Amazon AWS re:Invent – Show stolen.

I would like to pay tribute to Charlie Munger who passed away last night. His acerbic wit and common sense had a profound impact on the way I analyse companies, themes and investments. He will be missed. Jensen steals the show. AWS is holding its annual re:Invent conference where its own silicon chips played second fiddle to Nvidia’s in just...

OpenAI – Reality Test.

The valuation event will speak volumes. Although OpenAI is probably worth more now than it was 2 weeks ago, the share sale is unlikely to go through at $86bn and will serve as a measure of just how strong the AI-everything narrative remains after the Open AI earthquake. Despite the hot mess that became Open AI a few weeks ago,...

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OpenAI – Reboot.

The ecosystem is still in trouble. OpenAI has been put back the way that it was, but the governance will be very different and the damage that has been done to its ecosystem aspirations could greatly impact its long-term future. Mr Altman and his crew have been reinstated at OpenAI and a new board has been formed but how the...

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China vs. USA – Tit for tat pt. II

Reality undermines the restrict strategy. China has resumed exports of Gallium and Germanium in another sign that unless one controls the reserves, restricting access to a mineral is a poor negotiating strategy. RFM Research and Alavan Independent are of the opinion that the USA’s strategy to slow China’s rise as a technological and geopolitical power by restricting semiconductors is reasonably...

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Nvidia FQ3 24 – As good as it gets

Almost perfect with a valuation to match. Nvidia reported another stellar set of results, but it will need to increase its bookings at TSMC in 2024 if it wants to continue growing and I am far from certain that TSMC has the space at these nodes to accommodate the demand. FQ3 2024 revenues / EPS were $18.1bn / $4.02 well...

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OpenAI & Microsoft – Power Play

Microsoft will end up with OpenAI one way or another. The best solution to the hot mess that is OpenAI is to put everything back in its place but with the leverage that Microsoft now has over OpenAI, the acquisition is in full swing. The soap opera continues with Microsoft now keen for the team to return to OpenAI but...

OpenAI – Hot Mess

Looks to have been a fight over profit The absurd goings-on at OpenAI this weekend look to me to have come down to disagreements about money, but the implosion of the company may have just allowed it to fulfil its original mission. Sam Altman, the CEO and co-founder of OpenAI was suddenly fired by the board of OpenAI on Friday,...

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Qualcomm vs Apple – Black Magic

Apple won’t be able to pick a fight in 2026. As I have long suspected, Apple is really struggling to make a high-quality 5G radio chip meaning that Qualcomm could end up supplying Apple with radios well beyond 2026 when the current contract expires. This will also make the patent renegotiation with Apple much easier as the current agreement to...

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Cisco FQ1 24 – The hangover

Cisco serves as a warning to everyone else. Cisco’s efforts to reduce revenue volatility have come unstuck as a normalisation of client activity in hardware after a period of real strength hammered both revenue guidance and the share price. FQ1 24 revenues / EPS were $14.7bn / $1.11 ahead of estimates of $14.6bn / $1.03 but this was where the...

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Autonomous Autos – Cruise Control pt. II

Cruise gets real. Cruise has doubled down on its commitment to safety by effectively putting the whole company in a holding pattern as well as the secondment of the Head of Legal from GM to oversee the whole process. This is yet another sign of some of the difficulties that technology companies are continuing to have when entering an industry...

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