Technology Companies, Venture Capitalists and Startups are in panic after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank on Friday, March 11, 2023. In the short term it will be a mess - customers of SVB have no access to FDIC insured deposits until Monday (March 13). Customers with investments below a $250,000 cap have been advised to make claims before a strict Monday deadline. The FDIC is forming plans to pay depositors, with investments greater than the aforementioned cap, a special dividend next week.

Today was a sad day for the ever-shrinking world of PC and tech media, with two UK-based websites ceasing active operations as of November 1, 2021. Hexus.net, more commonly referred to simply as Hexus by its readers and fans alike, was started by David Ross in 1998. It grew in popularity enough to be the flag bearer for David's The Media Team group, which included under its umbrella entities including "PC-Max.de, Foodie Paradise Cranble, and cult-classic Sick Chirpse" as he puts it himself. Clearly things were going well at a point, with one of my favorite modding-centric website, Bit-Tech.net, added to the portfolio. While Hexus remained an international force in our field, Bit-Tech arguably had more passionate a reader base that made PC DIY builds what it is today. There were sponsored build competitions and mods that gave the likes of Overclock.net, at least in its heyday, a running for its money. Between the two, TechPowerUp editors made friends with some of the most talented people to step into this industry, including davido_labido who was our peripheral editor before he left for Bit-Tech, and eventually Alphacool. There were many press events, media dinners, and even frustrating product launches shared and attended together that will always be cherished!

Both Hexus and Bit-Tech announced today that the websites as we know it will cease to exist, with no more new activity coming from the editorial team under those banners. It's no doubt led to speculation galore about whether this was a financial move, but it is not our place to speculate. What matters more is knowing that, at least for the foreseeable future, the online assets of both websites will remain available. This includes YouTube channels and forums for all to see, as well as the home page for those wishing to not lose on the published news and reviews alike. TechPowerUp takes solace in knowing that some of the now-former staff have already teased a new website in the making—one that is supposed to be launching imminently to take advantage of traffic inbound with Intel's Alder Lake launch. This does confirm that it was not a shock or surprise to anyone, and that it is not the end for content from some of them at least. We hope that everyone inevitable lands on their feet, and would like to take this time to welcome Hexus and Bit-Tech members who feel wanting for more discussions and content.

Update Nov 3rd: Former staff, Tarinder and Parm have launched a new website called Club386 (club386.com), which borrows naming from the famous Intel 386 architecture of the 80s. With the launch of Intel Alder Lake scheduled for tomorrow, Club386 has a review incoming to use that traffic and kickstart its journey as a hopefully successful independent tech media.

Jon Peddie Research (JPR), the industry's research and consulting firm for graphics and multimedia, has released its newest gaming market study regarding the PC Gaming Hardware Market, which consists of personal computers, upgrades, and peripherals used for gaming. The PC Gaming Hardware market both flourished and suffered during the past year. It flourished financially, however not in a way most would hope. Because of supply problems, a large portion of the consumer spend did not make it back to manufacturers, with an abnormal amount going to resellers who charged inordinately high prices for PC components.

This phenomenon leads to how it suffered. Gamers with average budgets could not always get what they needed, and new entrants sometimes put off, or even worse, abandoned the platform or hobby adoption. New entrants are very important to the long-term health of any gaming platform. A stark warning to hardware companies in the PC Gaming space that long-term growth is dependent on having products available and priced within reach of mass-market consumers. Also, a warning that total dependency on imported products and Just-In-Time inventory systems can be a weakness during market anomalies like the COVID pandemic.

The following analysis shows TrendForce's investigations of key component and other downstream technology industries, under the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, with the latest data as of February 14, 2020.

Semiconductors
Compared to the OSAT industry, the foundry industry has a much higher degree of fab automation and thus is less impacted by the outbreak. But because most workers at semiconductor manufacturing sites in China come from out of town, labor shortages and traffic restrictions will lower work resumption rates at foundries more than expected. In the short term, fab utilization rates may not make a full recovery. As a result, given that the outbreak has not yet been effectively contained, TrendForce is projecting a possible decline in shipment for the Chinese foundry industry in 1Q20, in turn affecting downstream Chinese OSAT companies. The industry's overall performance recovery remains to be seen.