI and its hardware requirements
- The potential of open-source hardware and RISC-V based solutions
- Opportunities in analog computing and neuromorphic architectures
- The growing importance of efficient inference solutions in the market
Looking ahead, CASPA announced several initiatives, including future seminars focusing on AI semiconductor regulation and the intersection of AI software and hardware
development. The organization also highlighted upcoming events such as their Annual Conference Dinner banquet and Board of Director elections in October.
“The overwhelming attendance and engagement at today’s seminar demonstrates the critical importance of understanding both the technical and investment aspects of AI hardware development,” said Dr. Xiao. “We’re particularly pleased to have brought together perspectives from both the technical and investment communities to provide our members with a comprehensive view of the market.”
The event concluded with announcements about CASPA’s long-term membership benefits, including scholarship opportunities for children of lifetime members and eligibility for Board of Director positions. The organization also encouraged participants to subscribe to their e-newsletter for updates on future events and industry developments.
This seminar represents CASPA’s ongoing commitment to providing valuable insights and networking opportunities for local communities, particularly as AI continues to drive innovation and investment in the sector.
