Latest news with #SanJose-based
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Dell and HPE Shares Fall After Super Micro's Weak Earnings Shake AI Server Sector
Aug 6 - Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI) rattled tech investors after its earnings fell short of expectations, dragging its stock down 17% and hitting other server makers. Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) dropped nearly 3% Wednesday morning, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) slipped 1.5%, as Wall Street digested SMCI's weak quarterly results and downbeat outlook. The San Jose-based AI server player missed both revenue and profit estimates for its fourth quarter. Adding to investor worries, Super Micro issued disappointing guidance for the current quarter, forecasting earnings between $0.40 and $0.52 per share, well below the $0.59 consensus. Revenue guidance landed between $6 billion and $7 billion, again shy of expectations. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 1 Warning Sign with HLNE. Even its full-year 2026 revenue outlook, though above analyst targets at $33 billion, represented a sharp drop from its previous $40 billion projection in February. That miss could signal trouble holding market share against larger rivals. Conversely, Dell has recently projected a higher profitability in the full year and HPE exceeded expectations in the recent quarter both of which indicate that they are absorbing some of the pie of the AI servers market that is normally held by Super Micro. Under the pressure of more intense competition, every one awaits how SMCI would respond to its peer pressure of larger rivals. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
The Sun
5 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Two Chinese nationals charged for illegal Nvidia AI chip exports to China
CALIFORNIA: Two Chinese nationals in California have been arrested and charged with illegally exporting tens of millions of dollars' worth of Nvidia AI chips to China, including the advanced H100 model. The U.S. Justice Department announced the charges on Tuesday, citing violations of export control laws. Chuan Geng, 28, of Pasadena, and Shiwei Yang, 28, of El Monte, allegedly shipped the restricted technology to China between October 2022 and July 2025 without obtaining necessary licenses from the U.S. Commerce Department. The charges stem from an affidavit filed with the complaint, which details their operations through their company, ALX Solutions. According to the affidavit, ALX Solutions was established in 2022 shortly after the U.S. imposed strict export controls on advanced technology to China. The company reportedly sent over 20 shipments to freight forwarding firms in Singapore and Malaysia, which are often used as transshipment hubs for illegal exports to China. A federal agent from the U.S. Commerce Department stated in the affidavit that ALX received a $1 million payment from a China-based company in January 2024, along with other payments from firms in Hong Kong and China. The agent noted that these payments did not originate from the freight forwarding companies involved in the shipments. Nvidia's H100 chips are highly sought after for training large language models and other AI applications. Records indicate that ALX Solutions purchased more than 200 Nvidia H100 chips from San Jose-based Super Micro Computer between August 2023 and July 2024. The company falsely declared that the customers were located in Singapore and Japan. One invoice from 2023, valued at $28,453,855, listed a Singapore-based customer, but U.S. export control officers in Singapore could not verify the shipment's arrival. The company named on the invoice was also found to be non-existent at the listed address. In addition to the H100 chips, Geng and Yang are accused of illegally exporting Nvidia's PNY GeForce RTX 4090 graphics cards, which also require export licenses for China. Geng and Yang appeared in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Monday. Geng, a permanent resident, was released on a $250,000 bond, while Yang, who overstayed her visa, faces a detention hearing on August 12. Lawyers for the defendants have not yet responded to requests for comment. - Reuters
Los Angeles Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Roku unveils $2.99 ad-free subscription streaming service
Roku on Tuesday announced a new ad-free streaming service for $2.99 a month, the cheapest price point in the U.S. by a major company. The new streaming service, called Howdy, has a library of thousands of titles and nearly 10,000 hours of entertainment from companies such as Lionsgate and Warner Bros. Discovery. Titles include action movie 'Mad Max: Fury Road,' sports drama film 'The Blind Side' and drama series 'Weeds.' 'Priced at less than a cup of coffee, Howdy is ad-free and designed to complement, not compete with, premium services,' said Roku founder and CEO Anthony Wood in a statement. The push comes at a time when many streaming services are raising their prices as they face investor pressure to become more profitable and the cost of production has increased. But San Jose-based Roku — known for its software and connected TV devices that serve as a hub for consumers to select from various streaming options on their TV sets — sees an opportunity to capitalize on the growing demand for low-cost streaming options and generate more revenue on its platform. Roku has had success with its own free ad-supported streaming service, the Roku Channel and has a more diversified business model than other streaming platforms. The company makes money by selling devices and advertising and gets a cut of subscriptions or programs sold through its service. The business also makes branded TVs and smart home products. The company has also sought to expand its content library, acquiring Denver-based subscription streaming service Frndly TV for $185 million earlier this year. 'Howdy is by far the lowest priced ad-free service offered by a major company in the U.S.,' said Brahm Eiley, president at Victoria, B.C.-based the Convergence Research Group in an email. 'In the U.S., Roku has been very successful in attracting viewers for free content with advertising so it's not surprising that Roku is trying some different approaches to the market.' 'With engagement of over 125 million people a day, Roku is the perfect partner to launch a more accessible complement to the higher-priced SVODs,' said Jim Packer, Lionsgate's president of worldwide television distribution in a statement. 'This service has the ability to scale quickly while providing us with a new way to monetize our content, and we're proud to be part of this new streaming experience.' Roku stock declined about 2% on Tuesday morning to $84.24 a share. Like other media companies, Roku has downsized in recent years. In September 2023, the company laid off 10% of its staff, its third round of staff reductions within a year, citing a weak ad market. While Roku's platform business has been robust, its device sales have declined. Roku posted a net loss of $33.95 million in the second quarter on revenue of $1.1 billion, which was up 15% over the same period a year ago.
