Alibaba

Companies around the world are increasingly turning to mergers and acquisitions, research and development, and corporate venture capital (CVC) investment to sustain growth. For many years, global semiconductor companies including Intel, Qualcomm and Samsung have been active CVC investors. However, the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many venture capital (VC) and CVC investors to rethink their investment strategies as they look to an uncertain future. To help provide SEMI members with the latest market trend information, SEMI Taiwan held the webinar Challenges and Opportunities in Corporate Venturing during the Global Pandemic Crisis on April 28th. Featured speaker James Mawson, founder and editor in chief of Global Corporate Venturing, provided an analysis of the pandemic’s impact on deal flow, capital movement, sentiment and strategies among CVCs. CVC takes larger role in past decadeCorporations have been increasingly active direct and indirect venture investors over the past decade. From 2011-2019, more than US$1.3 trillion of venture capital was invested globally, with corporations accounting for more than half that total, according to data from Pitchbook/GCV Analytics.Semiconductor companies that have been active in corporate venturing include Intel, Samsung, Nvidia, ARM, AMD, SK Hynix, Broadcom and Qualcomm. Pure-play semiconductor and chip companies tend to make few investments in their start-up counterparts because sector saturation of powerful incumbents leaves little opportunity for growth, James said. “While it is hard to find entrepreneurs wanting to be engaged in pure play S C, once they do, they can be very valuable and often be able to bring disruptive forces to the whole ecosystem,” James said.S C corporate investors focus on chip applicationsSemiconductor companies looking beyond pure-play S C start-ups for investment opportunities often target applications or developers that require the additional data, processing power, and memory their chips provide. “There is lots of interest by the big chip companies such as Intel, Qualcomm, and Samsung in developing some of those chip applications, getting them used more and creating a whole ecosystem,” James said.For example, Intel Capital, based on its data-centric theme, has focused on areas like autonomous vehicles, data centers and artificial intelligence (AI) because of the sheer amount of data and processing power they require. In another notable trend, non-traditional S C players such as Apple and Alibaba are leveraging investments in start-ups to develop their own chips for competitive advantage, James said.March deal flow down 20% With COVID-19 slowing the global economy, James expects semiconductor and chip companies to scale back direct investments this year due to rising pressure on their balance sheets. Deal flow in March was down roughly 20% from February.James is hopeful corporates will focus on investing in innovation over the long term rather than target share buybacks to boost near-term earnings. James pointed out that investors can uncover opportunities by identifying future problems to be solved in areas such as quantum computing, biotech, energy, healthcare, communications and ICT. Still, in the near term, where there is a crisis, there is opportunity. While the pandemic hit some sectors hard, it benefits start-ups in industries including gaming, education and telemedicine. This time is different?James said corporates need to rethink the investment model they want to follow. One option is the approach taken by General Electric, which divested its investment team and sold all its portfolio companies last year. Another is to focus on the long term. For example, Intel Capital has been dedicated to investments in innovation for nearly 30 years and continues to invest during downturns.Compared with the internet bubble and global financial crisis, today there are more experienced and mature CVCs that better know how to negotiate a crisis. James also pointed out investors are interested in backing CVCs with sector investing experience. There are now more than 600 CVCs with a 10-year-plus track record.James expects a variety of funding models to emerge over the next decade as pressure on corporate balance sheets encourages corporate investors to consider models that allow third-party capital to effectively leverage their CVC units. Corporate investors are also open to other ways to efficiently deliver financial returns.For more information about the SEMI Taiwan Corporate Growth and Innovation Community, please contact Irene Lin at [email protected]. For GCV’s latest news and event, visit its website.Jo-Ann Su is senior director of the Corporate Growth and Innovation Community at SEMI Taiwan.

