Artificial intelligence (AI) is undoubtedly the most "hot" topic at the moment. With the emergence of ChatGPT, generative AI based on large models has taken mankind a big step towards the era of artificial intelligence. OpenAI, the development company of ChatGPT, has become the most dazzling star company in the field of artificial intelligence, receiving an investment of at least US$13 billion from Microsoft. After the artificial intelligence processor chip giant Nvidia's stock price surged nearly 240% in 2023, the good momentum continued into 2024, and its market value once again reached a record high. At the same time, through technology accumulation, Chinese companies have also launched AI technology products in the past year and embraced large models. The "Boao Forum for Asia Innovation Report" pointed out that in 2023, China has become the country that produces the largest number of AI large model patents. Accelerating the implementation of artificial intelligence applications is an industry consensus "The future of large models lies in industry applications", which has been agreed upon in the industry. After a year of rapid development, AI technology has entered the practical stage and is effectively changing people's production and life. In China, Huawei used the Pangu weather model to predict the path of Typhoon "Mawa"; Honor, OPPO, vivo and other manufacturers have announced the launch of large-scale AI models with 7 billion parameters on mobile phones; Lenovo has released more than 10 AI PCs; and Including Baidu, Alibaba, iFlytek, etc., they have also embedded large models into APPs, covering life scenes such as office, learning, entertainment, and medical care. iSoftStone is an early participant in the large model track, and is an in-depth partner of Huawei Cloud, Alibaba, Baidu, Microsoft, Tencent and other companies in developing large models. Generally speaking, enterprises entering the AI track mainly have several modes: self-developed large models, ecological cooperation, and acquisition/investment. Enterprises can adopt one or more modes based on their own business needs, resource status, and market positioning. iSoftStone positions itself as an enabler of large model technology applications. We do not make general basic large models, but focus on the implementation of large models in industry and enterprise customer scenarios. To this end, iSoftStone has created a model-as-a-service platform, iSoftStone Tianxuan 2.0 MaaS, to help enterprises quickly implement large models. iSoftStone’s other products have also played a role in different scenarios. In July last year, Huawei released the Ascend AI cloud service. iSoftStone joins hands with Shengteng AI to launch an integrated platform for iSoftStone training and promotion. The platform supports diverse functions such as video input, voice interaction, Vincent pictures, Vincent videos, and multi-modal fusion search. It can be applied to automation of collateral registration, There are more than 150 intelligent automation scenarios such as intelligent inspection, bill assistant, and intelligent contract management. Relying on iSoftStone's AI robot Shengteng all-in-one machine, the Shenzhen Airport International Express Customs Supervision Center realizes automated processing of intelligent scanning and identification of aviation documents for customers' air import and export express shipments, automatic data entry, and data confirmation. Based on the Baidu Intelligent Cloud Qianfan platform, iSoftStone launched the intelligent recruitment system "Wutong·Recruitment", which includes modules such as intelligent resume analysis, intelligent job release, intelligent job matching, intelligent generation of exclusive interview questions, and intelligent talent pool, providing corporate HR Provide more convenient and intelligent support. Enterprises are moving toward AI, and the "intelligent co-pilot" model has become a new favorite It is worth mentioning that in order to deeply integrate AI into business processes, the "intelligent co-pilot" model has become a new choice for many companies to move towards artificial intelligence. "Intelligent co-pilot" or "Copilot" refers to the working mode in which AI and people collaborate together. According to iSoftStone, in the "intelligent co-pilot" mode, the goal of the machine is to enhance human capabilities. This mode not only improves the intelligence and accuracy of the model, but also enables users to get more precision and personality during use. advice and assistance. "Intelligent co-pilot" also represents a harmonious relationship between AI and people to a certain extent, that is, AI serves people and brings wisdom and convenience. iSoftStone has created iSoftStone Tianxuan AI Copilot. Through this product form, it provides enterprises with digital experts in marketing, research and development, etc. in the value chain field, and provides enterprises with digital employees in recruitment, legal affairs, operations, data analysis, etc. in the management field. , to help enterprises quickly implement large-model scenario applications. Under the trend of AI, Chinese enterprises accelerate intelligent transformation Data shows that as of January 2024, there were 1.5718 million domestic artificial intelligence-related companies, and the number of related company registrations has continued to grow positively. The development momentum of the domestic artificial intelligence industry is good. CCID Research Institute predicts that China’s generative artificial intelligence market size is expected to exceed 10 trillion yuan in 2024. The state is also further supporting and regulating the development of the AI industry in terms of policies. In January, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the "Guidelines for the Construction of a National Comprehensive Standardization