Epoch Times
30-07-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
Cadence to Pay $140 Million for Selling Chip Design Tech to Blacklisted Chinese University
Cadence Design Systems, a leading developer of electronic design automation (EDA) software and hardware, has agreed to pay a $140 million fine to settle claims that it illegally sold semiconductor design technology to a Chinese military university on the U.S. government's export blacklist. The San Jose-based technology company admitted wrongdoing as part of a plea agreement announced on July 28 by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California.
Business Journals
25-07-2025
- Business
- Business Journals
Building a greener, smarter future
San Leandro's Gate510 campus has quickly become a hub for companies shaping the future of multiple industries. Air Protein, Coreshell and Lyten are among the innovators leveraging the infrastructure and support for makers in San Leandro. Read on to discover how they're redefining what's possible. AIR PROTEIN NASA-inspired research drives sustainable food production A food production facility that once made such American breakfast innovations as Eggo Waffles and Pop-Tarts is aiming to change the way we eat once again, this time with a sustainable twist. Air Protein opened its first Air Protein Farm on San Leandro's Gate510 campus in 2023, where it does just what its name suggests: make high-quality protein out of particles in the air. Co-founders Lisa Dyson and John Reed were inspired by research from the early days of NASA, which explored ways astronauts could produce food on long space journeys. They built on that work, creating a method for growing protein in cultures, similar to the production of yogurt, cheese, and wine. The result is a neutral-tasting protein flour that can be turned into or used in any food. 'We and our investors believe we've cracked the code on making functional ingredients that have a great cost profile,' Dyson said. 'Many companies are also looking for ingredients that are resource-efficient, and that's what we do. We help CPG [Consumer Packaged Goods] companies make great products for consumers.' In choosing San Leandro, Air Protein put the company's headquarters in a location with a history of food manufacturing. Dyson said the Air Protein project team and the landlord worked closely with the City throughout the process to obtain the necessary permits for building out the facility. 'With this particular site and location, there is fermentation happening with other companies around us,' Dyson said. These include 21st Amendment Brewery and Drake's Brewing. 'That made this more appealing than some other options.' The San Leandro Air Protein Farm produces samples of its protein in large enough quantities for food product companies to use in their product development. Next up will be a larger commercial facility to support full-scale use of Air Protein in food for grocery shelves. 'That's the most exciting thing about 2025,' Dyson said. 'We're turning the science innovation that NASA started in the 1960s and 1970s, completing the mission and making it a reality.' LYTEN San Leandro lands new battery cell production facility Every once in a while, an opportunity comes along that is just too good to pass up. That's what happened to Lyten, a San Jose-based company specializing in supermaterial applications, which focuses on commercializing lithium-sulfur batteries as a high-performance, low-cost alternative to lithium-ion technology. The company was in the process of planning a gigafactory in Nevada and thinking about its next major production facility outside California when the perfect location popped up in San Leandro, said Chief Battery Technology Officer Celina Mikolajczak. A lithium-metal battery maker had closed, leaving behind a manufacturing space and equipment that was immediately of interest. Lyten snapped up the equipment and 119,000-square-foot lease at Gate510 that November. Mikolajczak expects to have a 100-megawatt-hour production line in San Leandro up and running in 2026. 'We were planning and tooling for a big factory, and then the opportunity to take over the lease in San Leandro occurred,' she said. 'We said, 'Wow, that's a big enough space. There's enough dry room capability there. There's enough power. We could get one high-volume production line running there and learn a hell of a lot and get a jump on being ready for a bigger factory.' Lyten's San Leandro site will deliver lithium-sulfur battery cells for multiple types of energy storage customers, including defense and drone applications. In doing so, the company will help U.S. manufacturers keep more of their supply chain close to home. 'With lithium-sulfur, we can develop the technology and commercialize it in the U.S. and be part of creating the next wave of manufacturing in this country,' Mikolajczak said. CORESHELL New battery anodes boost domestic supply chain Batteries have quickly become a crucial component in efforts to transition from fossil fuels to sustainable forms of energy. But the batteries most widely used in electric vehicles and other key applications today come with limitations. San Leandro-based Coreshell is one of the innovators working to change this. The company has developed a battery anode that uses 100% domestically sourced metallurgical silicon instead of graphite, allowing it to store significantly more energy without relying on a risky supply chain. 'We're replacing something that is produced only in China with silicon that is produced widely here in the United States and in Europe,' said Co-founder and CEO Jonathan Tan. 'It can be even more cost-effective.' Founded in 2017, Coreshell relocated its development work to the Gate510 campus in 2020 and opted to remain in the city when it was time to expand into the first stages of production in 2024. It moved across the street to another building on the Gate510 campus, where a team of approximately 50 people has a four megawatt-hour pilot production facility that produces its first battery cells ready for commercialization in electric vehicles. 'We're proposing a foundational change in battery chemistry by replacing graphite — one of the largest single materials in a battery — with silicon,' Tan said. 'It is imperative that we show the market how that will help people power their daily lives.' San Leandro was ideal because it offered a combination of the necessary infrastructure — including access to the heavy power Coreshell needs for manufacturing — and efficient permitting and other City support, Tan said. A San Leandro headquarters also gives Coreshell access to a strong talent pipeline from throughout the Bay Area's growing battery expertise. San Leandro Mayor Juan Gonzalez, and members of the City staff visited with Coreshell this spring. It was an opportunity for Tan and his team to share more about their work and talk about how the City can support the company's future growth. 'To have a receptive audience with the Mayor, the City Manager's office and others in San Leandro, it shows that they are invested in helping companies like Coreshell grow and be successful,' Tan said. 'We value that partnership and how they are actively working to find ways to support the success and growth of companies like ours.'
