The new EarFun Air S is the company's second official true wireless earbud release for 2022. With the Air S, EarFun expands on its Air line with its ambitious formula, continually pushing the envelope of what can be offered at this price point. As an expansive release, it is no replacement for the award-winning original Air which is well and alive. More so, this release serves as a continuation of an already successful, high-value formulation. The Air has proven to be an industry-recognized alternative to the Apple AirPods, and the Air S aspires to do the same. With an all-new chipset and curated app for personalizing the premium sound offered, an impressive wireless audio experience awaits audio lovers in 2022.

The new Air S will accompany the EarFun Audio App, allowing users to curate their audio experience with adjustable equalizer levels. In addition to sound customization, button mapping is also added to allow the user to reassign default inputs on the hardware. With the companion app, EarFun wants to give the listener greater control over the user experience like never before. And now with the ability to customize the sound to preference, users can reap the full benefits of the 10 mm Wool Composite Dynamic Driver. EarFun says these larger drivers are out to deliver rich, potent bass that blends smoothly with a lush mid-range and a revealing treble that is clear and composed. The full-bodied sound is even better heard in the presence of EarFun's feed-forward Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) array that continually compensates for environmental noise, effectively suppressing up to 30dB.

capabilities, and FlexCam experiences
Samsung Electronics today announced the next generation of groundbreaking foldable smartphones: Galaxy Z Flip4 and Galaxy Z Fold4. Both devices feature customizable form factors, tailored experiences and upgraded performance. Now in its fourth generation, Galaxy Z series continues to break from convention to deliver new, impactful interactions that enhance everyday life.

"Samsung Galaxy foldables are built on the foundation of our openness philosophy, enabling new possibilities with complete customization both inside and out. Created in collaboration with our world-class partners, the next foldable devices offer unparalleled mobile experiences that meet the needs of our most dynamic users," said Dr. TM Roh, President and Head of Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics. "Through our unwavering focus and industry leadership, excitement for the foldables continues to grow. We've successfully transformed this category from a radical project to a mainstream device lineup enjoyed by millions worldwide."

In President Biden's first year in office, the Biden-Harris Administration has implemented an industrial strategy to revitalize domestic manufacturing, create good-paying American jobs, strengthen American supply chains, and accelerate the industries of the future. These policies have spurred an historic recovery in manufacturing, adding 642,000 manufacturing jobs since 2021. Companies are investing in America again, bringing good-paying manufacturing jobs back home. The construction of new manufacturing facilities has increased 116 percent over last year.

Today, President Biden will sign into law the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which will build on this progress, making historic investments that will poise U.S. workers, communities, and businesses to win the race for the 21st century. It will strengthen American manufacturing, supply chains, and national security, and invest in research and development, science and technology, and the workforce of the future to keep the United States the leader in the industries of tomorrow, including nanotechnology, clean energy, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence. The CHIPs and Science Act makes the smart investments so that American to compete in and win the future.

Following the recent passage of the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act last week, GlobalFoundries (Nasdaq: GFS) (GF), a global leader in feature-rich semiconductor manufacturing and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. today announced they are more than doubling their existing strategic global long-term semiconductor manufacturing agreement previously entered into by GF's and Qualcomm's respective subsidiaries. Today's announcement secures wafer supply and commitments to support U.S.-based manufacturing through capacity expansion at GF's most advanced semiconductor manufacturing facility, in Malta, New York.

The announcement was made in Washington D.C. at a CEO Summit co-hosted by GF, Ford Motor Company, and Applied Materials, which included National Economic Council Director Brian Deese, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition & Sustainability Dr. William LaPlante, and National Security Council Senior Director for Technology & National Security, Tarun Chhabra underscoring the importance of domestic manufacturing to national and economic security. The Summit included CEOs and senior leaders from across the semiconductor supply chain from tool and wafer manufacturers to key suppliers to end users of chips manufactured in the U.S.

