TSMC Finishes 2014 with the Chairman on the Call!

TSMC Finishes 2014 with the Chairman on the Call!
by Daniel Nenni on 01-15-2015 at 9:30 pm

I’m not a financial guy, as I have mentioned before, so let me just make some comments on the technology discussed on today’s conference call. Please note that the Chairman Dr. Morris Chang was on the call which is probably why the TSM stock went up more than 8% immediately after. Of course there was plenty of good news to go along with… Read More


Which Foundry will be First to FinFET?

Which Foundry will be First to FinFET?
by Daniel Nenni on 01-14-2015 at 8:00 pm

The final session of the SEMI Industry Strategy Symposium (The CxO Panel) was the most interesting for me because executives from three of the four most influential semiconductor companies were on the panel: Dr. Goeff Yeap of Qualcomm, Dr. Jack Sun from TSMC, and Mr. Mark Bohr of Intel. Who is fourth you ask? That would be Apple of … Read More


The Dynamics of the China Semiconductor Industry

The Dynamics of the China Semiconductor Industry
by Daniel Nenni on 01-14-2015 at 7:00 am

Paul McClellan and I are at the SEMI Industry Strategy Symposium this week in Half Moon Bay. Honestly there is too much to blog about here so I will have to pick the topics most interesting to me. The full capacity audience is also impressive. SEMI provides a list of attendees on their website which reads like “Who’s Who” of the semiconductor… Read More


Semiconductor Design: Chips to Systems!

Semiconductor Design: Chips to Systems!
by Daniel Nenni on 01-12-2015 at 8:00 pm

This is the 20[SUP]th[/SUP] year of DesignCon and I’m really looking forward to it. While I haven’t attended all 20 I certainly have attended the majority of them. Now it is like a college reunion for me seeing all sorts of friends and former coworkers. One of them is even a keynote but more on that later. This year there are 14 conference… Read More


Intel’s Diversity Goals Explained!

Intel’s Diversity Goals Explained!
by Daniel Nenni on 01-10-2015 at 9:00 pm

One of the more interesting announcements by Intel at CES was surprisingly not about technology, it was about a $300M Investing in Diversity and Inclusion initiative. According to Intel CEO Brian Krzanich “A fully diverse and inclusive workplace is fundamental to our ability to innovate and deliver business results.” After … Read More


Intel: 2015 and Beyond?

Intel: 2015 and Beyond?
by Daniel Nenni on 01-06-2015 at 7:00 am

Russ Fischer of Seeking Alpha fame just posted another article on Intel which, for a change, I agree wholeheartedly with except of course the part where he comments on the fabless semiconductor ecosystem, something he knows nothing about. But other than that it is definitely worth a read because as investments go Intel is certainly… Read More


Update: Who will manufacture the Apple A9?

Update: Who will manufacture the Apple A9?
by Daniel Nenni on 01-04-2015 at 12:00 am

Last August I presented possible scenarios for the manufacturing of the Apple A9 processor. Quite a bit has changed since then so I think it is worth revisiting. There has also been quite a lot of misinformation in the press which is now pretty much a daily thing. Attending the IEDM conference last month really was a stark difference… Read More


GlobalFoundries did NOT Pull the Emergency Brake!

GlobalFoundries did NOT Pull the Emergency Brake!
by Daniel Nenni on 12-31-2014 at 10:00 am

Barron’s again published an unsubstantiated semicondutor rumor that is making the rounds. It all started with a Christmas day blog by Robert Maire who is a long time semiconductor analyst. Please note that he is not a semiconductor professional (someone who actually works in the industry) but he certainly does know people who … Read More


Top Ten Semiconductor CEOs in 2014!

Top Ten Semiconductor CEOs in 2014!
by Daniel Nenni on 12-29-2014 at 7:00 am

Since my blog about the Intel CEOs went over so well (sarcasm) I thought I should write more about semiconductor chief executive officers. This list comes from David Manners of Electronics Weekly who, unlike me, is a real journalist. Using David’s list as a starting point I will add more candidates at the end and please add yours in… Read More


Fabless Semiconductor Milestones of 2014!

Fabless Semiconductor Milestones of 2014!
by Daniel Nenni on 12-28-2014 at 9:00 am

After working in the semiconductor industry for the past thirty years and writing about it for the past six I would say that 2014 was one of the more interesting years of late. Vindication is the word that pops into my mind now that many “predictions” the fabless detractors have made over the last three years were proven wrong.

As a student… Read More