System for the Artificial Intelligence Industry" (Draft for Comments), accelerating the formation of a standard system that promotes the high-quality development of the AI industry. iSoftStone clearly sees that with the continuous iteration of digital technology, especially the explosive development of "generative artificial intelligence" represented by generative AI and large models, the all-round penetration and breakthrough application of digital technology will It has a profound impact on all industries in society. Only by accelerating intelligent transformation can enterprises face future global competition, that is, using intelligence to build future-oriented enterprises. AI is developing towards a new stage of comprehensive application. In the next one or two years, the commercialization of China's large models will accelerate, and the industry and capital market have enthusiastic expectations for the development of AI. Reposted from: International Electronic Commerce, automatically translated by Google

NVIDIA, the leader in AI chips, has released three consumer-grade graphics cards for personal computers, which not only improve performance, but are also designed specifically for generative AI. In addition, the company also announced that it will cooperate with Acer, Asus, Lenovo, HP, MSI and other manufacturers to launch a variety of laptops equipped with the company's AI chips. Nvidia said that these AI PCs will perform 20-60 times better than ordinary computers. AMD, another major manufacturer, also released the Radeon RX 7600XT graphics card and Ryzen 8000 series processors for PCs at CES. Not only the PC market, but also the recent integration of AI and automobiles has attracted much attention. Volkswagen brought a disguised car of the new Golf GTI to this exhibition. Car companies also joined the AI camp, and Volkswagen brought a disguised car of the new Golf GTI. Manufacturers in other industry chain links are also optimistic about the development of AI. Huang Chongren, chairman of Power Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd., recently stated that the industry boom will only begin to truly improve in 2024, and electric vehicles, AI PCs, and AI applications will see leapfrog growth. In addition, some MOSFET manufacturers have recently stated that they expect sales to resume growth in 2024 and are optimistic that artificial intelligence AI PC will revitalize the PC market. Since AI PC adds a neural network processor, the power requirements will increase. Although the number of MOSFETs used will not necessarily increase, the unit price of the product will increase. At the same time, some people in the industry view the development of AI rationally, believing that AI is not a "panacea" and that various chips must have a reasonable division of labor and cooperation to achieve the best performance of the product. For example, in the automotive field, NXP Chief Technology Officer Lars Reger recently stated that artificial intelligence alone is not enough to ensure further innovation in automotive chips, because manufacturing cars is not like manufacturing artificial intelligence chatbots. Reger said the automotive industry's adoption of more creative electronic capabilities will be relatively slow and incremental, rather than disruptive. High safety standards in cars mean AI chips won't suddenly replace all other car chips, such as sensors, processors and microcontrollers. Instead, they will be gradually integrated to enhance existing functionality. Reposted from: International Electronic Commerce, automatically translated by Google

International Electronics Business News on the 5th According to the latest report released by a market research agency on Monday, global semiconductor revenue is expected to grow by 16.8% in 2024, reaching US$624 billion. According to the latest forecast from market research agency Gartner, global semiconductor revenue is expected to decline by 10.9% in 2023 to US$534 billion. This market will grow by 16.8% in 2024, reaching US$624 billion. "We have reached the end of 2023, and strong demand for chips that support artificial intelligence (AI) workloads such as graphics processing units (GPUs) will not be enough to save the semiconductor industry from a double-digit decline in 2023," Gartner vice president analyst Alan Priestley said. "Reduced demand from smartphone and PC customers, combined with softer data center/hyperscale spending, is impacting revenue declines this year." However, 2024 is expected to be a rebound year, with revenue growing across all chip types driven by double-digit growth in the memory market (see Figure 1). Memory revenue to rebound in 2024 after double-digit decline The agency predicts that the global memory market will decline by 38.8% in 2023 and rebound by 66.3% in 2024. Lower pricing due to weak demand and massive oversupply will result in a 38.8% decline in NAND flash revenue, which will fall to $35.4 billion in 2023. In the next 3-6 months, NAND industry pricing will bottom out and suppliers' conditions will improve. Gartner analysts predict a strong recovery in 2024, with revenue growing to $53 billion, a year-on-year increase of 49.6%. Due to severe oversupply and insufficient demand, DRAM manufacturers have lowered market prices to reduce inventory. Oversupply in the DRAM market will continue through the fourth quarter of 2023, which will trigger a price rebound. However, the full impact of the price increase will not be felt until 2024, when DRAM revenue is expected to grow 88% to $87.4 billion. Reposted from: International Electronic Commerce, automatically translated by Google