LG Electronics' (LG) 2022 lineup of TONE Free true wireless earbuds provides the ultimate sound experience with advanced audio technologies, a better-fitting design and a host of useful, new features. Demonstrating LG's ongoing commitment to user-centric innovation, the new TONE Free earbuds are the perfect everyday companions for today's on-the-go lifestyles.

This year's flagship model (T90) TONE Free earbuds deliver impressive sound thanks to several upgrades, including a new internal structure with larger drivers that helps generate deeper, more satisfying bass. The use of graphene, a premium material that reduces vibration while boosting audio quality, enables the T90s to produce incredibly dynamic, yet balanced and crisp sound. A treat for the ears in more ways than one, LG's T90 earbuds integrate the performance enhancing capabilities of Meridian Headphone Spatial Processing (HSP), a specialized technology from LG's long-standing partner in delivering superior sound, Meridian Audio. With HSP inside, the earbuds present a full, more natural sound stage with a clear center image - making one feel like they're listening to music played through real stereo sound system. In addition, Meridian's Perfect Balance technology enables the T90 earbuds to achieve a consistent tonal balance at any volume.

After having launched the Momentum True Wireless 3 earbuds, Sennheiser is about to release a new set of wireless headphones that goes under the name of Momentum 4 Wireless. The new headphones will go up against the likes of Sony's WH-1000XM5 and Bose's QuietComfort 700 models and it looks like Sennheiser might end up with a few wins here. The Momentum 4 Wireless design could be described as a more refined version of what Sony did with the WH-1000XM5, but with a wider headband and seemingly a lot more metal. The headphones come with a travel case that has dedicated space for all the cables, as well as a travel adapter.

Spec wise, it appears that Sennheiser has gone with a Qualcomm chipset, as the Momentum 4 Wireless supports aptX and aptX Adaptive, as well as the SBC and AAC codecs. Bluetooth 5.2 is said to be supported, but it appears that Bluetooth LE audio might be missing. The headphones still feature a 3.5 mm jack, for when the 60 hour battery life isn't enough. Charging is done via USB-C, but it's unclear if this can be used for audio as well or not. Sennheiser has moved to touch based controls, something the Momentum 3 headphones lacked. ANC is of course also part of the package and Sennheiser has implemented what the company calls adaptive noise cancelling and there's also a transparency mode. There's also a four microphone array, which Sennheiser claims offers crystal-clear voice calls. Other features include automatic pausing and on/off when the headphones aren't being used. The Momentum 4 Wireless should come in both black and white colour options, but it appears that the new design isn't foldable, much like its competitors' new headphones. No word on pricing, but the Momentum 4 Wireless are expected to launch later this month.

Although Intel threw in the towel and gave up on making routers and gateways back in 2020, the company is still the world's largest manufacturer of WiFi modules for computers. Now news out of Korea suggests that Intel's first WiFi 7 products will be launched in 2024, about a year after the expected availability of the first WiFi 7 routers and gateways. That said, based on a quote from Eric McLaughlin, vice president of Intel's wireless solutions division, who attended an unspecified press conference in the APAC region, Intel "expect it to appear in major markets in 2025." This suggests that it'll be a late 2024 launch and we might see competitors' products in notebooks and PCs way ahead of Intel this time around.

That said, the WiFi 7 standard is currently only in the late stages of development, despite Broadcom, MediaTek and Qualcomm having announced multiple products already. It's likely we'll see another round of draft spec hardware launching either later this year, or next year, with the final WiFi 7 spec not expected to be ratified until 2024. As such, Intel may be later than its competitors, but should hopefully launch a feature complete product. Intel's products should support speeds of up to 5.8 GHz, although this would be using a 320 MHz wide channel and 4K QAM, which means these speeds will be limited to a few meters from a router. WiFi devices have a history of quirky issues between brands, even if none of them have been so severe that a fallback to an older standard hasn't solved the problem, but it's still been a hassle for consumers. Hopefully WiFi 7 won't repeat history, but we wouldn't place a bet on it.

