What is the most expensive in the 21st century? talent. This phrase is most appropriate for the modern semiconductor industry. In recent years, with the maturity of technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things and cloud computing, the hot areas of chip industry development have been continuously enriched, and have brought broad market prospects to the integrated circuit industry. However, due to the impact of the new crown epidemic and market demand, while the integrated circuit industry suffers from the "lack of core", the shortage of talents is extremely severe, especially the lack of key or leading talents who master relevant core technologies.
For this problem, Xin Qiyuan combined with the industry and its own development needs, implemented the concept of globalization, high-end and professional employment, and recently attracted Jim Finnegan, former senior vice president of Intel global senior vice president and general manager of network processors. Based on the efforts to build for several years, Core Qiyuan currently has a R & D and management team that has been working in the chip field for more than 20 years, with more than 70% of masters and R&D personnel, and R&D centers in Shanghai, Nanjing, Beijing, Silicon Valley, London and South Africa.
Thanks to the composite talent system formed by overseas technical experts and domestic high-end talents, as well as the accumulation of industry resources and optimal allocation for many years, Core Qiyuan has focused on the market segment with explosive growth trend in the era of big data, and has successfully developed four products such as USB3.x IP, network search engine TCAM chip, SoC prototype and simulation system, and smart network card in just a few years, breaking the monopoly situation that these fields have been monopolized by international giants, and winning first-class customer orders at home and abroad.
In the future, Chip Qiyuan will focus on 5G and data center communication chips, increase the layout of DPU chips smart network card industry ecology, and is committed to becoming a core participant and leader in the formulation of DPU chips and industry standards to lead the development of 5G communications and cloud data centers. At the same time, based on the valuable experience of the founding team, Xin Qiyuan also regards high-end EDA and IP as an indispensable secret weapon to differentiate in many chip companies and challenge the old pattern of monopoly of foreign giants.
With the unique advantages of the industry, it attracts international blockbusters to join
In recent years, the rapid development of 5G, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and cloud data centers is driving disruptive changes in related software and hardware. Therefore, DPU chips that provide a computing engine for high-bandwidth, low-latency, and data-intensive computing scenarios have emerged. Its "birth" stems from Nvidia's naming of Mellanox-based SmartNIC cards "DPU" in 2020. Since then, as DPU has become a big hit in the chip industry, domestic and foreign manufacturers have competed for research and development, including Intel, Broadcom, Marvell and other giants.
As for why he chose Core, Jim Finnegan said that large bureaucratic companies and start-ups tend to take on different styles. "I'm motivated by interesting, cutting-edge technical work and smart, enthusiastic engineers who want to excel in technology. And The visionary CEO Lu Sheng of Xin Qiyuan will be able to achieve this combination. I believe that in the next few years, based on the broad market prospects and the technical products and solutions it is now developing, Core Qiyuan will inevitably become a new technology giant. ”
Pictured: Lu Sheng, founder, chairman and CEO of Xin Qiyuan, on the left, and Jim Finnegan on the right
Prior to joining Chip, Jim Finnegan had over 30 years of executive experience in the semiconductor, networking and communications industries. During his coo role as COO of smart network stream processor vendor Netronome, he was responsible for overseeing chip development for all NFP products. Prior to joining Netronome, he served as Worldwide Senior Vice President and General Manager of Network Processors at Intel. Under his leadership, Intel's IXP network processors have been a huge success, widely deployed in 3G/4G base stations around the world.
Under the explosive growth of computing power, the traditional CPU architecture has not adapted to the development of the times, and a large number of data processing relies on DPU. But building a high-performance DPU requires overcoming the challenges of "PPA" (Power, Performance, Area, the industry term for reducing power consumption, enhancing performance, and reducing costs). Jim Finnegan believes that this is where the unique advantage of The Core Qiyuan lies. Its highly parallel architecture is based on thousands of small, dedicated RISC-V cores, optimized for networking with a scalable, distributed switching fabric.
Undoubtedly, with the gradual failure of Moore's Law and the full entry of the semiconductor industry into the post-Moore golden age, the development of 5G, artificial intelligence, cloud data centers and other industries is gradually moving towards a new software and hardware fusion architecture. In this process, due to its powerful role in processing massive amounts of data, DPU is known as the third important computing chip in the data center scenario after THE CPU and GPU, and will even replace the traditional CPU-centric architecture model, thus standing at the core of the data center.
In this regard, as for how to lead the team to achieve breakthroughs in the future, Jim Finnegan said that the smartest and best engineers are prerequisites for technological innovation. Without instilling a highly disciplined approach to development in talent, there is no guarantee of success. In addition, focusing on metrics such as data-driven technology and efficiency will enable timely delivery of the highest quality products. By unswervingly focusing on quality, accuracy, and consistent development methods, ChipHub is bound to make many breakthroughs and eventually launch industry-leading DPUs.
