Abstract: The rapid proliferation of large language models and agentic AI-driven applications continue to fuel an unprecedented demand for compute across datacenters and edge systems alike. The deceleration of CMOS scaling—yielding diminishing improvements in power, performance, area, and cost (PPAC) from node to node—and the escalating costs of new designs and wafer manufacturing, present a dual challenge for compute ecosystem. Addressing these constraints requires rethinking the problem from a tops-down, system-level perspective, where new approaches beyond traditional scaling may be required. This talk will explore key bottlenecks limiting compute system performance: compute density, power delivery and efficiency, thermal management, and memory capacity and bandwidth. It will highlight emerging technology strategies to overcome these barriers – continued dimensional scaling, novel device architectures, new materials and innovative integration schemes using advanced interconnect technologies. Introduction of these options will need deeper understanding of failure modes with new reliability considerations. This will also require fresh approaches to failure modelling and system robustness to ensure sustained performance throughout the operational lifetime.