Thanks for posting the Q&A. Can anyone elaborate on what they mean about btcgarden?
Topic: [LABCOIN] IPO [BTCT.CO] - Details/FAQ and Discussion (ASIC dev/sales/mining) - page 821. (Read 1079974 times)
August 08, 2013, 01:12:25 PM
August 08, 2013, 12:52:35 PM
Looks like a minor price boost post-Q&A.
Good to see!
Good to see!
August 08, 2013, 12:43:28 PM
Thanks for the transcripts. 
Labcoin seems confident and transparent but they're not overselling it either. I think that is a good sign but, of course, time will tell and, in the end, only results and their timely delivery truly matter to investors and Labcoin. It will be interesting to see how this develops, especially given this "sea-of-hashers" tactic. Does anyone know more about this approach in regards to bitcoins?
Labcoin seems confident and transparent but they're not overselling it either. I think that is a good sign but, of course, time will tell and, in the end, only results and their timely delivery truly matter to investors and Labcoin. It will be interesting to see how this develops, especially given this "sea-of-hashers" tactic. Does anyone know more about this approach in regards to bitcoins? 
August 08, 2013, 12:32:01 PM
Thanks blackswan and TAT; the transcriptions are appreciated 
. I'm at work now and can't be watching the Q&A
. I'm at work now and can't be watching the Q&A 
August 08, 2013, 11:58:57 AM
1. Please give us a detailed specification of the chip and its current status. What is the power efficiency?
Alright,the 130nm IC is designed to work at about 200 Mhz for core, with a total consumption of 0.8W per core, hashing performances of about 200 mhash per core, total speed will depend on the overall output grade.
The IC covers an area of 6.5mm x 6.5mm and it has been designed following ideas similar to those employed in the bitfury ASIC.
2. How will you show transparency with the 75% retained shares?
the IPO manager will arrange some kind of way for burnside to release that information
3. Are your first run ASICs in production?
the first test run is already out to fab
4. How many chips do you expect to get out of the first batch? When will you have sample chips?
estimate date for receiving sample chip, one week later, if there are no delays, the plan is having boards produced within the first week of september
5. How is it possible to create chips with a such much better performance than the competitors. You've arranged them to fit more on the same size? For that to be possible, not only each Labcoin core would have to be ~42% smaller [65/130*(6.5^2)/(7.1^2)] than each BFL core but also the Labcoin chip would magically operate at a higher frequency (300MHz vs 250MHz) while keeping the same power draw...
rolled cores instead of unrolled, sea-of-hashers approach. as in sea-of-gates. you can google this term and find out more about what it means technically. i remind you guys that the bitfury chip has up to 750 cores. they also use the same approach, we chose this design because one of our guys was close to bitfury developments 2 months ago
6. What is the software used for mining, protocol development ? I am assuming Theseven will be doing the firmware part?
yes theSeven is working on a sophisticated interface for the 65nm version
7. Is Labcoin a hardware sales or mining co?
We will focus on deploying internal hash power initially and won't ship USB miners yet, time is tight
8. How many wafers? How many TH's will be hashing in September? That knowledge will be known as soon as you get the chips, correct?
well not 30-50 TH. not sure what will be the yield of the test-run but it's in the thousands ICs. correct, also,next week we'll have the next batch going out to fab
in september we may have a few TH. i can't give exact figures, by the end of Sept, initial week of october we'll have the full speed online.
9. Is this chip the same design as the 180nm? or a completely new one?
it's based on similar design choices,but it's indeed different, as it's using a different library,different logic blocks layout
10. How can you fit 16 cores on 6.5x6.5 ? How many cores on average per chip, what is your assumption
The cores we have fit are not classical "unrolled cores",the cores as we mean them are the result of our engineering effort. i'll pass the questions i can't reply to the lead developer
11. Labcoin seems almost small now in the light of new competitors like btcgarden, hashfast, actm, terrahash.. do you think you can keep up?
btcgarden? Well, guys, i would do a reality check before saying such things. Undoubtedly ASICMINER, AVALON and maybe BFL have some kind of advantage. But we don't see how we are inferior to those vaporware companies. What in their announcement makes them more convincing than us? time will tell and the sheer of technical details we have provided is not trivial. it's very unlikely we are making everything up
12. So if everything goes as planned - we'll see Labcoin start hashing in the first week of September? Can you please confirm?
confirm, hashing with moderate speed and testing and within the end of the month, we'll have the full speed online
13. What are the chances that the chips won't work? can you guestimate?
we're not worried about this, as soon as the hashing power comes up, the price will go the right route. there's a small chance that the chip won't work, but very very small. it's much more common to get slightly underperforming chips rather than completely dead ones
14. Who is Samuel Noi?
Sam is our nominee director, Fabrizio is the founder
15. What's the status of the boards? How long will it take after testing to get all the board you need, set them up with chips and get them hashing?
