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ARM vs Intel? Just look at ARM Top Customer in 2010!

ARM vs Intel? Just look at ARM Top Customer in 2010!
by Eric Esteve on 01-16-2012 at 3:47 am

Looking at the ARM Top Ten customers list (for 2010) brings useful information about the volumes production generated by the chip makers involved in the wireless handset segment. Revenue for an ARM licensee comes from upfront license and royalties. Upfront license are in the few $ million range (max), when the below listed contribution… Read More


CES 2012 Trip Wrap-Up!

CES 2012 Trip Wrap-Up!
by Daniel Nenni on 01-15-2012 at 4:00 pm


The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas is the premier electronics gadget exposition, a window into what we will be spending our hard earned money on next Christmas. Personally, I go to CES every year to try and guess what new innovative technology will drive future semiconductor design and manufacturing. Last year I bet… Read More


#49 Design Automation Conference Deadlines

#49 Design Automation Conference Deadlines
by Paul McLellan on 01-14-2012 at 10:53 pm

Note that there are several DAC deadlines coming up in the next couple of weeks.

The deadline for user track submissions is January 17th (next Tuesday). Submission requires an extended abstract. See here for details.

The deadline for DAC workshops is January 19th (next Thursday). A proposal is required. See here for details.

The… Read More


Thanks to Linkedin members: 24 “Like” given to “Interface Protocols, USB3, HDMI, MIPI… the winner and losers in 2011”

Thanks to Linkedin members: 24 “Like” given to “Interface Protocols, USB3, HDMI, MIPI… the winner and losers in 2011”
by Eric Esteve on 01-14-2012 at 12:53 pm

Just because it seems that the likes given to: Interface Protocols, USB3, HDMI, MIPI… the winner and losers in 2011 were numerous, I decided to count it.

Twenty-four likes received, in 11 Linkedin groups (see below), that’s good! Very goos! Thanks to all of you… And most probably thanks to IPNESTfor the quality of the… Read More


The Innovator’s Dilemma Dagger Aimed at AMD and nVidia’s Heart

The Innovator’s Dilemma Dagger Aimed at AMD and nVidia’s Heart
by Ed McKernan on 01-13-2012 at 1:42 pm

There is one semiconductor company that for the last 3 years has outperformed ARM and more than doubled in stock price relative to Apple. They are everywhere but barely known to most. The success of this company in the coming year though could result in the leveling of AMD and nVidia as they try to adjust to the economics of the mobile… Read More


Needham growth conference

Needham growth conference
by Paul McLellan on 01-13-2012 at 6:00 am

One of the fun things when a company gets big but is still private, like Atrenta, is that you start to get invited to events like the Needham Growth Conference that took place earlier this week in New York. When I ran Compass Design Automation, which at the time was about $55M in revenue, I remember going to a couple of these events. At … Read More


EDAC reports Q3

EDAC reports Q3
by Paul McLellan on 01-12-2012 at 7:49 pm

EDAC (EDA consortium) market statistics service announced the data for Q3 of 2011. Revenue increased 18.1% (versus 2010) to $1543.9 million. Sequentially (versus Q2) revenue increase 7.4%. Annualized, that puts EDA at over $6B for, I belive, the first time ever. Wally Rhines, who is EDAC chair (and CEO of Mentor) commented that… Read More


Advanced Memory Cell Characterization with Calibre xACT 3D

Advanced Memory Cell Characterization with Calibre xACT 3D
by SStalnaker on 01-12-2012 at 7:18 pm

Advanced process technologies for manufacturing computer chips enable more functionality, higher performance, and low power through smaller sizes. Memory bits on a chip are predicted to double every two years to keep up with the demand for increased performance.

To meet these new requirements for performance and power, memory… Read More


Memory Controller IP, battle field where Cadence and Synopsys are really fighting face to face. Today let’s have a look at Cadence’s strategy.

Memory Controller IP, battle field where Cadence and Synopsys are really fighting face to face. Today let’s have a look at Cadence’s strategy.
by Eric Esteve on 01-12-2012 at 9:45 am

I have shared with you last year some strategic information released by Cadence in April about their IP strategy, more specifically about the launch of the DDR4 Controller IP. And try to understand Cadence strategy about Interface IP in general (USB, PCIe, SATA, DDRn, HDMI, MIPI…) and how Cadence is positioned in respect with their… Read More


Speeding SoC timing closure

Speeding SoC timing closure
by Paul McLellan on 01-12-2012 at 1:42 am

As chips have become larger, one of the more challenging steps is full-chip signoff. Lots of other steps in the design process can work on just a part of the problem, but by definition full-chip signoff has to work on the full chip. But it is not just that chips have got larger, the number of corners that need to be validated has also exploded.… Read More