Alphawave IP and the Evolution of the ASIC Business

Alphawave IP and the Evolution of the ASIC Business
by Daniel Nenni on 03-21-2022 at 6:00 am

Alphawave IP OpenFive

Alphawave IP has agreed to acquire OpenFive, a SiFive business unit (formerly Open-Silicon) for $210m in cash. Having spent many years in the ASIC business which included working with Open-Silicon, Alphawave, and OpenFive here is my perspective on the acquisition:

This acquisition accomplishes two things: First it trims down… Read More


Podcast EP17: EDA, Semiconductors and the Future

Podcast EP17: EDA, Semiconductors and the Future
by Daniel Nenni on 04-23-2021 at 10:00 am

Dan and Mike are joined by semiconductor and EDA executive Jack Harding. Jack has a diverse career as a technology executive beginning at IBM with notable stops along the way, including taking Cooper and Chyan Technology public, taking the helm from Joe Costello as CEO of Cadence and most recently as the founding CEO of eSilicon,… Read More


Is the ASIC Business Dead?

Is the ASIC Business Dead?
by Daniel Nenni on 11-11-2019 at 10:00 am

We covered the ASIC business in Chapter 2 of our book “Fabless: The Transformation of the Semiconductor Industry” using VLSI Technology and eSilicon as shining examples. Neither of which now exist. The ASIC business model was a critical steppingstone in the transformation of the semiconductor industry. Many systems companies… Read More


eSilicon White Paper on Chiplets – Good Read

eSilicon White Paper on Chiplets – Good Read
by Randy Smith on 10-17-2019 at 10:00 am

eSilicon recently released a paper detailing its experiences and its thoughts on the future of chiplets. The author of the white paper is Dr. Carlos Macián. I have also covered a presentation given by Carlos recently at the AI Hardware Summit, and he is well-spoken and quite knowledgeable. To get the white paper, go to the eSiliconRead More


AI Hardware Summit, Report #1: Doing More to Cost Less

AI Hardware Summit, Report #1: Doing More to Cost Less
by Randy Smith on 09-26-2019 at 10:00 am

I recently had the pleasure of attending the AI Hardware Summit at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA. This two-day conference brought together many companies involved in building artificial intelligence solutions. Though the focus was on building the hardware for this area, there was naturally much discussion… Read More


Webinar – Fabless: The Transformation of the Semiconductor Industry 2019 Update!

Webinar – Fabless: The Transformation of the Semiconductor Industry 2019 Update!
by Daniel Nenni on 08-10-2019 at 6:00 am

As more than 343 people (and counting) know, we will be releasing the 2019 updated PDF version of our first book “Fabless: The Transformation of the Semiconductor Industry” via handout at a live webinar. The response has been overwhelming and I want to personally thank you. The webinar will be a brief overview of the book with a question… Read More


400G Ethernet test chip tapes-out at 7nm from eSilicon

400G Ethernet test chip tapes-out at 7nm from eSilicon
by Tom Simon on 05-24-2019 at 10:00 am

Since the beginning of May eSilicon has announced the tape-out of three TSMC 7nm test chips. The first of these, a 7nm 400G Ethernet Gearbox/Retimer design, caught my eye and I followed up with Hugh Durdan, their vice president of strategy and products, to learn more about it. Rather than just respin their 56G SerDes, they decided… Read More


eSilicon ASICs all in the Google Cloud

eSilicon ASICs all in the Google Cloud
by Daniel Nenni on 05-08-2019 at 12:00 pm

Having just completed a cloud evaluation for SemiWiki I can tell you why eSilicon chose Google. Simply put, they are working harder to get cloud business. Google ($4B) is the number five cloud provider behind Microsoft ($21.2B), Amazon ($20.4B), IBM ($10.3B) and Oracle ($6.08B). There is a lot of money in the cloud and a lot more … Read More


Customizing and Standardizing IP with eSilicon at the Linley Conference

Customizing and Standardizing IP with eSilicon at the Linley Conference
by Camille Kokozaki on 04-22-2019 at 12:00 pm

During the SoC Design Session at the just concluded Linley Spring Processor Conference in Santa Clara, Carlos Macian, Senior Director AI Strategy and Products at eSilicon, held a talk entitled ‘Opposites Attract: Customizing and Standardizing IP Platforms for ASIC Differentiation’.

Standardization is key to IP in modern … Read More


eSilicon Expands Expertise in 7nm

eSilicon Expands Expertise in 7nm
by Tom Simon on 02-26-2019 at 12:00 pm

At SemiWiki we usually don’t write about the press releases we are sent. However, a recent press release by eSilicon caught my eye and prompted me to call Mike Gianfagna, eSilicon Vice President of Marketing. The press release is not just about one thing, rather it focuses on a number of interesting things that together show their… Read More