It’s no secret that I have been a big fan of GLOBALFOUNDRIES since they came about in March of 2009. We even included them in our first book “Fabless: The Transformation of the Semiconductor Industry” right next to TSMC. I am also a big fan of pivoting which is the term we use here in Silicon Valley to describe some of the most innovative… Read More
Author: Daniel Nenni
Semiconductors Become a Worldwide Business
This is the twelfth in the series of “20 Questions with Wally Rhines”
Among the companies that bought a license from AT&T to produce the transistor was Sony. While the U.S. maintained its lead in technology, other countries like Japan emerged as competitors. Semiconductor manufacturing was both labor intensive… Read More
TSMC GlobalFoundries and Samsung Updates from 55DAC
One of my favorite traditions at the Design Automation Conference is the Synopsys foundry events (the videos are now available). I learned a long time ago that the foundries are the foundation of the fabless semiconductor ecosystem and your relationships with the foundries can make or break you, absolutely. I also appreciate … Read More
Measuring Up 7nm IP
The Linley Group is an industry-leading source for independent technology analysis of semiconductors for networking, communications, mobile, and data-center applications. Their Microprocessor Report is widely read as a source of un-biased, no-nonsense analysis of technologies and trends. So, when they dig into something… Read More
Why Do Brilliant People Like to Work Together?
This is the eleventh in the series of “20 Questions with Wally Rhines”
In high technology, there are numerous instances of highly productive groups coming together and generating game-changing ideas and products. This happened at Shockley Semiconductor in the 1960s when Gordon Moore, Bob Noyce, Jean Hoerni and… Read More
eSilicon and SiFive partner for Next-Generation SerDes IP
While writing “Mobile Unleashed: The Origin and Evolution of ARM Processors In Our Devices” it was very clear to me that ARM was an IP phenomenon that I did not believe would ever be repeated. Clearly I was wrong as we now have RISC-V with an incredible adoption rate, a full fledged ecosystem, and top tier implementers… Read More
Desperation Drives Inspiration
This is the tenth in the series of “20 Questions with Wally Rhines”
1978 was a bad year for TI. In April, Intel announced the 8086 followed by disclosures of 16-bit microprocessors from Motorola, the 68000, and Zilog, the Z8000. TI had tried to leapfrog the microprocessor business by introducing the TMS 9900 16-bit … Read More
Synopsys Offers First Single-Vendor Comprehensive Photonic IC Design Flow
Synopsys has a long history of being a thought leader and it’s not surprising to see the company jumping into the forefront of new technologies. For decades, I’ve been steeped in electronic IC design and it caught me by surprise to find that Synopsys had been quietly working on filling out their portfolio in the optical design solutions… Read More
Speak N Spell
This is the ninth in the series of “20 Questions with Wally Rhines”
Success has many authors and the Speak & Spell product from Texas Instruments generated lots of write-ups to demonstrate this. For most of the semiconductor industry, results of innovation were not apparent to the masses but, for the consumer … Read More
Deep learning fueling the AI revolution with Interlaken IP Subsystem
AI is revolutionizing and transforming virtually every industry in the digital world. Advances in computing power and deep learning have enabled AI to reach a tipping point toward major disruption and rapid advancement. However, these applications require much higher performance and bandwidth requiring new kinds of IP and… Read More










Is Intel About to Take Flight?