According to supply chain news, silicon wafer spot prices began to fall in the first half of 2023, and the decline continued into the second half of the year. Recent forecasts from industry insiders, as well as the latest performance and market conditions of many silicon wafer manufacturers, show that the oversupply situation in the silicon wafer industry may be extended until 2025. The three giants of silicon wafers say that corporate shipments continue to decline The global silicon wafer market is highly concentrated, with Shin-Etsu Chemical SEH, SUMCO, Global Wafers, Siltronic, SK Siltron, France's Soitec, etc. occupying more than 95% of the market share. Among them, Shin-Etsu Chemical and SUMCO together account for more than half. Recently, the latest financial report data of the three giants of silicon wafers, Shin-Etsu Chemical, Sumco, and Global Wafers, showed that operating profits fell in the third quarter, and the market conditions were overall weak. Currently, corporate shipments continue to decline. Shin-Etsu Chemical announced its last quarter (July-September 2023) financial report at the end of October. Profits from silicon wafer-related businesses decreased and PVC prices fell, dragging down consolidated operating income to shrink by 21% from the same period last year to 596.7 billion yen, and consolidated operating profits fell sharply. 33% to 191 billion yen, and consolidated net profit dropped 29% to 147.8 billion yen. Profit shrank for the third consecutive quarter. Judging from the situation in the first half of the year (April-September 2023), Shin-Etsu Chemical's consolidated revenue fell 15% from the same period last year to 1,195.9 billion yen, consolidated profit dropped 29% to 381.9 billion yen, and consolidated net income dropped significantly 23% to 301.4 billion yen. SUMCO announced its latest results from January to September of fiscal year 2023 on November 8. The consolidated net sales of the company were 320.851 billion yen, the revenue was 61.855 billion yen, and the ordinary income was 63.992 billion yen, which is owned by the parent company. or 58.937 billion yen, a year-on-year increase of 13.8%. SUMCO financial report data shows that in the third quarter, as customers continued to adjust production, shipments of memory and logic 300mm wafers both declined. The market conditions for 200mm and smaller wafers were overall weak, and currently corporate shipments continue to decline. In the fourth quarter, it is expected that customer output adjustments will continue to target 300 mm wafer applications, and wafer shipments of 200 mm and below will continue to decline. In terms of price, both 300mm and 200mm wafers currently comply with long-term contract prices, while spot prices for smaller diameters show weakness. Global Wafers' latest financial report data shows that consolidated revenue in the third fiscal quarter was 17.38 billion yuan, a quarterly decrease of 2.9% and an annual decrease of 3.7%; gross profit margin was 36.6%, a quarterly decrease of 1.1% and an annual decrease of 7.1%; after-tax net profit was 5.54 billion yuan. Quarterly growth was 15.7% and annual growth was 8.4%. Global Wafer stated that its revenue in the third quarter was affected by customers' continued inventory adjustments, and its gross profit was slightly lower than the previous quarter, mainly due to increased depreciation. The cumulative consolidated revenue in the first three quarters of this year was 53.89 billion yuan, an annual increase of 3.8%, the gross profit margin was 38.3%, an annual decrease of 5%; the after-tax net profit was 15.328 billion yuan, a significant increase of 60.1% compared to last year. In addition to the financial reports released by the above-mentioned major manufacturers, silicon wafer manufacturer Taiwan Sembcorp recently warned that due to the weak momentum of shipments due to high inventory at the client end, the oversupply of 12-inch silicon wafers may expand next year, and the spot price of semiconductor silicon wafers is "nothing" "Optimistic conditions", the next two years will be quite challenging, while the long-term contract market is relatively stable, and it is expected that it will not recover until the second half of 2024. Taiwan Sembcorp spokesman Qiu Shaoxun said that overall, although AI, high-performance computing, 5G, automotive, industrial control and other applications will drive demand for the semiconductor industry to recover, the current inventory of clients is still high, even if there is demand , customers will still give priority to digesting inventory, and coupled with the impact of the international situation, both consumers and companies have a relatively conservative view of the economy. Reposted from: International Electronic Commerce, automatically translated by Google

As with all industries, cybersecurity threats are no stranger to the electronics supply chain. We can attribute the increasing number of cybersecurity incidents to the digital transformation the industry is undergoing. However, the electronics industry is also one of the most valuable industries in the world. Therefore, a top priority for cybercriminals is to penetrate supply chain companies and intercept their products by any means necessary. The following are cybersecurity challenges facing electronics supply chain companies. ·Cybersecurity challenges Supply chain companies leverage digital tools to increase the visibility of their organizations, making them more efficient and safer. But this also gives cybercriminals more opportunities to exploit. For example, companies use IoT devices to help supply chain networks communicate, update and collect data in real time. Digital interconnection creates cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Hackers can use more devices to conduct spoofing, denial of service attacks (DDoS attacks) or other network attacks based on IoT devices. The electronics supply chain also faces the challenge of defending against cybersecurity threats to the products themselves. According to the National Association of