Insights from the Semi Impact Forum 2024

The inaugural Semi Impact Forum, held on June 14 2024 as part of London Tech Week’s Fringe Events, brought policy-makers, innovators and leading experts together to discuss how to advance the semiconductor industry through increased collaboration. We are pleased to support these initiatives, with our Board Chair, Janet Collyer, participating in a panel discussion about ‘Collaboration for Chip Success: UK & Taiwan’. Janet was joined by Jalal Bagherli, Russ Shaw and Professor Konrad Young, the former TSMC R&D Director for 20 years and now a professor at National Taiwan University and Technical Advisor at Intel.

The need for semiconductors in technology is evident. The session focused on how to better scale up the manufacture of semiconductors to maximise the yield of the device. It is important that we share knowledge between countries and learn from each other and for each country to capitalize on its unique strengths. This will allow us to scale up efficiently and effectively in the United Kingdom. Investors in both countries also play a part, as they have first-hand experience of the key components of what a successful scale up journey looks like.

“Semiconductors play a crucial role in international manufacturing and supply chains, driving technological breakthroughs in AI and other emerging technologies,” Vincent Chin-Hsiang Yao, Taipei Representative Office in the UK.

The need for artificial intelligence (AI) is also growing. As Professor Young mentioned, AI and education are the key drivers of growth for semiconductors, as they will help evolve the entire ecosystem as well as increase production. AI can help improve research outcomes, and at a faster rate, by enhancing human productivity and innovation. This can then lead to an increase in demand for technologies such as the Discovery Platform, allowing more people to benefit from our innovation. Our Neural Network engine provides the acceleration needed to explore the entire design space quickly.

We look forward to more opportunities for discussions like these, outlining the future possibilities of technological advancements and innovations in the semiconductor industry.