Speaker
Katrien Marent
EVP & Chief Marketing and Communications Officer - imec
Biography
Katrien has an engineering degree in microelectronics. She joined imec in 1992 as analog design engineer and specialized in design of low-noise readout electronics for high-energy physics. In 1999, she became press responsible and scientific editor at imec's business development division and was responsible for authoring and editing the research organization's numerous company technical documents and publications. In 2001, she was appointed corporate communications director at imec. Her responsibilities expanded in August 2007, when she got the position of external communications director including corporate, marketing and outreach communications. In October 2016, she became VP corporate, marketing and outreach communication. Since April 2020 she is Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing and Communications Officer and member of the executive board of imec.
Talk(s)
Welcome
Driving innovation in semiconductors: A fireside chat with Rapidus on global collaboration, technology, and Japan’s future
This fireside chat explores Rapidus’s role in driving innovation within the global semiconductor industry, highlighting recent technological advancements and strategies for international collaboration. Rapidus will discuss their approaches to fostering partnerships, creating demand for cutting-edge technologies, and overcoming key manufacturing challenges. The conversation will delve into opportunities for synergy between Japanese stakeholders and global organizations like imec, emphasizing the impact on Japan’s future in semiconductors. Attendees will gain insights into the evolving industry landscape and the unique perspectives shaping Japan’s technological trajectory.
Fireside chat: Essential vehicle technologies for the software-defined vehicle (SDV) Era, Chiplet SoC on automotive chiplets
In recent years, automobiles are expected not only to fulfill their standalone functions such as driving and transporting, but also to expand their value through integration with social systems.
To realize this, it is essential to adopt advanced technologies such as connected features, utilization of AI, function updates and additions via OTA (Over-the-Air), and functional integration to synchronize several systems. Software leads this evolution to change the vehicle’s design and development, known as Software-Defined Vehicles (SDVs).
In SDV development, software development is of course crucial, but so are the design of E/E architecture and semiconductors.
Especially in semiconductors, to support integrated control systems and the evolution of AI models, advancements in communication performance, computing power, and memory capacity are required.
At the same time, customers also demand simpler and more cost-reasonable vehicles, which calls for SoCs with broader scalability than ever before.
However, scaling up SoCs functions and performance challenges such as increased development volume, impact on manufacturing quality due to chip size, and balancing cost and volume to ensure scalability.
We think Chiplet SoC would be one of the solutions to address these issues.
In Japan, six OEMs, three Tier 1 suppliers, and five semiconductor-related companies have established ASRA (Advanced SoC Research for Automotive) to study specifications for automotive Chiplets.
On the day of ITF Japan 2025, I hope to share ASRA’s motivations and discuss the importance of future industry standardization.