AI at the 2025 CES

AI and Consumers

Meetings with Phison, Weebit Nano, Seagate Technology, and OWC

The 2025 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas showcased the latest advancements in digital storage and memory technologies, which are enabling AI applications in consumer devices. I had the opportunity to meet with several companies, including Phison, Weebit Nano, Seagate Technology, and OWC, to learn more about their latest offerings and future plans.

Phison and Crucial Partnership

Phison, a leading provider of NAND flash controllers, announced their partnership with Micron to supply controllers for Micron’s SSD products, including Crucial NVMe Gen5 SSDs. These products, made at a 7nm advanced node, offer lower power consumption and higher performance.

The Phison controllers are featured in the Crucial PS5028-E28 consumer SSD, which boasts up to 14.5GB/s sequential read and write performance, as well as synchronous random performance at 3M IOPS read and write, and 8.5W average power consumption. The PS5031-E31T PCIe Gen5 SSD is designed for desktop and notebook use.

Weebit Nano and Onsemi Partnership

Weebit Nano, a company specializing in non-volatile resistive memory technology, announced a licensing agreement with onsemi to use Weebit’s memory technology to replace eFlash on its 65nm Treo Platform. This platform targets advanced automotive and industrial applications, where Weebit’s ReRAM technology offers cost and power efficiency benefits.

Weebit’s ReRAM technology is a back-end-of-line (BEOL) process with many advantages over eFlash. It requires only two masks, using familiar fab materials and conventional process equipment. Weebit has also demonstrated product production at a 22nm node.

Seagate Technology and OWC

Seagate Technology, a leading provider of digital storage solutions, showcased their latest products and discussed future plans with analysts. The company is exploring how AI can help with future digital storage solutions.

OWC, a leading provider of storage and connectivity solutions, exhibited their products at Showstoppers. They showcased their Thunderblade X12 and active optical cable, as well as the general availability of their Thunderbolt 5 Hub.

AI Chip Companies

I also met with three AI chip companies targeted at embedded consumer and other markets: Ambiq, Alexera, and Hailo. Ambiq announced that their Ambiq 4 SoC chips with MRAM memory are being used in ThinkAR AILens, a pair of augmented reality glasses.

The AILens weighs just 35 grams and has 10+ hours of battery life, thanks to the lower power modes made possible by non-volatile memory for AI training. The Arm Cortex-M4F microprocessor in the Ambiq 4 achieves up to 192 MHz for processing graphics, audio, and AI models.

Conclusion

The 2025 CES show demonstrated the significant advancements in digital storage and memory technologies, which are crucial for modern computing, including AI. The partnerships, products, and technologies showcased by Phison, Weebit Nano, Seagate Technology, and OWC highlight the growing importance of AI in consumer devices.

FAQs

• What is the significance of AI in consumer devices?
  AI is becoming increasingly important in consumer devices, enabling applications such as augmented reality, natural language processing, and image recognition.
• What are some examples of AI chip companies?
  Ambiq, Alexera, and Hailo are examples of companies focused on AI chip technology for embedded consumer and other markets.
• What is the significance of non-volatile memory in AI applications?
  Non-volatile memory, such as ReRAM, offers cost and power efficiency benefits in AI applications, making it an attractive solution for edge computing and IoT devices.