Chapter 1 – Predicting Trends in the Semiconductor Industry

Chapter 1 – Predicting Trends in the Semiconductor Industry
by Wally Rhines on 07-05-2019 at 6:00 am

Figure 1 is the most basic of all the predictable parameters of the semiconductor industry, even more so than Moore’s Law.  It is the learning curve for the transistor.  Since 1954, the revenue per transistor (and presumably the cost per transistor, if we had the data from the manufacturers) has followed a highly predictable learning… Read More


Needham is Upbeat about EDA and IP Growth at #56DAC

Needham is Upbeat about EDA and IP Growth at #56DAC
by Daniel Payne on 06-02-2019 at 10:42 pm

Wally Rhines, Rich Valera

It’s Sunday afternoon and I just attended the annual Needham presentation at #56DAC in sunny Las Vegas, where Rich Valera shared an upbeat view of EDA and IP growth.  Here are the five drivers of this growth:

  • IoT
  • Automotive
  • Webscale/FAANGs
  • AI/ML
  • China

For the IoT market they’ve seen a CAGR of 8.6% to $8.2B in 2018, projected… Read More


Ten Things to see @ 56th DAC!

Ten Things to see @ 56th DAC!
by Daniel Nenni on 06-01-2019 at 8:00 am

New products always take precedence since EDA is a “mature” market. I have inside knowledge on this one so I can tell you it is not to be missed. Coincidently, but not really, a related white paper was just published so if you are not going to 56thDAC you can still get a virtual briefing. If you are going to DAC be sure and stop by the Fractal… Read More


Mentor Excitement at 56thDAC!

Mentor Excitement at 56thDAC!
by Daniel Nenni on 05-23-2019 at 10:00 am

Mentor continues to invest in conferences such as DAC, no matter the location, for which I am very grateful. They have a long list of activities this year but I wanted to point out my top three:

Wally Rhines has a talk in the DAC Pavilion which is first on the list. Wally’s expert industry perspective is the result of tireless research… Read More


ESD Alliance CEO Outlook Features Powerhouse Lineup

ESD Alliance CEO Outlook Features Powerhouse Lineup
by Bob Smith on 05-09-2019 at 2:00 pm

Just two more weeks before the 2019 CEO Outlook Thursday, May 23, at SEMI. If you haven’t registered yet, do so today. We’re expecting a full house as a result of our powerhouse lineup and networking opportunities.

That lineup includes Ed Sperling, editor in chief of Semiconductor Engineering, who will serve as moderator. Panelists… Read More


User2User Silicon Valley 2019

User2User Silicon Valley 2019
by Daniel Nenni on 04-22-2019 at 7:00 am

This will be one of the more interesting Mentor User Group Meetings now that the Siemens acquisition has fully taken effect and the new management team is in place. The Mentor User Conference is at the Santa Clara Marriott, Santa Clara, California on May 2, 2019 from 9:00 am to 6:00pm.

Remember, in 2017 Siemens acquired Mentor Graphics… Read More


Is IP SoC 2018 Still Alive? Better than Ever!

Is IP SoC 2018 Still Alive? Better than Ever!
by Eric Esteve on 11-27-2018 at 12:00 pm

The 21[SUP]st[/SUP] IP-SoC Days conference will be held in Grenoble, France, on December 5-6, 2018. IP-SoC is now the unique IP centric conference, with presentations reflecting the complete IP ecosystem: IP suppliers and foundries, external IP or internal reuse managers. Look at the program, you will see the hot topics covered… Read More


Basic Techniques for Managing EDA Business

Basic Techniques for Managing EDA Business
by Daniel Nenni on 11-02-2018 at 7:00 am

The “20 Questions with Wally Rhines” series finale

During the period from 1997, I had the privilege to work with Greg Hinckley, a superb “out of the box” thinker and excellent operational manager. We had such a common view of the world that we almost always agreed upon the best approach to problems and opportunities … Read More


Carl Icahn Activist Activities

Carl Icahn Activist Activities
by Daniel Nenni on 10-26-2018 at 7:00 am

The “20 Questions with Wally Rhines” series continues

Carl Icahn is a remarkably charming person. You might expect him to be a mean, aggressive adversary but he actually jokes about his foibles, tells stories about interesting people and gently poses questions. “I thought Jerry Yang just didn’t want to sell his Yahoo… Read More