NVIDIA completely withdrew from Russia - $16 million spent to close the office

Back in spring NVIDIA announced the cessation of direct product supplies to Russia, and the company's local office has been operating in a state of uncertainty ever since.
In the quarterly report on Form 10-Q published this week, information about NVIDIA terminating its operations in Russia is stated directly.Source image: NVIDIA In July, the renewal of licenses for proprietary software for Russian customers was terminated.
By early October, rumors emerged about NVIDIA's readiness to reduce its Russian staff or offer relocation to those wishing to do so.
In the latter case, the specialists could move to another country and continue working outside of Russia.
It was reported that employees who refused to change their place of residence at the NVIDIA representative office in Russia were offered to terminate the contract with payment of the severance pay.In the text of the quarterly report on Form 10-Q risks associated with Russia for NVIDIA activities were highlighted in a separate paragraph.
The company reminded that it did not sell almost anything directly to Russia, in any case direct sales in the last fiscal year ended January 30 this year were \"insignificant\".
Basically, the company made money in Russia on graphics processors sold as part of graphics cards of its partners.
And because gaming cards are still supplied to Russia through parallel imports, NVIDIA's withdrawal from Russia should have almost no impact on gaming revenue.The company notes that the Russian market in the last fiscal year formed no more than 2% of its total revenue, and the share in the gaming segment was 4%.
Thus, in the last fiscal year Russia brought NVIDIA about $500 million in the gaming segment.
The amount seems to be decent, but on the background of total revenue of $12.5 billion the potential loss of Russian gaming market will not be a tragedy for NVIDIA.
In reality, there will be no reduction in the gaming segment as supplies of video cards from NVIDIA's partners continue to be shipped to Russia.
Perhaps only a minimal reduction in total revenue due to the cessation of supply of professional cards and gas pedals.
As highlighted in the quarterly report published this week, in the third quarter of this fiscal year NVIDIA phased out all of its activities in Russia.
In the company's calendar the corresponding reporting period ended on October 30, so the rumors about closing the Russian office, which appeared at the beginning of the same month, fit into that period.
In the comments of NVIDIA CFO on the results of the third quarter even indicated the amount of losses related to business restructuring in Russia and closing the local office - it reached $16 million.
Recall that as of the beginning of this year NVIDIA had over 300 employees in Russia, and it was previously reported that they were offered relocation.

Russian Aquarius will produce processors on RISC-V architecture

Sanctions limiting the access of domestic companies to technology are forcing Russian business to look for new solutions.
According to Kommersant, citing high-ranking industry sources, Aquarius, widely known in the domestic IT market, is organizing the production of microelectronics on the RISC-V architecture and expects to receive subsidies from the Ministry of Industry and Trade for this.
Other Russian business also shows increased attention to the open architecture.Image source: AquariusAccording to the publication's sources, last year \"Aquarius\" was in talks with Russian suppliers of IP-blocks for RISC-V and was recruiting a team of developers.
Direct production may be organized at Zelenograd-based Mikron, which recently announced its intention to expand chip production.
Although there are rumors that Aquarius may receive a subsidy from the Ministry of Industry and Trade for this project, the Ministry itself has not yet commented on the information.Because RISC-V is an open processor architecture and the technology is freely available to everyone, companies around the world are showing increasing interest in it.
Although its performance is inferior to the popular x86 and Arm, the experts do not exclude the possibility that in the future the RISC-V processors will be able to compete with these solutions.
It is known that Chinese companies, which are also experiencing sanctions pressure from a number of countries, are showing great interest in the technology.According to Kommersant, Akvarius has confirmed work on two projects related to the development of service chips on RISC-V.
As for cooperation with \"Mikron\", \"Aquarius\" believes that it will be possible to work with the plant when it becomes ready \"to cooperate on the production of products on 90 nm technology\".
It is known that the Russian Yadro which is a part of the \"IKS Holding\" also announced its plans to develop RISC-V processors, and in September 2021 the \"Varton Investment Company\" (controls Baikal Electronics) bought a 34% stake in the Russian developer of IP-blocks for RISC-V processors CloudBear.
According to \"Kommersant\", the development and production of microcontrollers on the corresponding architecture is already engaged in the electronics manufacturer Milandr.Image source: AquariusIn late September an association headed by Anna Serebryanikova, who is already president of the Big Data Association, is reportedly established, the prospects of the technology are being studied by a division of Marvel Distribution - F+ tech, which produces phones.
Moreover, Open Mobile Platform (OMP), the developer of Aurora OS controlled by Rostelecom, has also indicated its readiness to participate in relevant projects.According to experts, the possibility of free use of RISC-V makes the platform most promising for Russian chipmakers, because cooperation with companies that own technologies for other types of architectures is virtually impossible today, while there are even ready-made solutions on RISC-V, for example - developed and distributed by Chinese Alibaba.

