The AI boom has given a huge boost to the makers of AI processors, graphics processing units and memory chips. But it’s also creating real demand for foundational semiconductors that are part of the infrastructure.

Andreas Urschitz, chief marketing officer at Infineon Technologies, doesn’t want people to underestimate the importance of the foundational chips that matters as well in helping fulfill the AI boom. I interviewed him at Infineon Americas’ recent Infineon OktoberTech event at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California.

Urschitz noted that while the industry is pouring billions upon billions of dollars into high-end two-nanometer and three-nanometer chip factories, Infineon is also busy with low-end production of products that accompany those high-end chips. Infineon’s chips include power semiconductors, microcontrollers, sensors, and connectivity chips, which are seeing a surge in demand as physical AI, robotics, drones, autonomous systems — and the data centers that support them — start to scale up in response to demand.

He said the Infineon invested heavily during the previous downturn, spending billions on manufacturing expansions in Dresden and Kulim. Urschitz said that Infineon is also focusing on being a leader in components for Edge AI.

At the 10th annual OktoberTech event, the company showed off lots of demos of AI being applied to segments such as healthcare, cars, robots, and more. And those devices can run on local AI, rather than cloud-based AI, leading to lower costs and better energy efficiency.

Urschitz believes that robotics is reaching a practical inflection point, thanks in part to Infineon improvements in edge AI, sensing, battery management, and power efficiency.

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