Bettina Weiss

This year’s SEMICON West brought together industry experts from around the world to share insights on three of today’s most pressing topics: geopolitics, sustainability, and the semiconductor supply chain. From October 7-8, leaders from each field offered updates during SEMICON West’s Executive Panel Series, with each topic explored in its own hour-long session.Strategic Silicon: Geopolitics Shaping the Future of Semiconductors SEMICON West’s Executive Panel Series began on Tuesday, October 7, with a discussion on today’s geopolitical ecosystem and its impact on the semiconductor industry. Speakers compared the U.S. semiconductor landscape with China’s, highlighted supply chain strategies to mitigate disruption, and defined what it means to “win” the AI race. Mackenzie Hawkins from Bloomberg News moderated the panel, which featured Vince Jesaitis from Arm, Frank Heemskerk from ASML, Olivier Blachier from Entegris, Sarah Kemp from Intel, and Rich Ashooh from Lam Research.First, the panelists mentioned the U.S. CHIPS Act and the legislation’s attempt to diversify the semiconductor supply chain. Jesaitis added that countries are prioritizing supply chain resiliency, to which Kemp pointed to rising customer willingness to pay premiums for stronger supply chains. But what does it take to strengthen a supply chain? According to the panelists, a prevailing approach has been to regionalize operations. More regionalized supply chains can better withstand policy changes overall, but Ashooh noted that government regulations often can’t keep pace with innovation demands. China, in particular, may have key advantages in this respect. “The U.S. remains the most innovative environment in the world,” said Ashooh. “But if the Chinese government declared something a priority, the support will be there for it.” He also mentioned this arrangement allows China to advance in spurts.Kemp also stated that even with U.S. innovation and government incentives, the country faces longer construction times and greater policy complexity. Meanwhile, China is doubling down on its industry with resources and clear intent. Ashooh also added that China has more leverage in 2025 than it did during the first Trump administration. To address this, the panel recommended policy refinement to make U.S. trade relations more seamless. Furthermore, Heemskerk stated that the best government policies are often boring, advising governments to be predictable and reliable.The discussion concluded with mention of the AI race. Amidst discussion about what it means to “win,” Ashooh offered a simple explanation. Winning, he said, is seeing only customers in front of you instead of competitors. Sustainability Panel: Path to Success—The Semiconductor Industry Leads the WayAfter the Geopolitics panel, the stage swiftly transitioned to a new discussion centered on sustainability. Speakers included Elena Kocherovsky from Applied Materials, Beth Elroy from Micron, Joshua Kang from Qualcomm, and Sanchali Bhattacharjee from Google. SEMI’s Mousumi Bhat moderated this session.It may come as no surprise to learn that sustainability is reaching a critical juncture. According to the Climate Clock, the world has just under four years to address climate change before it becomes irreversible. Bhat pointed to this figure, emphasizing the mounting importance of industry-wide collaboration to make a tangible difference. With such a tight window for change, the panelists explained what’s being done to address these issues. Using AI to strengthen climate data, for example, came up several times. For instance, Sanchali mentioned that AI can bring in new data parameters to solve issues much faster. “We’re sitting at an inflection point where we have to harness the power of data,” she said.Elroy also shared opportunities to replace aging infrastructure with more sustainable equipment, as well as creating products that consume less energy from the start. However, distraction from climate goals is still a significant risk. Kocherovsky highlighted the industry’s limited resources, underscoring the importance of allocating them to efforts that move the needle. She cited clean energy adoption, noting that 80% of the industry’s emissions come from electricity. Fortunately, mitigation efforts are underway. Kang pointed to Qualcomm’s sponsorship of AI-powered air quality monitoring devices in Thailand, while Kocherovsky also touched on Applied Materials’ new sustainability projects. These efforts, while substantial, are nowhere near exhaustive. Tangible work is being done across the entire semiconductor ecosystem to make its solutions more sustainable, but it’s only the beginning. Charting the Course: Futureproofing Your Supply ChainsAs supply chain security has risen in priority, Wednesday’s panel detailed the industry’s efforts to strengthen it. Although COVID-19 exposed the urgent need for more resilient semiconductor supply chains, core issues have existed long before then. To explore this topic, I engaged speakers from across the value chain, including EMD’s Steven Johnston, AltaScient’s Rekha Menon-Varma, GlobalFoundries’ Roger Kao, Polar Semiconductor’s Surya Iyer, and Cisco’s Aman Aflaki. Today’s supply chain risks are enormous. From geopolitical tensions to natural disasters and cybersecurity threats, the semiconductor supply chain must withstand several intense and ongoing conditions. Because of this, the panel stressed the importance of early warning awareness and building buffers to counter setbacks. Creating buffers, Aflaki said, leads to necessary redundancies like using digital twins when feasible or engaging with second-and third-tier suppliers. Today’s customers, he said, also tend to be more focused on resilience and risk management rather than cost. Another emerging risk management solution is to use AI to build scenario models before incidents happen. As AI technology advances, companies that adopt it sooner rather than later could gain a competitive advantage. Johnston also added that AI could lead to more efficient R D and material sourcing. In addition, the panel pointed to the growing worldwide shift to regionalize supply chains. Menon-Varma highlighted that each country is approaching this in its own way, with many new global partnerships arising due to U.S. tariffs and export controls. Kao also reinforced today’s “local-for-local” supply chain trend.Finally, the panel ended with a discussion on collaboration. Although most leaders cite collaboration as crucial for the industry’s future, Johnston noted that working together is often halted by IP concerns. To address this, Iyer pointed to organizations like SEMI that unite key players to solve industry-wide problems.SEMI would like to thank all speakers, sponsors, and attendees for the success of this year’s Executive Panel Series. Bettina Weiss is Chief of Staff Corporate Strategy at SEMI.

