The semiconductor industry is entering one of the biggest transitions I\u2019ve seen in my career. The traditional boundaries that once separated hardware, software, physics, packaging, and system behavior are rapidly disappearing. Verification engineers are no longer validating isolated digital logic \u2014 we\u2019re increasingly responsible for ensuring correctness across highly interconnected, multi-domain systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s the focus of my upcoming presentation at the next DVClub Austin<\/strong> event on May 20, 2026<\/strong>, at the Norris Conference Center in Austin, Texas.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This event is especially meaningful to me because it also celebrates the retirement of Kelly Larson \u2014 one of the founding forces behind the DVClub community and someone I\u2019ve had the privilege of knowing and working with for more than 25 years. Kelly has played a tremendous role in building and supporting the verification community through DVClub Austin, Fort Collins, and across North America. I\u2019m honored to be part of an event recognizing his contributions and impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My presentation, \u201cThe End of Orthogonalization: Verification in the Semiconductor Convergence Era,\u201d<\/em> explores a major shift happening across semiconductor engineering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For decades, the industry benefited from relatively clean abstraction boundaries:<\/p>\n\n\n\n That world is changing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today\u2019s systems are built using chiplets, 3DIC packaging, hybrid bonding, photonics, near-memory compute, and AI-driven architectures. These technologies are collapsing the separation between logical behavior, physical effects, workloads, and system integration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019re now seeing situations where:<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a result, verification is evolving far beyond traditional digital correctness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the central themes of my talk is that verification is becoming a continuous, lifecycle-oriented discipline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Modern systems don\u2019t stop evolving after tape-out:<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is why digital twins and hybrid verification environments are becoming increasingly important. Future verification flows will combine simulation, emulation, prototyping, physical modeling, and AI-driven orchestration to reason across the entire system stack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ll also discuss how agentic AI may soon coordinate entire verification workflows \u2014 helping interpret intent, manage regressions, analyze failures, and orchestrate verification across increasingly complex systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n DVClub events have always been about more than presentations. They\u2019re an opportunity to exchange ideas, reconnect with colleagues, and discuss where our industry is heading next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This event will be especially memorable as we celebrate Kelly Larson\u2019s retirement while exploring the future challenges shaping semiconductor engineering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Event details:<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe End of Orthogonalization<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Verification in the Convergence Era<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Join Us in Austin<\/h2>\n\n\n\n