1. You began at Jariet in March 2024; can you tell us about your background and what brought you to Jariet?
After decades in high speed data converters at large semiconductor companies, I was intrigued to join a small company with leading-edge data converter technology in the ultra-high-sample-rate domain. In my career, I have now witnessed the 3-decade technology transition from ~64 MSPS to ~64 GSPS, a leap of 1000x in sample rate capability. Every decade, the market has moved up 10x in sample rate and frequency.
2. Can you tell us more about Jariet’s structure and some of Jariet’s “metrics” to help our readers better understand the company?
Jariet is structured as a nimble, fabless semiconductor company. We have the flexibility in services to provide custom ASICs, IP and standard catalog finished goods. Jariet’s technology leadership can be measured in the public domain by the catalog product Electra. This dual-channel RF-sampling transceiver is more than double the clock rate and frequency coverage of any other standard IC on the market.
3. Jariet is celebrating 10 years in business this year. What changes over the past 10 years have been the most influential? What challenges and successes do you predict to see in the next 10 years?
Jariet was founded to accelerate direct RF-sampling capability to new levels. In 2015, the IP developed by Jariet was already reaching tens of GSPS and tens of GHz frequency. Since the technology was new, it was understood that wide industry adoption might take some time. The IP was primarily driven by advanced technology accelerator programs like those at the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The US Department of Defense wanted IP that could enable digital at every element in large phased array systems like radar. Jariet worked to achieve DARPA’s objectives to solve the problems associated with the power, size, frequency and performance requirements. One challenge over that time has been the ecosystem around the IP. How does one manage the 10 to 100 times increase in data fed to and from the radar digital processing units in this architecture? Along with advancements in complementary products like field programmable gate arrays from partners in the industry, Jariet has helped overcome those challenges, and in the next 10 years, we expect to see large-scale adoption of this architecture.
4. What is the number one advantage of being a fabless semiconductor company, and does Jariet have plans to open a fab any time soon?
The number one advantage is the ability to use any commercially available process node. Advanced CMOS nodes are very expensive to develop, and Jariet was able to plug in to those immediately. Jariet will not be getting into the wafer fabrication business as the cost to develop and support advanced nodes would be an unnecessary burden, and we would lose our nimbleness to migrate to the most advanced nodes from any supplier as they become available.
5. What values drive Jariet’s product roadmap?
Much of what motivates Jariet’s product and IP development is the knowledge that our technology saves lives. The primary applications adopting and driving the Jariet roadmap are defense radar, electronic warfare and satellite communications. These three pillars are key to a successful military and a secure world.
6. What differentiates Jariet from its competitors?
In addition to the advanced speeds and features in Jariet’s IP, the company differentiates from others by being able to support customers with standard products, custom ASICs and IP licensing. No other company provides all three with this type of signal processing capability.
7. You came to Jariet after many years at a large company. What are the biggest differences, and how does Jariet use its small size to become more agile?
A small company gives its employees the ability to cover more ground and wear more hats. For instance, I have been able to manage all aspects of marketing, from product to corporate to digital media to advertising. I have been able to work in sales and business development. Small companies don’t have a large team to cover all of these activities, so one can enjoy the diversity and agility that comes with this type of organizational structure. A small company can also make big decisions quickly, within days, as the buy-in discussion involves only a few managers.
8. You started your career in engineering roles. How did you transition to marketing, and how does your engineering background support your success?
After a dozen years in applications, IC design and systems engineering in high speed data converters, I had developed a deep understanding of the technology, architectures, applications, benefits and limits of what could be done at that time given current knowledge. That developed in me a passion for the technology, which then made marketing an easy transition. If you have passion for something, you want to talk and write about it. You want to share it.
9. Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know?
Find a technology to invest your career into that is exciting to you and has a bright future with good product margins. The combination of those things has allowed me to stay specific to high speed data converters for three decades. However, if you need to pivot because of market conditions, consider doing so. I once hit a dead end in data converters within the Wi-Fi chipset market after it became commoditized, so I shifted to an area of data converters with more differentiation and profitability. Profitability is key to long, sustained investment in the technology area.