EnGenius Technologies Inc., a worldwide manufacturer of future-proof enterprise networking solutions, today announced that their very first Wi-Fi 6E access point designed for the SMB market is shipping now—despite persistent supply chain shortages affecting industries worldwide. Powered by Qualcomm, the EnGenius Cloud ECW336 Wi-Fi 6E indoor ceiling mount tri-band access point has been developed for use in the recently unleashed 6 GHz spectrum. The ECW336 AP marks the company's first venture into 6E territory.

Experts predict that as many as 500 million Wi-Fi 6E compatible devices will spill onto the market in the next two years, enjoying massive, pristine Wi-Fi real estate. While the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands offer a total of 560 MHz of spectrum and 27 channels, 6 GHz alone offers 1200 MHz of spectrum and 59 channels. With its 6E capability, the ECW336 AP easily supports the ever-growing bandwidth demands of densely congested environments such as corporate workspaces, multi-family units, senior living, student housing, retail, medical centers, and resorts. Business professionals and consumers alike will experience much faster connection speeds without the lag, buffering, and endless download delays experienced within the saturated 2.4 and 5 GHz bands. The future of lightning fast, unimpeded Wi-Fi is finally here.

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. today unveiled the latest additions to the company's suite of premium wearable platforms, Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 and Snapdragon W5 Gen 1. These platforms are designed to advance ultra-low power and breakthrough performance for next generation connected wearables with a focus on extended battery life, premium user experiences, and sleek, innovative designs. By using these platforms, manufacturers can scale, differentiate, and develop products faster in the continuously growing and segmenting wearables industry.

New enhancements to the flagship Snapdragon W5+ platform offer 50% lower power, 2X higher performance, 2X richer features, and 30% smaller size, compared to our previous generation, enabling wearable manufacturers to deliver the differentiated experiences consumers demand. Based on the hybrid architecture, the purpose-built platform is comprised of a 4 nm-based system-on-chip and 22 nm-based highly integrated always-on co-processor. It incorporates a series of platform innovations including new ultra-low power Bluetooth 5.3 architecture, low power islands for Wi-Fi, GNSS, and Audio, and low power states such as Deep Sleep and Hibernate.

beyerdynamic - the audio brand of choice for music lovers around the world - is finally entering the true wireless earbud category with the release of Free BYRD. The all-new TWS earbuds marry beyerdynamic's beloved premium sound quality with a design language reminiscent of the classic guitar pick. By combining the experience of beyerdynamic's audio specialists and world-class manufacturing, Free BYRD provides consumers with meaningful beyerdynamic sound experiences anywhere, anytime. Free BYRD stays true to beyerdynamic's legendary audio quality, and offers smart features like easy Bluetooth pairing, active noise cancelling (ANC) and up to 11 hours of battery life. The new beyerdynamic Free BYRD earbuds are available beginning today for € 229.00 in the beyerdynamic online store and on Amazon.

Free BYRD's release marks the first time the company has brought its genuine premium sound - designed and developed in Heilbronn, Germany - to compact true wireless earbuds. beyerdynamic's obsessive attention to sound quality and detail is paramount in every product brought to market, and no exception was made for its first-ever true wireless earbuds.

With the launch of Apple Silicon for Mac computers, Apple has established itself as a great user of the Arm instruction set. Starting with M1, the company released an entirely new family of products running Apple Silicon. Today, thanks to the research of Strategy Analytics company, we have information that Apple is capturing as much as 90% of the revenue share present in the Arm PC market. The Arm PC market is a tiny subset of the entire PC market, mainly equipped with one-off Windows-on-Arm devices, Chromebook PCs, and Apple Macs. With the naturally low prices of the remaining Arm PCs, Apple Arm PCs offer a relatively high price point and a much more incredible selection of products.

