Took some profits out of my Yellow Cake position to add Flow Traders. I don’t read analyst reports. I just know that VIX index has calmed down so analysts must downgrade. Probably or something? Flow Traders and Uranium still two of my biggest holdings.
SK Hynix Pursues 2.5D Packaging Collaboration with Intel, Signaling Shifts in AI Chip Supply Chain
SK Hynix is drawing attention as it pursues collaboration with Intel in advanced packaging. The company is currently understood to be conducting tests that adopt Intel's 2.5D packaging technology to integrate High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) with logic chips.
With Taiwan's TSMC—the leader in 2.5D packaging—recently grappling with a severe supply crunch, expectations are growing that the 2.5D packaging supply chain for AI accelerators could diversify.
According to industry sources on the 11th, SK Hynix is conducting joint R&D with Intel on 2.5D packaging technology.
2.5D packaging is a technique that inserts a thin film-like interposer between the chip and substrate to enhance chip performance. Representative applications include the AI accelerators being developed by global big tech firms such as NVIDIA and AMD. AI accelerators are built by combining high-performance logic chips—such as GPUs—with HBM through 2.5D packaging.
At present, the global 2.5D packaging supply chain for big tech is effectively monopolized by TSMC, Taiwan's leading foundry. SK Hynix has also maintained a close partnership with TSMC, conducting joint R&D on HBM and 2.5D packaging.
Beyond this, SK Hynix is reviewing the adoption of Intel's 2.5D packaging technology, "Embedded Multi-die Interconnect Bridge" (EMIB). The company is understood to be testing the integration of HBM and logic chips using EMIB-embedded substrates supplied by Intel.
A source familiar with the matter said, "While it is still at an early R&D stage, SK Hynix is actively conducting tests to implement 2.5D packaging using Intel's EMIB," adding that "the company is also scouting candidate materials and components that would be required for actual volume production."
The discussions between SK Hynix and Intel are seen as well aligned in terms of mutual interests.
TSMC's 2.5D packaging technology, "Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate" (CoWoS), has been suffering from acute supply shortages amid the recent AI semiconductor boom. As a result, several big tech firms have turned their attention to Intel's EMIB as a promising alternative to CoWoS.
From SK Hynix's perspective, preemptive R&D on Intel's EMIB is also necessary. While SK Hynix does not manufacture 2.5D packaging itself, developing HBM with the structure and characteristics of 2.5D packaging in mind is advantageous for improving yield and reliability. In fact, SK Hynix operates a small-scale line domestically dedicated to 2.5D packaging R&D.
Furthermore, the collaboration is expected to allow Intel to significantly expand its advanced packaging business. Intel's EMIB uses small silicon bridges to connect chips, rather than a broad interposer. Because bridges only need to be placed where chip-to-chip connections are required, chips can be arranged more flexibly and efficiently.
An industry source explained, "Intel is currently promoting its EMIB technology aggressively to SK Hynix and major OSATs," and "over the medium to long term, Intel's EMIB is expected to be added to the 2.5D packaging supply chain for AI accelerators."
$INTC
According to GFHK:
- NVIDIA’s Vera CPU rack has already secured Alibaba, CoreWeave, Meta, and Oracle as early adoption customers.
- Qualcomm’s data center CPU is expected to ship in 2028, and Qualcomm is also developing scale-out switches and connectivity silicon for rack-level solutions.
Very few people are talking about the chemicals trade.
Put it this way:
If you're bullish on $GLW (fibre optic cables) then you should be bullish on the chemistry behind it.
Every part of the optical fibre cables requires UV-cured polymer coatings, adhesives, protective jacketing etc.
So as hyperscalers continue to deploy fibre optic cables, they're also relying on the demand for the specialty chemicals that make this possible.
The market has yet to price this in for the most part.
$CC $ESI $ENTG $CBT $ROG
Was recently speaking w/ a Tier 1 POD team in TMT, they are spending $1,500 a day per person in tokens on a 9 person team.
Roughly $400K +/- per month, or put another way an additional 12 full-time analysts. That full pass-through expense is going to be nutty!
$BMI 1YR daily looks decisively broken post earnings.
Lost all key EMAs (20/50/100/200) in one move and now trading below prior value area. That’s a full trend reset, not just a pullback.
Near-term:
~$150-$155 = overhead supply (former support → resistance)
~$140 = first real support (volume shelf)
Unless it reclaims the 200DMA (~$173), rallies likely get sold. This shifts from buy-the-dip to prove-it mode.
.@dylan522p gives a deep dive on the 3 big bottlenecks to scaling AI compute: logic, memory, and power.
And walks through the economics of labs, hyperscalers, foundries, and fab equipment manufacturers.
Learned a ton about every single level of the stack.
0:00:00 – Why an H100 is worth more today than 3 years ago
0:24:52 – Nvidia secured TSMC allocation early; Google is getting squeezed
0:34:34 – ASML will be the #1 constraint for AI compute scaling by 2030
0:56:06 – Can’t we just use TSMC’s older fabs?
1:05:56 – When will China outscale the West in semis?
1:16:20 – The enormous incoming memory crunch
1:42:53 – Scaling power in the US will not be a problem
1:55:03 – Space GPUs aren't happening this decade
2:14:26 – Why aren’t more hedge funds making the AGI trade?
2:18:49 – Will TSMC kick Apple out from N2?
2:24:35 – Robots and Taiwan risk
Look up Dwarkesh Podcast on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Enjoy!
An Ex-Goldman MD who traded nat gas for 12 years thinks systematic trading models can have fatal flaws when applied to commodities.
"If you had this strategy running in 2015, there would not be a possibility of the gold market trading 4,000." - let alone 5000
The model has no data for what's never happened.
"What you've seen in the last eight weeks — prices going vertical — that is not found in the history of the gold market anywhere."
So the algo fades it. In week two. In week three.
"I think humans matter."
Every quant who thinks they've solved regime detection needs to answer this.
The real estate index in Dubai has fallen by 20% in five days.
The DFM real estate index fell by 4.76% on Monday to 13,353.18 points. The active decline continues for the fifth consecutive day, during which the indicator has dropped by approximately 20%.
$BESI probably won't be the next $CRDO
BESI is not a "pure HBM hybrid bonding" company, it has considerable diversification in 2.5D (CoWoS type), conventional chip assembly, photonics, and 3D logic. The risk of HBM layer thickness flexibility affects a part of the portfolio, not the thesis as a whole. Furthermore, TSMC-SoIC itself which is driving HBM layer flexibility uses hybrid bonding in its logic division, potentially offsetting this risk.
Besides, HBM hybrid bonding will take place soon or later.