Engineering Blog for High Performance Insights

EXECUTIVE BRIEF: Legacy memory is under pressure caused by the AI boom. This paper seeks to show why this is happening and what to do about it. 172% DRAM price increase across 2025, with further rises forecast through 2026 30+ weeks Lead times for industrial-grade memory modules, up from a historical 8–10 23% Share of global DRAM wafer capacity now consumed by HBM — up from 8% The Unforeseen Inversion In the second half of 2025, a pricing anomaly appeared that appeared to

POSITION NOTE: There are a number of low-cost alternatives to incumbent LLMs - In this brief we discuss Pioneer LLMs that represent low-cost alternatives to incumbents and explore the current geopolitical and commercial landscape. ~130% INCREASE IN CODE VULNERABILITIES IN ONE CHINESE MODEL UNDER A U.S.-GOVERNMENT PERSONA (BOOZ ALLEN, MAY 2026) 60–90% STICKER-PRICE DISCOUNT OF CHINESE FRONTIER MODELS AGAINST TOP U.S. EQUIVALENTS 30%+ SHARE OF WEEKLY U.S. ENTERPRISE AI TOKEN U

AI PLANNING BRIEF: We explore the realities of deploying ML at the OT Edge Condition monitoring of rotating machinery has become the flagship use case for machine learning at the OT edge, and for a structural reason: sound and vibration are dense signals. A single sensor emits hundreds of kilobytes per second, and no plant can round-trip that volume to a cloud and expect real-time answers. Interpretation has to happen where the data is born. Add the environments that defin

AI-Augmented Testing: Understanding Its True Value AI can now write, run, and repair test suites at an unprecedented scale. However, the crucial question remains: what do these tests truly prove? While AI can boost coverage and velocity, the real challenge is understanding the implications of a passing test when generated by a machine. AI-driven testing adoption has increased, with significant improvements in speed and efficiency. However, a test should assert intended behavi

EXECUTIVE BRIEF: In this article we look at how to instrument Minimum Viable Governance for AI in OT Environments. Understanding Minimum Viable Governance In today's fast-paced technological landscape, governance is essential. It ensures that AI systems operate effectively and ethically. Minimum Viable Governance (MVG) provides a framework for managing AI development. This approach balances innovation with risk management. MVG focuses on core principles. These principles gui

EXECUTIVE BRIEF: Agentic AI TCO - Separating Signal from Hype. The real cost of AI assisted software and firmware development. Executive Summary Agentic AI in software development is generating genuine productivity gains — and a wave of canceled projects, inflated cost structures, and governance gaps that vendors have little incentive to advertise. This briefing cuts through both the skepticism and the hype to provide a pragmatic ROI framework for engineering leaders evalu

EXECUTIVE BRIEF: In April 2026 Uber deployed AI experienced unanticipated token usage costs with AI generated code. When Uber rolled out an autonomous AI coding assistant to boost developer productivity, engineers embraced it heavily, using it to write up to 70% of new code. However, because the agent ran persistent, multi-turn reasoning loops, expensive usage fees accumulated rapidly. By April 2026, Uber had exhausted its entire annual AI budget. The hidden realization was