On the global scale, Arm PCs now account for 9% of the total PC market share, where x86 vendors are dominating the field. "Apple's M-series family of processors set the benchmark and gave Apple a 2-3-year lead over the rest of the Arm-based PC processor vendors. Qualcomm captured just 3% revenue share in the Arm-based notebook PC processor market in 2021 and lags Apple in CPU performance," said Sravan Kundojjala, Director of Handset Component Technologies service at Strategy Analytics. This points to a particular case of Apple's better product and feeding the demand with higher-performing processors. Qualcomm's acquisition of Nuvia should yield different results in the coming years, as the new IP is yet to appear in Qualcomm SoCs.

According to the latest TrendForce statistics, the top ten IC designers worldwide posted a combined revenue of US$39.43 billion in 1Q22, or 44% growth YoY. Qualcomm, NVIDIA, Broadcom ranked in the top three. After the acquisition of Xilinx, AMD surpassed MediaTek in the fourth position. In addition, according to TrendForce tracking of IC design industry trends, revenue generated by Will Semiconductor and Cirrus Logic was enough to be included in the top ten for the first time.

Benefiting from growth performance in handsets and RF front-end divisions in addition to its IoT and automotive divisions in 1Q22, Qualcomm's quarterly revenue reached US$9.55 billion, or 52% growth YoY, ranking number one in the world. The expanded application of GPUs in data centers boosted this portion of NVIDIA's revenue to 45.4%, surpassing the 45% accounted for by its gaming business, combining for a total revenue of US$7.9 billion, or 53% growth YoY. Broadcom's revenue from semiconductor solutions is substantial, including network chips, broadband communication chips, and storage and bridging chips. Its business has maintained stable sales performance, with revenue reaching US$6.11 billion, or 26% growth YoY. After the addition of Xilinx, AMD's revenue reached US$5.89 billion, or 71% growth YoY. However, even excluding Xilinx, due to strong sales in its enterprise, embedded and semi-customized divisions, AMD's own business revenue still hit an all-time high of US$5.33 billion.

Linksys, a global leader in home and business WiFi networking solutions, today announced two new WiFi 6 mesh systems designed to deliver peak wireless performance for all at-home needs including remote working, streaming content, multi-user gaming and more. The Linksys Hydra 6 and Linksys Atlas 6 are Linksys' newest entry-level dual-band products in the company's family of WiFi 6 mesh systems and come at the most affordable prices to date for the brand.

"There is an increased need for wireless connectivity that can handle the influx of devices on home networks, and deliver reliable, secure and private connections," said Alan Cohen, VP of Marketing and Head of Product at Linksys. "Our mission is to connect everyone securely and through the launch of these systems, we provide our customers with two new options for fast speed, coverage, and connectivity at an affordable price point."

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. announced another milestone in making extended reality (XR) the next computing platform with the Wireless AR Smart Viewer Reference Design, powered by the Snapdragon XR2 Platform. The cord-free reference design helps OEMs and ODMs more seamlessly and cost-efficiently prototype and bring to market lightweight, premium AR glasses to enable immersive experiences that unlock the metaverse.

Greater Performance, Sleeker Device: The purpose-built, premium Snapdragon XR2 Platform now packs powerful performance into a slim, smaller AR glass form factor. The AR reference design hardware, developed by Goertek, has a 40% thinner profile and a more ergonomically balanced weight distribution for increased comfort. SeeYA provides the dual micro-OLED binocular display enabling 1920 x 1080 per eye and frame rates up to 90 Hz and a no-motion-blur feature to deliver a seamless AR experience. Dual monochrome cameras and one RGB camera on the smart viewer enable six-degrees of freedom (6DoF) head tracking and hand tracking with gesture recognition to achieve AR precision.

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. announced its latest lineup of mobile platforms, Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and Snapdragon 7 Gen 1, to power the next generation of premium and high-tier Android smartphones. The Company's newest flagship platform, Snapdragon 8+, is a premium-tier powerhouse delivering power and performance enhancements for the ultimate boost across all on-device experiences. Snapdragon 7 offers a selection of high-end, in-demand features and technologies and enables them for more people around the world. According to the latest findings from Counterpoint Research, IDC, and Strategy Analytics, Qualcomm Technologies is the global leader in premium Android smartphone SoC industry share.

