Letter to the editor: Golf more fun than IP (Doug McKenney, LSI)

 
I received a plethora of e-mails regarding my recent article, entitled "Semi IP sector is a lost cause"

Then, I asked for the IP vendors themselves to respond to a set of questions. Here's one letter to the editor from Doug McKenney, engineering director at LSI:

Editor,

My views on the IP subject:

EET: Explain why IP is not a lost cause. (Semi IP can accelerate the time to market for a design is not a good reason. We already know that.)

McKenney: Selling IP is a way for a smaller company to make some revenue as they try to grow, so it is not a lost cause. It is definitely a challenge to grow a long term business from selling IP. It is an avenue to revenue for a very small company or start up. It is an avenue to revenue for established companies like ARM, Synopsys, Mentor. I do think it is a lost cause for the companies in the middle, unless the business plan is not built around IP directly. eASIC and Open Silicon are examples of this.

EET:ARM has a decent business model. Does anyone else have one? Or, for that matter, what is the future business model for IP? Can anyone make any real money in the business?

McKenney: RTL IP has little resale value, unless there is a lot of infrastructure to back it up, like ARM processors have. GDS2 IP has more value, and it is only easier to target multiple foundries due to all the process partnerships today. As I mentioned, indirect IP business models may be a way to make money, like eASIC, eSilicon or Open Silicon. These companies can be a one stop shop for IP, but so can EDA companies like Synopsys and Mentor.

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