The electronic system design ecosystem, our segment of the electronic product supply chain, started 2020 with some welcome news –– revenue increased 8.9 percent for Q3 2019 to $2567.7 million, compared to $2358.3 million in Q3 2018. The four-quarters moving average, a comparison of the most recent four quarters to the prior four quarters, increased by 6.8 percent.

The quarterly Market Statistics Service (MSS) report is a mainstay of our various initiatives offered to our members. Reports are published approximately three months after quarter close and detail industry revenue data from public and private companies who confidentially contribute to it. Reports are segmented by product category (CAE, PCB/MCM Layout, IC Physical Design & Verification, and SIP) and region (the Americas, Europe Middle East and Africa, Japan, and Asia Pacific). Each includes numerous sub-categories.
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… from the ESD Alliance, a SEMI Strategic Association Partner.

Here’s to Connecting … Collaborating … Innovating … in 2020!

Travel to SEMICON Taiwan and SEMICON Europa this fall put us in touch with groups of people interested in learning more about the role of the ESD Alliance within SEMI. Our conversations reinforced our conviction and SEMI’s that design and manufacturing are moving closer together and the reason we began our “Connecting the Divide” campaign.

Connecting the Divide, the centerpiece of our 2020 programs, is meant to help both the design and manufacturing communities gain a better understanding of each other’s ecosystems and challenges. It gives us a reason to review our mission and value propositions to ensure we continue to meet the needs of our system design ecosystem and the entire electronic product supply chain as we move forward.

The Electronic System Design Alliance (ESD Alliance) has a long history of supporting electronic design automation (EDA) going back to 1989 when it was founded as the Electronic Design Automation Consortium (EDAC). After assessing the market in 2016, we expanded our reach and changed the name of the organization to include developers and suppliers of semiconductor IP, embedded software, design services, and packaging and PCB/interconnect design.  Along with the EDA suppliers, they provide the software, services, intellectual property and hardware needed to design and verify semiconductors, associated software, packaging and interconnect technologies for the manufacturing of these products. They also need a voice, something we provide as part of our charter to communicate and promote the value of the design ecosystem as a vital component of the global electronics market.
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As we prepare for Thanksgiving here in the U.S., the ESD Alliance gives thanks to individuals like Dr. Mary Jane (Janie) Irwin, this year’s Phil Kaufman Award recipient, who have made this industry so great!

As Dr. Valeria Bertacco noted, Janie is a strategic and visionary leader, and mentor in the EDA and computer architecture communities.

Janie in conversation with Semiconductor Engineering’s Ed Sperling.

Janie accepting the award from (left to right) Ajit Manocha, president and CEO of SEMI, me and Shishpal Rawat, executive committee member and past president of IEEE CEDA, co-sponsor of the annual Phil Kaufman Award.

Janie with Sashi Obilisetty of Synopsys at the award dinner.

Janie with her husband standing in front of a photo display of previous recipients.

More photos of the evening are found on the ESD Alliance website.

Happy Thanksgiving! I’ll be back next week with another blog post.

Engage with the ESD Alliance at:

Website: www.esd-alliance.org

ESD Alliance Bridging the Frontier blog: http://bit.ly/2oJUVzl

Twitter: @ESDAlliance

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8424092

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ESDAlliance

Dr. Mary Jane Irwin from Penn State was honored last week as the 2019 Phil Kaufman Award for Distinguished Contributions to Electronic System Design by the ESD Alliance and the IEEE Council on Electronic Design Automation (CEDA). Here are just a few scenes from the festive evening with more to come.

Dr. Irwin (left) with Dr. Valeria Bertacco, Arthur F. Thurnau professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and associate dean for Physical Sciences and Engineering in the Rackham Graduate School at the University of Michigan.

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November’s a month of celebrations brought to the semiconductor industry by the ESD Alliance.

It starts with the Phil Kaufman Award Ceremony and Dinner, an evening honoring the 25th award recipient Dr. Mary Jane Irwin Thursday, November 7, from 6:30pm until 9:30pm at The GlassHouse in San Jose, Calif.

Janie, as she is known throughout the electronic system design ecosystem, is the first woman recipient of the Phil Kaufman Award. Noted for her contributions to EDA via her technical efforts, service to the community and leadership, she is the Evan Pugh Professor and A. Robert Noll Chair Emeritus in Engineering in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Penn State.

