The semiconductor industry crossed $1 trillion in annual revenue this year, almost four years ahead of earlier projections. SEMI President and CEO Ajit Manocha opened the CEO Summit at SEMICON West with a chart that told the story. A year ago, the forecast for 2030 was $1 trillion. Now it is $2 trillion, with $3 trillion possible … Read More
Podcast EP48: Wally Rhines on the Morris Chang Award and $50M for Cornami
Dan is joined by Dr. Wally Rhines. Dan discusses the recent announcement that Wally is the newest recipient of the Dr. Morris Chang Exemplary Leadership Award. The meaning of the award and some history of Morris Chang and TSMC are discussed. The recent funding round for Cornami, led by SoftBank, is also discussed. What is Cornami… Read More
ESD Alliance Reports Double-Digit Growth – The Hits Just Keep Coming
The latest Electronic Design Market Data report was just published. The headline announces continued substantial growth for the sector: Electronic System Design Industry Logs Double-Digit Q2 2021 Year-Over-Year Revenue Growth, ESD Alliance Reports. While not quite the record-breaking growth reported last quarter, the… Read More
Podcast EP39: The History of TSMC with Dr. Walden Rhines
Dan is joined by Dr. Walden Rhines for a far-reaching discussion of the history of TSMC and the foundry business model. The past, present and potential future scenarios are all explored.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wally_Rhines
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in these podcasts belong solely to the speaker,… Read More
Is EDA Growth Unstoppable?
SemiWiki has covered the Q2, Q3 and Q4 ESD Alliance quarterly revenue reports previously. The Q2 2020 report suggested that EDA had COVID immunity. The Q3 2020 report inspired an Up and to the Right comment. The Q4 2020 report demanded a Juggernaut label. And now the Q1 2021 report posts yet more record-breaking growth. This is … Read More
Podcast EP28: Funding approaches for semiconductor startups
Dan is joined by Wally Rhines to discuss funding approaches for semiconductor startups. Wally has led a fundraising effort for a fabless semiconductor startup for the last year. His experience is useful for others who are trying to raise funding for promising semiconductor startups.
Wally Rhines is widely recognized as an expert
The Juggernaut Continues as ESD Alliance Reports Record Revenue Growth for Q4 2020
Apologies for the slightly hyperbolic title of this post. Webster defines Juggernaut as “a massive inexorable force, campaign, movement, or object that crushes whatever is in its path.” Marvel Comic fans will recall the term also refers to a superhero nemesis. But I digress. The ESD Alliance recently announced its Q4 2020 Electronic… Read More
Podcast EP10: The M&A Landscape for Semis and EDA
Dan and Mike are once again joined by Dr. Walden Rhines for an overview of the M&A scene for semiconductors and EDA. Wally discusses the periodic expansion and contraction of these markets along with the factors that cause these trends. Wally concludes with a view of the future.
Wally Rhines is widely recognized as an expert … Read More
ESD Alliance Report for Q3 2020 Presents an Upbeat Snapshot That is Up and to the Right
The Electronic System Design (ESD) Alliance (a SEMI Technology Community) recently released their regular report on EDA revenue for Q3, 2020 . While the report is a normal occurrence, the numbers in this particular report are anything but normal. I have been reviewing these reports for many years, and I honestly can’t remember… Read More
What’s Driving This New Wave of Semiconductor Merger Mania?
Nvidia/ARM $40B. AMD/Xilinx $35B. Marvell/Inphi $10B. Despite the disruption of COVID, a wave of high value semiconductor acquisitions is sweeping the industry. Why? Did something happen that stimulated this consolidation? Until 2015, the industry was experiencing continuous “de-consolidation” that started in 1965. … Read More


The $725 Million Chip Development: Why Execution Risk, Not IP Cost, Now Dictates Advanced-Node Survival