Semiconductor Specialization Drives New Industry Structure

Semiconductor Specialization Drives New Industry Structure
by Daniel Nenni on 05-09-2018 at 7:00 am

When traveling the world there are the things that you see and the people that you meet. I have been very fortunate to meet some of the most amazing people and one of those people is Dr. Walden Rhines. Wally spent the first half of his career in semiconductors at TI and the second half in EDA with Mentor Graphics which gives him a cyborg … Read More


2018 Women in Engineering Achievement Award

2018 Women in Engineering Achievement Award
by Daniel Nenni on 05-02-2018 at 7:00 am

Having spent my entire thirty plus year career in semiconductors and design enablement I have seen quite a change in diversity. When I first started I remember thinking that height and weight was the only diversity here in Silicon Valley. My wife really noticed it when she attended her first Design Automation Conference in 1985 … Read More


EDA CEO Outlook 2018

EDA CEO Outlook 2018
by Daniel Nenni on 04-06-2018 at 12:00 pm

The EDA CEO outlook took an interesting turn last night but before I get into that I will offer a few comments about the start of the show. I attend this event every year for the content but also for the networking. It isn’t everyday you get to hang out with semiconductor industry elite and have candid conversations over food and drinks.… Read More


A Reliable Way to Forecast Growth of Semiconductor Markets

A Reliable Way to Forecast Growth of Semiconductor Markets
by Daniel Nenni on 01-17-2018 at 12:00 pm

Wally Rhines, President and CEO of Mentor, a Siemens Group, did another one of his famous deep learning presentations at SEMI ISS 2018. Using the Gompertz Curve Lifecycle to forecast the future growth of semiconductor markets, Wally looks at: Image sensors, Desktop PCs, PC Notebooks, Cell Phone Subscribers, Smartphones, and… Read More


Walden Rhines on the Automotive Electronics Landscape

Walden Rhines on the Automotive Electronics Landscape
by Roger C. Lanctot on 09-23-2017 at 8:00 am

Mentor President and CEO Walden Rhines gave a comprehensive overview of the automotive electronics landscape at the Mentor Integrated Electrical Solutions Forum (IESF) in Plymouth, Mich., this week. A key focal point of Rhines’ comments was the twin industry disruptors: EVs and AVs.

A Texas Instruments alum, Rhines described… Read More


TSMC OIP and the Insatiable Computing Trend!

TSMC OIP and the Insatiable Computing Trend!
by Daniel Nenni on 09-14-2017 at 12:00 am

This year’s OIP was much more lighthearted than I remember which is understandable. TSMC is executing flawlessly, delivering new process technology every year. Last year’s opening speaker, David Keller, used the phrase “Celebrate the way we collaborate” which served as the theme for the conference. This year David’s… Read More


The Real Reason Siemens Bought Mentor!

The Real Reason Siemens Bought Mentor!
by Daniel Nenni on 06-26-2017 at 7:00 am

The Siemens purchase of Mentor last year for a premium $4.5B was a bit of a shock to me as I have stated before. I had an inkling a Mentor acquisition was coming but Siemens was not on my list of suitors. The reviews have been mixed and the Siemens commitment to the IC EDA market has been questioned so I spent some time on this at #54DAC.

First… Read More


Mentor a Siemens Business @#54thDAC

Mentor a Siemens Business @#54thDAC
by Daniel Nenni on 06-11-2017 at 7:00 am

This year the Mentor booth will be quite interesting now that they are part of Siemens. I expect zero changes to their DAC presence but we shall see. It will certainly be good to see Wally again. More importantly, I will be afforded the opportunity to talk personally with both Wally Rhines, CEO of Mentor ANDChuck Grindstaff executiveRead More


EDA CEO Outlook 2017

EDA CEO Outlook 2017
by Daniel Nenni on 04-28-2017 at 7:00 am

A long standing tradition has returned to EDA: The CEO Outlook sponsored by ESDA (formerly EDAC) which alone is worth the price of membership! Not only do you get a free meal, the event included quality networking time with the semiconductor elite. In the past, financial analysts moderated this event holding the CEO’s feet to the… Read More


Free Copy of Mobile Unleashed: The History of ARM!

Free Copy of Mobile Unleashed: The History of ARM!
by Daniel Nenni on 10-04-2016 at 4:00 pm

As most of you know SemiWiki published a book which is a really nice history of ARM. We have received many compliments on it and we are very proud. As a thank you to all SemiWiki members I would like to offer a free electronic version of the book (PDF). You can access it via the attachment at the bottom of this wiki:

SemiWiki Book Download:MobileRead More