Investing in Next Generation Sensors
ABSTRACT
Within the past decade, technology investment, specifically hardware, has gone through many changes. For a while it looked like as if institutional investors moved away from investing in anything hardware related, and specially semiconductors, finding them to be very CapEx intensive and slow to revenue and exit. That has changed in recent years, where demand in AI and datacenter growth, has created several great exits such as Innovium, Credo, Astera Labs, and Groq. At the same time, investment in sensors and MEMS companies has slowed and exits have been few and far between, with SiTime being a notable example.
The presentation explores ideas around creating scalable sensor businesses and making them more attractive for investment, while also exploring various investor groups who might be interested in new sensing and MEMS technologies
BIOGRAPHY
Behrooz is a technology executive and investor, serving as officer and board member of many private and public companies, and creating billions of dollars of cumulative value for investors.
Behrooz is currently the CEO of Zadar Labs, a Silicon Valley based company engaged in the development of high-performance Software Defined Imaging Radars for safety and autonomy, and an essential vision sensor enabling next generation of physical AI.
Behrooz is also a strategic advisor to TDK, and a board member and advisor to several private companies involved in sensors, semiconductors, and AI.
Previously, he was CEO and President of InvenSense, Inc. (NYSE: INVN), a world leading provider of sensors, which went public in 2011, and was acquired by TDK Corporation in 2017, where Behrooz served as the CEO of the InvenSense subsidiary until 2020. While there, he transformed the company from a MEMS IMU company, to a smart sensor system powerhouse combining sensors and machine learning.
Prior to InvenSense, Behrooz was CEO of RMI Corporation, a pioneer in multi-core processors for data center, which he merged with NetLogic in 2009, and acquired by Broadcom in 2011.
Prior to that, he served as General Manager of Qualcomm’s semiconductor business, where he drove the fabless semiconductor ecosystem, thus enabling Qualcomm to grow to become the largest fabless semi company at the time, and accelerating IDM industry transition to fabless.
Prior to joining Qualcomm, Behrooz held several operational and engineering, and executive positions, within Motorola Semiconductor’s, where he contributed to the early growth of mobile phones, and pioneering numerous technologies, focused on radio miniaturization, and earning him Motorola’s Distinguished Innovator Award.
Behrooz holds a BSEE from Montana State University, and a MSEE from Georgia Institute of Technology. He also holds over 20 patents in semiconductor circuits, systems, software, and sensors.