The boards are near their design completion and will be tested as soon as we have the chips. we'll post pictures of the boards very soon. it will take about 7-10 days to get all the boards up and running probablyand, for the first run, we have 500 boards on order
16. Do you still depend on suppliers or do you have everything in stock? and what tools for p&r, sta, layout
we use Mentor mostly, and its suite. we still depend on suppliers but we're closing in the gap. we'll be ordering components according to the volume needed to avoid bottlenecks. 24july first one
17. Where is the lab? Shenzhen or Hongkong? Can we have a chance to visit? When if not now?
lab is located in SZ, at the university facility, we'll be moving shorty to another office. we'll be inviting selected investors to visit our datacenter in september
18. http://www.labcoin.com/presentation.html are these photos of the real where u r working in?
yes,they are real. it's the university i mentioned
Alright,the 130nm IC is designed to work at about 200 Mhz for core, with a total consumption of 0.8W per core, hashing performances of about 200 mhash per core, total speed will depend on the overall output grade.
The IC covers an area of 6.5mm x 6.5mm and it has been designed following ideas similar to those employed in the bitfury ASIC.
2. How will you show transparency with the 75% retained shares?
the IPO manager will arrange some kind of way for burnside to release that information
3. Are your first run ASICs in production?
the first test run is already out to fab
4. How many chips do you expect to get out of the first batch? When will you have sample chips?
estimate date for receiving sample chip, one week later, if there are no delays, the plan is having boards produced within the first week of september
5. How is it possible to create chips with a such much better performance than the competitors. You've arranged them to fit more on the same size? For that to be possible, not only each Labcoin core would have to be ~42% smaller [65/130*(6.5^2)/(7.1^2)] than each BFL core but also the Labcoin chip would magically operate at a higher frequency (300MHz vs 250MHz) while keeping the same power draw...
rolled cores instead of unrolled, sea-of-hashers approach. as in sea-of-gates. you can google this term and find out more about what it means technically. i remind you guys that the bitfury chip has up to 750 cores. they also use the same approach, we chose this design because one of our guys was close to bitfury developments 2 months ago
6. What is the software used for mining, protocol development ? I am assuming Theseven will be doing the firmware part?
yes theSeven is working on a sophisticated interface for the 65nm version
7. Is Labcoin a hardware sales or mining co?
We will focus on deploying internal hash power initially and won't ship USB miners yet, time is tight
8. How many wafers? How many TH's will be hashing in September? That knowledge will be known as soon as you get the chips, correct?
well not 30-50 TH. not sure what will be the yield of the test-run but it's in the thousands ICs. correct, also,next week we'll have the next batch going out to fab
in september we may have a few TH. i can't give exact figures, by the end of Sept, initial week of october we'll have the full speed online.
9. Is this chip the same design as the 180nm? or a completely new one?
it's based on similar design choices,but it's indeed different, as it's using a different library,different logic blocks layout
10. How can you fit 16 cores on 6.5x6.5 ? How many cores on average per chip, what is your assumption
The cores we have fit are not classical "unrolled cores",the cores as we mean them are the result of our engineering effort. i'll pass the questions i can't reply to the lead developer
11. Labcoin seems almost small now in the light of new competitors like btcgarden, hashfast, actm, terrahash.. do you think you can keep up?
btcgarden? Well, guys, i would do a reality check before saying such things. Undoubtedly ASICMINER, AVALON and maybe BFL have some kind of advantage. But we don't see how we are inferior to those vaporware companies. What in their announcement makes them more convincing than us? time will tell and the sheer of technical details we have provided is not trivial. it's very unlikely we are making everything up
12. So if everything goes as planned - we'll see Labcoin start hashing in the first week of September? Can you please confirm?
confirm, hashing with moderate speed and testing and within the end of the month, we'll have the full speed online
13. What are the chances that the chips won't work? can you guestimate?
we're not worried about this, as soon as the hashing power comes up, the price will go the right route. there's a small chance that the chip won't work, but very very small. it's much more common to get slightly underperforming chips rather than completely dead ones
14. Who is Samuel Noi?
Sam is our nominee director, Fabrizio is the founder
15. What's the status of the boards? How long will it take after testing to get all the board you need, set them up with chips and get them hashing?
The boards are near their design completion and will be tested as soon as we have the chips. we'll post pictures of the boards very soon. it will take about 7-10 days to get all the boards up and running probablyand, for the first run, we have 500 boards on order
16. Do you still depend on suppliers or do you have everything in stock? and what tools for p&r, sta, layout
we use Mentor mostly, and its suite. we still depend on suppliers but we're closing in the gap. we'll be ordering components according to the volume needed to avoid bottlenecks. 24july first one
17. Where is the lab? Shenzhen or Hongkong? Can we have a chance to visit? When if not now?
lab is located in SZ, at the university facility, we'll be moving shorty to another office. we'll be inviting selected investors to visit our datacenter in september
18. http://www.labcoin.com/presentation.html are these photos of the real where u r working in?
yes,they are real. it's the university i mentioned
August 08, 2013, 11:50:54 AM
Posting answers from Q&A so far:
EDIT (1pm EST): Well I've got some work to do, so I won't be monitoring the IRC any longer. But I'm sure TAT will keep everyone updated in his post below.