The SEMI white paper A Vision for Electronics Supply Chain Management examines the vital importance of the electronics supply chain, current supply chain challenges, and the criticality of transparency, collaboration, and information sharing to mitigate disruptions.

In a recent panel discussion, CARIAD SE, a Volkswagen Group company, Entegris, and SEMI shared their perspectives on how the automaker and other members of the automotive electronics ecosystem can collaborate to address new challenges facing the automotive industry.

In my role as lead for the Smart Mobility initiative at SEMI, I recently spoke with Automotive Logistics Magazine about the growing importance of the semiconductor supply chain’s connection with the automotive industry and the semiconductor shortage hampering global automotive production. Following are excerpts from the interview. Automotive Logistics: Why is there a bottleneck in the global supply of semiconductors at the moment and how long is it likely to last? Weiss: The current automotive chip shortage resulted from the sharp, Covid-19-induced decrease in demand for automotive semiconductors in the second quarter of last year when vehicle production came to a near standstill. The automotive market picked up significantly in the fourth quarter and this caused the supply chain constraints we are seeing today. At the same time as the automotive standstill, the pandemic spurred an increase in demand for home computing and networking equipment, and semiconductor manufacturing plants (fabs) had to pivot to these other markets in order to maximize fab utilization and successfully navigate economic headwinds. Every minute a semiconductor fab is idle or has lines down adds up quickly to missed revenue, so their capacity is booked weeks and even months in advance. With this background, I don’t believe this is a structural shortage and expect a gradual recovery over the next two quarters, barring any major shifts in geopolitics or macroeconomics. Automotive Logistics: What needs to be done to remedy the current shortfall for the automotive industry? Weiss: The automotive industry needs to continue to strengthen its connections to the semiconductor manufacturing supply chain. In past years, auto manufacturers used to rely mainly on their tier one suppliers to interface with the semiconductor supply chain. This has changed significantly. Not only are more chips being used in vehicles (roughly 10% of all devices produced globally end up in cars), but the strategic importance of the chips as enablers for ADAS [advanced driver-assistance systems], electrification, safety, connectivity and other consumer-driven features has increased considerably. With this dynamic in play, carmakers have recognized the value of interacting and collaborating more closely with the semiconductor supply chain. This provides vehicle OEMs with access to innovation, the ability to influence technology direction and pace, along with greater visibility into global supply chain developments. The SEMI Smart Mobility initiative is evidence of this transition, with the likes of Audi, BMW, Ford, Uber, Volkswagen and other vehicle OEMs, along with tier one suppliers such as Continental and Bosch, now actively involved in our automotive electronics and mobility activities to do exactly that – influence, partner, accelerate and guide the global electronics design and manufacturing supply chain that SEMI represents. Automotive Logistics: What percentage of semiconductors manufactured for use by US-based companies are for automotive applications and how has this grown in recent years? Weiss: A little over 10% of semiconductors produced worldwide are sold into the automotive segment, but this number is expected to grow at an accelerated pace in the next few years as electrification, connectivity and autonomous driving become more prevalent. Automotive Logistics: How is SEMI working to help the automotive industry get a clearer view of sub-component supply and better manage supply chain risk? Weiss: The SEMI Smart Mobility initiative is designed to engage automotive OEMs, tier ones, semiconductor device makers, design houses, and equipment and materials companies to drive alignment across the supply chain and address shared challenges collectively. To facilitate this engagement, we created the Global Automotive Advisory Council (GAAC), which has active chapters in Europe, US, China, Japan and Taiwan. The GAAC provides an open platform for creating solutions, fostering collaboration and partnering with other industry bodies to accelerate and harmonize industry efforts that benefit the entire ecosystem. Volkswagen and Audi are already SEMI members – both are founding members of the GAAC Europe chapter – and have become vocal champions and critical contributors to our efforts. When all stakeholders work together, I have no doubt that the future of automotive and mobility will continue to be bright. Interested in learning more about this topic? Read the full interview in Automotive Logistics Magazine, A Fab Future for the Automotive Sector. Please contact me at [email protected] for more information about SEMI’s Smart Mobility Initiative, the Global Automotive Advisory Council, and how SEMI can help your organization navigate electronics in the automotive industry to drive innovation in the mobility space. Bettina Weiss is Chief of Staff and Global Smart Mobility Lead at SEMI.