Manufacturers, about 65% of victims in industrial ransomware incidents come from the manufacturing industry. In addition to this, malicious firmware is also used to penetrate electronic products. Manufacturers sometimes unknowingly use counterfeit components with tampered circuitry. These components contain malware that launches when specific actions are performed and quickly spread throughout the device. By simply gaining access to the network to which the malware is connected, cybercriminals can take full control of the system or "detonate" a "logic bomb (code embedded in the malware)." Once the malicious firmware is launched, it is difficult to detect because it is already embedded in the hardware and the device still functions and looks like a device without any issues. Failure to protect the electronics supply chain from cybersecurity threats may ultimately result in lawsuits, fines, reputational damage, lost revenue, and other negative events. ·Proactively mitigate cybersecurity threats Our goal is to never encounter a cybersecurity threat. But if a company encounters a cyber threat, it must at least have measures in place to mitigate the negative impact, which requires attention to the topic of feasibility studies. ·Conduct feasibility studies A feasibility study helps a company comprehensively review a project and understand how likely it is to be completed, as well as investigate risks and review the project's benefits and potential challenges. In this case, electronics supply chain companies can use feasibility studies to determine which cybersecurity measures are feasible. Say, for example, you want to increase network security through a virtual private network (VPN). You can learn about the advantages of VPN such as data encryption and secure communication through feasibility studies. But VPNs are not invulnerable. They are susceptible to network security attacks and come with their own challenges, such as slow internet speeds and difficult configuration. You will analyze legal liability, technical capabilities, VPN budget, and implementation timeline. After thorough research, you can determine whether it’s time to strengthen your cybersecurity strategy by implementing a VPN. ·Strengthen data security strategy Vast amounts of confidential data are transferred through electronic supply chains. Therefore, it is crucial to focus on data security strategies in the digital world. Multi-factor authentication is another tool and strategy to enhance data security. For a person to access a website, folder or database, there must be at least two pieces of evidence proving their identity. The two pieces of evidence could be a password and a code sent to the phone, a password and a fingerprint, or a keychain and facial recognition. You should also consider creating a comprehensive training program to minimize cybersecurity attacks. Training employees on cybersecurity best practices can fundamentally prevent cybersecurity incidents from occurring. Train them on common cybersecurity attacks and teach them what to do if they encounter specific cybersecurity incidents. Additionally, educate them on how to create strong passwords, initiate software updates, use IoT devices safely, and more. The digitization of electronics supply chains is only getting faster, which means cybercriminals have plenty of time to pull off all kinds of scams. By continuing to learn these methods, you will be one step closer to safety. Reposted from: International Electronic Commerce, automatically translated by Google

On December 15, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the State Administration of Radio and Television, the State Intellectual Property Office, and China Central Radio and Television issued the "Guidance on Accelerating the High-Quality Development of the Audio-Visual Electronics Industry" Opinions" (hereinafter referred to as "Opinions"). In order to improve the supply capacity of high-level audio-visual systems, the "Opinions" propose the following eight aspects: Develop smart life audio-visual systems Develop smart commercial display systems Developing immersive in-vehicle audio-visual systems Develop high-quality audio and video production and broadcasting systems Development of audio-visual systems for education and conferences Develop intelligent audio and video collection systems Develop digital stage and smart cultural and museum audio-visual systems Development of near-eye display and laser display systems In addition, the "Opinions" mentioned that we should accelerate the mature implementation of 4K/8K ultra-high-definition technology and encourage the entry of 4K/8K TVs, projectors, laser TVs, high-quality audio, virtual reality terminals, naked-eye 3D display terminals and other products into households. Strengthen financial guidance and promote innovative ultra-high-definition content production and household subsidy support methods. Support online video platforms to carry out ultra-high-definition large-screen services. Encourage cable networks, telecommunications networks, and live broadcast satellite services to update and upgrade user access equipment as needed to enhance the home audio-visual experience. The "Opinions" also mentioned that we should enhance the international competitiveness of advantageous products such as televisions, audio, mobile phones, tablets, and LED large screens, continue to optimize the export product structure, and increase the proportion of exports of high value-added products. Promote export companies to deeply tap the potential of online and offline international markets. Help enterprises make full use of the export tax rebate policy, promote the efficient integration of logistics elements, and improve the efficiency of inbound and outbound logistics. Reposted from: International Electronic Commerce, automatically translated by Google