Quote
[11:38] Let's start with the Q/A session. I'm a member of the chinese staff
[11:38] colleague of H.Zhenhua
[11:38]
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[11:43] Alright,the 130nm IC is designed to work at about 200 Mhz for core, with a total consumption of 0.8W per core, hashing performances of about 200 mhash per core, total speed will depend on the overall output grade
Quote
[11:44] the IC covers an area of 6.5mm x 6.5mm and it has been designed following ideas similar to those employed in the bitfury ASIC
Quote
[11:45] detailed specs will be available as soon as we receive the first sample chips
[11:45] and we can do extensive testing
[11:45]
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[11:46] the first test run is already out to fab
[11:47] we're waiting for the test chips, one moment i gather the info you requested
[11:47]
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[11:53] <+labcoin_dev> Chip frequency : 300Mhz, Process : 130nm CMOS, Die size: 4160,0000um2, VDD : 1.2-1.5 V adjustable
Quote
[11:54] <+labcoin_dev> estimate date for receiving sample chip, one week later, if there are no delays, the plan is having boards produced within the first week of september
Quote
[11:55] <+labcoin_dev> we will focus on deploying internal hash power initially and won't ship USB miners yet, time is tigh
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[11:55] is this chip the same design as the 180nm?
[11:55] or a completely new one?
[11:56] <+labcoin_dev> it's based on similar design choices,but it's indeed different
[11:56] <+labcoin_dev> as it's using a different library,different logic blocks layout
[11:55]
[11:56] <+labcoin_dev> it's based on similar design choices,but it's indeed different
[11:56] <+labcoin_dev> as it's using a different library,different logic blocks layout
Quote
[11:56] how can you fit 16 cores on 6.5x6.5 ?
[11:57] <+labcoin_dev> the cores we have fit are not classical "unrolled cores",the cores as we mean them are the result of our engineering effort
[11:57] <+labcoin_dev> the cores we have fit are not classical "unrolled cores",the cores as we mean them are the result of our engineering effort
Quote
[11:57] So you've arranged them to fit more on the same size?
[11:58] <+labcoin_dev> we adopt a "sea-of-hashers" approach
[11:58] from vbs: "For that to be possible, not only each Labcoin core would have to be ~42% smaller [65/130*(6.5^2)/(7.1^2)] than each BFL core but also the Labcoin chip would magically operate at a higher frequency (300MHz vs 250MHz) while keeping the same power draw..."
[11:58] <+labcoin_dev> i remind you guys that the bitfury chip has up to 750 cores
[11:59] <+labcoin_dev> they also use the same approach, we chose this design because one of our guys was close to bitfury developments 2 months ago
[11:58] <+labcoin_dev> we adopt a "sea-of-hashers" approach
[11:58]
[11:58] <+labcoin_dev> i remind you guys that the bitfury chip has up to 750 cores
[11:59] <+labcoin_dev> they also use the same approach, we chose this design because one of our guys was close to bitfury developments 2 months ago
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[12:00] <+labcoin_dev> i think we already uploaded photos of our lab, our testing environment
[12:01] <+labcoin_dev> and our chip images aren't available yet, we don't have chip in hands yet
[12:01] Mr. Dev - I dont think there have been any pictures at least from what I have looked for
[12:01] <+labcoin_dev> elk, there are many, including those of the de2 board+wr703N
[12:01] <+labcoin_dev> and our chip images aren't available yet, we don't have chip in hands yet
[12:01]
[12:01] <+labcoin_dev> elk, there are many, including those of the de2 board+wr703N
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[12:02] labcoin seems almost small now in the light of new competitors like btcgarden, hashfast, actm, terrahash.. do you think you can keep up?
[12:02] <+labcoin_dev> btcgarden?
[12:02] <+labcoin_dev> well, guys, i would do a reality check before saying such things
[12:03] please elaborate, i'm curious
[12:03] <+labcoin_dev> undoubtedly ASICMINER, AVALON and maybe BFL have some kind of advantage
[12:03] <+labcoin_dev> but we don't see how we are inferior to those vaporware companies
[12:04] <+labcoin_dev> what in their announcement makes them more convincing than us?
[12:05] <+labcoin_dev> i for one,do not think we're going to see 28nm chips in September, i do not think we'll be going to see any btcgarden chip
[12:02] <+labcoin_dev> btcgarden?
[12:02] <+labcoin_dev> well, guys, i would do a reality check before saying such things
[12:03]
[12:03] <+labcoin_dev> undoubtedly ASICMINER, AVALON and maybe BFL have some kind of advantage
[12:03] <+labcoin_dev> but we don't see how we are inferior to those vaporware companies
[12:04] <+labcoin_dev> what in their announcement makes them more convincing than us?
[12:05] <+labcoin_dev> i for one,do not think we're going to see 28nm chips in September, i do not think we'll be going to see any btcgarden chip
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[12:06] 2. How will you show transparency with the 75% retained shares?
[12:06] <+labcoin_dev> 75% of shares are locked
[12:07] Can you prove it?
[12:07] <+labcoin_dev> locked in the account by burnside, i don't think we can sell them
[12:07] We need two things:
[12:07] <+labcoin_dev> i need to ask the management, how would you like it proved?