Call it a wild guess, but I suspect I am not the only follower of the automotive industry who is tired of reading articles that lament the impact of Covid-19 and speculate, to varying degrees of accuracy, what kind of recovery is in store for major automotive markets around the world.I’m much more interested in what solutions and creative approaches people, companies, and countries have come up with to make cars smarter and safer despite the pandemic or even because of it.A friend of mine who works at a major European vehicle OEM told me that “innovation cannot, must not stop – despite current difficulties.” This sentiment echoes through the automotive supply chain, particularly in the resilience of the semiconductor industry during these challenging times.The recent publication of the AspenCore Guide to Sensors in Automotive – Making Cars See and Think Ahead is a refreshingly positive and inspiring collection of articles, interviews, technology deep dives and business news, all carefully curated and edited by AspenCore Global Editor-in-Chief Junko Yoshida.One article I particularly enjoyed was her “6 Trends on ‘Perception’ for ADAS/AV.” The insights she was able to gather from experts attending the AutoSens show in Brussels are fascinating, even if consensus on what, exactly, will be the winning “robust perception” solution appears to be far off. This is only fitting with so many companies elbowing for that prime spot!Another feature article that stood out was Nitin Dahad’s “Level 5 AVs Unlikely Before 2035” article. It wasn’t so much the longer ramp to full autonomy that caught my eye but the daunting challenge the automotive industry and AVs have to tackle: “…all possible unusual driving situations under all driving conditions and in all environments.” This is truly a mind-boggling undertaking. The author argues that the road to Level 5 “is likely to be paved gradually, as more advanced driver-assistance features come to market.” Sounds reasonable.Both these articles point to the need for collaboration across the automotive electronics supply chain in order to not only sustain the pace of innovation, but accelerate it, as we face our current challenges. This made me think about the SEMI Smart Mobility initiative and how the great minds supporting it might be able to help. The initiative is designed to bring together automotive OEMs, Tier 1s, device makers, design houses, equipment and materials companies as well as R D institutes to address shared challenges and opportunities.SEMI used to stand for Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International, but over the past several years – and driven by the advent of IoT, AI, and everything “smart” – we now represent the entire electronics manufacturing and design ecosystem, with more than 2,400 member companies on our global roster. We created the Smart Mobility initiative in late 2017 with the initial goal of connecting a substantial number of members to new business opportunities involving rapidly rising silicon content in automotive. IHS Markit projects automotive semiconductor revenue to continue to grow at a 6% CAGR to 2026.Over the past 2 ½ years, the initiative has quickly evolved into a global platform connecting the semiconductor, sensor and automotive electronics ecosystem under one roof – the Global Automotive Advisory Council or GAAC. While “silicon content” is still the operative word for many of our core members, the Council’s mission is to address opportunities and challenges that impact more than one segment of the value chain. For example, the challenge of getting to zero defects involves just about every stakeholder – from contamination control in wafer carriers to ensuring device reliability and robustness to packaging and, ultimately, system integration in the car.SEMI also encompasses a number of Technology Communities that provide deep technical expertise in support of the GAAC’s mission. Member companies in our MEMS Sensors Industry Group (MSIG) are directly engaged in and contributing to the GAAC work. GAAC Europe Chapter - Participating Companies“Sensorizing” – making things smarter through the application of sensors – has created solutions for the automotive and mobility space that bring innovation, safety, security and comfort to driver and passenger and that benefit the environment around the car.This makes the AspenCore Guide to Sensors in Automotive a great resource for our members and SEMI staff as we collaborate to accelerate the drive toward Level 5 autonomy.If you are interested in learning more about SEMI’s Smart Mobility and the GAAC, please contact Bettina Weiss, Chief of Staff and Global Smart Mobility Lead at [email protected] with permission from EE Times.

SEMI and imec are joining forces to drive innovation and deepen industry alignment on technology roadmaps and international standards while adding technology depth to SEMI’s five vertical application platforms including Smart Transportation, Smart MedTech and Smart Data.Under a Memorandum of Understanding announced today at ISS 2019, the two organizations have set their sights on bringing together key industry players to advance cutting-edge technologies including Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning that enable new capabilities across healthcare, automotive and semiconductor manufacturing. The partnership also aims to speed the time to better business results for SEMI and imec members and partners. SEMI brings to the partnership access to the $2 trillion global electronics manufacturing supply chain and imec its global research and development (R D) and innovation leadership in nanoelectronics and digital technologies.Under the MOU, the two organizations will co-produce SEMI Think Tanks, extend SEMI’s International Standards platform to non-CMOS technologies, identify and fill gaps in technology roadmaps, and tighten imec’s engagement with SEMI in European workforce development efforts.Bettina Weiss is Chief of Staff at SEMI.