Vacationing with the Fabless Semiconductor Ecosystem!

Vacationing with the Fabless Semiconductor Ecosystem!
by Daniel Nenni on 06-05-2015 at 4:00 pm

The Design Automation Conference is the largest and most diverse event in the fabless semiconductor ecosystem. Next week in San Francisco you will see technology and people you have never seen before. You will benefit from the efforts of hundreds of thousands of semiconductor professionals like myself who have dedicated their… Read More


MIPI Beyond Mobile, Semiwiki Blogger Paper at #52DAC!

MIPI Beyond Mobile, Semiwiki Blogger Paper at #52DAC!
by Daniel Nenni on 06-03-2015 at 10:00 am

IoT or wearable: it’s fascinating to see how many articles, blogs, and comments have been posted about them during the last two years! IoT business potential is huge as are the number of possible applications. If we summarize the functions within a wearable system we can count:

[LIST=1]

  • CPU: it can be a standard Microcontroller
  • Read More

    Semiconductor Acquisitions will Fuel Innovation!

    Semiconductor Acquisitions will Fuel Innovation!
    by Daniel Nenni on 05-30-2015 at 7:00 am

    Has the semiconductor world gone acquisition crazy? It certainly seems that way with the more than $60B in M&A activity which may now include Altera. We are probably getting close to the 80/20 rule where 80% of the semiconductor revenue is being generated by 20% of the companies. Not far off from where we were at 25 years ago when… Read More


    Why does Apple do business with Samsung?

    Why does Apple do business with Samsung?
    by Daniel Nenni on 05-26-2015 at 10:00 pm

    The Apple and Samsung relationship is an interesting one. On one hand they have co-developed some of the most innovative products on the market today (iPod, iPhone, iPad, iWatch) yet they are fierce competitors in the mobile market. Some call this type of business relationship “frenemies” others refer to the old Italian proverb… Read More


    How Good is Your DRC Deck?

    How Good is Your DRC Deck?
    by Daniel Nenni on 05-24-2015 at 4:30 pm

    Design Rule Check (DRC) is the #1 foundry sign-off check. Fabless companies receive the DRC deck from the foundry; it’s a file comprising thousands of commands in a proprietary checker language for a specific DRC tool. In advanced technologies such a deck executes tens of thousands of geometric operations on the physical… Read More


    Samsung Foundry Debuts 10nm Wafer!

    Samsung Foundry Debuts 10nm Wafer!
    by Daniel Nenni on 05-22-2015 at 1:00 pm

    The Samsung Smart, Connected Lifestyle event was last night at the Bently Reserve in San Francisco. Getting into San Francisco was no picnic with all of the roadwork and new building construction. We even saw people drive up on the sidewalk to get around car clogs. It really was crazy but definitely worth it after seeing the first … Read More


    Realize the Genius of Your Design!

    Realize the Genius of Your Design!
    by Daniel Nenni on 05-21-2015 at 1:00 pm

    I think we can all agree that no matter what you are designing, FPGA prototyping can help. The challenge is getting the most out of the leading edge FPGA prototyping solutions and that requires a detailed understanding of how this technology works and what FPGA prototyping solutions match your design and verification requirements.… Read More


    Custom IC Panel: Winning the Custom IC Design Race!

    Custom IC Panel: Winning the Custom IC Design Race!
    by Daniel Nenni on 05-19-2015 at 12:00 pm

    Back in the day, EDA companies enabled the foundries. Seriously, those pesky little foundries chased us EDA companies around like puppies who needed a walk. Now, emerging EDA and IP companies are the puppies and we chase the foundries. Solido Design Automation is one of the hardest working puppies that I have ever helped with strategic… Read More


    ClioSoft Celebrates 2014 with 30% Revenue Growth!

    ClioSoft Celebrates 2014 with 30% Revenue Growth!
    by Daniel Nenni on 05-18-2015 at 1:00 am

    One of the first companies we worked with when SemiWiki went live in 2011 was ClioSoft. They had a problem with a competitor spreading misinformation which is certainly not unheard of in EDA. When a company cannot compete technically sometimes they resort to dirty tricks or legal distractions. The first ClioSoft article we published… Read More


    Samsung Foundry Update!

    Samsung Foundry Update!
    by Daniel Nenni on 05-13-2015 at 11:00 pm

    It is hard to believe that Samsung is celebrating their 10[SUP]th[/SUP] anniversary in the foundry business this year. It certainly has not been an easy road but as of late you cannot argue with the results. Samsung is the first foundry to put 14nm silicon into smart phones, beating the #1 semiconductor company (Intel) and the #1 … Read More