The Design Automation Conference is over. The cowboy boots, 10-gallon hats and “Keep Austin Nerdy” T-shirts have been put in storage until DAC returns to Austin next year. For those of you from the electronic system design ecosystem who didn’t get to Austin this year, here’s a look at what you missed.

The parties –– from the opening reception, Jim Hogan’s Heart of Technology and IPextreme’s annual Stars of IP party hosted by Silvaco to the not-to-be missed Cadence’s Denali evening –– were lively, the Pavilion panel sessions and keynotes well attended and the giveaways were first rate.

Exhibitor feedback was positive, from my sampling, though you may have heard that attendance was down in Austin. While the attendee numbers haven’t been posted as yet, exhibitors didn’t seem phased by the perceived lower attendance. In fact, many noted that while the traffic at the show was smaller than in San Francisco, it provided higher quality attendees and more highly qualified prospects.

DAC was a great opportunity for the new Electronic System Design (ESD) Alliance to “strut our stuff” (minus the cowboy boots and Stetsons). Attendees and exhibits showed loads of interest in the new organization and stopped by our booth to learn more about our new, expanded direction and initiatives. Better yet, several companies committed to joining the Alliance based on our refreshed mission and momentum. Many others have asked us to follow up over the coming months.
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