The global semiconductor market in 2021 was $555.9 billion, according to WSTS data released by the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). 2021 increased 26.2% from 2020, the largest annual increase since 31.8% in 2010, eleven years ago. We at Semiconductor Intelligence track publicly available semiconductor market forecasts… Read More
Intel buys Tower – Best way to become foundry is to buy one
-Intel jumpstarts foundry model with Tower semi buy @$54B Gets complementary tech to round out offerings
-Approval based on satisfying China’s needs as well
-Margin concerns overblown- Will it be allowed to flourish?
Intel pays up to get foundry and technology….
Intel announced a $5.4B acquisition of Tower Semiconductor… Read More
Intel Embraces the RISC-V Ecosystem: Implications as the Other Shoe Drops
On Monday, February 7, 2022, Intel Foundry Services (IFS), made a series of major announcements regarding the RISC-V architecture and ecosystem:
- Intel will be joining the RISC-V International association with a Premier Membership, and Bob Brennan, Vice President of Customer Solutions Engineering for Intel Foundry Services,
The Rising Tide of Semiconductor Cost
It Isn’t Transistory
There’s a quiet upheaval happening in the semiconductor industry. The rules that have always governed the industry are fraying, undoing assumptions that we took for granted, that was pounded into us in school. The irreproachable Moore’s Law, that exponential progress will make things cheaper, better,… Read More
The Roots Of Silicon Valley
The transistor was successfully demonstrated on December 23, 1947, at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey, the research arm of American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T). The three individuals credited with its invention were William (Bill) Shockley Jr., the department head and group leader, John Bardeen… Read More
Accellera at DVCon U.S. 2022 in the Metaverse!
The premier verification conference and exhibition is coming up and of course Accellera plays an important role. This year DVCON will again be virtual, which is unfortunate, but I must say as a long time attendee this year’s program really stands out. In fact, there is a new addition that is worth mentioning, it’s the… Read More
Silicon Catalyst Fuels Worldwide Semiconductor Innovation
Silicon Catalyst just announced the addition of six new companies to its semiconductor industry incubator. The focus areas for these companies is worth noting, as is the broad geographic footprint of the group. I’ll get to this detail in a moment, but first I’d like to step back a bit and take a closer look at this remarkable organization… Read More
Are We Headed for a Semiconductor Crash?
COVID was certainly a black swan event but semiconductors have seen similar events over the past 50 years, some of which I have experienced personally. The Dot-com bubble comes to mind but there were others. The question is will history repeat itself and the answer, according to Malcolm Penn of Future Horizons, is yes.
Malcolm is… Read More
A 2021 Summary of OpenFive
Building a better mousetrap plays a key role in achieving market success in any industry. Of course, building one requires differentiating the product from the others already in the market. A differentiated product can even lead to creating demand for new products in adjacent markets. All of this is great but how do you implement… Read More
KLAC- Great quarter and year – March Q is turning point of supply chain problem
-KLAC – great QTR & calendar year but supply chain impacted
-Management feels supply chain to improve after March Q
-Demand remains strong, driven by foundry/logic
-Process management is next best place in industry after litho
Great end to calendar year
KLA reported revenues of $2.53B with non GAAP EPS of $5.59 nicely… Read More


PDF Solutions Charts a Course for the Future at Its User Conference and Analyst Day