Introducing Context Caching

A new video format on Chip Insights

Like a lot of you, I consume a lot of content related to semiconductors: research papers, industry news, company blogs, substacks, and social media posts - the list is endless.

But lately, I’ve gotten into this bad habit: I read something, I learn something new, and then I forget about it. I struggle to meaningfully retain information from whatever I consume.

That’s the motivation behind a new Chip Insights series I’m experimenting with: Context Caching.

The name comes from two worlds that I spend a lot of time thinking about. In AI, context determines what information is available to a model at any given moment. In computer architecture, caches keep the most useful data close at hand while less relevant information gets evicted.

Context Caching is my attempt to do the same thing for semiconductors. Every week, I read through semiconductor industry content and ask two questions:

• What idea deserves a place in my mental cache?

• What idea is becoming less relevant and should be evicted?

In this process, I hope to develop a mental model about the semiconductor industry (and hopefully provide some values to my viewers as well.)

I’m also using this as an opportunity to experiment with a new format: video.

Chip Insights started as a writing project, and long-form writing will continue to be the core of what I do. There’s no substitute for a detailed deep dive when you’re trying to understand an architecture, a technology trend, or a historical system.

But long-form writing, by its very nature, takes a lot of time for me to produce, and also has a significant barrier to entry for new readers. Sometimes an interesting observation, connection, or mental model can be communicated in a minute or two. Video feels like a more accessible format for those moments, and frankly, I’m curious to see if I enjoy creating it.

That’s really all I wanted to share in this post. Writing posts like this helps me convince myself about the “why” of doing something new, so thank you for being my audience in that process.

As I always say about my posts, this is very much an experiment, so I’d love your feedback about this new series. Here’s the link to the playlist:

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