SemiWiki.com - Podcast EP307: An Overview of SkyWater Technology and its Goals with Ross Miller

Episode Date: September 12, 2025

Dan is joined by Ross Miller, senior vice president at SkyWater Technology. Ross leads the industrial and aerospace businesses while steering the company’s branding, and corporate communications efforts. He is a seasoned semiconductor and technology executive with over 20 years of experience across startup, enterprise,… Read More

Hello, my name is Daniel Nenny, founder of semi-wiki, the open forum for semiconductor professionals. Welcome to the Semiconductor Insiders podcast series. My guest today is Ross Miller, Senior Vice President at Skywater Technology. Ross leads the industrial and aerospace businesses while steering the company's branding and corporate communications efforts. He's a seasoned semiconductor and technology executive with over 20 years of experience across startup, enterprise, and government environments. Welcome to the podcast, Ross. Hi, Daniel. It's great to be with you.

Thanks for having me. So, Ross, first, what brought you to Skywater? Well, first of all, thanks for the opportunity to join you and talk a little bit about Skywater. So, you know, that's an interesting question. I worked in the semiconductor industry for a good part of my career. and was working in the area at a startup when skywater was forming and so i had some general awareness of it but as i learned more was just really attracted to the mission and in the role that the company was playing in you know kind of the dynamic and evolving

semiconductor landscape and the opportunity to work on emerging disruptive high potential technologies also playing a role in supporting defense missions which resonates with my background as a former service member, and also just being part of this re-industrialization of manufacturing and semiconductor technology in the U.S. resonated with so many of my interests and values. So it was a great opportunity. So can you paint a picture of your unique role in the semiconductor ecosystem as a U.S.-based Pure Play Foundry, and how are you contributing to the industry's evolution? Sure, absolutely. Well, you know, simply put, I think of Skywater as America's Foundry.

We are the largest exclusively American Pure Play Foundry, and, you know, I'm sure you, your audience are aware, but as a Pure Play Foundry, that's an important distinction that means we're contracts chip manufacturer. There are no Skywater branded products in the world. And, you know, the significance of that is that as, as, as, a partner with our customers we don't compete with them for operational mind share but rather just focused on making them successful and support their product manufacturing and you know that places a lot of emphasis on our partnerships with our customers and really aligns us very well with their

success so customer success is our success I think also you know we we've really focused heavily on needs in in the defense industrial base, and as a DMEA accredited Category 1A trusted supplier, Skywater is uniquely positioned to support customers across industries, commercial, industrial defense, and aerospace markets, and scale as we grow across our whole operational footprint, you know, Minnesota, Florida, and a recently integrated Austin FAB. And I think when you, you know, you And you consider some of those points along with just where we're at in the industry today, what the landscape is in a more than more era that we're operating in.

I also think that it's our technology as a service business model that really also differentiates how we serve our customers. And that's a model that's very much focused on streamlining the full customer journey from concept to production. The service model is really one that combines a couple of different categories of engagement with customers. On the front end of the technology lifecycle, it's our engineering services that we refer to as advanced technology services that help customers demonstrate and develop new ideas, disruptive technologies. And then also we combine that with our long proven auto grade conventional found reproduction services. that pair very well with the development and complements our customer's plans.

And it's this combination that really provides our customers a one-stop shop for new technologies and ultimately accelerates time to market for them. Yeah, and you've just announced a significant IP licensing agreement with Infinion. Can you break down the practical impact of this for your customers and how it accelerates their ability to innovate and bring new mixed-signal ASICSignal. together? Of course, yeah. I mean, this is a big deal.

It really is reflective of the strong partnership we have with Infinion and really centers around the 130 nanometer mixed signal ASIC platform. That's one of the cornerstone technologies of our operation in Austin. It's a workhorse technology platform. It's auto-grade. There's been billions of devices shipped on that technology, and it's used in a wide range of applications, touchscreen controls, microcontrollers, and really a wide range of advanced applications across critical industries.

And so this IP agreement, which sits on top of that technology, is one that it really is providing unique access to this silicon and market proven IP. It's a robust silicon proven auto grade portfolio. of McSignal ASIC design IP, and it's enabling for customers that are developing a wide range of products, complex ASICs, SOCs, and pairs with it also, of course, the general value proposition that we're bringing as a domestic supplier, security assurance of supply, and overall, you know, big picture, it's a strategic milestone for semiconductor independence in the country and you know in terms of what it actually delivers in the near term

it provides impacts very quickly for customers that are seeking to engage and take advantage of domestic manufacturing it can reduce risk accelerate time to market by leveraging silicon proven IP and also along with that lowering development costs by using these validated IP box which you know span a very wide spectrum across the design space, but you know, nuts and bolts, building blocks, type of IP analog, digital converters, various types of power management, blocks, memory modules, etc. So a very meaningful milestone, like I said, for customers, but also U.S. manufacturing base.