The ESD Alliance and IEEE CEDA sponsor the award annually to honor individuals like Janie who have had a demonstrable impact on the field of electronic system design through technology innovations, education/mentoring, or business or industry leadership. While you don’t need to be a member of the ESD Alliance or CEDA, members and member company employees of both get a substantial discount. Registration information can be found at https://bit.ly/2nPL7Go.
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One of the highlights of last month’s SEMICON Taiwan for the ESD Alliance was our Industry Meeting, a well-attended gathering and a great cross-section of the semiconductor industry, including EDA, IP, packaging, fabless and academia. Remarkably, not all attendees came from companies or organizations currently members of SEMI or the ESD Alliance, though many were. All were interested in learning more about who we are and what we do.

I kicked off the session with an overview of the ESD Alliance and our history that goes back to 1989 when we were known as the EDA Consortium, aka EDAC. I spent a few minutes detailing why EDAC changed its name to the Electronic System Design (ESD) Alliance in 2016 and then became and SEMI Strategic Association Partner in 2018. Those moves significantly broadened EDAC’s charter from providing EDA companies with a forum to address cross-industry issues and promote the industry to our goal to serve a larger design ecosystem. We consider that ecosystem to now include semiconductor IP, embedded software, advanced packaging for system scaling and service companies that provide design know-how and resources. My talk concluded with a look at our benefits and why companies should consider joining both organizations.

Robert Li, president of Synopsys Taiwan, took the stage and moderated a lively discussion among an enthusiastic crowd of attendees. In going around the room, it was evident everyone had a unique perspective to share that enhanced our understanding of the needs and directions of this important region in the global semiconductor and electronic product market.

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It’s a pleasure to announce Dr. Mary Jane Irwin will be honored with the 2019 Phil Kaufman Award for Distinguished Contributions to Electronic System Design. She is being celebrated for her extensive contributions to EDA through her technical efforts, service to the community and leadership. Janie is the Evan Pugh Professor and A. Robert Noll Chair Emeritus in Engineering in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Pennsylvania State University and the first woman recipient of the Phil Kaufman Award.

Service to the community and leadership is how many of us in the electronic system design ecosystem think of her. She was the DAC chair in 1999 and a member of its Executive Committee for many years serving in various capacities. In 2004, Janie received the Marie R. Pistilli Women in EDA award, another prestigious honor that recognizes individuals who helped to advance women in electronic design. The award is named for the late Marie R. Pistilli, former organizer of DAC and close friend of hers, who valued equality, diversity and acceptance. Back in 1996, she and Marie co-founded the Workshop for Women in Design Automation, now called Women in Electronic Design.

I encourage you to read the news release that offers much more about her many and varied accomplishments.

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Greetings from Taiwan! We’ve been here for SEMICON Taiwan where 50,000 visitors Connected, Collaborated and Innovated, the theme of many SEMI events, and the Smart Data Global Summit sponsored by Cadence and Synopsys. Executives from leading electronic system design and semiconductor companies offered their perspectives on the way forward to a fully connected, intelligent world in the AI-enabled era. We also held a successful ESD Alliance Industry meeting with executives from both design and manufacturing ecosystems. It included a good deal of open discussion about common industry issues and bottlenecks that could be addressed through collaboration.

Simultaneously, I’m working on a strategic plan for the ESD Alliance that’s given me a chance to reflect on the short 13 months since we became a SEMI Strategic Association Partner. The ESD Alliance now is well integrated into the SEMI culture and we continue pursuing our mission to represent companies in the electronic system design ecosystem.
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While Summer vacations are over and the semiconductor industry gears up for the trade show season, inside SEMI’s headquarters is buzzing with activity, as it has all Summer long. We work year-round on the 60 annual international semiconductor equipment and materials events we plan and manage. Many are organized by local chapters or are workshops on relevant to a specific community within SEMI. Not all are applicable to the electronic system design ecosystem.

Many are. In fact, a growing number of our events are germane, especially the various SEMICONs located in international regions worldwide. Next week, for example, is the annual SEMICON Taiwan September 18-20 in Taipei City, Taiwan, connecting the microelectronics and semiconductor industry ecosystems. One highlight is the Technology Think Tank Summit that gathers global industry leaders to share opinions and visions of the industry future. Another is the sold-out Smart Data Global Summit Forum sponsored by Cadence and Synopsys. It features talks on Artificial Intelligence and ubiquitous computing in the digitally transformed future from Arm, Cadence, Facebook, Mentor, a Siemens Business, Qualcomm and Synopsys. Additionally, the ESD Alliance will host an industry meeting to outline its development plans and practice sharing. A VIP reception follows.
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