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September 9, 2026

FOC 2026 Tile
Time

8:00 am - 6:45 pm PDT

Location

Mexican Heritage Plaza
1700 Alum Rock Ave
San Jose, CA 95116
United States

FOC 2026 Tile

Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to grow rapidly, driving unprecedented transformation. And for all the hype, the best is yet to come! But AI's energy footprint is growing rapidly and the global “data center gold rush” is already straining energy grids and natural resources around the world. This is a formidable challenge that cannot be ignored.

For industry, this is a strategic business imperative. AI access costs are mounting, and there is increasing stakeholder pressure to show ROI on AI investments. Competitive advantage derives from running AI systems as efficiently as possible, maximizing performance and minimizing energy consumption. And for the next big application of physical AI, efficiency becomes absolutely critical.

No entity can address this alone. The SEMI Smart Data-AI Initiative has been working to build a meaningful collaboration across the entire AI ecosystem to “bend the curve.” In this workshop, together with our alliance partner San Jose, we bring together distinguished leaders across the spectrum to share insights and chart the future course. Please join us at this exciting interactive event.

Agenda

Registration

8:00 am - 9:00 am

Registration, Coffee/Tea + Pastries

9:00 am - 9:05 am
pushkar apte
Pushkar Apte
Global Lead for Smart Data-AI Initiative
SEMI

Opening Remarks: Welcome

Workshop opening and introduction

9:05 am - 9:15 am
Ajit Stage
Ajit Manocha
Presiddent & CEO
SEMI

Opening Remarks: SEMI

Overview of SEMI and Strategic Direction

9:15 am - 9:25 am
Jen Baker
Jen Baker
Director, Economic Development & Cultural Affairs
City of San Jose

Opening Remarks: City of San Jose

City of San Jose Enabling AI Infrastructure

9:25 am - 9:45 am
Trelynd Bradley
Trelynd Bradley
Deputy Director, Innovation & Emerging Technologies
Governors Office

Keynote: State of California

From AI to Quantum, the Future is Now in California

9:45 am - 10:05 am
David Fried, Lam Research
David Fried
Chief AI Officer & Corporate VP
Lam Research

Keynote: Lam Research

10:05 am - 10:25 am
Mahmut Sinangil
Dr. Mahmut Ersin Sinangil
Distinguished Research Scientist
NVIDIA

Keynote: NVIDIA

From Watts to Intelligence: Building the Efficient AI Factory

10:25 am - 10:45 am
Yvonne Ferrier headshot
Yvonne Ferrier
Associate Principal
McKinsey & Co

Keynote: McKinsey & Co

Unlocking Efficient AI Inference at Scale

Break

10:45 am - 11:05 am

Networking Coffee Break

11:05 am - 11:10 am
Gity Samadi
Gity Samadi
Sr. Director R&D Programs
SEMI

Session Introduction: SEMI

11:10 am - 11:30 am
Vikrant Lal
Vikrant Lal
Fellow
Optical Networks Division

Session Keynote: Nokia

At the Intersection of Photonics Innovation and AI's Energy Challenge

11:30 am - 12:15 pm

Panel Discussion

Chair, Gity Samadi
• Nokia – Vikrant Lal
• Aeluma - Jonathan Klamkin, CEO
• Avicena – Nigel Alvares, VP of Product & Marketing
• Veeco – Peter Porshnev, CTO
• ASE - Speaker TBD

Networking Break

12:15 pm - 1:30 pm

Lunch

1:30 pm - 1:40 pm
Melissa
Melissa Grupen-Shemansky
VP & CTO
SEMI

Introduction to SEMI Technology Coalitions and Afternoon Sessions

1:40 pm - 2:00 pm
Christopher wellise
Christopher Wellise (CW)
VP-Sustainability
Equinix

Session Keynote: Equinix

2:00 pm - 2:10 pm
Sundeep Bajikar_Applied Materials
Sundeep Bajikar
CVP Corporate Strategy & Marketing
Applied Materials

Panel Introduction: Applied Materials

Chip-to-Grid

2:10 pm - 3:00 pm

Panel Discussion

Chair, Sundeep Bajikar
• Equinix - Christopher Wellise (CW), VP of Sustainability
• City of San Jose - Erica Garaffo, Strategic Energy Customer Development Lead
• PG&E - Karen Khamou Ornelas, Senior Director of Data Center & Technology Growth
• Deloitte - Craig Lobdell, Senior Manager

Networking Break

3:00 pm - 3:20 pm

Coffee Break

3:20 pm - 3:40 pm
Nuwan Jayasena
Nuwan Jayasena
Fellow
AMD

Session Keynote: AMD

Managing Memory Architecture

3:40 pm - 4:00 pm
Cliff Young
Cliff Young
TPU & Anton Architect, MLPerf co-founder
Google

Session Keynote: Google

Bounded Revolutionary Jumps

4:00 pm - 4:45 pm

Panel Discussion

Chair, Pushkar Apte
• Google – Cliff Young
• AMD – Nuwan Jayasena
• SK Hynix – John Kim
• Siemens/Mentor – Mark Malinoski, Solutions Director, Digital Transformation Engg.
• Qualcomm - Vinish Sukumar, VP & AI Product Mgmt Head

4:45 pm - 5:00 pm

Wrap-up & Next Steps

5:00 pm - 6:30 pm

Reception

  • SEMI Member:  $249

  • Non-Members:  $349

 

Cancellation Policy:

Cancellation request received on or before August 12 will be eligible for a refund. After this date, only substitutions will be accepted.  Please email your cancellation request to Agnes Cobar at [email protected]. Substitutions will only be accepted with written permission from the originally registered attendee.

For questions, please contact Pushkar Apte at [email protected]

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Alliance Partner

City of San Jose Tile

The SEMI Smart Data-AI Initiative is organizing this workshop with our Alliance Partner, the City of San Jose. We are uniting the entire AI ecosystem including devices, materials, packaging, photonics, quantum, architectures and algorithms. Please join us in this exciting interactive workshop.

City of San Jose Tile