"In the mobile segment, our primary focus is to deliver new, groundbreaking features and technologies to the industry, and for our customers' flagship devices. We implement these features first in our Snapdragon 8-series and then waterfall them down our mobile roadmap," said Christopher Patrick, senior vice president and general manager, mobile handsets, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. "The new Snapdragon 8+ and 7 Gen 1 both deliver breakthrough user experiences in their respective tiers."

AMD and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, today announced a collaboration to optimize the Qualcomm FastConnect connectivity system for AMD Ryzen processor-based computing platforms, starting with AMD Ryzen PRO 6000 Series processors and the Qualcomm FastConnect 6900. With the FastConnect 6900 system, the latest AMD Ryzen processor-powered business laptops feature Wi-Fi 6 and 6E connectivity, including advanced wireless capabilities enabled with Windows 11.

In collaboration with Microsoft, next-generation Windows 11 PCs, such as the Lenovo ThinkPad Z Series and HP EliteBook 805 Series, can harness the full potential of Windows 11 Wi-Fi Dual Station through Qualcomm 4-Stream Dual Band Simultaneous. Multiple Wi-Fi bands outperform traditional single band connections for improved video conferencing experiences, reduced latency, and enhanced connection robustness. Leveraging the 6 GHz band, next-gen laptop users can take full advantage of its bandwidth and speed improvements without competing with any non-6E devices.

Industry-leading audio brand, Tronsmart, is pleased to announce the launch of its new true wireless earbuds, the Onyx Ace Pro. Cutting-edge Qualcomm Chip, aptX adaptive audio decoding and quad-mics with cVc 8.0 call reduction, it offers great audio and voice quality as well as smooth and reliable connection whether listening to music, in the gym or gaming. The Tronsmart Onyx Ace Pro is available to buy from the Tronsmart website, GeekBuying and AliExpress for $39.99/ £32. Amazon is likely to follow in June.

Features an advanced Qualcomm QCC3040 chip with Qualcomm aptX and aptX adaptive audio decoding as well as a 13 mm composite polymer driver, the Onyx Ace Pro delivers impressive sound in great depth and nuance. The combination allows every instrument to be presented perfectly across an expansive soundstage for a great quality listening no matter the genres. In addition, it includes quad-mics (2 each) with cVc 8.0 call reduction that enhances voice pick up and cancels background noise to isolate the voice and transmits in high clarity so that calls are crystal clear.

Leia Inc., the leading 3D experience platform leveraging proprietary nanotechnology and AI to democratize the Metaverse, today unveiled its next generation of 3D Lightfield displays, which offer a "window like'' view into the Metaverse and will connect more people, faster. The Metaverse will be one of the most transformative innovations of our generation, connecting and even crossing boundaries between our digital and physical worlds. Showcased in a 15.6" monitor at the Display Week Conference in San Jose, all Leia devices share the ability to switch between full-resolution 2D and 3D Lightfield. The 15.6" operates in 2D at 120 Hz in 4K, which supports traditional 2D uses like gaming, and switches to a 12-view Lightfield display when prompted by the app. The 3D parameters of the display respond to head-tracking, with a high refresh rate, and a rapid camera that works seamlessly with the SDK to update individual pixels on and with the monitor; the result is a deep sense of immersion and clarity—similar to how humans see things in the real world—while remaining comfortable for the naked eye.

The Continental Automotives Infotainment/Cluster system is also being shown, featuring a passive 8view Lightfield display driven by the Qualcomm SnapDragon 8155 chipset. The three-dimensional navigation solution for vehicle cockpits brings more intuitive interactions between driver and vehicle, thus enhancing driver safety. Leia's 12.3" switchable 3D Lightfield display developed with Continental is the first product ready for mass production. It comes in a flat or curved form factor to enable both traditional and modern cockpit designs.

"The beauty of 3D Lightfield is it enables a naturally immersive viewing experience on any display-based product from mobile phones to vehicle cockpits," said David Fattal, CEO of Leia Inc. "Leia's production facility is now fully certified automotive grade and we're working with leading companies across several industries to integrate 3D Lightfield displays into existing product lines. The power and potential of the Metaverse can only be unlocked when everyone can access it. Making this accessible to consumers everywhere is why Leia exists."

