So much of the focus of the past five years has been on artificial intelligence and its increasing role in society. Specific to electronics design and manufacturing, scores of companies are now involved in developing large language models and generative AI engines to power next-generation tools capable of synthesizing huge amounts of data and driving subsequent action.

According to Bloomberg, venture capitalists invested some $97 billion into artificial intelligence startups in the US alone in 2024. That’s about half of all the monies by US startups last year. Many of these technologies are unproven, however, and the companies’ founders have little or no track record of success bringing products to market or growing a profitable entity.

Does anyone feel like we are reliving the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s and early 2000s?

And it does make me wonder whether all the hype around AI is obfuscating other significant developments in the electronics space.

PEACHTREE CITY, GA – CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY today opened registration for its annual Service Excellence Awards (SEAs) for EMS providers and electronics assembly equipment, material, service, and software suppliers.

TORONTO – Celestica reported annual revenue of $9.65 billion, up 21,2% from 2023's total.

READING, UK – UK-based electronics manufacturer Active-PCB has announced its acquisition by Agile Circuit Technologies Group.

CHENNAI, INDIA – Syrma SGS Technology saw revenue of INR8.9 billion ($102.7 million) for the third quarter of its fiscal year, marking a 24% year-over-year increase compared to the same period in 2023.

STOCKHOLM – Note reported full-year revenue of SEK3.9 billion ($353 million), down 6% from 2023.

ATLANTA – With a score that broke solidly above the 100-point threshold in January for the overall component average, the year got off to an encouraging start, according to ECIA’s Electronic Component Sales Trend survey.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – Demand in the electronics industry recovered to 100 in December, marking the threshold between contraction and expansion after four consecutive months below this level, according to IPC’s January Sentiment of the Global Electronics Manufacturing Supply Chain Report.

SAN JOSE, CA – Sanmina announced revenue of $2.01 billion for the first quarter of its fiscal year, a year-over-year increase of 7.5%.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – North American EMS shipments in December were down 7.8% compared to the same month last year, IPC announced. The book-to-bill ratio stands at 1.26.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – North American PCB bookings in December rose 59.9% compared to December 2023, IPC reported in findings from its North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program. The book-to-bill ratio stands at 1.19.

STOCKHOLM – Note reported annual sales of SEK3.9 billion ($356 million), down 8% from 2023's total.