For nearly two decades, Sean Ding, CTO and chief scientist of Alibaba Cloud IoT, has worked in software and algorithm architectures, sensing, semiconductors, systems and cloud computing – all areas that have contributed to the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT). It’s no surprise, then, that Alibaba is leading next-generation innovation for the IoT. Ding will bring his expertise to his role as moderator of Brave New World - MSIG Conference on AI+IoT 2019, a half-day forum March 20, 2019, at SEMICON China in Shanghai, China. Maria Vetrano of SEMI spoke with Ding about technologies key to the IoT era including MEMS, sensors, artificial intelligence (AI), edge gateways and cloud computing. SEMI: MEMS sensors are widely used in IoT devices. What is the relationship between AI and MEMS sensors?DING: While MEMS sensors and AI will increasingly co-reside in end-user devices, I do not recommend adding AI next to the sensor (in the same package). That’s because designers continue to use the ASIC for signal conditioning, so A/D converters are still required. Rather, we should look to edge gateways to carry the majority of the workload, including deep learning, because this reduces system complexity and power consumption.SEMI: Why are smarter sensors shifting data processing and analytics to the edge of IoT devices?DING: Data processing and analytics are very important for IoT devices, but we need to focus on understanding the data, parameter calibration and more. The MEMS sensor industry should leave big data analytics to edge computing and cloud computing because AI requires deep learning, demanding a huge amount of data.The challenge is to find the sweet spot for data processing right next to the sensor element.SEMI: What is China’s evolving role in innovation in MEMS sensors for IoT devices?DING: At present, the MEMS community in China needs to figure out how to innovate instead of copying existing technologies, a low-margin business that will not help to grow the industry. One reason why I am so pleased to see the MSIG Conference on AI+IoT in China is that it will encourage greater creativity in the MEMS community in China, and this will ultimately lead to Chinese companies and R D institutions leading innovation rather than copying it.SEMI: What is the right approach to combining smart MEMS sensors with AI in IoT devices? Why is this important for both domestic Chinese and international markets?DING: Combining data from sensors with cloud-edge computing is the right approach. As sensor companies increasingly provide end-to-end solutions, such as “sensor+ firmware + SaaS + app,” we will realize easier and faster integration of sensors in IoT applications.This is incredibly important because China today is the world’s biggest market for IoT hardware. China has 2,000-plus design houses, 200-plus OEMs and thousands of distributors. That said, we still see a highly fragmented market that will benefit from a faster integration methodology.Faster integration of MEMS sensors and AI/machine learning for IoT hardware will benefit designers in international markets as well.SEMI: What do you hope MISG Conference on AI+IoT attendees will take away from the forum? DING: MEMS sensors are highly fragmented, reflecting the highly fragmented applications in which they play. The MEMS sensors industry should figure out how to provide one-stop-shopping solutions for vertical markets. This will speed the scalability of applications and expedite the growth of sensor production. Sean Ding (柯镇) will moderate Brave New World - MSIG Conference on AI+IoT 2019 at SEMICON China on Wednesday, March 20, 2019, at Kerry Hotel Pudong in Shanghai, China.This conference has been organized by the MEMS Sensors Industry Group (MSIG). Register today to connect with Sean Ding and featured speakers at the event.Speakers at the MSIG Conference on AI+IoT 2019 at SEMICON China include: Welcome and Introduction / 欢迎辞Carmelo Sansone, Director, MEMS Sensors Industry Group (MSIG), a SEMI technology community AI Needs Accurate Data – MEMS Sensors Can Provide It / MEMS传感器为人工智能提供真实数据Andrea Onetti, Group VP of Analog MEMS Group, GM of MEMS Sensor Division, STMicroelectronics Enhanced IoT Edge by Smart Sensors / 智能传感器助力IoT边缘智Bennini Fouad, Regional President Asia Pacific, Bosch Sensortec Horizon AI Processor Solution, Enable Industries in AI Time / 地平线AI芯片解决方案，赋能千万业Carl Zhang 张永谦, General Manager/VP, Smart Chip Solutions Division, Horizon Robotics Inertial Sensors in AI Applications / 运动传感器AI应用案例Ben Lee 李彬 , CEO, mCube Ultra-Low-Power Solutions: an Ecosystem Approach / 超低功耗的生态链解决方案Carlos Mazure, IEEE Fellow, Chairman Executive Director, SOI Industry Consortium High-Integrity, Fault-Tolerant Open Inertial Measurement Platform for AI-based Vehicle Automation / 适用于人工智能车辆自动控制的高集成及容错的惯性测量开放平台Dan Dempsey, Senior Director of Automotive, ACEINNA Maria Vetrano is a public relations consultant at SEMI.

