Week In Review: Design, Low Power


Synopsys will acquire certain IP assets of INVECAS. The acquisition expands Synopsys' DesignWare Logic Library, General Purpose I/O, Embedded Memory, Interface and Analog IP portfolio. The acquisition will also add a team of experienced R&D engineers to focus on physical IP across a range of process technologies. INVECAS will retain its HDMI IP and ASIC Design Solutions businesses. The deal... » read more

Week In Review: IoT, Security, Autos


Internet of Things Sensors that see in the dark, look deep into our faces and hear the impossible, were all part of ams’ CES lineup this week. ams announced that it has designed an advanced spectral ambient light sensor (ALS) for high-end mobile phone cameras. The ALS, called the AS7350, identifies the light source and makes an accurate white balance under low-light and other non-ideal condi... » read more

Blog Review: Jan. 8


Synopsys' Taylor Armerding digs into the privacy and security concerns surrounding connected toys and argues that the current practice of consumers bearing much of the burden to determine what is safe is not viable. In a podcast, Mentor's John McMillan looks back at the past decade in technology and what the next may hold in store as areas like AI and automotive get going. Cadence's Madha... » read more

EDA, IP Growth Surge


EDA and IP grew 8.9% in Q3 of 2019, according to a just-released report, indicating continued confidence in semiconductor growth. Total revenue was up 8.9% globally compared with the same period in 2018, but that number is deceptively low. Revenue in China, for example, increased 5.7% compared to the same quarter in 2018, despite trade restrictions on sales of any IP developed in the United ... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Market research The worldwide semiconductor market is forecast to reach $409 billion in 2019, down 12.8% over 2018, according to the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization. Memory fell by 33.0% in 2019, while analog dropped 7.9% and logic declined by 4.3%, according to the WSTS. In 2020, the IC market is expected to recover and grow by 5.9%, according to the WSTS. Optoelec... » read more

Week In Review: Design, Low Power


Apple and Imagination inked a new multi-year license agreement under which Apple has access to a wider range of Imagination’s intellectual property in exchange for license fees. In 2017, Apple had announced it would be developing its own graphics chips and phasing out use of Imagination's IP. Imagination, which had recently restructured, saw its stock price fall by half in the wake of the new... » read more

Week In Review: IoT, Automotive & Security


Internet of Things Qorvo, the company whose products sent pictures back from Pluto and Arrokoth (formerly Ultima Thule) on New Horizons, is showing off a couple smart home, IoT products at CES 2020 in Las Vegas next week. The company says its new transceiver chip QPG7015M will simplify gateway IoT design because the chip can simultaneously handle all open, smart home protocols, including ZigBe... » read more

The Week In Review: Semiconductors


The tech-centric NASDAQ index this week broke 9,000, which was a first. Key to the latest run-up were reports of a breakthrough on the trade war with China and continued low interest rates. Chuck Peddle, who helped democratize computing and fuel Moore's Law with his $25 processor chip, passed away last week. Peddle designed the MOS Technology 6502, which was the basis for the KIM-1 single-bo... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Fab tools and materials In a blog, David Haynes, managing director of strategic marketing at Lam Research, talks about the IoT and automotive chip markets, which are fabricated at a wide range of technology nodes. Hoya recently made an unsolicited $1.4 billion bid to acquire NuFlare, a supplier of e-beam mask writers and other equipment. Click here for more information. Hoya makes several p... » read more

Week In Review: Design, Low Power


M&A Intel acquired Habana Labs, a maker of programmable deep learning accelerators for the data center, for approximately $2 billion. Based in Israel, Habana was founded in 2016 but only emerged from stealth in September 2018 with the release of its first inference chip. Intel's VC arm, Intel Capital, previously invested in the startup. Intel has made numerous M&A moves in the AI space... » read more

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