Entrepreneurs still key to silicon's progress

摘要

A few weeks ago, Moshe Gavrielov, president and chief executive officer of FPGA vendor Xilinx Inc. (San Jose, Calif.), said it was all over: Venture capital would not return to the semiconductor industry-not even after the current recession-because of the heady sums required to launch a chip startup and the more than five-year lag before VC investors see a return.rnIf he's right, it signals dark days ahead for what has always been one of the most dynamic technology-based industries, dark days for Silicon Valley and dark days for this publication's rnown "Silicon 60" list of emerging startups (see story, page 26). That lineup, more formally known as the EE Times 60 Emerging Startups list, is looking strong for now, with 23 newcomers having made the cut after a few years of pioneering work.