Tag Archives: avgo

Inphi Rockets Speedy Digital Drone To Rival Apple, Amazon, Facebook

Inphi ( IPHI ) and Microsoft ‘s ( MSFT ) 100-gigabit “drone” — likely to rival infrastructures by Apple ( AAPL ), Facebook ( FB ) and Amazon.com ( AMZN ) — earned chipmaker Inphi at least three price-target hikes Wednesday, as shares rocketed to a record high. Midday on the stock market today , Inphi shares were up more than 6%, near 32.50, after earlier flying as much as nearly 8% to an all-time high above 33. Shares outperformed a lazy Wall Street on Wednesday that saw the S&P 500, Nasdaq composite and Dow Jones industrial average all down. Deutsche Bank analyst Ross Seymore upgraded Inphi stock to a buy rating from hold and upped his price target to 40 from 30, acknowledging the pricey entry point. Analysts with Northland and Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price targets on Inphi stock to 36 from 31, and to 40 from 38, respectively. “We have long acknowledged Inphi’s solid execution and technology position but have maintained a hold rating awaiting an opportunistic entry point,” Seymore wrote in a research report. But “the size and diversity of the growth drivers the company is addressing are too compelling to ignore.” On Tuesday, Inphi unveiled its 100G “drone,” capable of connecting multiple data centers within 80 kilometers (about 50 miles). The current industry solution is for a much slower 10G platform, says Jeff Cox, Microsoft senior director of network architecture. Microsoft sought out Inphi in 2013 to solve its data center problem, Cox told IBD. The 100G “long-haul” solution was too costly, power-consumptive and required excess space for metropolitan data transfers. But the 10G “drone” solution wasn’t fast enough. So the duo developed ColorZ, which is an industry first, according to Inphi CEO Ford Tamer. ColorZ is slated to deploy in Q3. Seymore expects Microsoft to account for 5% of Inphi’s Q4 and 2017 sales. The new product will drive growth, Seymore wrote. Linking data centers to amass cloud size — and speed — is becoming increasingly necessary. Cloud users like Apple, Alphabet ( GOOGL ), Amazon and Facebook have all expanded their online operations, Cox said. Chipmakers such as Intel ( INTC ), Qualcomm ( QCOM ), Broadcom ( AVGO ), Nvidia ( NVDA ) and Integrated Device Technology ( IDTI ) have redoubled their data-center efforts in the past year to increase share. But Tamer says they’re at least 18 months behind Inphi. Seymore increased his 2016 estimates for Inphi to $300 million in sales and $1.37 earnings per share ex items, up 34% and 33%, respectively, vs. 2015 metrics. For 2017, he now expects $370 million and $1.70. The consensus of 12 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters forecasts $290.7 million and $1.26 for 2016, and $357.7 million and $1.62 for 2017.

