DAC/Semicon West Addresses Top Issues, Trends For Chips


The Design Automation Conference (DAC) 2023 and Semicon West returned in full force this week, drawing in more attendees and sponsor companies than since before the pandemic. At times, booth traffic was four to five deep, blocking aisles, and standing room only was common at presentations. Hot topics included generative AI and the underlying semiconductor technology, data security, reliabili... » read more

EDA, IP Fundamentals Shift As Market Soars


EDA tools and IP continued their double-digit growth trajectory this year, despite a downturn in consumer electronics and a continued shortage of key components that took a large bite out of the semiconductor market as a whole. A just-released report from the ESD Alliance showed a 12% increase in revenue for Q1, increasing to $3.95 billion compared with $3.53 billion in the same period in 20... » read more

Week In Review: Semiconductor Manufacturing, Test


China retaliated against a U.S. embargo on advanced semiconductor equipment exports by restricting exports of gallium and germanium. Both metals are widely used in semiconductors and electric vehicles. Despite export controls for advanced chips and equipment imposed on Chinese foundries by the U.S. and its allies, TrendForce predicts China's 300mm market share likely will increase from 24% ... » read more

Week In Review: Auto, Security, Pervasive Computing


Joby Aviation and Alef Automotive each received a Special Airworthiness Certificate from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Joby will now begin flight testing the prototype, and the aircraft will move to Edwards Air Force Base in 2024 as part of a contract with the U.S. Air Force. Alef’s model is the first U.S. govern... » read more

Week In Review: Design, Low Power


Worldwide semiconductor industry sales dropped 21% year-over-year in May to $40.7 billion, mostly driven by decreases in the Americas (-22%), Asia Pacific/All Other (-23%), and China (-29%). But there also were hints of a recovery. The three-month moving average showed a 1.7% increase in sales, with the largest increases in China (+3.9%) and Europe (+2%). “Despite continuing market sluggishne... » read more

Week In Review: Semiconductor Manufacturing, Test


Restrictions on China continue to grow. The Biden Administration is considering more restrictions on selling advanced AI chips to China, according to multiple media reports. Meanwhile, the Dutch government is expected to limit the sale of manufacturing equipment. JIC Capital, the wholly owned subsidiary of Japan Investment Corporation (JIC), will purchase materials company JSR Corp. through ... » read more

Week In Review: Auto, Security, Pervasive Computing


Inflection AI raised $1.3 billion in a new funding round led by Microsoft, Reid Hoffman, Bill Gates, Eric Schmidt, and NVIDIA after raising $225 million in the first round to support the ongoing development of Pi, a “useful, friendly, and fun” AI. In partnership with CoreWeave and NVIDIA, Inflection aims to build the world’s largest AI cluster, comprised of 22,000 NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core ... » read more

Week In Review: Design, Low Power


Keysight Technologies said it intends to acquire ESI Group for €913 million (~$998.6 million). ESI Group provides virtual prototyping solutions for the automotive and aerospace end markets that can create real-time digital twins to simulate a product's behavior during testing and real-life use. MLCommons announced the latest results from two MLPerf benchmark suites. One aims to measure the... » read more

Blog Review: June 28


In a podcast, Siemens' Spencer Acain discusses the role of AI and machine learning in IC verification and how it could help address noise by analyzing different signals from the diagnosis data to figure out the real root cause of a failure. Synopsys' Ian Land and Ron DiGiuseppe find that designers of aerospace microelectronics are applying lessons and technologies learned from the automotive... » read more

Week In Review: Semiconductor Manufacturing, Test


The CHIPS for America team at the U.S. Department of Commerce named the selection committee who will select board members for the nonprofit entity that will likely be managing the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC). Members include John Hennessy, chairman of Alphabet; Jason Matheny, president and CEO of the RAND Corporation; Don Rosenberg, fellow in residence at UCSD’s School of ... » read more

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