We are living in a digital world where semiconductors are taken for granted, AI is bringing semiconductors back into the deserved spotlight, and now we are witnessing the dawn of the Cognitive Era enabled by semiconductors,” SEMI president and CEO Ajit Manocha said to an audience of more than 500 during his presentation – Rebirth of the Semiconductor Industry – at the First Global IC Entrepreneur Conference.Speaking at the Shanghai event in mid-December, Manocha recalled how, when he first entered the semiconductor industry in the 1980s, semiconductors revenue topped out at about $10 billion. Now, with sales having swelled to a staggering $450 billion, the industry is on a much faster growth track. Revenue could reach $500 billion by the end of 2020 and trillions of dollars by 2030. Over the past two decades, chips have given rise to social media and e-commerce powerhouses such as Google, Facebook, and Alibaba. All rely on heavily on chips, the engines of data centers across all industries. Wave after wave of technology innovation have been powered by semiconductors – from mainframe computers in the 1970s, personal computers in the 1980s, the Internet in the 1990s, and mobile and social networking in the early 20th century, to the current shining stars of technology such as IoT, big data, new memory, virtual reality, autonomous driving and artificial intelligence, Manocha said. New applications across areas such as smart manufacturing and digital healthcare are stoking the latest round of semiconductor growth.The rise of AI, like all the technologies before it, has renewed the semiconductor industry once again with its promise to drive growth of all industries worldwide, Manocha said. Five years ago, IoT was but a gleam in a technologist’s eye, more hype than reality with doubt about its viability running deep. Today, with about 60 percent of people in the world connected to the Internet, the enormous promise and potential of IoT is flowering. Industry growth will explode as the melding of AI and IoT birth countless applications and innovations in SMART transportation (0 emissions; 0 fatalities; 0 congestion), smart sensors (agriculture, infrastructure, healthcare) and SMART “Everything” (people, devices, homes, cities, industries, and the list goes on). Indeed, AI is now widely recognized as a chief growth driver of the semiconductor industry well into the future, with semiconductor technology at the core of AI innovation, he said. Semiconductors are thrusting the fifth industrial revolution into the fast lane. China’s much-anticipated rise as an industry powerhouse over the next few years will only accelerate industry growth, turning current disruptions into future opportunities as SEMI China continues to cultivate connection, collaboration and innovation in China’s fast-growing semiconductor sector.Cherry Sun is a marketing manager at SEMI China.

