2020 was a year like we have never seen before, but even so we continued to see innovation that will drive the future of semiconductors (and semiconductor design). Fabs are filled and companies are struggling to keep pace with the market needs for new technology. The remote working model of many semiconductor designers leads to new ways of thinking about how to collaborate on design, and will also ultimately lead to cross collaboration amongst companies as well.

Read the full article at: www.perforce.com

Microchips, also called semiconductors or integrated circuits, can be thinner than a human hair and smaller than a postage stamp, but their power can be immeasurable. They play a significant role in the advancement of the consumer technologies sector and, most importantly, in the development of more sophisticated branches of technology with potentially significant implications for national security, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and quantum computing. Therefore, although domestic and foreign policy might not always be connected, in the case of the U.S. semiconductor industry, domestic decisions are vital both for U.S. national security and for the evolution of great power relations in general, and U.S.-China relations in particular.

Read the full article at: www.strifeblog.org

In adapting to the challenges of COVID-19, the world has experienced profound societal, economic and technological changes that are redefining nearly every aspect of our lives. New capabilities underpinned by the Internet of Things (IoT), 5G and AI are providing a digital lifeline for millions of people by enabling virtual workspaces, remote education, a thriving e-commerce marketplace and a host of other communication and collaboration tools.

The dependency between the global economy and technology is greater today than it’s ever been, and this is creating sustained demand for semiconductors. It is also broadening the growth drivers for the semiconductor industry. While consumer devices led electronics demand over the past decade, commercial investments in IoT, Big Data, AI and 5G infrastructure are poised to lead the next decade and reshape every industry on the planet, from pharmaceuticals and healthcare to agriculture, energy and transportation. 

Read the full article at: blog.appliedmaterials.com

State of the semiconductor industry

In the past year, the semiconductor industry has received attention from manufacturers, governments, and even consumers, as many markets are citing shortages of semiconductors as their main growth and supply constraint.

Yet transformations in the semiconductor industry were not triggered by the pandemic. Many semiconductor companies already had transformations underway; the pandemic just accelerated the process. We wanted to explore what was driving these efforts to help our clients understand how they compare against their peers and set themselves up for success.

Read the full article at: www2.deloitte.com

Semiconductor Talent Leaders Share the Top Challenges Facing the Industry. 

In the span of a mere second, the human brain processes 11 million bits of information. That’s a lot of brain-racking. Or is it? The fact is a microscopic fraction of that volume – 40 bits – courses through our brain consciously. The vast majority of the information is processed under the radar of conscious thought. Think respiration, heartbeat and digestion – those autonomic (automatic) nervous system functions that make our bodies hum without us even noticing.

And that’s a problem when some of that unconscious data processing is rooted in a bias about other people based on factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, race and physical ability and emerges in ways that shape our viewpoints and decisions. But it’s an even bigger issue when these unconscious biases lead to inequitable if unintentional treatment of others in the workplace.

Read the full article at: www.semi.org