Computer prices in Russia have rolled back to the level of the beginning of 2022

In March this year, prices for computers in Russia jumped by 30%, but have now returned to the level of the beginning of the year, and in some items were even lower, Izvestia writes, citing data from MTS and M.Video-Eldorado.
The reason for this lies in the strengthening of the ruble, as well as reduced demand for equipment.Image source: PihabayAlthough some market participants predicted that the cost of electronics in Russia will never return to pre-crisis levels, this has already happened with computer equipment.
A source in one of the retail networks said that prices are not just dropped - in April-June the average PC price in Russian retail was 62.4 thousand rubles, which is 8% lower compared to the first quarter of 2022.The cost of many laptops returned to the level recorded in early February 2022, and some models have fallen even further, as reported in MTS.
M.Video-Eldorado said that the cost of equipment has stabilized and is now at an attractive level.
The retailer offers a wide range of equipment, including computer-based, at prices of early 2022.According to the source, strengthening of the ruble is not the only reason for the decrease in computer equipment cost.
The fact that the demand for the equipment from the population has dropped significantly plays a major role.
According to available data, in the second quarter there were sold 528 thousand computers (notebooks and desktops) for 33 billion rubles in Russia.
In terms of sales, it is a 40% drop, and in terms of money - by 45% compared with the first quarter.Image source: IDCDeveloped another source said that the decline in demand affects the scarcity of certain models.
For example, in Russia began to bring significantly less gaming laptops.
Problems with the range can also be explained by the fact that the importation of products of some vendors, such as HP, have ceased.
Difficulties in logistics and cross-border settlements have an additional negative impact.It is noted that in the second quarter, sales of not only computer equipment, but also smartphones decreased.
Compared to the first quarter, sales of smartphones fell by 33% in unit terms, and compared with the second quarter of last year - by 30%.
This decline is also due to the rush in demand in the first quarter and the resulting shortage of devices.Project Manager of Content Review Sergei Polovnikov believes that low prices for computer equipment will last until the sharp strengthening of the dollar.
He also noted that although sales declined in the second quarter, the computer market as a whole is stable.

The Ministry of Transport has proposed measures to stimulate the distribution of electric cars in the regions

The Russian Ministry of Transport has sent recommendations to regional authorities to \"stimulate\" the distribution of electric cars and rechargeable hybrids.
Owners of environmentally friendly vehicles could be entitled to free travel on toll roads and transport tax could be abolished for them.
It is also proposed to develop a system of storage and disposal of waste batteries.Image source: Kindel Media / pexels.comThe document was prepared within the framework of the government-approved concept for the development of electric transport until 2030.
A significant part of the recommendations concern the organization of parking lots: here the opinions of electric car owners are taken into account, as well as the possibility of connecting recharging stations at parking lots to the network and the climatic aspect - in the northern regions there will be fewer specialized facilities for electric cars than in the south.In areas of public and business development at least 10% of all parking spaces for electric cars will be equipped with charging stations, and in residential areas all parking spaces will be equipped with slow chargers - such stations will provide 80% of the charge.
It is proposed to mark the fast charging stations (up to 20 minutes) with signs limiting the time of parking.
When installing charging stations at parking lots it is also proposed to place information boards with an indication of the number of free spaces.
As financial incentives for owners of electric cars it is proposed to reduce the rate of car tax or cancel it completely, as well as to allow them to travel for free on toll roads.
Finally, it was recommended to create \"zero-emission\" zones, where vehicles with internal combustion engines would not be allowed.The first candidates for implementation of the measures proposed by the Ministry of Transport will be regions with heavy traffic and places with high environmental requirements.
Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Trade updated the requirements for state-subsidized charging stations for electric cars - the Chinese GB/T connector became mandatory.

DeepCool announced the start of sales in Russia for the GAMMAXX L240/360 A-RGB WH in White

DeepCool, the company specializing in the design and manufacture of cooling systems for processors and graphics controllers, and also the manufacturer of cases, power supplies and RGB accessories, announced the start of sales in Russia for the popular GAMMAXX L240/360 A-RGB all-white version - GAMMAXX L240 A-RGB WH and GAMMAXX L360 A-RGB WH.
The all-in-one liquid cooling systems GAMMAXX L240 A-RGB and L360 A-RGB offer high performance, nice looking backlighting and a reasonable price.
GAMMAXX L240 A-RGB and L360 A-RGB are also designed for high reliability because of the Anti-leak Tech Inside leak prevention technology in the cooling circuit which allows you to reach the extreme CPU performance without any fear of cooling fluid leakage.
GAMMAXX L240 A-RGB and L360 A-RGB support major Intel and AMD platforms including Intel LGA1700.The extensive copper base of the waterblock ensures efficient heat dissipation from any size processor.
The GAMMAX L240WH A-RGB and GAMMAX 360WH A-RGB feature 120mm PWM fans for high performance and low noise.The GAMMAXX L240 A-RGB WH and GAMMAXX L360 A-RGB WH will go on sale in the Russian market in June for the equivalent of $89.99 and $109.99 respectively.

The Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation (Ministry of Digital Development) announced the appearance of a Data Storage Assembly Center in Russia

The head of the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation (Ministry of Digital Development) Maxut Shadaev announced a new project in the IT sphere that would help resist the sanctions.
According to him, a data storage assembly center will appear in Russia.
There are already companies ready to invest in this initiative.Image source: pixabay.com / Bru-nO \"The center of assembly and production of final equipment will move inside the country.
In this sense, we have a long line of companies that are ready to invest in production, in the assembly, who are ready to buy machines, \"- TASS quoted Mr.
Shadaev.Image source: pixabay.com / poelschIn this situation, finished products will be increasingly difficult to bring into the country.
It is connected with worsening of logistics and increase of the cost of ready-made equipment.
At the same time it is easier to deliver components, and the necessary systems can be assembled of them in Russia.
It is not specified which companies are planning to participate in the project.

Elbrus processors now want to be produced in Zelenograd instead of Taiwan

According to Konstantin Trushkin, deputy general director of the Russian ICST, the company is considering the possibility of transferring processor production from Taiwan to Mikron in Zelenograd, Russia.
ICST is engaged in the development and supply of Elbrus processors.Image source: TSMC According to RBC, processors were previously produced on order of ICST by Taiwan's TSMC, but the latter ceased cooperation with the domestic developer in early March.
TSMC is one of the leading semiconductor manufacturers in the world.
The ICST portfolio includes chips for production of technology from 16 to 130 nm, whose customers are mostly law enforcement and government agencies.
\"The company plans to increase production of 180-90 nm chips from 3,000 to 6,000 wafers per month by 2025, which will require about 10 billion rubles by 2030.
The funds are likely to be raised as part of a special national project to develop electronics.
By the way, the transfer of Elbrus production to Mikron will also require time and money - at least a year and several billion rubles.The option of establishing a separate Elbrus company not subject to sanctions was considered, but apparently it was decided not to resort to that.
According to Trushkin, Russian factories can \"create decent processors with sovereign Russian technologies for critical information infrastructure, information security and other markets.\" Another interlocutor of RBC showed that \"in the near future we should not count on our own production of 28 nm technology, nor on reaching an agreement with other foreign factories.
According to this interlocutor, 90-nm Elbrus would be suitable \"except for thin clients, cash registers, or for some special applications.

Apple and Samsung continued to certify equipment in Russia, despite leaving the country

Despite earlier decisions to suspend operations in Russia, Apple and Samsung continued to apply for product certification.
These certificates allow them to sell equipment throughout the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), but experts believe that the manufacturers are interested in resuming deliveries to Russia.Source image: apple.comSamsung stopped supplying products to Russia in early March, but Kommersant managed to find that Samsung Electronics Rus Company LLC (SERK) applied for certification of phones, monitors, TVs and other household appliances, including not yet announced products until May 19 at least.
In May alone, the SSEC registered 12 certificates and 22 declarations with Rosakkreditatsiya.
Among them are smartphones Galaxy A13 5G (announced, but not officially sold in Russia), as well as Galaxy A04 and A13s (not yet officially introduced) - all three models were tested May 16 in the center № 300 Rostest-Moscow.Earlier it was reported that the model Samsung Galaxy A13 5G, together with a number of other devices in the range were on sale in Russia under the parallel export program - imported from Kazakhstan devices were sold in stores DNS, \"Fusion\" and \"M.
Video\" with a significant markup.Not to suspend certification of goods and the company Apple, which also in early March, announced the termination of its work in Russia: from 10 to March 21 the company made requests, among other things for the Mac Studio desktop, monitor Studio Display and upgraded iPhone SE - the latter was tested at the Russian Research Institute of Radio.
China's Huawei did not make any statements about ceasing operations in Russia, but it also reduced the volume of supplies and continued to certify its products, issuing declarations in April and May for the Huawei P50 smartphone and the MateStation monoblock computer.
Despite the fact that permits for all of these devices are valid throughout the EAEU (Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan), one of the experts interviewed by Kommersant believes that it would be easier and cheaper for manufacturers to certify in the countries where they plan to sell.
This could mean that despite the suspension of sales in Russia, companies are doing so with the prospect of resuming operations in the country, as well as \"to support those who will import their products.