NVLink, UALink, NeuronLink, SUE, PCIe – Astera Labs Switch

Summary of Astera Labs (ALAB US) Conference Call Company Overview - Astera Labs is a U.S.-listed company specializing in PCIe retimer and switch chips, with a focus on the upcoming custom Scorpio-X switch chip [1] Key Industry Insights - Growth Drivers: Astera Labs' growth is driven by two main products: - Custom NeuronLink switch chip for AWS's Trainium series, launching in the second half of the year - Custom UALink switch chip for AMD's MI400 series, expected in the second half of next year [2] Technical Comparisons - UALink vs. NVLink: - UALink uses SerDes with differential signaling, allowing longer-distance data transmission compared to NVLink's single-ended signaling, which saves chip area but limits distance [3][4] - UALink can connect up to 1,024 nodes, while NVLink is limited to 576 nodes [5] - UALink Protocol Versions: - UALink has two versions: 128 Gbps and 200 Gbps, with the latter being suitable for GPU-to-GPU connections only [6][9] - UALink 128G supports mixed connections and is compatible with PCIe Gen7, making it suitable for model inferencing [9] - Broadcom's SUE: - SUE is a point-to-point protocol that draws from NVLink's logic but has limitations in heterogeneous expansion compared to UALink [10] Product Development - AMD's Helios AI Rack: - The upcoming Helios AI rack will adopt the UALink 200G protocol, with Astera Labs developing a switch chip expected to tape out in Q1 2026 [11][31] - AWS Trainium Series: - Astera Labs is developing the Scorpio-X switch chip for AWS's Trainium rack, which will be software-programmable and meet high-performance transmission requirements [13] Financial Projections - Revenue Estimates: - For every one million Trainium 2.5 chips deployed, Astera Labs could generate a content dollar value of approximately $1.75 billion from both large and small switch chips [22] - For Trainium 3 chips, the estimated content dollar value could reach $3.3 billion per million chips [26] - Additional revenue of $150 million is projected for every million Trainium 4 chips due to collaboration with Alchip [28] - AMD's MI400 Series: - Astera Labs' content dollar value for every one million MI400 GPUs used in the Helios rack is estimated at $576 million [32] Conclusion - Astera Labs is positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for advanced interconnect solutions in high-performance computing environments, particularly through its partnerships with AWS and AMD, with significant revenue potential from its innovative switch chip technologies [1][2][22][26][32]