Microsoft, Inphi Plan To Leave Amazon, Apple In Digital Drone Dust

Tech giant Microsoft ( MSFT ) and chipmaker Inphi ( IPHI ) plan to leave Apple ( AAPL ), Amazon.com ( AMZN ) and Alphabet ( GOOGL ) in their drone dust come Q3 … digitally speaking. Early Tuesday, the companies introduced a 100-gigabit platform capable of digitally tying multiple data centers within 80 kilometers (about 50 miles). Previously, that breakneck 100G speed was possible only in cross-country networks. Linking data centers to amass cloud size — and speed — will become more necessary as cloud users like Facebook ( FB ), Alibaba ( BABA ), Yahoo ( YHOO ) and others expand their online footprint, says Jeff Cox, Microsoft senior director of network architecture. Microsoft realized as much in 2012, but the industry’s “long-haul solution” for cross-country information transit was too hefty for use in metropolitan areas, Cox says. It would be the travel equivalent of launching a Boeing 777 to go from John Wayne Airport near Anaheim, Calif., to Los Angeles International Airport 20 miles away. “You’d take a cab, not a 777,” he told IBD. “For those distances across town, we want these large quantities, but that’s the wrong approach.” Trains, Planes, Trucks … And Drones In 2013, Microsoft and Inphi teamed up to solve the problem. Inphi moves data in the same way FedEx ( FDX ) transports packages — by trains, planes and trucks, Inphi CEO Ford Tamer told IBD. The Microsoft-Inphi solution is a 100G “drone.” Inphi also has a 100G long-haul solution under its Coherent platform. But the Coherent platform is more power-consumptive, expensive and requires space to allow excess heat to dissipate, Cox says. He estimates the Coherent platform uses 20 times more power than the new Inphi-Microsoft platform. “Using the Coherent technology would blow your entire power budget,” he said. “It’s fairly impractical at this scale.” Enter Colorz. Microsoft and Inphi’s partnership will be borne out in the Colorz platform — faster than the industry’s current 10G drones and less costly than 100G long-hauls, Tamer says. The 100G drones are capable of moving the digital equivalent of the Library of Congress multiple times in one second. “We do not believe there is any other solution that can achieve what we’ve done in the power and cost envelope,” Tamer said. “For that type of power and that type of performance and that distance, we do believe it’s an industry first.” Who Needs 640KB RAM? Three years ago, Microsoft met brick walls as it sought to reach 100G inside city limits, Cox said. He referenced tech lore when, in 1981, company co-founder Bill Gates asked who would need more than 640 kilobytes, in defense of IBM ‘s ( IBM ) newest PC, based on an Intel ( INTC ) processor. “Almost kind of like 10 years ago, when people asked, ‘Who needs more than 640KB of RAM (computer memory, where 4GB is now standard)?’ ” Cox said. “Then it was, ‘Who needs more than 100G in a metro?’ I think it was hard for people to wrap their heads around it.” Since then, he says, bandwidth needs have multiplied. Cloud providers are leasing or buying data center spaces across the world as their needs outgrow those of traditional consumers like IT and Internet providers. Data center is the industry’s new buzzword, and chipmakers especially are making a hard run for a piece of this market. Over the past year, Intel, Qualcomm ( QCOM ), Broadcom ( AVGO ), Nvidia ( NVDA ) and Integrated Device Technology ( IDTI ) have redoubled their data center efforts in a bid to gain share. “I think now when we talk about Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Facebook, everyone is building these infrastructures,” Cox said. “And the scale of these infrastructures is surprising everyone in the industry.” He added: “There isn’t so much disbelief any longer. I think we’ve proven we weren’t kidding. In fact, I think we underestimated a little.”

Apple Supplier Broadcom, Tech Giant Cisco Pitted In Data Center War

Tech giant Cisco Systems ‘ ( CSCO ) 16-nanometer data center semiconductor could slug Apple ( AAPL ) supplier Broadcom ( AVGO ), which is ramping its 28-nm Tomahawk technology, an RBC analyst said Monday. Broadcom’s Tomahawk will go for $600-$700 per chip, replacing the outmoded Trident chip that costs less than $500, on average. Unlike Trident, however, Tomahawk won’t win across-the-board vs. Cisco, RBC’s Amit Daryanani wrote. Cisco recently unveiled its CloudScale application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), in direct competition with data center chipmakers Broadcom, Cavium ( CAVM ), Intel ( INTC ), Marvell Technology Group ( MRVL ) and Mellanox Technologies ( MLNX ). In the past, Broadcom’s Trident won “across the board” at Cisco. This time, Cisco is likely to use its own CloudScale ASIC in its Nexus 9000, 9200 and 9300 platforms, leaving the 9500 to hold the Tomahawk silicon, Daryanani said. Other users include Hewlett-Packard Enterprise ( HPE ), Arista Networks ( ANET ) and Juniper Networks ( JNPR ), which had a two-year head start to begin ramping Tomahawk-based solution, Daryanani wrote. He sees a five- to six-year lifespan for the product. Still, “we believe Cisco encroachment into the merchant silicon market needs to be monitored by Broadcom investors,” he wrote. “For now, we continue to believe Broadcom’s solutions are the market-leaders for cloud/data center spenders.” Daryanani maintained his 180 price target and top performer rating on Broadcom stock. Shares rose a fraction Monday, to 152.89, on a day when Apple released new products that didn’t represent huge advances and were expected. Cisco stock fell a fraction on Wall Street Monday, while Apple was flat.