eFabless Design Challenge Results!

eFabless Design Challenge Results!
by Daniel Nenni on 03-28-2017 at 7:00 am

Will community engineering work for semiconductors? Will anyone show up? Well, the efabless design challenge is complete and the results are both interesting and encouraging, absolutely!

Efabless completed its low power voltage reference IP design challenge on Monday, March 13. This was a very interesting event that we followed… Read More


Samsung Should Just Buy eSilicon Already!

Samsung Should Just Buy eSilicon Already!
by Daniel Nenni on 03-22-2017 at 12:00 pm

As you all know I’m a big fan of the ASIC business dating back to the start of the fabless semiconductor transformation where anybody could send a design spec to an ASIC company and get a chip back. The ASIC business model also started the smart phone revolution when Samsung built the first Apple SoCs for the iPhones and iPads.

Today … Read More


Succeeding with 56G SerDes, HBM2, 2.5D and FinFET

Succeeding with 56G SerDes, HBM2, 2.5D and FinFET
by Daniel Nenni on 03-17-2017 at 4:00 pm

eSilicon presented their advanced ASIC design capabilities at a seminar last Wednesday evening. This event was closed to the press, bloggers and analysts, but I managed to get some details from a friend who attended. The event title was: “Advanced ASICs for the Cloud-Computing Era: Succeeding with 56G SerDes, HBM2, 2.5D and FinFETRead More


What’s better than silicon-proven IP? Lab bench-proven!

What’s better than silicon-proven IP? Lab bench-proven!
by Tom Dillinger on 03-17-2017 at 12:00 pm

The SoC industry depends upon the availability of validated IP. SoC designs require a huge investment, and assume the external IP that is licensed from outside parties satisfies all functional and electrical specifications. To support that requirement, IP providers typically pursue a strategy to demonstrate their designs… Read More


CEO Interview: Alan Rogers of Analog Bits

CEO Interview: Alan Rogers of Analog Bits
by Daniel Nenni on 03-06-2017 at 7:00 am

It has been incredible to watch the Semiconductor IP market grow from millions to billions of dollars during my career in Silicon Valley. In fact, more than half of my professional experience involves IP so when I talk about what it takes to be successful it is certainly worth a listen.

In my opinion the key ingredient to a successful… Read More


CTO Interview: Jeff Galloway of Silicon Creations

CTO Interview: Jeff Galloway of Silicon Creations
by Daniel Nenni on 02-27-2017 at 7:00 am

It is clear that IP companies play an important role in modern semiconductor design, in fact, I would say that they are imperative. Founded in 2006, Silicon Creations is one of those imperative IP companies that provide silicon proven IP to customers big and small around the world. To follow-up on our conversation with Silicon Creations… Read More


Another Live Event at Samsung!

Another Live Event at Samsung!
by Daniel Nenni on 02-25-2017 at 7:00 am

Last week Samsung hosted the GSA Silicon Valley “State of the Industry” Meet-up which was well attended by the semiconductor elite, myself included. The agenda started with an update on the semiconductor industry outlook followed by deep dives into Automotive, IoT, Artificial Intelligence, and Cybersecurity all of which areRead More


DARPA Flex Logix and TSMC!

DARPA Flex Logix and TSMC!
by Daniel Nenni on 01-23-2017 at 10:00 am

When I first saw emerging semiconductor IP company Flex Logix actively involved with TSMC I knew something big was coming and boy was I right. DARPA announced today that an agreement is in place with Flex Logix to develop EFLX eFPGA technology on TSMC 16FFC for use by companies or Government agencies designing chips for the US Government.… Read More


Analog Bits and TSMC!

Analog Bits and TSMC!
by Daniel Nenni on 01-10-2017 at 12:00 pm

TSMC Wafer

As a long time semiconductor IP professional I can tell you for a fact that it is one of the most challenging segments of semiconductor design. Given the growing criticality of semiconductor IP, the challenges of being a leading edge IP provider are increasing and may be at a breaking point. The question now is: What does it take to … Read More


CEO Interview: Rene Donkers of Fractal Technologies

CEO Interview: Rene Donkers of Fractal Technologies
by Daniel Nenni on 11-28-2016 at 7:00 am

Fractal is another one of those very successful emerging EDA companies that you don’t read a lot about, except on SemiWiki. Rene Donkers is co-founder and CEO of Fractal Technologies, a company addressing IP quality assurance. This is a niche in the SoC tooling market that deserves some justification. Why not use an IP as-is… Read More