Our Own Cadence Amongst the Best Multinational Workplaces!

Our Own Cadence Amongst the Best Multinational Workplaces!
by Daniel Nenni on 10-15-2015 at 12:00 pm

There were some very happy faces around MemCon this week for a variety of reasons. Paul McLellan was smiling because he now works full time for Cadence and has the best medical benefits ever and of course I was smiling because there was free food! … Read More


3 Self-Service Semiconductor Design and Manufacturing Wins!

3 Self-Service Semiconductor Design and Manufacturing Wins!
by Daniel Nenni on 10-12-2015 at 12:00 pm

As the semiconductor consolidation continues and thousands of semiconductor professionals update their LinkedIn profiles, the march to create new silicon opportunities is increasing at a rapid pace. It is 1980s deja vu all over again when the fabless business model reenergized the semiconductor industry and brought affordable… Read More


Dinner with the Man who is Reshaping the Semiconductor Industry!

Dinner with the Man who is Reshaping the Semiconductor Industry!
by Daniel Nenni on 10-07-2015 at 4:00 pm

The recent mega acquisition of Broadcom Corp by Avago can be traced all the way back to Silicon Valley stalwart Hewlett Packard (founded in a two car Palo Alto garage in 1939). Even more interesting is the man behind the acquisition and how he got to where he is today.Avago began as the semiconductor products division of HP in 1961, … Read More


Xilinx Beats Altera to the First FinFET FPGA!

Xilinx Beats Altera to the First FinFET FPGA!
by Daniel Nenni on 09-30-2015 at 10:00 pm

Why do I stalk the FPGA industry? Well, FPGAs are an important part of the fabless semiconductor ecosystem for two reasons: 1.) They enable very cost effective design starts which are the life’s blood of the semiconductor industry and 2.) FPGA prototyping allows designers to verify their designs before committing to silicon and… Read More


Prototyping the Future of Semiconductors!

Prototyping the Future of Semiconductors!
by Daniel Nenni on 09-28-2015 at 12:00 pm

With major semiconductor mergers and acquisitions running rampant in 2015 (more than double the M&A activity in 2014), the question is where will we go from here? There are many different ways to slice this but for this blog let’s talk about the thousands of semiconductor professionals that will be changing jobs as a result … Read More


5 uses of Bluetooth Smart Technology that you didn’t know!

5 uses of Bluetooth Smart Technology that you didn’t know!
by Daniel Nenni on 09-26-2015 at 7:00 am

Ever wondered why they named the most universal wireless technology Bluetooth? Apparently it was named after a 10[SUP]th[/SUP] century Danish King named Harald Blåtand whose nickname was Bluetooth because one of his teeth was blue. King Bluetooth’s claim to fame is that he helped peacefully unite Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.… Read More


IoT does NOT lack tools!

IoT does NOT lack tools!
by Daniel Nenni on 09-16-2015 at 4:00 pm

Rarely does a month go by without acquisitions in the fabless semiconductor ecosystem. Not surprisingly one of the most read pages on SemiWiki is the EDA Merger and Acquisitions Wiki with more than fifty seven thousand views. It really is a nice family tree, one which we (Daniel Payne) are diligent on keeping current. One of the most… Read More


Apple’s Butterfly Effect?

Apple’s Butterfly Effect?
by Daniel Nenni on 09-13-2015 at 7:00 am

The Butterfly Effect (chaos theory) describes how small changes to complex systems can result in large unforeseen consequences over time. The Apple Effect describes how a once struggling computer company completely disrupted a dozen different industries including semiconductors. Apple is now the largest and most influential… Read More


A Brief History of Apple Mobile and SoCs

A Brief History of Apple Mobile and SoCs
by Daniel Nenni on 09-09-2015 at 2:30 pm

The big Apple iProduct announcement was today so I thought it would be a good time to premier a draft of the Apple chapter in our upcoming book. Try as I might I was unable to get one of the 7,000 tickets to the live event (it was like getting a Willy Wonka golden ticket!) so I live streamed it from my iPhone like millions of other people. It… Read More


Congratulations Dr. Walden C. Rhines!

Congratulations Dr. Walden C. Rhines!
by Daniel Nenni on 09-08-2015 at 1:00 pm

A funny thing happened at the Design Automation Conference last June in San Francisco. I was browsing the Kaufman award winner mug shots in the EDAC booth and noticed that Wally Rhines was NOT a winner. You can see them HERE. Immediately in disbelief I said to myself: Self, how can this be? Joe Costello, Aart de Geus, and some other guys… Read More