With the concept of "integration of the world", we will establish a global high-end talent pool
As a talent- and capital-intensive industry, the domestic integrated circuit industry is currently developing rapidly under the impetus of capital and policies, but it has been facing problems such as talent shortage and disconnection between industry and education. In 2020, the demand for talents in the mainland integrated circuit industry will be about 720,000 people, but the talent gap will reach more than 200,000 people. At the same time, the field of integrated circuits lacks industry leaders and composite innovation talents, especially key talents who master core technologies. Therefore, talent has become a key pain point hindering the development of semiconductor enterprises.
For this problem, since its establishment in 2015, Xin Qiyuan has vigorously implemented the concept of "Chinese leadership and global integration" to build an international high-end talent system. After years of hard work, Xin Qiyuan now has a R & D and management team with more than 20 years of experience per capita, and R & D centers throughout China, the United States, the United Kingdom, South Africa and so on. Among them, there are more than 40 overseas technical experts, more than 160 domestic high-end talents, more than 70% of masters and R & D personnel, and more than 90% of the experience of employees in the head of the factory.
Obviously, "international team, high-end talents, and elite gathering" are the three characteristics of the core Qiyuan talent system. Specifically, its R&D and management teams are usually from well-known companies in the global industry, including Marvell, Broadcom, Intel, Synopsys, Cadence, Huawei, ZTE, Baidu and Spreadtrum. At the same time, most of the R&D teams come from well-known universities around the world, including Shanghai Jiaotong University, Fudan University, Tsinghua University, China University of Science and Technology, Taiwan Jiaotong University, Stanford, Columbia, Carnegie Mellon and the University of Toronto.
Pictured: Lu Sheng, founder, chairman and CEO of Xin Qiyuan
Among the many core technical experts, Lu Sheng, founder, chairman and CEO of Xin Qiyuan, is undoubtedly an important member. After obtaining a bachelor's degree from Shanghai Jiaotong University and Lamar University in the United States, Lu Sheng has worked in Silicon Valley for more than 20 years, holding important positions in Marvell, Broadcom and other companies, and has led the team to make outstanding achievements in the research and development and management of network switches and mobile phone chips. Based on his rich experience in the industry, he made full use of simulation tools and accumulated valuable experience of "one-time tape-out success" many times.
In addition, Chen Yingan, vice president of R&D of projects such as core Qiyuan smart network card and USB IP, is also an industry celebrity. As a Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University, Yingan Chen served as a technology executive in leading enterprises such as Synopsys and Marvell before joining Xin Qiyuan. During this period, he has accumulated extensive experience in the field of 3 parametric IP (memory controller, USB 3.0 controller PCIE3.0 controller) and SoC test chip verification, and has served as a DAC and ICCAD judge and rotating chairman for many years.
At present, the research and development of EDA tool MIMIC products is led by another vice president of research and development, Xie Shuiyuan. As the originator of the EDA simulation industry, he has not only founded simulation system companies independently for nearly 30 years, but also served as a core executive of Synopsys, Cadence and other enterprises, and led the engineer team to obtain simulation business orders from major customers such as Qualcomm, Broadcom, MediaTek and Apple several times. Therefore, he has accumulated deep knowledge in the field of chip verification, and has invented 12 patents for simulation and prototype systems.
Of course, there are many technical masters within the core, and in the face of the current severe talent situation in the semiconductor industry and the rapid development of DPU and EDA and other market segments, in order to seize the industry opportunity and create a head effect, the core Qiyuan also plans to continue to strengthen and expand its global high-end talent pool in 2022, doubling the company's team to five hundred people.
Aiming at the outlet of subdivision industry, we will exert DPU +EDA dual-axis linkage
Even in the face of a serious shortage of talents in the domestic semiconductor industry, Core Qiyuan has created a "counter-trend" phenomenon with the correct choice of track, reasonable employment concept and its own unique advantages, that is, high-end talents from various industries have flocked to the scene, and they have concentrated on hardware architecture, software design, solutions, verification simulation and operation and sales. Based on this, Chip Qiyuan has successfully developed USB3.x IP, network search engine TCAM chip, SoC prototype and simulation system, smart network card and other products.
It is understood that The core Qiyuan has predicted the prospects of smart network cards many years ago and begun to carry out related development work, including mergers and acquisitions of chip manufacturers. In 2019, Chip Qiyuan developed a 100G smart network card using Xilinx FPGAs and its own TCAM chips. After continuous optimization and iteration in recent years, Chip Qiyuan has independently developed smart NICs based on DPU chips. As the only DPU solution based on SoC architecture in China, SmartNIC directly benchmarks against mainstream manufacturers such as Nvidia and breaks the international monopoly.
In terms of performance, the smart card combines the high efficiency and flexible programmability of the FPGA with the low cost and low power consumption of the ASIC. For example, SmartNIC can release 30%-50% of the CPU's computing power, and the power consumption is only 1/10 or even 1/20, saving half of the overall deployment cost of the cloud data center, and the operating (electricity and physical space) costs are also greatly reduced. At present, Xin Qiyuan has obtained many batches of smart network card orders from domestic head operators, and has conducted in-depth technical docking with major server manufacturers, OTT, BAT and other customers.
