Traditionally, EDA has been a brute force methodology where we buy more software licenses and more CPUs and keep running endless jobs to keep up with the increasing design and process complexities. SPICE simulation for example; when I meet chip designers (which I do quite frequently) I ask them how many simulations they do for a … Read More
Author: Daniel Nenni
CEO Interview: Jim Gobes of Intrinsix
Experience gives us the ability to make better decisions and in a fast moving industry like semiconductors, experience is critical. As chips get more integrated and complex the number of design decisions that must be made increases at a dramatic rate. Process technologies for example, never in the history of semiconductors have… Read More
Introduction to Semiconductor Processing
We introduced you to Semitracks last week with an interview of their CEO, Chris Henderson. This week, we thought it might be worthwhile to continue that introduction with an overview of one of their more popular online and in-houses courses:
Introduction to Semiconductor Processing.
One of the big challenges in our industry for… Read More
Is an ASIC Right for Your Next IoT Product?
According to a recent study by ARM, more than one trillion IoT devices will be built between 2017 and 2035. Based on research for an upcoming book on IoT devices and looking at SemiWiki IoT analytics I find that number to be reasonable, in fact, easily attainable. Even more interesting, the market for IoT devices and related services… Read More
Augmented Reality Broke My iPhone!
As a semiconductor professional I am always looking for the “next big thing” that will spur growth in our industry. Mobile, IoT, Automotive, and AI are the current leaders we closely track on SemiWiki.com. Last year I delved into augmented reality via the Pokemon Go game and after a solid year of research (yes I finished the game) … Read More
AI ASICs Exposed!
Artificial intelligence, or AI is really heating up these days. The technology has been around for decades, but of late it is becoming quite a focus for applications such as data center analytics, autonomous vehicles and augmented reality. Why the rebirth? The trend appears to be driven by two forces – availability of data to train… Read More
CEO Interview: Chris Henderson of Semitracks
In looking at the SemiWiki analytics over the last six years it is clear that the average age of our readers is trending down. (Yes, Google knows how old we are). The 25-35 age group now represents our largest readership and that is supported by the conferences I have attended recently. At the Design Automation Conference last month… Read More
The Transformation of Silvaco!
Founded in 1984, Silvaco is now the largest privately held EDA company with a rich history including a recent transformation that is worth a blog if not a book. Coincidently, I started my career in Silicon Valley in 1984 and have had many dealings with Silvaco over the years including a personal relationship with Silvaco founder … Read More
Custom SoCs for IoT Revolution!
There are two interesting transformations that are currently taking place inside the semiconductor industry: First, systems companies (not chip companies) are now driving the semiconductor industry. Second, IoT focused chips are accelerating design starts. The result is what I would call the Custom SoCs for IoT Revolution!… Read More
Open Source Hardware: Chiplicity.io
What’s new with eFabless? Let’s check in with CEO Michael Wishart (MSW) and CTO Mohamed Kassem CTO (MKK):… Read More








Intel to Compete with Broadcom and Marvell in the Lucrative ASIC Business