Hello backers!

A quick update from my side. First, I’d like to remind backers that weekly updates are posted on #the-commit-log on Discord and Matrix. I have been relying on these channels as the primary path for communication with backers as it facilitates some real-time Q&A in addition to providing updates.

For those who are not/can’t be/don’t want to be on these servers, the TL;DR is that it’s been an upstream swim battling the AI bubble and trade war politics. My concerns about high AI demand stressing the OSAT (Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test) resources have come true. Despite a couple trips to Hsinchu to improve lead time, we’re running about a month behind my ideal schedule for chip delivery. Unfortunately, the wafers have to ping-pong back and forth between two vendors for the test and packaging flow, and every time it transitions between facilities the wafers have languished for about a week on the receiving dock.

The good news is that I finally have the first production chips from the -A1 qualification lot in my hands (these are the chips I was hoping to have in April), and these chips have passed all the CI tests, so they are good to move forward into SMT. As I write this update, I’m sitting in a hotel near a factory in Dongguang doing assembly line infrastructure bring-up. The -A0 chips are still on-track for an early June delivery; though there is some risk because I authorized their production before I qualified the production process with the -A1 wafers.

However, if the bet pays off, I’ll stay on track for a June timeframe for shipping the full order, with the big SMT production run commencing around the second week of June, mostly depending on how fussy customs wants to be about my paperwork. After that, the chips will go off for reeling, which takes another week or so. So, with a bit of luck, I’ll still be able to ship the full balance of Dabaos to Crowd Supply by the end of June or early July.

Happy hacking!

-b.

First reel of chips! Hand-carrying a reel to the SMT factory pulls in the schedule in by a week compared to shipping by courier and waiting for customs clearance.