Startup Funding: January 2024


Big rounds marked January, with three companies raising over $100 million. Quantum computing topped the list, with the company that resulted from the merger of Cambridge Quantum Computing and Honeywell's quantum division raking in the third-largest round for a quantum computing company ever. Another chart-topper was an advanced packaging company that began mass production in its first factor... » read more

Software-Defined Vehicles Ready To Roll


Software-defined vehicles are driving a swell of activity across the automotive ecosystem, including new methodologies and technology approaches that could significantly reduce costs and shorten time to market for advanced features. The SDV approach encompasses more than a single concept. It helps to think of it more as a modeling approach that connects EVs, driver assistance technology, and... » read more

Dealing With Noise In Image Sensors


The expanding use and importance of image sensors in safety-critical applications such as automotive and medical devices has transformed noise from an annoyance into a life-threatening problem that requires a real-time solution. In consumer cameras, noise typically results in grainy images, often associated with poor lighting, the speed at which an image is captured, or a faulty sensor. Typi... » read more

Role For ICs Expands In Humanoid Robots


Semiconductors play a crucial role in the development and functionality of humanoid robots. Humanoid robots are advanced machines designed to resemble and perform tasks similar to humans. The integration of semiconductors in humanoid robots contributes to their sensory perception, processing capabilities, and overall functionality. Robots are used in everything from security and defense, to ... » read more

Preparing For An AI-Driven Future In Chips


Experts at the Table: Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss the impact of AI on semiconductor architectures, tools, and security, with Michael Kurniawan, business strategy manager at Accenture; Kaushal Vora, senior director and head of business acceleration and ecosystem at Renesas Electronics; Paul Karazuba, vice president of marketing at Expedera; and Chowdary Yanamadala, technology s... » read more

Formal Verification’s Usefulness Widens


Formal verification is being deployed more often and in more places in chip designs as the number of possible interactions grows, and as those chips are used in more critical applications. In the past, much of formal verification was focused on whether a chip would function properly. But as designs become more complex and heterogeneous, and as use cases change, formal verification is being u... » read more

Why There Are Still No Commercial 3D-ICs


Building chips in three dimensions is drawing increased attention and investment, but so far there have been no announcements about commercial 3D-IC chips. There are some fundamental problems that must be overcome and new tools that need to be developed. In contrast, the semiconductor industry is becoming fairly comfortable with 2.5D integration, where individual dies are assembled on some k... » read more

EDA Back On Investors’ Radar


EDA is transforming from a staid but strategic sector into a hot investment market, fueled by strong earnings and growth, a clamoring for leading-edge and increasingly customized designs across new and existing markets, and the rollout of advanced technologies such as AI for a range of tools that will be needed to develop new architectures with much greater performance per watt. A confluence... » read more

IC Tool Vendors Eye Cloud-Native Future


The promise of scalability and efficiency is accelerating the migration of electronic design automation (EDA) to the cloud. Unlimited on-demand compute resources fundamentally change the chip design paradigm, where tools and workloads are no longer constrained by localized hardware. This is easier said than done, however. Optimizing existing tools and infrastructure, creating a new generatio... » read more

Shifting Left Using Model-Based Engineering


As heterogenous integration increases design complexity and forces engineers out of long-standing silos, model-based systems engineering (MBSE) is becoming essential for improving quality and reducing failures in the field. While it may seem like a new buzzword, MBSE's principles date back to the 1990s. In essence, it's a process of building models that enable early decisions, which pays off... » read more

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