Figure: Chip Qiyuan smart network card SmartNIC
At present, in the face of fierce competition from a number of IC companies at home and abroad, it is extremely important to create their own differentiated characteristics. As a result, The core Qiyuan carefully created the EDA+ IP "secret weapon" to develop with the DPU dual axis linkage. Since the establishment of the MimicPro project in January 2018, in the face of many industry difficulties, the software and hardware R&D teams from Silicon Valley, Shanghai and Nanjing have worked closely together for more than 1,000 days and nights, giving full play to the advantages of global resource allocation, and fighting a beautiful battle in the first batch of product mass production projects.
In terms of performance and function, MimicPro is an FPGA-based prototyping platform that provides ASIC/SoC designers with high performance, high capacity and high scalability, realizing a software and hardware integration solution that can directly benchmark foreign mature products. As a leading prototype verification and simulation system in China, MimicPro has won a number of domestic and foreign chip design head customer orders. Behind winning these trusts, it is bound to benefit from the brewing and polishing of the world's top R&D team of XinQiyuan for several years.
In addition to smart network cards and EDA tools, self-developed IP is equally important. Previously, the first product launched by Xin Qiyuan started from the most versatile and highest threshold USB IP and made breakthroughs layer by layer, and then achieved China's first USB3.1 first-generation (5Gbps) IP certification and the world's second USB3.1 second-generation (10Gbps) IP certification. Following the success of the USB IP project, in 2016, Xinqiyuan launched the research and development of the network search engine TCAM chip, and broke the international monopoly to take the lead in achieving commercial landing in China.
Based on the continuous achievements of several products, The core Qiyuan is "core" in the sea and thriving. For the product layout, Lu Sheng said: "The company has been concentrating on research and development in the past few years, reserves high-quality international talent teams and project resources, and makes efforts to advance the layout in 5G and data centers. In the face of the 100-billion-level scale market, we are ready, and in the future, Xinqiyuan will further layout the industrial ecology such as DPU+EDA, and is committed to becoming a core participant and leader in the formulation of industry standards. ”
With a global talent system, we attack international industry giants
Although it already has certain advantages in track selection, talent system, team building, product level and capital financing, Core Qiyuan also faces a series of challenges in the current fierce competition environment in the domestic market, especially in the key talent system. For example, overheating investment has made a large number of talents want to use the outlet to start a business, resulting in low-level redundant construction. Even many companies are recruiting people at 2-3 times the salary, resulting in homogeneous competition and scattered talents and large mobility, making it difficult to keep up with the level of foreign research and development.
At present, smart network cards, EDA tools and IP based on DPU chips rely heavily on the skills and experience of high-end talents in the industry. For Xin Qiyuan, the importance of maintaining a high-level talent system is self-evident. For how to view the role of talents in the development of EDA or DPU enterprises, Chen Yuenan, an analyst at Jiwei Consulting, said that the integrated circuit industry needs to be driven by innovation, and chip design, as an important part of it, has a great dependence on EDA tools. This also means that EDA is the source of technological innovation.
"EDA tool development requires high-end composite talent. According to the main chip types and node requirements of chips on the market, the development talents of different EDA software need to master the cross-knowledge of mathematical physics, computers, chip design and other industries, and the development of EDA tools also needs to be promoted in synergy with the industrial chain links such as fabs and Fabless, and constantly trial and error in each link. Due to the long development cycle of EDA and the high barriers in the industry, it is difficult for relevant talents to obtain practical experience that matches the needs of the industry. ”
With the help of the strong impetus of China's capital market and policies, the establishment of a global talent attraction and training system can effectively alleviate the current shortage of talents in EDA and other industries. Chen Yuenan said that taking the practice of Xin Qiyuan as an example, Xin Qiyuan realizes relevant technology transfer and talent absorption through mergers and acquisitions combined with the introduction of overseas high-end talents, so as to stand at a relatively high starting point in a relatively open market environment. But at the same time, it should also pay attention to avoid problems such as talent competition, intellectual property rights, and the transfer of core technologies.
Among them, in the recruitment and training of talents, the role of corporate culture will be crucial. Perhaps few people know that corigine's English name Corigine implies deep core values, that is, each abbreviation letter in turn means: customer first, results-oriented, ownership spirit, integrity, globalization, innovation, do not forget the original intention and the pursuit of the ultimate. It is based on this corporate culture that Xin Qiyuan can attract a steady stream of high-end talents from all walks of life around the world to join and actively participate in the research and development cause.
"Under the meticulous polishing of the global high-end talent team, the core product technical indicators of Xin Qiyuan are leading in the industry, and directly benchmark against international mainstream suppliers." At the same time, the company is also committed to letting more people know the true strength of a Chinese company. "Lu Sheng said that in the future, Xin Qiyuan hopes to continue to implement the concept of globalization, high-end and professional employment, as well as commercial or methodological innovation, turn competition into power, turn challenges into opportunities, and iteratively upgrade core technologies and products and comprehensively optimize the layout." (Proofreading/Stella)