[12:07] 1. Evidence the shares are still held
[12:07] 2. Testimony from Burnside they are locked
[12:06] <+labcoin_dev> 75% of shares are locked
[12:07]
[12:07] <+labcoin_dev> locked in the account by burnside, i don't think we can sell them
[12:07]
[12:07] <+labcoin_dev> i need to ask the management, how would you like it proved?
[12:07]
[12:07]
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[12:07] <@San1ty_> labcoin_dev: Sorry to insist but when asked if you can prove you weren't vaporware, you mostly replied in terms of competitors and why they are. What about you?
[12:08] <+labcoin_dev> right, as said, we're on the same boat
[12:08] if Burnside can also comment on the locked shares that will definitely help
[12:08] <+labcoin_dev> time will tell and the sheer of technical details we have provided is not trivial
[12:08] <+labcoin_dev> it's very unlikely we are making everything up
[12:08] lol
[12:08] We can't just take your word for it
[12:08] <+labcoin_dev> right, as said, we're on the same boat
[12:08]
[12:08] <+labcoin_dev> time will tell and the sheer of technical details we have provided is not trivial
[12:08] <+labcoin_dev> it's very unlikely we are making everything up
[12:08]
[12:08]
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[12:09] 13. So if everything goes as planned - we'll see Labcoin start hashing in the first week of September? Can you please confirm?
[12:09] <+labcoin_dev> confirm, hashing with moderate speed and testing
[12:09] <+labcoin_dev> and within the end of the month, we'll have the full speed online
[12:09] as in TH deployment?
[12:09] <+labcoin_dev> well not 30-50 TH
[12:10] <+labcoin_dev> not sure what will be the yield of the test-run but it's in the thousands ICs
[12:10] that knowledge will be known as soon as you get the chips, correct?
[12:10] <@San1ty_> so how many TH's will be hashing in September?
[12:10] well I mean after the testing of course
[12:10] <+labcoin_dev> correct, also,next week we'll have the next batch going out
[12:10] <+labcoin_dev> out to fab*
[12:11] <+labcoin_dev> in september we may have a few TH
[12:11] <+labcoin_dev> i can't give exact figures, by the end of Sept, initial week of october we'll have the full speed online
[12:09] <+labcoin_dev> confirm, hashing with moderate speed and testing
[12:09] <+labcoin_dev> and within the end of the month, we'll have the full speed online
[12:09]
[12:09] <+labcoin_dev> well not 30-50 TH
[12:10] <+labcoin_dev> not sure what will be the yield of the test-run but it's in the thousands ICs
[12:10]
[12:10] <@San1ty_> so how many TH's will be hashing in September?
[12:10]
[12:10] <+labcoin_dev> correct, also,next week we'll have the next batch going out
[12:10] <+labcoin_dev> out to fab*
[12:11] <+labcoin_dev> in september we may have a few TH
[12:11] <+labcoin_dev> i can't give exact figures, by the end of Sept, initial week of october we'll have the full speed online
Quote
[12:13] <+labcoin_dev> theSeven is the same guy as the one in FPGA development, correct
[12:14] <+labcoin_dev> yes theSeven is working on a sophisticated interface for the 65nm version
[12:14] <+labcoin_dev> yes theSeven is working on a sophisticated interface for the 65nm version
Quote
[12:13] 6. How is it possible to create chips with a such much better performance than the competitors?
[12:14] <+labcoin_dev> ThickAsThieves, rolled cores instead of unrolled, sea-of-hashers approach
[12:15] <+labcoin_dev> as in sea-of-gates
[12:15] <+labcoin_dev> you can google this term and find out more about what it means technically
[12:14] <+labcoin_dev> ThickAsThieves, rolled cores instead of unrolled, sea-of-hashers approach
[12:15] <+labcoin_dev> as in sea-of-gates
[12:15] <+labcoin_dev> you can google this term and find out more about what it means technically
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[12:17] what are the chances that the chips won't work? can you guestimate?
[12:17] <+labcoin_dev> tucenaber there's a small chance that the chip won't work, but very very small
[12:18] <+labcoin_dev> it's much more common to get slightly underperforming chips rather than completely dead ones
[12:18] more like, some percentage will be defective?
[12:18] <+labcoin_dev> yes, and some percentage will underperform
[12:17] <+labcoin_dev> tucenaber there's a small chance that the chip won't work, but very very small
[12:18] <+labcoin_dev> it's much more common to get slightly underperforming chips rather than completely dead ones
[12:18]
[12:18] <+labcoin_dev> yes, and some percentage will underperform
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[12:20] labcoin_dev: so the chips are ready soon. how's the status of the boards?
[12:21] <+labcoin_dev> The boards are near their design completion and will be tested as soon as we have the chips
[12:21] <+labcoin_dev> we'll post pictures of the boards very soon
[12:21] <+labcoin_dev> The boards are near their design completion and will be tested as soon as we have the chips
[12:21] <+labcoin_dev> we'll post pictures of the boards very soon
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12:22] tricone developed sea of hashers idea for MMQ FPGA - is tricone involved?