Yeah, and the acquisition of FAB 25 is a major milestone, right? What strategic advantages does this new facility bring to Skywater and how does it fit your broader vision for expanding domestic semiconductor manufacturing? Sure, yeah. This is really transformative for Skywater and many of the customers that we serve. It dramatically increases the scale of our wafer manufacturing output. So it adds, on the order of 400,000 wafers starts per year, those are 200mm waper starts per year. It really enhances our technology portfolio and capabilities for automotive and industrial markets and, you know, more technically speaking, it really brings out expanded operational infrastructure for our support of copper

back end-of-line technology. And, you know, when you think about the broader context of the onshoreing trend and demand from critical industries align with that, it's a really a key enabler to be able will offer that. You know, for Skywater's employees and investor base, it also provides meaningful diversification in our market and markets. And as part of that, as we expand our exposure to automotive and industrial space really puts us or implants us into the supply chains and will help us begin to build awareness, identity, and relationships that will be key to our business going forward as we continue to invest and expand our foundry offerings for those markets.

And so, you know, at a high level, it's a key part of our vision for emerging as a strong leader in the Western Hemisphere for U.S. production and foundational technologies and significantly strengthens our ability to serve customers with high-volume manufacturing in those core domestic industries. Right. And a central theme in your recent activities is the push to reshore semiconductor capabilities. Can you discuss the importance of this movement for U.S. tech independence and what Skywater is doing to lead that charge?

Sure. Well, I think, you know, I think we've been very vocal about our goal to build, you know, a strong backbone for foundational technologies, the manufacturing infrastructure that underpinned them. And we're focused on building a U.S.-based Foundry Network that's recognized ultimately as somewhat of a national infrastructure asset. These technologies just are sole core to the everyday products across markets, that we think this vision, this plan, these ambitions to expand our Foundry Network will help to address the supply chain risks that are prevalent across many, many different domestic industries.

And overall, it's this reshoring trend that, as you mentioned, is really critical for technology dependence as a nation, and it also impacts national security in many ways. I think it's maybe not on the minds of the everyday person as they walk down the street, but over 90% or in that range, a large percentage of mixed signal ASIC products in that space analog products are produced overseas. And for industries that can't tolerate that level of, you know, supply chain concentration in foreign regions, you know, they're really seeking alternatives and choices. And so it's this vision that we have for reshoring a critical mass of capability and, you know,

the role that we're playing by bringing FAB 25 to the market is a key part of that vision. Yeah, I agree completely. So looking at the bigger picture, how do these strategic moves, you know, from the Infini Partnership to the Fab 25 acquisition, strengthen the U.S. semiconductor supply chain and address these vulnerabilities that, you know, have been exposed in the recent years? Well, you know, at a high level of our vision, Skywater's vision of semiconductor sovereignty is multifacet, I think, is fairly consistent with the view that others may hold. but that to us looks like strength in 300 millimeter manufacturing,

strengthen advanced nodes, strengthen 200 millimeter manufacturing and foundational nodes, as well as packaging and emerging technologies. And so this path that Skywater is on to create an end-to-end domestic ecosystem hinging on high-volume manufacturing or foundational technologies, but also expanding into adjacent packaging and other spaces, It brings critical, you know, immediate at-scale manufacturing capabilities and directly addresses, you know, the needs that major industries have today. And so I think the move and then the partnership that accompanies it with Infinean bringing utilization of FAB and the near term and what we expect will be a long-term product manufacturing relationship. is really a couple of very significant steps towards this vision.

And I think when you then combine with it as well, the licensing agreement around the silicon and market proven IP, we're bringing forward a transformative move for our company, but for the industry, for the nation, and doing so with a strong foundation that's positioning as well to grow and expand our impact on the industry in years to come. So final question, Russ. Just to summarize, what is the key message you want to leave

with the engineers, innovators, and potential partners in our audience? What should they be most excited about when they think about engaging with Skywater in the near future? Yeah. Well, there's a lot to be excited about. It's, you know, this is a pivotal moment in the history. of this industry, this industry that was invented in the United States, and we continue to be a strong leader. But for some of these core foundational technologies, there have

been decisions made over the last number of decades, but it's a pivotal moment as the recognition of the value of the technologies, I think is increasing. That's driving some really important conversations. And Skywater has so much to offer in these conversations. solutions to offer to address some of these challenges and we're on a mission to be America's foundry we're on a mission to lead the reshoring of foundational note semiconductor manufacturing and also simultaneously advance technological innovation in this country and emerging spaces and advanced sensing quantum computing and next generation superconducting and super computing technologies so I

I think it's a really exciting time to join. I think when you also consider the business model that we bring to market, it supports that full life cycle of innovation to production, that it's an exciting time. It's an exciting place to join and have a real impact and have a front row seat to one of the most dynamic industries in the world right now.

Yeah, I agree completely. Thank you for your time, Ross, and I look forward to having you back. Thank you, Daniel. It's a pleasure speaking with you. I appreciate the time. That concludes our podcast. Thank you all for listening and have a great day.