As always, it was a full week at SEMICON West in San Francisco. It was great to see many friends and to make several new connections. A few thoughts and musings from the past few days: The exhibit hall was notably missing the biggest equipment suppliers. No booths for Applied, ASML, Lam, TEL, etc. In some ways I suppose this makes sense. Semiconductor equipment sales are very top-heavy, meaning that the largest suppliers constitute a commanding share of the market. Does anyone in the industry really not know who to call for a leading-edge lithography or advanced metallization system? The semiconductor industry has $1T firmly in its sights. It’s almost like a rallying cry. Estimates for the timing to achieve this revenue milestone vary slightly, but it’s likely somewhere around 2030. Macrotrends such as AI/ML, transportation electrification, and IoT are poised to drive strong growth. It is an interesting time to be in the semiconductor field. CHIPS Act remains a huge focus. Organizations are still working to position themselves for the billions of dollars of manufacturing incentives, R&D investments, and tax credits. (Hint: If you haven’t already been working on this for multiple years, you’re way, way behind.) Regarding CHIPS, I’ve been impressed thus far with the way the US Dept. of Commerce has coordinated such a massive initiative. Information dissemination has been excellent and the process has been systematic and transparent. It’s often far too easy to criticize Washington, so let’s give credit when things go well. But there is still much to be done. Semiconductor workforce development is perhaps the greatest challenge facing the industry at this time. The new reshoring facilities that will be constructed in the US and elsewhere over the coming years will be of little benefit without a skilled workforce. This means engineers, maintenance technicians, equipment operators, and many other job types. Deloitte has estimated that, by 2030, more than one million additional skilled workers will be needed to meet demand in the semiconductor industry. A concerted and multi-faceted effort is required to meet this target. Some excellent ideas were discussed this week, including industry-wide promotional campaigns (think iconic commercials for Intel, Nike, & Apple) and programs targeting universities, community colleges, secondary education, and specific segments of the workforce. Certainly these weren’t the only themes. There was plenty of discussion around trade restrictions, supply chain continuity, net zero, and other topics. But I’ve tried to keep it reasonably brief for easy LinkedIn consumption. Message me if you’d like to discuss any of these in additional detail. #semiconductor #semiconwest2023 #chipsact #workforcedevelopment
Salah Nasri
1y
Wayne Johnson very good update. Thank you for sharing. What comes of the biggest equipment suppliers you will find them all sponsoring International Semiconductor Executive Summits globally which gathers decision makers in each region be it in the US, Taiwan, Europe, China and South East Asia. It’s a different business model to the traditional exhibition.
Excellent update, Wayne Johnson ! Thank you. I wish I was there. Hopefully, next year, manning the NHanced Semiconductors, Inc. booth. 😉
COO & Co-Founder of QuantumBloom | Advancing Women in STEM | Duke MBA | CHIEF | Keynote Speaker
10moI noted with interest your comments about the workforce needs, Wayne Johnson. The mission of our company is to recruit, retain and advance young women in STEM - particularly engineering and IT - where they are chronically underrepresented. There is so much opportunity for highly technical industries to become more attractive to women and we are here to help. Anyone following, can learn more about us at www.launched2lead.com and I welcome follow up conversations.