Q: From your personal perspective, what do you see as the most important trends shaping the semiconductor industry over the next 5–10 years? And, how do you personally stay informed or adapt to changes in this evolving landscape?

A: The semiconductor industry continues to push boundaries through ever-shrinking process nodes, packing more complexity into a single chip. This drives lower operating voltages and dramatically higher currents—pushing already-challenging power-integrity, reliability, and design constraints even further. The explosive demand from data centers and now AI infrastructure is accelerating this trend, along with the need for ultra-high system efficiency. As a consequence, wide-bandgap technologies such as GaN and SiC, once considered cutting-edge and niche, are rapidly becoming mainstream as more players enter the market.

At the same time, we’re seeing a profound transformation in the analog world. The traditional “intrinsic precision” analog approach is giving way to digitally-assisted analog architectures. Whenever performance requirements—whether accuracy, speed, or both—reach the limits of classical analog, digital assistance becomes the enabler. We’ve seen it in ultrasound systems, 5G and high-speed wireless front-ends, next-generation oscilloscopes and high-speed converters, and now battery management systems. In BMS, the demand for unprecedented accuracy and safety at a practical cost forces new architectures—and that’s where Nova’s innovation sits. It’s an exciting era where precision analog doesn’t disappear—it evolves.

Innovation in semiconductors is no longer just about smaller transistors — it's about system-level thinking, interdisciplinary engineering, and rethinking assumptions that the industry has treated as fixed for decades. The winners will be the companies that combine deep domain experience with bold, unconventional thinking.

Q: How do you personally stay informed or adapt to changes in this evolving landscape?

A: I follow industry evolution on two fronts. First, by studying emerging technologies, academic research, and semiconductor conference papers—and by closely tracking developments from leading analog and mixed-signal innovators. But more importantly, I stay hands-on, building and experimenting with new architectures in real products. I believe the best way to stay ahead in semiconductors isn’t just reading trends—it’s participating in them. Innovating, prototyping, learning from real-world results, and constantly iterating keeps my perspective grounded and forward-looking at the same time.

Q: With rapid advances in semiconductor technologies and supporting innovations such as AI, 6G, and advanced chip design, how do you personally prioritize staying innovative?

A: Not everything in semiconductor space is affected equally by shrinking geometry and the drive for high current and efficiency — battery management is one of those areas not directly impacted. That said, there is always room to improve using new tools and methodologies. While BMS design hasn’t fundamentally changed, AI and ML enablement opens up new opportunities for smarter, more predictive systems. I recently published an article discussing how Nova’s extreme measurement accuracy and synchronous cell monitoring can feed ML engines, allowing them to manage batteries more intelligently and augment system capabilities beyond traditional approaches.

Q: Which emerging technologies do you find most exciting or potentially transformative for the industry?

A: Without a doubt, AI and ML are the driving force behind many of the changes we’ll see in the next few years. They can transform not just battery management, but semiconductor design, energy systems, and data-driven optimization across industries. My hope is that these powerful tools are leveraged for meaningful innovation that improves our lives, rather than being misused solely for short-term profit.

I have been in this industry for almost three decades and have seen many cycles of shortages and surpluses. From this experience, I’ve concluded that most of these cycles are artificial and human-error driven. Yes, there are trends that affect usage (generally upward, except for certain outdated nodes and processes), but many extreme swings start from a small trigger. Users panic, place double or triple orders to cover themselves, and makers overreact by building to these inflated orders. Once the dust settles, orders are canceled, and suddenly everyone panics, thinking the market is shrinking — when in reality, it is not. The recent COVID-related shortage was an exception, a genuine supply-demand mismatch, and it shows that real constraints do happen, but they are the minority.

Most of the other cycles could be mitigated if buyers avoided over-optimizing and kept extra inventory for rainy days, and if makers maintained a small die bank, which is just a fraction of the cost of finished chips. This simple approach could avoid much of the repeated panic. Regarding trends, there is usually enough lead time to adopt and add capacity as needed, ensuring extreme shortages are largely preventable.

Q: As the semiconductor sector grows, sustainability and ethical considerations are increasingly important. From your perspective, what practices or strategies are most effective for promoting environmental responsibility and social impact?

A: The world has become a waste basket, where the lifespan of goods is shrinking to almost nothing, and refresh cycles for nearly everything far exceed what is reasonable or sustainable. It’s become normal to replace phones, TVs, and even cars every 2–3 years, whereas previous generations might have used the same TV for a decade or a watch for decades. This constant pressure to keep electronics “up to date,” often pushed by manufacturers, is unsustainable and suffocating for the planet. If we don’t change this mindset, we risk serious environmental consequences.

Q: Looking back, what was the toughest professional decision you’ve made, and what did you learn from it?

A: Leaving the comfort of a secure job to start my own company may sound simple, but it was one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever made. The biggest lesson is that this kind of transition reveals your limits and teaches you just how much you can rely on your own strength, intuition, and abilities—a true learning experience.

Q: What advice would you give to individuals, startups, or entrepreneurs entering the semiconductor industry today?

A: It’s impossible to know everything before jumping into entrepreneurship. Those who wait to know it all may never start. The reality is that you need to be extremely resilient and prepared to face the unknown. I had heard this advice from other startup founders, but I truly understood it only after starting Nova. For anyone entering the field: resilience is your most important tool.

Q: How do you personally see semiconductor technologies and innovations like AI shaping society in the coming years?

A: This is the $50,000 question, and honestly, no one fully knows. What I see is that much of the AI-driven profit promise is based on replacing humans, which is not sustainable. If a major part of society is left without work, that strategy will lead to serious problems. Technologies like AI can and should augment human capabilities, but they cannot become a societal replacement strategy.