The ESD Alliance is the networking hub for the industry and hosts educational and other events relevant to the industry and community interest. These events range from presentations on topics of importance to panel discussions and interviews with entrepreneurs.
The Alliance also seeks collaborative opportunities with member companies, business and community leaders and governmental agencies to provide a platform for discussion, debate and idea generation for the betterment of the whole semiconductor ecosystem.
Member companies have discounted pricing for the detailed, quarterly Electronic Design Market Data report, and are encouraged to help drive industry-wide solutions through participation in the ESD Alliance committees. In addition, members enjoy no-charge admission to many ESD Alliance events and preferred pricing for attendance at the annual Phil Kaufman Award dinner.
The ESD Alliance committees focus on issues of common interest where members can meet to influence and stay abreast of industry initiatives such as Licensing & Anti-Piracy, Export Controls, and the Industry OS Roadmap. By focusing on commonality and promoting cooperation, the ESD Alliance augments the effectiveness of the tools, services, and communications provided by its members for the customer community that the member companies serve.
For more information about the benefits of ESD Alliance membership, or to join the ESD Alliance, contact Bob Smith, Executive Director, at bsmith@semi.org.
ESD Alliance Staff
Bob Smith
Executive Director
ESD Alliance
Julie Rogers
Director of Marketing
SEMI Americas
Paul Cohen
Sr. Manager
ESDA & R&D
Gity Samadi
Director
R&D
Governing Council
The ESD Alliance Governing Council consists of CEOs from member companies, elected by the membership. The council meets regularly to guide ESD Alliance initiatives.
Background
The ESD Alliance was founded in 1989 as the Electronic Design Automation Consortium (EDAC) an association of Electronic Design Automation (EDA) companies to address common issues, including negotiating with the Design Automation Conference (DAC), a major industry trade show. EDAC then became a co-sponsor of DAC in 1992.
In 1994, EDAC published the first Market Statistics Service (MSS) report (now the Electronic Design Market Data - EDMD - report), including detailed revenue reported in confidence by public and private EDA companies, allowing companies, investors and analysts to track trends in the industry. In the same year, the Consortium began presenting the annual Phil Kaufman Award, honoring individuals who have made an outstanding impact on the industry.
EDAC continued its support of industry events in 1998 by becoming a co-sponsor of the Design And Test in Europe (DATE) conference.
The unified industry voice was instrumental in achieving simplified EDA export regulations with Wassenaar Plenary approval and publication in the US export regulations in 2004. This was followed in 2005 by Wassenaar approval of an export exemption for encryption of semiconductor device design data, with US Department of Commerce approval following in 2006.
Also in 2004, the first Operating System (OS) Roadmap was published, greatly simplifying the selection and cost associated with supporting numerous operating systems by both EDA vendors and customers.
Responding to changes in the industry, including the increasing importance of Semiconductor Intellectual Property (SIP) and System on Chip (SoC), EDAC renamed itself as the Electronic System Design Alliance in 2016.
In 2018, recognizing the increasing integration of semiconductor design and manufacturing, the ESD Alliance became a SEMI Technology Community.
A more detailed timeline is available on the ESDA Background page.