China Innovation Forum and ES DESIGN West

I had a chat with Bob Smith, Executive Director of ESD Alliance, about the upcoming SEMI conference in China. More than 100,000 people are expected to attend which is beyond my comprehension. SEMICON in San Francisco is maybe 20,000 people which is the largest conference I attend. I’m not sure if the Design Automation Conference ever hit 20,000 but now it is under 10,000. As you can imagine, Bob and staff are having a good time since joining SEMI last year, absolutely.

Bob also mentioned that Registration is now open for the inaugural ES Design West conference which is co-located with SEMICON West in San Francisco July 9-11. This is now the most comprehensive semiconductor/electronics conference I know of and the exhibitors are already lining up (Cadence, Synopsys, Mentor, etc…). Keynotes include one of my favorites Aart de Geus (Synopsys) and Lisa Su (AMD) amongst a host of others.

On a side note take a quick look at this SEMI sponsored “Contact Protocall” trailer and let me know what you think in the comments section.

Back to China, Bob did some digging in their MSS database to see what the trends for EDA and IP look like and came up with the following observations:

• Between 2015 – 2018 combined sales of EDA tools and semiconductor IP in China grew at a CAGR of 20%+
• During the same time period, the overall worldwide growth of combined EDA and IP was about 8%
• Looking just at EDA during that same time period: China 23% CAGR; Worldwide 8% CAGR
• In 2018, the estimate is that China will have accounted for roughly 8% of worldwide revenue for EDA and IP sales

I will talk to Bob again when he gets back from China but here is a look at the conference abstract and a link to the conference page. It is interesting to note that I know only two of the 20+ presenters so it is not the same-old-same-old.

Abstract:
SIIP China, SEMI Innovation Investment Platform, aims to be one of the most collaborative and influential investment platform for global semiconductor industry by leveraging SEMI global industrial resources, together with global industrial capital and intelligence. SIIP China: SEMI Innovation and Investment Forum, is one of SIIP China’s brand activities held simultaneously with the annual SEMICON China. Besides the Forum, the SIIP China series include Matchmaking Sessions, Theme Discussions, Regular Industry Investment Gathering and Overseas Delegations.

New applications such as Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, Big Data and IoT are bringing big changes to the semiconductor industry. It is expected that 5G will have even more dramatic effects on our daily lives by its higher speed, bigger capacity and low latency. The global semiconductor industry is entering a major period of transition. Being the biggest integrated circuit consumer market in the world, China has been keeping a two-digit growth these years. The trade friction may have added some uncertainty however we look forward to the promising future from the global perspective. No matter how erratic the external environment is, funds, technology, products and talents have always been the key driving forces for the entire eco-system of semiconductor to grow steadily and healthily.

SIIP China: SEMI Innovation and Investment Forum 2019 will focus on the latest policies, diagnose the current situation of the industry, analyze the capital flows and forecast the future. The New-tech Panel will discuss about how deep learning, big data & cloud computing, 5G and manufacturing will bring dramatic changes to the semiconductor industry and what the perspectives of the China market will be.

In 2018, SEMI completed the integration of Electronic System Design Alliance (ESDA). Consisting of major EDA, IP, and fabless companies, ESDA acts as the central voice to communicate and promote the value of the semiconductor design industry as a vital component of the global electronics industry. The ESDA integration brings key capability and further enhances SEMI’s supply-chain coverage and SEMI’s vertical application platforms such as Smart Transportation, Smart Manufacturing and Smart Data as well as key enabling technologies including AI, 5G, and Machine Learning. During the ESDA Executive Panel, leading companies such as Alibaba, Mentor, Synopsis, Unisoc and Cadence will talk about their cutting-edge technologies.

About the Electronic System Design Alliance
The Electronic System Design (ESD) Alliance, a SEMI Strategic Association Partner representing members in the electronic system and semiconductor design ecosystem, is a community that addresses technical, marketing, economic and legislative issues affecting the entire industry. It acts as the central voice to communicate and promote the value of the semiconductor design ecosystem as a vital component of the global electronics industry. Visit www.esd-alliance.org to learn more.