The Ever-Changing ASIC Business

The Ever-Changing ASIC Business
by Daniel Nenni on 09-04-2018 at 7:00 am

The cell-based ASIC business that we know today was born in the early 1980s and was pioneered by companies like LSI Logic and VLSI Technology. Some of this history is covered in Chapter 2 of our book, “Fabless: The Transformation of the Semiconductor Industry”. The ASIC business truly changed the world. Prior to this revolution,… Read More


The Importance of Daughter Cards in FPGA Prototyping

The Importance of Daughter Cards in FPGA Prototyping
by Daniel Nenni on 09-03-2018 at 7:00 am

FPGA Prototyping started with the advent of FPGAs in the 1980s and today it is a fast growing market segment due to increasing chip and IP complexities up against tightening windows of opportunities. Getting your design verified quickly and allowing hardware and software engineers the opportunity to develop, test, and optimize… Read More


Apps Before there were Apps

Apps Before there were Apps
by Daniel Nenni on 08-31-2018 at 7:00 am

This is the thirteenth in the series of “20 Questions with Wally Rhines”

My development of a calculator program to determine the Black Scholes value for an option was not the only application that attracted financial people to programmable calculators. As the SR-52, and later TI 59, grew in popularity, and took market… Read More


GLOBALFOUNDRIES Pivoting away from Bleeding Edge Technologies

GLOBALFOUNDRIES Pivoting away from Bleeding Edge Technologies
by Daniel Nenni on 08-27-2018 at 3:00 pm

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


Semiconductors Become a Worldwide Business

Semiconductors Become a Worldwide Business
by Daniel Nenni on 08-24-2018 at 7:00 am

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

TSMC GlobalFoundries and Samsung Updates from 55DAC
by Daniel Nenni on 08-20-2018 at 7:00 am

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

Measuring Up 7nm IP
by Daniel Nenni on 08-17-2018 at 12:00 pm

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?

Why Do Brilliant People Like to Work Together?
by Daniel Nenni on 08-17-2018 at 7:00 am

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

eSilicon and SiFive partner for Next-Generation SerDes IP
by Daniel Nenni on 08-10-2018 at 12:00 pm

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

Desperation Drives Inspiration
by Daniel Nenni on 08-10-2018 at 7:00 am

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