Why did Softbank pay so much for ARM? Because it’s worth it

Why did Softbank pay so much for ARM? Because it’s worth it
by Gus Richard on 07-24-2016 at 7:00 am

Softbank’s acquisition of ARM Holdings was not only unexpected, but also the valuation was astonishingly high. Softbank is acquiring ARM for $32.2B or 23x CY15 revenue and 46x CY16 earnings. This was a 46% premium to the prior day’s closing price before the announcement of the acquisition. The questions to ask are: Why is Softbank… Read More


Artificial Intelligence is Everything!

Artificial Intelligence is Everything!
by Daniel Nenni on 07-08-2016 at 7:00 am

My first brush with AI was a LISP class for my undergraduate degree. LISP, originated from MIT in 1958, was the language of choice for AI research and spawned a new class of computer hardware called LISP Machines in the 1980s. My first personal experience with AI was the HAL 9000 system from the 2001 Stanley Kubrik movie Space Odyssey.… Read More


eSilicon Offers Free Semiconductor IP For Universities!

eSilicon Offers Free Semiconductor IP For Universities!
by Daniel Nenni on 06-27-2016 at 7:00 am

It is easy to forget the importance of academia’s role in the semiconductor ecosystem but it is important not to. If you look at the DNA of the semiconductor industry you will see how dependent we are on academic research for innovation and the necessary disruption that keeps us all gainfully employed. FinFETs are the first things… Read More


Webinar alert – ARM and Enea explore NFV

Webinar alert – ARM and Enea explore NFV
by Don Dingee on 06-22-2016 at 4:00 pm

In the Open Source IP panel at 53DAC, we explored the idea of workload-optimized servers. One panelist observation stuck with me: if one chooses to deviate from the Intel-based norm in a data center, you essentially have to spray paint a line around any boxes that don’t comply.… Read More


Top Ten #53DAC Highlights

Top Ten #53DAC Highlights
by Tom Dillinger on 06-13-2016 at 12:00 pm

Here is a very subjective list of the Top 10 logistical and technical highlights from DAC’53.

(10) With DAC attendance down from its peak days, the Austin Convention Center served as an excellent venue. There was good participation from companies with design centers in the “Silicon Hills”. And, I saw colleagues from Silicon Valley,… Read More


Bringing Human-Like Intelligent Vision Processing to Low-Power Embedded Systems

Bringing Human-Like Intelligent Vision Processing to Low-Power Embedded Systems
by Daniel Nenni on 05-31-2016 at 12:00 pm

Semiconductor IP has always been one of the most interesting topics on SemiWiki. Since going online in January of 2011 there have been a total of 592 IP related blogs that have been viewed 2,581,118 times. 79 of those blogs have been about CEVA, the number one licensor of digital signal processing (DSP) IP for a wide range of power-efficient,… Read More


Where are the Entrepreneurs?

Where are the Entrepreneurs?
by Randy Smith on 05-22-2016 at 10:00 am

This week I attended the UpWest Labs event in San Francisco. UpWest Labs provides seed funding and incubation for a wide range of domains including Enterprise Software, Internet of Things, Infrastructure Technologies, Artificial Intelligence, Consumer Applications, Drones, Cyber Security, Augmented Reality / Virtual … Read More


TSMC and Flex Logix?

TSMC and Flex Logix?
by Daniel Nenni on 03-26-2016 at 7:00 am

There was a lot to learn at the TSMC Technical Symposium last week, in the keynotes for sure but also in the halls and exhibits. Tom Dillinger did a nice job covering the keynotes in his posts Key Take aways from the TSMC Technology Symposium Part 1 and Part 2 but there was something interesting that many people may have missed in the exhibit… Read More


Webinar from CEVA: Machine Type Communication

Webinar from CEVA: Machine Type Communication
by Eric Esteve on 03-07-2016 at 7:00 am

By 2020, ABI Research predicts that there will be more than 45 billion connected devices worldwide. More than half of these devices will incorporate multiple standards in the same device, such as Wi-Fi, 802.15.4g, GNSS and cellular communications.

This webinar will address the question: How To Design a LTE-Based M2M Asset TrackerRead More


A Brief History of Open-Silicon

A Brief History of Open-Silicon
by Tom Simon on 02-22-2016 at 12:00 pm

In 2003, when Open-Silicon was founded there was a growing need for flexible and innovative ways of getting chip designs manufactured. Semiconductor companies, given the alternatives of COT or traditional ASIC, often were looking for more flexibility without the huge investment and risk of going COT. Let’s look at how Open-Silicon… Read More