[12:22] <+labcoin_dev> he's not
[12:22] <+labcoin_dev> he's not
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[12:22] <@San1ty_> labcoin_dev: How many boards do you have ready for testing when the chips arrive? How long will it take after testing to get all the board you need, set them up with chips and get them hashing?
[12:23] <+labcoin_dev> it will take about 7-10 days to get all the boards up and running probably
[12:23] <+labcoin_dev> and, for the first run, we have 500 boards on order,
[12:23] <+labcoin_dev> it will take about 7-10 days to get all the boards up and running probably
[12:23] <+labcoin_dev> and, for the first run, we have 500 boards on order,
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[12:23] labcoin_Dev: what tools do you use for simulation, debug and synthesis
[12:24] <+labcoin_dev> we use Mentor
[12:24] <+labcoin_dev> mostly, and its suite
[12:24] <+labcoin_dev> we use Mentor
[12:24] <+labcoin_dev> mostly, and its suite
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[12:23] <@San1ty_> labcoin_dev: Do you still depend on suppliers or do you have everything in stock?
[12:24] <+labcoin_dev> we still depend on suppliers but we're closing in the gap
[12:25] <+labcoin_dev> we'll be ordering components according to the volume needed to avoid bottlenecks
[12:24] <+labcoin_dev> we still depend on suppliers but we're closing in the gap
[12:25] <+labcoin_dev> we'll be ordering components according to the volume needed to avoid bottlenecks
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[12:24] labcoin_dev: what date was the tape-out?
[12:25] <+labcoin_dev> 24july first one
[12:25] <+labcoin_dev> 24july first one
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[12:25] where is the lab?Shenzhen or Hongkong? Can we have a chance to visit? When if not now?
[12:26] <+labcoin_dev> lab is located in SZ, at the university facility, we'll be moving shorty to another office
[12:26] <+labcoin_dev> we'll be inviting selected investors to visit our datacenter in september
[12:26] <+labcoin_dev> lab is located in SZ, at the university facility, we'll be moving shorty to another office
[12:26] <+labcoin_dev> we'll be inviting selected investors to visit our datacenter in september
Quote
[12:26] http://www.labcoin.com/presentation.html are these photos of the real where u r working in?
[12:26] <+labcoin_dev> yes,they are real
[12:26] <+labcoin_dev> it's the university i mentioned
[12:26] <+labcoin_dev> yes,they are real
[12:26] <+labcoin_dev> it's the university i mentioned
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[12:30] how long did it take for your team to finish the chip design?
[12:31] <+labcoin_dev> about 4 months of work totally
[12:31] <+labcoin_dev> about 4 months of work totally
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[12:31] I only have one question for labcoin staff, is there a projection or estimate for how many Bitcoins labcoin's mining effort can generate the first month factoring in the difficulty? Or is such a forecast impossible?
[12:33] <+labcoin_dev> generatorpop: it's kind of hard, but we estimate something like 5000-6000 bitcoin in october if the difficulty will be around 80 millions
[12:34] <+labcoin_dev> i'm going out on a limb, just an estimation, very rough
[12:33] <+labcoin_dev> generatorpop: it's kind of hard, but we estimate something like 5000-6000 bitcoin in october if the difficulty will be around 80 millions
[12:34] <+labcoin_dev> i'm going out on a limb, just an estimation, very rough
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[12:39] labcoin_dev: what is the biggest risk?
[12:40] <+labcoin_dev> delays in production and difficulty rising too much, but we don't expect these issues now
[12:41] are there any reasons to expect delays in production?
[12:42] what i mean is is there a significant risk?
[12:42] <+labcoin_dev> tucenaber : the risk is present but not significant, we are in Shenzhen and we know the market deeply
[12:40] <+labcoin_dev> delays in production and difficulty rising too much, but we don't expect these issues now
[12:41]
[12:42]
[12:42] <+labcoin_dev> tucenaber : the risk is present but not significant, we are in Shenzhen and we know the market deeply
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[12:43] Do you have a plan in place should something happen? Natural disaster/ etc
[12:43] Do you have another manufacturer as a contingency?
[12:44] <+labcoin_dev> yes, we have financial resources to move everything to another supplier, and we have a list of them
[12:43]
[12:44] <+labcoin_dev> yes, we have financial resources to move everything to another supplier, and we have a list of them
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[12:44] labcoin_dev: you mentioned 50 TH by end of Sept. - begin of Oct. Any further deployment plan following that?
[12:46] <+labcoin_dev> of course, after the first 50 TH we'll continue deploying more
[12:46] <+labcoin_dev> of course, after the first 50 TH we'll continue deploying more
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[12:49] how large is the labcoin team? how many engineers, management and staff?
[12:49] +1
[12:49] <+labcoin_dev> 6 people at the moment
[12:49] can you specify their rolls and expertise (of the ones we haven't heard about)
[12:49] roles
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev> Fabrizio Tatti
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev> - Founder and sole owner of iTec-pro Ltd
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev> - Brief CV : http://cn.linkedin.com/in/fabriziotatti
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev>
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev> Samuel Noi
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev> - Nominee Director of iTec-Pro Ltd and PR representative for Labcoin.