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. today announced its Wi-Fi 7 capable Qualcomm Networking Pro Series Gen 3 family of platforms. Now sampling and available to global development partners, the Qualcomm Networking Pro Series, Gen3 is the world's highest performance Wi-Fi 7 network infrastructure platform portfolio commercially available. Building upon the multi-generation legacy of the Qualcomm Networking Pro Series platforms, the products combine Wi-Fi 7 features with Qualcomm Technologies' intelligent multi-channel management technologies to improve speeds, lower latency, and enhance network utilization for users of Wi-Fi 6/6E devices while offering game-changing throughput and incredibly low latency for the next generation of Wi-Fi 7 client devices.

"Qualcomm Technologies has enabled the era of 10 Gbps Wi-Fi with our first customer deliveries of the Wi-Fi 7 Networking Pro Series," said Nick Kucharewski, senior vice president and general manager, Wireless Infrastructure and Networking, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. "Combining support for the latest Wi-Fi 7 innovations with our unique product architecture, the platform enables solutions ranging from whole-home mesh to connectivity networks for large public venues. With this product line, we anticipate a new class of customer systems for both today's applications and the emerging Wi-Fi 7 ecosystem."

According to TrendForce research, due to vigorous stocking of various terminal applications causing a shortage of wafers in 2021, the global IC industry was severely undersupplied. This, coupled with spiking chip prices, boosted 2021 revenue of the global top ten IC design companies to US$127.4 billion, or 48% YoY. TrendForce further indicates three major disparities from the 2020 ranking. First, NVIDIA surpassed Broadcom to take the second position. Second, Taiwanese companies Novatek and Realtek rose to sixth and eighth place, respectively. Originally ranked tenth, Dialog was replaced at this position by Himax after Dialog was acquired by IDM giant Renesas.

Qualcomm continues its reign as number one in the world, primarily due to 51% and 63% growth YoY in sales of mobile phone SoC (System on Chip) and IoT chips, respectively. The addition of diversified development in its RF and automotive chip businesses were key to a 51% increase in revenue. NVIDIA implemented an integration of software and hardware, demonstrating its ambitions in creating a "comprehensive computing platform." Driven by annual growth of gaming graphics card and data center revenue at 64% and 59%, respectively, NVIDIA successfully climbed to second place. Broadcom benefited from the stable sales performance of network chips, broadband communication chips, and storage and bridging chips, with revenue growing 18% YoY. AMD's computer and graphics revenue grew by 45% YoY due to strong sales of the Ryzen CPU and Radeon GPU and rising average selling price. Coupled with accelerating demand from cloud companies, the annual revenue of AMD's enterprise, embedded, and semi-customized divisions increased by 113%, driving annual growth of total revenue to 68%.

The global smartphone applications processor (AP) market grew 23 percent to $30.8 billion in 2021, according to Strategy Analytics' Handset Component Technologies (HCT) service report. According to this Strategy Analytics' Handset Component Technologies (HCT) research report, " Smartphone Apps Processor Market Share Tracker Q4 2021: Qualcomm Increases Revenue Share Lead", Qualcomm, MediaTek, Apple, Samsung LSI and Unisoc grabbed the top-five revenue share ranking spots in the smartphone applications processor (AP) market in 2021.

Sravan Kundojjala, author of the report and Director of Handset Component Technologies service at Strategy Analytics, commented, "For the first time on an annual basis, MediaTek overtook Qualcomm in units and established over 75 million unit-lead in smartphone APs 2021. MediaTek capitalized on Qualcomm's defocus on mid and low tier 4G LTE APs and gained volume share. Despite the loss of unit share crown, Qualcomm exited 2021 with over 43% higher revenue than MediaTek, thanks to an increased mix of higher-priced premium and high-tier APs. Both companies performed well in the 5G AP segment and posted a 13-year high in their AP average selling prices (ASPs)."

