Big company innovation and being a lighthouse customer with Rob Oshana

Rob Oshana's Bio

Rob has a BS in Electrical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a PhD in Computer Science from Southern Methodist University.

Rob is currently SVP Software and Security Group at Analog Devices in Austin, TX.

Previously he was Vice President Software Engineering, Research and Development, Edge Processing, NXP Semiconductors where he managed a global team of SW engineers developing run time enablement/application software and tools for multiple business lines including Auto, Consumer, Media, IoT, Industrial, Networking, and mass market.

Rob was chairman of the NXP Software Technology board; leading cross company efforts focused on software reuse, efficiency, collaboration, and cross business alignment for multiple SW business units

Rob has been on multiple university advisory boards and research boards.

For over 25 years he has been Adjunct professor at Southern Methodist University, the University of Texas, and Concordia University

He has been an international speaker on topics related to SW engineering, IoT, embedded systems, multicore software, software testing and software quality. Rob has over 200 publications and presentations, and four books to his name.

Summary

This conversation discusses the collaboration between a startup and a big company in the semiconductor industry, focusing on the challenges and opportunities in the Internet of Things (IoT) market. The conversation explores the benefits of hardware-software co-design, the importance of area and power reduction in semiconductor chips, and the challenges of the hardware IP licensing business model. It also discusses alternative business models and the importance of understanding timeframes and revenue in the semiconductor industry. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the timing and success of startups in the industry. In this conversation, Jothy Rosenberg and Rob Oshana discuss various topics related to technology and innovation. They explore the future of RISC-V, the interest in startups, the challenges and opportunities for innovation in large companies, the importance of a culture of innovation, the role of QA in software quality, and the promotion of quality and innovation. They also touch on the impact of functional safety and AI in controlling sophisticated systems.

Takeaways

• Collaboration and commitment between startups and big companies can lead to successful partnerships and innovation.
• Hardware-software co-design is essential for optimizing performance, power consumption, and security in semiconductor chips.
• Understanding the economics of the semiconductor industry, including area and power reduction, is crucial for startups.
• Exploring alternative business models, such as Dolby's IP licensing model, can provide new opportunities for startups in the semiconductor industry. RISC-V is expected to continue to be successful and has become part of the natural discussion around ISA selections for different markets.
• Large companies can innovate at scale if they have the right culture, infrastructure, and support in place.
• QA is a critical discipline in software development, and companies should prioritize it to ensure high-quality software.
• Promoting a culture of innovation and creating opportunities for collaboration can drive innovation in both large companies and startups.
• Functional safety is crucial in industries where AI controls sophisticated systems.

Links

Rob's company: https://www.analog.com/en/index.html

Link to Jothy's site: https://www.jothyrosenberg.com/

Link to The Who Says I Can’t Foundation site: https://www.whosaysicant.org/

Link to Podchaser to leave a review: https://www.podchaser.com/AdventuresOnTheCanDo

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Meeting

00:35 Introduction to RISC-V

03:04 Working with a Big Company

03:50 Internet of Things and Security

04:20 Business Opportunities in IoT

05:19 Lighthouse Customer Perspective

06:21 Collaboration and Innovation

07:29 Hardware-Software Co-design

08:27 Commitment and Collaboration

09:26 Importance of Area and Power Reduction

10:14 Economics of Semiconductor Industry

11:13 Software-First Approach to Security

12:44 Hardware-Software Co-design Benefits

13:31 Collaboration and Commitment

14:24 Challenges of Business Model

15:21 Hardware IP Licensing Model

17:48 Alternative Business Models

18:20 Understanding Timeframes and Revenue

19:48 Differentiating and Creating Market Pull

21:50 Top-Down and Bottom-Up Approaches

22:53 Examining Different Business Models

24:21 Dolby's Business Model

26:22 ARM's Partner Model

27:45 Timing and Success of Startups

28:15 The Future of RISC-V

33:18 Interest in Startups

35:18 Innovation in Large Companies

37:31 Culture of Innovation

39:27 QA and Software Quality

46:07 Promoting Quality and Innovation

50:23 Functional Safety and AI