An Insider’s View of the 2023 Global Semiconductor Alliance’s (GSA) Annual Awards

An Insider’s View of the 2023 Global Semiconductor Alliance’s (GSA) Annual Awards
by Daniel Nenni on 12-14-2023 at 10:00 am

IMG DEF60C112922 1

My beautiful wife and I attended the annual Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) Awards event last week. Usually this is a solo event but since my wife is CFO of SemiWiki I was able to get her an invite. I go every year and she wanted to see what all of the excitement was about. She also knows quite a few industry people from attending the… Read More


The TSMC Pivot that Changed the Semiconductor Industry!

The TSMC Pivot that Changed the Semiconductor Industry!
by Daniel Nenni on 09-11-2023 at 6:00 am

Don Brooks Interview 2000

During my research I found an interview with Don Brooks from February 2000. It was very interesting and confirmed some of the things I knew about Don and brought up a few things I did not know. It’s an hour but it is a video of Don telling his story and is definitely worth a look. One of the things that was not mentioned however is the… Read More


Former TSMC President Don Brooks

Former TSMC President Don Brooks
by Daniel Nenni on 09-04-2023 at 6:00 am

Don Brooks

Don Brooks is well known to many long time semiconductor insiders, like myself, but most SemiWiki readers have probably never heard of him. Don is a semiconductor legend and here is his story. This will be in two parts since he had a big impact on the semiconductor industry and TSMC. From 1991 to 1997 Don served as President of TSMC and… Read More


The First TSMC CEO James E. Dykes

The First TSMC CEO James E. Dykes
by Daniel Nenni on 08-25-2023 at 6:00 am

James Dykes TSMC CEO (1)

Most people ( including ChatGPT) think Morris Chang was the first TSMC CEO but it was in fact Jim Dykes, a very interesting character in the semiconductor industry.

According to his eulogy: Jim came from the humblest of beginnings, easily sharing that he grew up in a house without running water and never had a bed of his own. But because… Read More


Morris Chang’s Journey to Taiwan and TSMC

Morris Chang’s Journey to Taiwan and TSMC
by Daniel Nenni on 08-14-2023 at 6:00 am

Morris Chang 2023

High volume manufacturing is a 24/7 business with 12 hour shifts. You don’t always get to pick the shifts you want and you must cover for others when they can’t. It’s a challenging career and not for the faint of heart like myself.

In the 1980s and 1990s I spent time in Japan working with some of the top Japanese semiconductor manufacturers.… Read More


TSMC 2023 North America Technology Symposium Overview Part 1

TSMC 2023 North America Technology Symposium Overview Part 1
by Daniel Nenni on 04-26-2023 at 6:00 pm

Advanced Technology Roadmap

The TSMC 2023 North America Technology Symposium happened today so I wanted to start writing about it as there is a lot to cover. I will do summaries and other bloggers will do more in-depth coverage on the technology side in the coming weeks. Having worked in the fabless semiconductor ecosystem the majority of my 40 year semiconductor… Read More


Why Tech Tales are Wafer Thin in Hollywood

Why Tech Tales are Wafer Thin in Hollywood
by Craig Addison on 04-25-2021 at 10:00 am

Chip Warriors

Mad scientists have been a staple of Hollywood science fiction since Dr Victor Frankenstein created his eponymous monster in 1931. Pre-pandemic, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was the main source of on-screen geeks-turned-superheroes, from Iron Man’s Tony Stark to Ant Man’s Hank Pym.

When it comes to real-life scientists on… Read More


TSMC, Huawei, the US Government, and China

TSMC, Huawei, the US Government, and China
by Daniel Nenni on 12-30-2019 at 6:00 am

Morris Chang TSMC

The media is trying to disparage the semiconductor industry again. It’s hard to not take this type of desperate journalism personal. Semiconductor people are the smartest and hardest working people in the world and we deserve better, absolutely.

TSMC founder sees trade dispute as ‘reality show with no script’Read More


Actel TI and TSMC Foundry Woes

Actel TI and TSMC Foundry Woes
by John East on 09-09-2019 at 6:00 am

TSMC was founded in 1987 by Morris Chang.  At about the same time, I was wrestling with the question of whether or not to join Actel.  Morris had been a top executive at Texas Instruments during the period when TI took ownership of the TTL market.  (See my week #8.  Texas Instruments and the TTL Wars)  I have to admit that when I first … Read More


Intel Diversity Semiconductors

Intel Diversity Semiconductors
by Daniel Nenni on 11-12-2018 at 7:00 am

Growing up in a military family, mostly in California, I would consider my cultural diversity life experience to be more than most. I remember in the 1960s some older folks were chattering about a colored family moving into our neighborhood and they had a son my age. Imagine my excitement as a child in having a multicolored friend!… Read More