The New Intel CEO

The New Intel CEO
by Daniel Nenni on 01-17-2019 at 7:00 am

Interestingly, in some circles I’m known as an “Intel basher” but nothing could be further from the truth. I grew up with Intel and give them full credit for bringing serious compute power to our desktops. My first Intel powered computer was an IBM XT and I have had dozens of Intel based desktops and laptops since then. As a result, I … Read More


IDT Invests in IoT Security

IDT Invests in IoT Security
by Daniel Nenni on 01-15-2019 at 7:00 am

As we are preparing for the “IoT Devices Can Kill and What Chip Makers Need to Do Now” webinar next week, Intrinsic-ID did a nice press release with Integrated Device Technology. IDT is one of the companies I grew up with here in Silicon Valley that pivoted its way to a $6.7B acquisition by Renesas.


IDT is focused on automotive,… Read More


IoT Devices Can Kill and What Chip Makers Need to Do Now

IoT Devices Can Kill and What Chip Makers Need to Do Now
by Daniel Nenni on 01-07-2019 at 12:00 pm

After the onslaught of IoT devices Christmas brought to the masses we really need to talk about security or lack thereof. Do me a favor and count how many IoT devices you have now? Our house IoT count is probably a bit higher than average due to my technology addiction but we are firmly in the double digits and the security breach stories… Read More


Rapid Prototyping ARM Based Designs Webinar

Rapid Prototyping ARM Based Designs Webinar
by Daniel Nenni on 01-07-2019 at 7:00 am

While writing the definitive book on ARM history we could not have imagined a more different exit than the SoftBank acquisition, not even close. It is now very clear why SoftBank acquired ARM for $31B. It is also very clear why alternatives like RISC-V are trending on SemiWiki and will continue to do so, absolutely. No matter what … Read More


Samsung vs TSMC 7nm Update

Samsung vs TSMC 7nm Update
by Daniel Nenni on 01-02-2019 at 7:00 am

The semiconductor foundry business has gone through a dynamic transformation over the last 30 years. In the beginning the foundries were several process nodes behind the IDMs with little hope of catching up. Today the foundries are leading the process development race at 10nm – 7nm, and will continue to do so, absolutely.… Read More


Emulation Evaluation for the Ages!

Emulation Evaluation for the Ages!
by Daniel Nenni on 12-24-2018 at 7:00 am

One of the more entertaining things I get to observe in the semiconductor ecosystem is competitive customer evaluations of tools and IP. Seriously, this is where the rubber meets the road no matter what the press releases say.

This time it was emulators which is one of the most interesting EDA market segments since there is no dominant… Read More


DAC versus SEMICON ES Design West!

DAC versus SEMICON ES Design West!
by Daniel Nenni on 12-19-2018 at 12:00 pm

As I mentioned in a previous post, the big drama at last year’s Design Automation Conference was the acquisition of the Electronic Systems Design Alliance (formerly EDAC) by SEMI, the owner of the SEMICON West Conference franchise. The plan is to add an ES Design West wing to the SEMICON West conference in San Francisco next year.… Read More


Intel Discontinues the Custom Foundry Business!

Intel Discontinues the Custom Foundry Business!
by Daniel Nenni on 12-17-2018 at 7:00 am

After mentioning what I heard at IEDM 2018, that Intel was officially closing the merchant foundry business as an aside in a SemiWiki forum discussion, I got a lot of email responses so let me clarify. Honestly I did not think it was a big surprise. Intel Custom Foundry was an ill conceived idea (my opinion) from the very start and was… Read More


Next-Generation Formal Verification

Next-Generation Formal Verification
by Daniel Nenni on 12-14-2018 at 12:00 pm

As SoC and IP designs continue to increase in complexity while schedules accelerate, verification teams are looking for methodologies to improve design confidence more quickly. Formal verification techniques provide one route to improved design confidence, and the increase in papers and interest at industry conferences… Read More


IEDM 2018 Trip Report!

IEDM 2018 Trip Report!
by Daniel Nenni on 12-10-2018 at 7:00 am

Hello, my name is Daniel Nenni and I am a semiconductor conference addict. I just can’t seem to get enough. The semiconductor ecosystem is very wide now and moves so quickly it is nearly impossible to keep up without constant conference attendance. As a SemiWiki contributor not only do I get free conference passes, I get access to … Read More