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev>
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev> Howard Wang
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev> - Team Leader at Research Institute of Tsinghua University in Shenzhen
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev> - Master's, Electronic Science and Technology Tsinghua University in Integrated Circuits & Systems
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev> - Bachelor's, Electronic and Information Engineering Beijing University Aeronautics and Astronautics
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev>
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev> Michael Sparmann (theSeven)
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev> - Bitcoin expert, contributor for Open-Source FPGA Bitcoin miner
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev> - Generalist software developer, touched most layers from electronics to web development
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev> - Background on low level software (down to the hardware interface, bare-metal software, operating systems, kernel, etc. )
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev>
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev> Daniel Larsson (TheSwede75)
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev> - Marketer, member of Bitcointalk, group-buy manager and bitcoin enthusiast. Acting as communications assistant with Labcoin.com in IPO and marketing.
[12:49]
[12:49] <+labcoin_dev> 6 people at the moment
[12:49]
[12:49]
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev> Fabrizio Tatti
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev> - Founder and sole owner of iTec-pro Ltd
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev> - Brief CV : http://cn.linkedin.com/in/fabriziotatti
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev>
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev> Samuel Noi
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev> - Nominee Director of iTec-Pro Ltd and PR representative for Labcoin.
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev>
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev> Howard Wang
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev> - Team Leader at Research Institute of Tsinghua University in Shenzhen
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev> - Master's, Electronic Science and Technology Tsinghua University in Integrated Circuits & Systems
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev> - Bachelor's, Electronic and Information Engineering Beijing University Aeronautics and Astronautics
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev>
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev> Michael Sparmann (theSeven)
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev> - Bitcoin expert, contributor for Open-Source FPGA Bitcoin miner
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev> - Generalist software developer, touched most layers from electronics to web development
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev> - Background on low level software (down to the hardware interface, bare-metal software, operating systems, kernel, etc. )
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev>
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev> Daniel Larsson (TheSwede75)
[12:51] <+labcoin_dev> - Marketer, member of Bitcointalk, group-buy manager and bitcoin enthusiast. Acting as communications assistant with Labcoin.com in IPO and marketing.
Quote
[12:50] <+labcoin_dev> i want to say once again, we're a large-scale mining operation, we will have power in the tunes of tens of TH within october, and we will be paying dividends
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[12:55] are you going to implement a way to allow overclocking the final units?
[12:55] <+labcoin_dev> dexX7 probably the clock generator will be an adjustable one
[12:55] <+labcoin_dev> dexX7 probably the clock generator will be an adjustable one
Quote
[12:55] Not technical no, but i want to ask, what was the last major hurdle in development, that Labcoin overcame?
[12:57] <+labcoin_dev> whyman9 : implementing the sea-of-gates approach and translating it to the physical layer, doing the place and route task
[12:58] <+labcoin_dev> whyman9 : next hurdle will be getting the boards to work, but seriously a minor hurdle
[12:57] <+labcoin_dev> whyman9 : implementing the sea-of-gates approach and translating it to the physical layer, doing the place and route task
[12:58] <+labcoin_dev> whyman9 : next hurdle will be getting the boards to work, but seriously a minor hurdle
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[12:58] labcoin_dev: just so I have it straight, test chips will be available to you guys in September?
[12:58] <+labcoin_dev> regarding the chips, before September we'll have test chips
[12:58] <+labcoin_dev> regarding the chips, before September we'll have test chips
Quote
[12:59] which foundry do you work with?
[13:00] <+labcoin_dev> we work with TMSC through SZICC
[13:00] <+labcoin_dev> we work with TMSC through SZICC
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[12:59] <+labcoin_dev> if there are delays, it will slide to September
[13:00] <+labcoin_dev> fab delays only
[13:01] <+labcoin_dev> well there would be a slight delay in finalizing the boards
[13:02] <+labcoin_dev> but we're definitely still on track for september/october even if there's a small delay with test chips
[13:00] <+labcoin_dev> fab delays only
[13:01] <+labcoin_dev> well there would be a slight delay in finalizing the boards
[13:02] <+labcoin_dev> but we're definitely still on track for september/october even if there's a small delay with test chips
Quote
[13:02] <+labcoin_dev> we actually think about setting up a laboratory to study 3D printed electronic circuits
[13:03] <+labcoin_dev> we're focusing on this area of research lately
[13:03] will this be done under labcoin or other entity the "shareholders" aren't part of?
[13:03] <+labcoin_dev> this shall be decided
[13:03] <+labcoin_dev> i don't know about this, and i'm only an employee as said
[13:03] <+labcoin_dev> this is a question for management
[13:03] <+labcoin_dev> we're focusing on this area of research lately
[13:03]
[13:03] <+labcoin_dev> this shall be decided
[13:03] <+labcoin_dev> i don't know about this, and i'm only an employee as said
[13:03] <+labcoin_dev> this is a question for management
Quote
[13:04] Can we get a management Q&A as well?
