The Ojo-Yoshida Report snagged Aart de Geus, co-founder and executive chair of Synopsys, Inc. on Nov. 22 for an interview. He had just received the Semiconductor Industry Association’s Robert Noyce Award, one of the industry’s most prestigious honors.
Known for the EDA industry’s relentless pursuit of innovation in automating semiconductor design, de Geus shared with us his big picture view of the chip industry’s direction.
Widening his lens, De Geus compared the information age — or the age of computation — of the last 77 years to the industrial age:
The industrial age essentially accomplished its grand mission, which is, augmenting the human muscle…And I would say that our industry, after now 77 years of sort of information age, has also found its mission, which is augmenting and scaling the human brain.
De Geus, a personable and engaging speaker, walked us through the semiconductor industry’s trajectory. He cited the “waves” that have swept through both the chip industry and society, ranging from the birth of IC and calculators to the intertwining software and hardware, the emergence of multi-die systems, with AI now driving the rethinking of chip architecture via software.
De Geus acknowledged that an industry, built to respond to demands by customers who never want to stand still, has often endured “nightmare after nightmare.” Describing relentless pressure from semiconductor vendors always asking for the impossible, De Geus said, “Because something is impossible doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have the courage to try.”
De Geus, the strong, technical brain behind Synopsys, has been also known to be ever so curious with customers’ problems, always dedicated to seeking their solutions.
De Geus made it clear during our interview: “Often the most dissatisfied customers are your best customers, because they drive the state of the art.” His advice to his colleagues at Synopsys?
“Just like when you ride in the Tour de France, never let three guys in front of you get away. Glue yourself to the people that move fastest.”
Guest:
Aart de Geus, executive chair, founder of Synopsys Inc.
Host:
Junko Yoshida, Editor-in-chief, The Ojo-Yoshida Report
Bolaji Ojo, Managing Editor and Publisher, The Ojo-Yoshida Report
Junko Yoshida is the editor in chief of The Ojo-Yoshida Report. She can be reached at [email protected].
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