According to TrendForce research, due to vigorous stocking of various terminal applications causing a shortage of wafers in 2021, the global IC industry was severely undersupplied. This, coupled with spiking chip prices, boosted 2021 revenue of the global top ten IC design companies to US$127.4 billion, or 48% YoY. TrendForce further indicates three major disparities from the 2020 ranking. First, NVIDIA surpassed Broadcom to take the second position. Second, Taiwanese companies Novatek and Realtek rose to sixth and eighth place, respectively. Originally ranked tenth, Dialog was replaced at this position by Himax after Dialog was acquired by IDM giant Renesas.

Qualcomm continues its reign as number one in the world, primarily due to 51% and 63% growth YoY in sales of mobile phone SoC (System on Chip) and IoT chips, respectively. The addition of diversified development in its RF and automotive chip businesses were key to a 51% increase in revenue. NVIDIA implemented an integration of software and hardware, demonstrating its ambitions in creating a "comprehensive computing platform." Driven by annual growth of gaming graphics card and data center revenue at 64% and 59%, respectively, NVIDIA successfully climbed to second place. Broadcom benefited from the stable sales performance of network chips, broadband communication chips, and storage and bridging chips, with revenue growing 18% YoY. AMD's computer and graphics revenue grew by 45% YoY due to strong sales of the Ryzen CPU and Radeon GPU and rising average selling price. Coupled with accelerating demand from cloud companies, the annual revenue of AMD's enterprise, embedded, and semi-customized divisions increased by 113%, driving annual growth of total revenue to 68%.

Qualcomm and Square Enix announced a collaboration to explore extended reality (XR) experiences for Square Enix's global network of leading development studios and intellectual property. The Advanced Technology Division (ATD) at Square Enix, will work on the Snapdragon Spaces XR Developer Platform and the two companies will collaborate on new paths to push the boundaries of immersive gaming experiences.

"Square Enix has always been committed to state-of-the-art game technology to push storytelling boundaries, delivering unforgettable experiences for our fans" said Ben Taylor, Technical Director, Square Enix Co., Ltd. "We have been investing in XR and look forward to building on Snapdragon Spaces. In particular, we think the time is right with XR to innovate on games of a classic genre we are especially known for and look forward to sharing them with the world to further our mission to help spread happiness across the globe."

Qualcomm today announced the launch of the Snapdragon Metaverse Fund, established to invest up to $100 million in developers and companies building unique, immersive XR experiences, as well as associated core augmented reality (AR) and related artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. The fund plans to deploy capital through a combination of venture investments in leading XR companies by Qualcomm Ventures and a grant program by Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. for developer ecosystem funding in XR experiences such as gaming, health and wellness, media, entertainment, education, and enterprise.

"We deliver the groundbreaking platform technology and experiences that will enable both the consumer and the enterprise to build and engage in the metaverse and allow the physical and digital worlds to be connected. Qualcomm is the ticket to the metaverse," said Cristiano Amon, president and CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated. "Through the Snapdragon Metaverse Fund, we look forward to empowering developers and companies of all sizes as they push boundaries of what's possible as we enter into this new generation of spatial computing."

Basemark launched today GPUScore, an all-new GPU (graphics processing unit) performance benchmarking suite for a wide device range from smartphones to high-end gaming PCs. GPUScore supports all modern graphics APIs, such as Vulkan, Metal and DirectX, and operating systems such as Windows, Linux, macOS, Android and iOS.

GPUScore will consist of three different testing suites. Today, the first one of these was launched, named Relic of Life. It is available immediately. Basemark will introduce the two other GPUScore testing suites during the following months. Relic of Life is ideal for benchmarking high-end gaming PCs' discrete graphics cards' GPUs. It requires hardware accelerated ray tracing, supports Vulkan and DirectX, and is available for both Windows and Linux. GPUScore: Relic of Life is an ideal benchmark for comparing Vulkan and DirectX accelerated ray tracing performance.