[13:04] we're getting it
[13:05] <+labcoin_dev> of course, probably tomorrow the founder will be online
[13:04]
[13:05] <+labcoin_dev> of course, probably tomorrow the founder will be online
Quote
[13:05] perhaps not technical, but how will you choose between selling chips vs mining yourself?
[13:06] <+labcoin_dev> according to how fast the difficulty is rising, number of competitors, specs of competing products
[13:06] <+labcoin_dev> we'll conduct an evaluation of the expected revenues with both business models
[13:07] <+labcoin_dev> taking into account bitcoin price possibility to rise a lot, we may choose as well to do both in the worst case
[13:06] <+labcoin_dev> according to how fast the difficulty is rising, number of competitors, specs of competing products
[13:06] <+labcoin_dev> we'll conduct an evaluation of the expected revenues with both business models
[13:07] <+labcoin_dev> taking into account bitcoin price possibility to rise a lot, we may choose as well to do both in the worst case
EDIT (1pm EST): Well I've got some work to do, so I won't be monitoring the IRC any longer. But I'm sure TAT will keep everyone updated in his post below.
August 08, 2013, 11:49:41 AM
Labcoin also has a 65nm chip in the works.
Yeah, but who knows what happens to the difficulty by January when one or all of Cointerra, HashFast and KnC have their chips available without pre-orders. Trying to plan more then 3mo ahead is a bad idea at this point, IMO.
That's going to have the same effect on ICEDRILL though, only ICEDRILL don't have an improved ASIC using a smaller process in their plans.
iCEDRiLL already has a state-of-the art 28nm chip taping out.
You are not under NDA, so their roadmap is none of your business.
Lafcoin's tech is so obsolete they can upgrade from vacuum tubes to transistors and call it "an improved ASIC using a smaller process."
I would argue that it's simply different approaches. 28 nm (IF well developed and optimized) can absolutely be a fantastic idea. However, there is absolutely nothing that implies that 28 nm is 'better' for profitability by default. High NRE costs and longer time to market can very well cause cutting-edge tech to be a far more risky proposition (BFL anyone?). With 20% diff increases every 2 weeks, a delay of only 2 months can absolutely destroy profitability of miners.
I hope iCEDRILL does well and wish them all the luck, but I also don't see a reason that lower density would not be profitable in the short/medium term. Ask Avalong Batch #1 customers if they wish they had rather ordered Minirigs from BFL..
August 08, 2013, 11:26:00 AM
Labcoin also has a 65nm chip in the works.
Yeah, but who knows what happens to the difficulty by January when one or all of Cointerra, HashFast and KnC have their chips available without pre-orders. Trying to plan more then 3mo ahead is a bad idea at this point, IMO.
That's going to have the same effect on ICEDRILL though, only ICEDRILL don't have an improved ASIC using a smaller process in their plans.
iCEDRiLL already has a state-of-the art 28nm chip taping out.
You are not under NDA, so their roadmap is none of your business.
Lafcoin's tech is so obsolete they can upgrade from vacuum tubes to transistors and call it "an improved ASIC using a smaller process."
August 08, 2013, 11:23:44 AM
UPDATE:
The developers are now open for live Q/A on IRC irc.freenode.org - #labcoin
Labcoin is still waiting for the Bitcointalk accounts to be whitelisted. Unfortunately I will be traveling today and have very limited Internet access for a few hours, so if someone from this thread would like to transcribe the Q/A for the forum I would be very grateful.
The Founder and the Developers WILL hold Q/A sessions and answer questions here on the forum as soon as their accounts are white-listed.
The developers are now open for live Q/A on IRC irc.freenode.org - #labcoin
Labcoin is still waiting for the Bitcointalk accounts to be whitelisted. Unfortunately I will be traveling today and have very limited Internet access for a few hours, so if someone from this thread would like to transcribe the Q/A for the forum I would be very grateful.
The Founder and the Developers WILL hold Q/A sessions and answer questions here on the forum as soon as their accounts are white-listed.
August 08, 2013, 11:11:59 AM
UPDATE:
After just talking to Sam Noi I can now reveal that the Project founder Fabrizio Tatti and one of the chip developers will be available on the forum shortly (later tonight or possibly in the morning) to answer questions reg. Design, status, Gen 1 chips etc.
This should give investors plenty of opportunity to ask questions and also stay up to date with the development.
After just talking to Sam Noi I can now reveal that the Project founder Fabrizio Tatti and one of the chip developers will be available on the forum shortly (later tonight or possibly in the morning) to answer questions reg. Design, status, Gen 1 chips etc.
This should give investors plenty of opportunity to ask questions and also stay up to date with the development.
waiting
waiting
waiting
waiting
Waiting
August 08, 2013, 11:05:32 AM
This is getting sketchy...
August 08, 2013, 11:04:48 AM
Waiting~
August 08, 2013, 11:02:50 AM
waiting
August 08, 2013, 07:40:50 AM
Its only 550 BTC 'til ActM is worth .008
500 until BTCGarden is .002
They're all pretty similar... thin book
500 until BTCGarden is .002
They're all pretty similar... thin book
Part of the reason they are thinly traded is that some significant percentage of those that bought in at either of the IPOs are now going to sit on their hands and wait a few months to see if the companies deliver.
