Next week I will be at DVCON which is not to be confused with DEFCON the community of black and white hat hackers that challenge our online privacy on a daily basis. DVCON is the premier conference for the functional design and verification of our beloved electronic devices. The big draw next week of course is the keynote by Dr. Walden… Read More
Author: Daniel Nenni
Apple Google FaceBook and Person of Interest!
Apple, Google, and FaceBook are making significant investments in artificial intelligence (deep learning) and other advertising (snooping) enabling technology to better serve (exploit) their customers (us) and make trillions of dollars for their offshore accounts. This reminds me (in a very creepy way) of the TV series “Person… Read More
FinFET For Next-Gen Mobile and High-Performance Computing!
Evolving opportunities call for new and improved solutions to handle data, bandwidth and power. Moving forward, what will be the high-growth applications that drive product and technology innovation? The CAGRs for smartphone and data center continue to be very strong and healthy. … Read More
To EUV, or not to EUV, that is the question!
SPIE is next week so if you would like to meet me in person that is where I will be. SPIE is the big lithography and patterning conference for semiconductor professionals. Since I work with the foundries during my day job, SPIE is an important conference. SemiWiki blogger Scott Jones will also be there. During the day Scott does semiconductor… Read More
ARM POPs Another One!
ARM announced a new POP deal with UMC 28nm last week. POP stands for Processor Optimized Package meaning physical IP libraries (logic and memory) are customized for ARM processor cores and mainstream EDA tools creating a platform for optimized chip design. POP is a much bigger deal than most people realize so let’s get into a little… Read More
The Next Wave of Semiconductor Companies!
As we all know, venture capital has all but disappeared for semiconductor companies. Do semiconductor startups still exist and where do they come from? I ask these questions quite frequently but bloggable answers are hard to come by. When I asked Mike Gianfagna of eSilicon during ISSCC he reminded me of an old new source of emerging… Read More
2016 Samsung Foundry Update!
When sketching out the chapters for our book “Mobile UnLeashed” we sought out the events and technology that empowered the mobile devices that literally changed our world. One of the companies that enabled this change of course is Samsung. Cleverly embedded in chapter 8 “To Seoul, via Austin” is the story of how Samsung got into … Read More
The Best Analyst Presentation at SEMI ISS 2016!
The problem I have with semiconductor analysts and media today is that they rarely have depth in what they are talking about. Some because they have never actually worked in the industry and others because they have not worked in the industry since the 1970s. One famed analyst even repeated the mythical “Fabs cost $10B” generalization… Read More
Synopsys on the Future of Custom Layout!
Analog and mixed signal design has received more than their fair share of attention since the mobile revolution and now that FinFETs are in production at the foundries I see that trend continuing. As a result this year there are some interesting things brewing in EDA, especially in the area of Custom Layout.
Innovation in Custom … Read More
Intel to Focus on IoT and NOT Mobile?
The Intel Q4 investor call was last week and as Brian Krzanich approaches his 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] year as Intel CEO a new synergistic corporate strategy is emerging:
That strategy is also resulting in the evolution of our business model to focus on three key areas of growth: The Data Center, the Internet of Things, and Memory.
DCG, IoTG… Read More
Selling the Forges of the Future: U.S. Report Exposes China’s Reliance on Western Chip Tools