Press Release
NYDesign Team
Jun 30, 2022
Troy, NY -- NYDesign, a new not-for-profit organization focused on democratizing access to integrated circuit (chip) design in New York State, launched this week. The organization began by hosting two hands-on workshops to guide university and community college students through the process of creating and designing chips and will continue to support chip design curricula throughout the school year.
The workshops and curricula are offered in partnership with Efabless, a simple, open-source platform that enables students to design, fabricate and verify their own chips. John Kelly III, the former head of IBM’s Watson Health Unit, and Dave Anderson, President of NY CREATES and former President of SEMI Americas, delivered keynote addresses at the workshops.
Integrated circuits — embedded in all modern electronics — are critical to our daily lives, economy and national security. The chip industry has recently been plagued by shortages and supply chain issues, which are exacerbated in part by a lack of chip designers and manufacturers in the U.S.
New York is home to many innovative semiconductor manufacturers and research facilities, but the state still lacks a robust presence of chip designers and design centers. NYDesign’s vision is to expand the design sector through workforce development and innovation, driving growth and opportunity for students and companies throughout the state and beyond.
NYDesign is supported by investments from NYSTEC and the Rensselaer County Industrial Development Agency. NYSTEC President Kevin Owens and RCIDA President Robert Pasinella are serving as co-founding members on the NYDesign board.
"At NYSTEC, we’re always looking for opportunities to positively impact the communities in which we live and work," said Kevin Owens. "We are excited to see how making chip design more accessible opens up opportunity and spurs innovation for not only students, but eventually entrepreneurs, startups and industry leaders across New York."
"Regional developers like us are always looking for the best ways to develop and retain talent and drive lasting economic impact, " said Robert Pasinella. "We see NYDesign as an incredible opportunity to foster innovation and skills in a high-demand, fast-growing industry like chip design, paving the way for our region to play a critical role in driving our nation's economy."
New York already educates an enormous talent pipeline in the semiconductor industry and is home to a number of manufacturing, power electronics, power management, ATP and R&D facilities. Looking ahead, the state has a significant opportunity to become a hub for talent, additional multibillion-dollar investments and growth in chip design and the semiconductor industry more broadly.
"Semiconductor manufacturing captures a lot of public attention, but chip design is an equally valuable part of the chip creation process," said LaMar Hill, NYDesign's co-founder and executive director. "We're trying to foster a complete ecosystem here, from workforce development and design through manufacturing, assembly, testing and packaging, and we're beginning by partnering with university and community college students as a proof-of-concept."
By opening opportunities for skill development and facilitating industry partnership, NYDesign will help connect graduates with excellent careers in design, further cementing New York's leadership in the semiconductor industry and meeting a pressing industry need.
About NYDesign
NYDesign is a not-for-profit organization focused on growing New York's capacity for innovation and disruption in the semiconductor industry. NYDesign seeks to democratize access across New York to the skills and tools necessary for creators to design, fabricate and verify their own IC. In service of that mission, the organization serves as a resource to support public-private and academic partnerships geared toward industry-connected innovation and commercialization projects that attract investment and create growth in high-technology jobs.
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