Everyone (investors and issuers) are chasing after the gold standard - AM. Anyone that sold out in the first 3 months after that IPO regretted it later and thus we wait until they have products to sell or mine with. It takes milestones (or missed milestones) for stock prices to actually move. Most investors are just sitting and waiting...
Oh, you mean like
UPDATE:
After just talking to Sam Noi I can now reveal that the Project founder Fabrizio Tatti and one of the chip developers will be available on the forum shortly (later tonight or possibly in the morning) to answer questions reg. Design, status, Gen 1 chips etc.
This should give investors plenty of opportunity to ask questions and also stay up to date with the development.
After just talking to Sam Noi I can now reveal that the Project founder Fabrizio Tatti and one of the chip developers will be available on the forum shortly (later tonight or possibly in the morning) to answer questions reg. Design, status, Gen 1 chips etc.
This should give investors plenty of opportunity to ask questions and also stay up to date with the development.
waiting
waiting
waiting
waiting
Waiting
August 08, 2013, 07:39:37 AM
Its only 550 BTC 'til ActM is worth .008
500 until BTCGarden is .002
They're all pretty similar... thin book
500 until BTCGarden is .002
They're all pretty similar... thin book
Part of the reason they are thinly traded is that some significant percentage of those that bought in at either of the IPOs are now going to sit on their hands and wait a few months to see if the companies deliver.
Everyone (investors and issuers) are chasing after the gold standard - AM. Anyone that sold out in the first 3 months after that IPO regretted it later and thus we wait until they have products to sell or mine with. It takes milestones (or missed milestones) for stock prices to actually move. Most investors are just sitting and waiting...
August 08, 2013, 07:09:59 AM
UPDATE:
After just talking to Sam Noi I can now reveal that the Project founder Fabrizio Tatti and one of the chip developers will be available on the forum shortly (later tonight or possibly in the morning) to answer questions reg. Design, status, Gen 1 chips etc.
This should give investors plenty of opportunity to ask questions and also stay up to date with the development.
After just talking to Sam Noi I can now reveal that the Project founder Fabrizio Tatti and one of the chip developers will be available on the forum shortly (later tonight or possibly in the morning) to answer questions reg. Design, status, Gen 1 chips etc.
This should give investors plenty of opportunity to ask questions and also stay up to date with the development.
waiting
waiting
waiting
waiting
August 08, 2013, 07:08:56 AM
UPDATE:
After just talking to Sam Noi I can now reveal that the Project founder Fabrizio Tatti and one of the chip developers will be available on the forum shortly (later tonight or possibly in the morning) to answer questions reg. Design, status, Gen 1 chips etc.
This should give investors plenty of opportunity to ask questions and also stay up to date with the development.
After just talking to Sam Noi I can now reveal that the Project founder Fabrizio Tatti and one of the chip developers will be available on the forum shortly (later tonight or possibly in the morning) to answer questions reg. Design, status, Gen 1 chips etc.
This should give investors plenty of opportunity to ask questions and also stay up to date with the development.
waiting
waiting
waiting
August 08, 2013, 07:08:01 AM
UPDATE:
I will leave details of project plan/development up to Fabrizio, Mr Sparmann and Zhenhua (Founder and developers) but the time-frame as communicated by Sam is for Labcoin to start deployment first week of September and reach a delivered hash rate of minimum 50TH by October. This number could possibly go up significantly when we start accepting third party chip orders since 50TH is capacity that can be financed paralell with Gen 2 development using available IPO funds.
Details on Chip resales, Miner production and hash-farm building will be communicated within the next few days.
I will leave details of project plan/development up to Fabrizio, Mr Sparmann and Zhenhua (Founder and developers) but the time-frame as communicated by Sam is for Labcoin to start deployment first week of September and reach a delivered hash rate of minimum 50TH by October. This number could possibly go up significantly when we start accepting third party chip orders since 50TH is capacity that can be financed paralell with Gen 2 development using available IPO funds.
Details on Chip resales, Miner production and hash-farm building will be communicated within the next few days.
waiting
August 08, 2013, 07:04:54 AM
UPDATE:
After just talking to Sam Noi I can now reveal that the Project founder Fabrizio Tatti and one of the chip developers will be available on the forum shortly (later tonight or possibly in the morning) to answer questions reg. Design, status, Gen 1 chips etc.
This should give investors plenty of opportunity to ask questions and also stay up to date with the development.
After just talking to Sam Noi I can now reveal that the Project founder Fabrizio Tatti and one of the chip developers will be available on the forum shortly (later tonight or possibly in the morning) to answer questions reg. Design, status, Gen 1 chips etc.
This should give investors plenty of opportunity to ask questions and also stay up to date with the development.
waiting
waiting
August 08, 2013, 12:15:27 AM
Its only 550 BTC 'til ActM is worth .008
500 until BTCGarden is .002
They're all pretty similar... thin book
500 until BTCGarden is .002
They're all pretty similar... thin book
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