In this edition, antitrust issues curbing Big Tech M&A; a look at semiconductor industry; Hanesbrands' transformation has been overlooked; and EasyJet, Humana, and Repligen.

Determining a realistic estimate for the size of the artificial intelligence (AI) industry is a challenge, as there is simply no measurable unit of AI output comparable to barrels of oil or tons of steel. As well, much of the AI development occurs within laboratories and at universities - and results are measured in progress against objectives, not dollars or units of output. In the corporate world, nearly all pure-play AI companies service micro-niches, have little measurable revenue, and are deeply unprofitable. Argus believes that much of the revenue and most of the profitability from the AI industry is attributable to several giant U.S. and a few international companies. These primarily operate in growth sectors such as Technology, Communication Services, and Consumer Discretionary. Key companies include Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, Meta Platforms, IBM, Alphabet, Salesforce, Nvidia, and Qualcomm in the U.S. China has Baidu, Tencent, and Alibaba. There is also significant activity among companies pursuing advances in IoT, vehicle electrification, autonomous driving, automation, and connectivity for manufacturing, warehousing, construction, and other areas. Argus has derived a model of the size and scope of the global AI industry, based on our coverage of major publicly traded players and most of the mid-tier players, along with our industry knowledge of private players. We estimate the global industry annual revenue amounted to $90-$100 billion in 2021, and expect that to grow at a 40% CAGR through 2030, when it is expected to reach $1.8 trillion. Annual growth is expected to decelerate from the low- to mid-40% range in the immediate years, to the mid-30% range for years toward the end of the survey period.

Advanced Micro Devices designs a variety of digital semiconductors for markets such as PCs, gaming consoles, data centers, industrial, and automotive applications, among others. AMD’s traditional strength was in central processing units, CPUs, and graphics processing units, or GPUs, used in PCs and data centers. Additionally, the firm supplies the chips found in prominent game consoles such as the Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox. In 2022, the firm acquired field-programmable gate array, or FPGA, leader Xilinx to diversify its business and augment its opportunities in key end markets such as the data center and automotive.

Advanced Micro Devices is the number-two player in x86-based microprocessors, behind Intel, and -- with the 2008 acquisition of ATI -- a top player in graphic processors. It now competes with Nvidia in the GPU processor space. In 2021, Advanced Micro Devices acquired Xilinx, expanding its presence in embedded computing and data center.