CEO Interview: Dr. Nasib Naser of ORION VLSI Technologies.

Dr. Nasib Naser brings over 35 years of experience in the field. His expertise spans the entire VLSI cycle from conception to chip design, with a strong focus on verification methodologies. For his 17 years at Synopsys, Dr. Naser have held senior management positions, leading North American Verification IP, managing Central US Verification Applications Engineering, and driving all Memories DDR VIP activities. His experience encompasses diverse verification tools like VCS, SystemVerilog, UVM, SystemC, and Low Power UPF, along with expertise in Transaction Level Modeling, Virtual Prototyping, System Level Design, and HW/SW co-simulation co-verification. Prior to Synopsys, Dr. Naser spent 10 years at NASA developing flight simulation software. He also held positions at CoWare and Varian Associates.

Tell us about your company.
Orion VLSI Technologies is the first Palestinian semiconductor house to be specialized in VLSI Design Services. Orion provides it services based on multiple engagement models such as staff augmentation, train-to-hire program, and turnkey solutions. Moreover, Orion utilizing the experience of its senior staff to develop its own chip (IP), which is the first chip ever to be designed in Palestine. This provide opens a new horizon for young VLSI engineers to gain hands-on experience.

Orion was launched in 2023 with 4 engineers, and now we are more than 65 engineers. We are on our path to achieving our mission to establish a Palestinian VLSI industry and carve the path for talented engineers eager for new opportunities.

What problems are you solving?
Orion VLSI Technologies is well-positioned to address a critical need in the global VLSI industry: talent shortages. Deloitte predicts a need for over one million more skilled workers by 2030 in the semiconductor industry worldwide. With a highly motivated engineering staff and expertise across the entire design flow, from idea to chip, Orion offers valuable outsourcing services. This allows companies grappling with the lack of in-house VLSI talent to access a skilled workforce and continue innovating without delays.

What application areas are your strongest?
We pride ourselves in the know-how of taking an idea from specification to Chip. With our senior staff’s extensive expertise in the whole VLSI Design Cycle, we provide our clients with valuable and quality services to elevate their chip design efforts.

What keeps your customers up at night?
RTL freeze timeline, Verification Metrics closures, and meeting the Tape Out date. At Orion, we put customers first. We help them overcome any issues or obstacles they may face by providing high quality services and solutions.

What does the competitive landscape look like and how do you differentiate?
We are aware that there are many outsourcing outlets in the VLSI industry around the world, all trying to fill the gap in the talents shortages. However, we have many strengths that differentiates us, some of them are cost, quality of services provided, communication skills and English skills, and time-zone proximity. But what makes us unique is the extensive expertise that we bring to the table. Our senior staff possess the necessary know-how to drive innovation, meet deadlines, and deliver.

What new features/technology are you working on?
SystemVerilog/SystemC co-simulation. Using SystemC models as the Golden Reference models while using UVM for testbench and verification.

How do customers normally engage with your company?
We offer a variety of ways for customers to engage with us depending on their needs. Many customers look to work with us under the staff augmentation model, and some others look for turnkey solutions. As to the channels where customers can engage with us, we have a robust online presence, including a comprehensive knowledge base and active social media channels where customers can find helpful resources and connect with our team. We are ready to provide high quality service for our customers. Contact our Business Development team for more information: bd@orionvtech.com.

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