Articles by Jon Martindale, Freelance Writer

After building his first computers in his teens, Jon Martindale has spent the past two decades covering the latest advances in technology. From displays to PC components, blockchain to AI, and tablets to standing desk accessories, Jon has covered just about every facet of the tech space in his varied career. He has bylines at Forbes, USNews, Lifewire, DigitalTrends, PCWorld, and a range of other sites. He brings that same level of expertise and professional insight to Toms Hardware.Away from writing, Jon is an avid reader, board gamer, and fitness enthusiast. He lives in rural Gloucestershire with his wife, two children, and French Bulldog cross.

Articles by: Jon Martindale

Google reports that state hackers from China, Russia and Iran are using Gemini in 'all stages' of attacks — phishing lures, coding and vulnerability testing get AI underpinnings from hostile actors

By Jon Martindale published 13 February 26

Premium Hackers from Iran, China, India, and Russia all found using the AI.

Using AI actually increases burnout despite productivity improvements, study shows — data illustrates how AI made workers take on tasks they would have otherwise avoided or outsourced

By Jon Martindale published 12 February 26

Premium Often, the pressure to succeed comes from the employees themselves, which could be half the problem.

Donald Trump and TSMC CEO at press conference.

U.S. government plans tariff exemptions for TSMC, if it follows through on American investment — $165 billion already pledged to increase production capacity, but details of the deal are still murky

By Jon Martindale published 11 February 26

Premium The scale of the tariff exemptions will be tied to the scale of the investment, too.

Alphabet is doubling its capital expenditure to a staggering $180 billion in 2026 — earnings suggest that the company's AI investments may be paying off

By Jon Martindale published 10 February 26

Premium Google announced in its Q4 earnings call this week that it expected to more than double its capital expenditure in 2026 over 2025's already sky-high numbers, to up to $185 billion.

Claimed 1,100% increase in AI-driven layoffs in 2025 might be misleading — firms accused of exaggerating AI performance to downplay poor business performance

By Jon Martindale published 9 February 26

Premium Despite layoffs attributed to surging use of AI, employers may be placating investors by using AI as an excuse for failings elsewhere.

Tesla's robotics ambitions rest on the knife-edge of US-China trade relations due to its supply chain — the majority of critical materials and suppliers are located in China

By Jon Martindale published 5 February 26

Premium In a reversal of trade dynamics over cutting-edge silicon, China holds the cards in robotics manufacturing.

Intel is co-developing new Z-Angle Memory to compete with HBM used in AI data centers — vertically-stacked memory touts 2 to 3x more capacity, greater bandwidth, and half the power consumption

By Jon Martindale published 3 February 26

Premium With the first prototypes expected in 2027.

Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron work to block memory hoarding — prices might rise faster, but it could help encourage increased supply long term

By Jon Martindale published 2 February 26

Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron are teaming up to block memory hoarding.

SK hynix invests $10 billion in creating a U.S.-based 'AI solutions' company — company to restructure California-based Solidigm enterprise SSD brand to bolster American investments

By Jon Martindale published 28 January 26

Premium Solidigm brand to be spun off into a new subsidiary in the process

Alibaba plans IPO for chip-arm T-Head to help bankroll ambitious AI infrastructure investments — company to go up against Cambricon and Huawei to capture domestic accelerator market

By Jon Martindale published 23 January 26

Premium Alibaba fancies itself a player in the Chinese AI accelerator space

Companies are deploying high-level executives abroad to keep supply chains smooth amid memory squeeze — from CEOs to procurement experts, crucial meetings across the globe shape the industry

By Jon Martindale published 22 January 26

Premium Breaking bread while brokering deals.

U.S company Noveon Magnetics raises $215 million to expand homegrown rare earth magnet supply — $630 million spent in 2025 on American reshoring efforts to divest from Chinese reliance

By Jon Martindale published 20 January 26

Premium Rare earth metals like magnets are frequently used in HDDs and other crucial pieces of hardware.

Robotics and world models are AI's next frontier, and China is already ahead of the West — research shows almost 13,000 robots deployed in 2025 alone

By Jon Martindale published 19 January 26

Premium With the AI race showing no signs of stopping, the next great frontier is conquering the complex requirements that advanced robotics demands, and China is positioned to dominate.

Glass cloth could be the next great AI shortage, as major manufacturers scramble to secure critical material — Japanese manufacturer courted by Apple, Nvidia, Google, and Amazon

By Jon Martindale published 16 January 26

Premium Limited supply and skyrocketing demand brew a perfect storm.

Intel CEO Lip Bu-Tan getting into a vehicle.

Intel appoints Trump economic advisor as head of government affairs — announces broader leadership shakeup, new interim CTO

By Jon Martindale published 16 December 25

Intel has tightened its ties with the current US administration, appointing an economic advisor to President Trump as its new head of government affairs.

China mulls $70 billion domestic chip fabrication injection, would be largest of any government semiconductor investment — Huawei and Cambricon among candidates in push to compete with Nvidia, other U.S. firms

By Jon Martindale published 12 December 25

Huawei and Cambricon are seen as likely candidates for investment.

Microsoft, Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic join forces to form Agentic AI alliance, according to report — organization backed by the Linux Foundation is set to create open source standards for AI agents

By Jon Martindale published 11 December 25

Premium The biggest names in AI are set to form an open source alliance

ASML under fire for selling DUV equipment to Chinese firm with military ties, says the machines are not subject to export controls — fears grow that 'old technology' will bolster Beijing's quantum effort

By Jon Martindale published 9 December 25

It claims the technology was old and "cannot be used to make the most advanced chips."

The Senate's new SAFE bill is set to curb access to advanced chips to China, but that won't slow down the AI war — training workloads still heavily rely on Nvidia, while alternatives remain inefficient

By Jon Martindale published 8 December 25

Premium A new bipartisan bill in the Senate could pause shipments, but there are ways around it.

Chinese tech firm Cambricon looks to step into Nvidia void, triple AI chip production next year — seeks to rival Huawei, but production remains a concern

By Jon Martindale published 4 December 25

Where it will make all those chips, though, is anyone's guess

Taiwan hits Japanese firm with indictment in TSMC data theft saga — Tokyo Electron charged with failing to prevent its staff from stealing trade secrets

By Jon Martindale published 2 December 25

As chip companies become important to national security, trade thefts have an entirely new gravity to them.

Chinese startup founded by Google engineer claims to have developed its own TPU chip for AI — custom ASIC reportedly 1.5 times faster than Nvidia's A100 GPU from 2020, 42% more efficient

By Jon Martindale published 27 November 25

It's allegedly 1.5 times the speed of Nvidia's A100 GPU from 2020.

Sundar Pinchai and Mark Zuckerberg at an AI summit.

Billion-dollar AI chip deal between Google and Meta could be on the cards — would involve renting Google Cloud TPUs next year, outright purchases in 2027

By Jon Martindale published 25 November 25

The deal is said to be worth billions to both firms, and has already helped boost Google's parent company to a near $4 trillion valuation

AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 review photos

AMD to allegedly raise graphics card prices by at least 10% in 2026 — price surge attributed to ongoing AI-related DRAM supply crisis

By Jon Martindale published 24 November 25

Rising memory prices blamed as GPUs look set to become more expensive in 2026.

Wall Street warns of rising AI debt risk as stocks slide on wobbly investor confidence — analysts warn of 'systemic risk' as Nvidia share price creaks

By Jon Martindale published 21 November 25

Increasing systemic risk from interconnected investments with circular revenue relationships is waving red flags.

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