Five young dancers bathed in a striking rainbow of colors with their silhouettes cast in the background dazzled SEMICON Japan 2018 attendees at the opening ceremony in mid-December. Gone were the standard opening keynotes and ribbon cutting, replaced by live performance and media art set against a dramatic black backdrop. There was no mistaking the wide-eyed looks of wonder in the audience.In its sheer vibrance, the opening ceremony thrilled with an excitement that seemed to embody the extraordinary growth expectations for the global semiconductor supply chain over the next five years, with the industry poised to double sales from $2 trillion to a staggering $4 trillion – a phenomena SEMI president and CEO Ajit Manocha has called The Rebirth of the Semiconductor Industry. Driving this unprecedented growth will be SMART applications that are transforming industries and applications worldwide, powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies.The dramatic scene at SEMICON Japan 2018 was staged by Rhizomatiks, a media arts company that produced the Rio Olympic Games closing ceremony and is famous for its pop music spectacles. The company’s CTO, Motoi Ishibashi, the event’s first keynote speaker, described his team’s development of drones and vehicles guided by motion and precision-control technologies. It was some of these SMART vehicles that maneuvered the opening ceremony performers from the dance company Elevenplay onstage. Only Rhizomatiks, Ishibashi said, has this capability. In its mission to enrich people’s lives through new media arts, Rhizomatiks uses the latest virtual and mixed-reality technologies to orchestrate not only dance performances but music videos, commercials, fashion shows and festivals.Toru Nishikawa, the second keynote speaker and CEO at Preferred Networks, a leading Japan-based developer of deep learning software programs, surprised the SEMICON Japan audience with his discussion of his company’s work to develop a specialized chip for deep learning processing, joining technology giants Apple, Google, Alibaba and Microsoft in chip design. As more IT and software companies develop specialized, differentiated chips, the devices are quickly becoming the heartbeat of SMART technologies. The company’s approach has taken hold. Only four years old, Preferred Networks is enjoying rapid growth by working with global powerhouses including Toyota, NTT, Panasonic, Fanuc, NVIDIA, Intel and Microsoft. Ishibashi’s and Nishikawa’s fresh visions and the media arts extravaganza reflected the success of SEMICON Japan, held again at Tokyo Big Sight: The event’s 1,881 booths – filled by 727 exhibitors from 14 regions – was the highest count in six years. With Japan home to companies that supply about 40 percent of semiconductor equipment and materials worldwide, top suppliers historically have occupied the largest spaces on the SEMICON Japan show floor.According to IDC, personal computers and smartphones, long the largest revenue sources for the semiconductor industry, will remain top revenue drivers in the coming years. But revenue from new SMART technologies for applications such as automotive and factory automation is growing, a trend expected to continue with a 2018-2022 CAGR of 9.5 percent for automotive and 5.2 percent for manufacturing, compared to 1.1 percent for PCs and 2.9 percent for smartphones.SEMICON Japan’s new SMART Applications zone highlighted these and other new market opportunities for semiconductor growth with product and technology exhibits from companies including Bosch, IBM, Microsoft, NEC, Preferred Networks, Sony, SAS, Siemens, Tesla and Toyota. But the zone wasn’t all work and no play. The ROBOT SQUARE and SPORTS x IOT robot exhibits took visitors back to their school days, with robot anime – from Astro Boy to Gundam and Evangelion – that they could ride and control! As the World Gets Smarter, So Must SEMICON and the IndustryWe all agree the world is getting smarter at a fast pace. New cars are easier to drive – some models are almost fully autonomous on highways and streets. Your SMART speaker has gone well beyond an audio playback device and is more like a home AI platform. Almost all storefronts are equipped with video cameras. Your workplace, whether an office or a factory, is driven by automation. The reliance of these environments and devices on semiconductors is driving exponential chip and changing the world. Businesses need to adapt and so do SEMICON events. We’re doing just that as SEMICON Japan 2018 demonstrated – from an opening ceremony enabled by technology innovation to new faces of the industry to the SMART Application zone. As the SEMICON Japan presidents’ reception concluded the first day of the show, a robot from the ROBOT SQUARE suddenly appeared in the reception hall in front of about 250 executives from the global industry. Everyone at the reception was impressed and stepped forward to the stage, reflecting the overall excitement about SEMICON Japan, which for many years showcased only chip manufacturing equipment and materials. This year, to keep pace with the changing world, it was much more than that.SEMICON Japan 2019 will again take place in December at Tokyo Big Sight. However, organizers of the Tokyo Olympics will be using the East Exhibit Hall usually occupied by SEMICON Japan to prepare for the games. As a result, SEMICON Japan will be held in the West and South Halls instead. Look for more changes to the event. I hope to see you next year!Jim Hamajima is president of SEMI Japan.