Pete Rodriguez
CEO
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Pete Rodriguez has 40 years of experience in the Semiconductor industry. He is on the steering committee of the American Semiconductor Innovation Coalition (ASIC) and has co-led the startup team. In 2022, Pete served on the semiconductor working group of the President’s council of advisors in science and technology (PCAST). Pete is currently on the advisory boards of Certus Semiconductor, Harvest Management Partners and Blue Horizons-AI and an observer on the board of Owl Autonomous Imaging.
Pete was formerly VP & GM of Interface and Power at NXP Semiconductors. Prior to NXP, Pete was CEO of Exar Corporation (NASDAQ), CEO of Xpedion Design Systems (acquired by Agilent), Chief Marketing Officer at Virage Logic (NASDAQ), Major Account Manager at LSI Logic and Program Manager at Aerojet Electronic Systems. He spent twelve years as an entrepreneur with three different startups and has raised over $30 Million in venture capital. He retired from the US Naval Reserves with the rank of Commander. Pete has served on public, UK LTD, private, advisory and non-profit boards of directors.
He is a graduate in strategy and policy of the Naval War College. Pete has an MBA from Pepperdine University, an MSEE from Cal Poly Pomona where he was inducted in the engineering hall of fame, and a BS in Chemical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology.
Company Profile
Silicon Catalyst is the only incubator + accelerator focused on the Global Semiconductor Industry including Chips, Chiplets, Materials, IP and Silicon fabrication-based Photonics, MEMS, Sensors, Life Science and Quantum.
More than 1,200 startup companies worldwide have engaged with Silicon Catalyst and the company has admitted over 100 exciting companies. With a world-class network of mentors to advise startups, Silicon Catalyst is helping new semiconductor companies address the challenges in moving from idea to realization.
The incubator + accelerator supplies startups with access to design tools, silicon devices, networking, and a path to funding, banking and marketing acumen to successfully launch and grow their company’s novel technology solutions. Over the past nine years, the Silicon Catalyst model has been proven to dramatically accelerate a startup’s trajectory while at the same time de-risking the equation for investors.
The Silicon Catalyst Angels was established in July 2019 as a separate organization to provide access to seed and Series A funding for Silicon Catalyst Portfolio Companies.
SiliconCatalyst.UK, a subsidiary of Silicon Catalyst, was selected by the UK government to manage ChipStart UK, an early-stage semiconductor incubator funded by the UK government.
In February of 2024, Silicon Catalyst Ventures (SCV) was launched to fund early-stage startups accepted into the incubator’s two-year program. SCV has already made eleven investments in Silicon Catalyst Portfolio Companies.
More information is available at www.siliconcatalyst.com, www.siliconcatalystangels.com, www.siliconcatalyst.uk, and Silicon Catalyst Ventures www.sicatalystvc.com.
Gianni Vitale
Application Director
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Gianni Vitale is an Application Director at STMicroelectronics. He has over 24 years of experience in power electronics, covering different positions, including divisional roles in product and application engineering, in systems engineering and as customer application support. He is now the responsible of the Analog and power application team for Region America with special focus on industrial switch mode power and systems, motor control, automotive power systems for electric vehicles and power management for server applications.
Company Profile
At ST, we are more than 50,000 creators and makers of semiconductor technologies mastering the semiconductor supply chain with state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities. An integrated device manufacturer, we work with more than 200,000 customers and thousands of partners to design and build products, solutions, and ecosystems that address their challenges and opportunities, and the need to support a more sustainable world. Our technologies enable smarter mobility, more efficient power and energy management, and the wide-scale deployment of cloud-connected autonomous things. We are committed to achieving our goal to become carbon neutral on scope 1 and 2 and partially scope 3 by 2027. Further information can be found at www.st.com.
Yvonne Lutsch, Ph.D.
Investment Director
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Yvonne joined Lam Capital in October 2024 as Investment Director, bringing over 7 years of venture capital experience from Bosch Ventures USA, where she led investments in deep tech fields like AI, quantum computing, semiconductors, sensors, and industrial technology. She also has 13+ years of operational experience at Bosch, having served in leadership roles across technology scouting, business development, engineering, and manufacturing in both mobility as well as consumer electronics. Yvonne holds a PhD in Applied Physics from University of Tuebingen and a Diploma in Experimental Physics from University of Siegen, both Germany.
Company Profile
Lam Capital invests in innovative companies that are addressing some of today’s most challenging, high-impact problems. From semiconductor subsystems to AI chips and Industry 4.0 technologies, we invest in and partner with startups that are disrupting their respective industries.
Katherine He, Ph.D.
Investor
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Katherine He is an Investment Analyst at TDK Ventures. She supports the research and landscape building in energy-storage materials and battery technologies and leads technology scouting on startups in the energy sector. She is a published author with 12 peer-reviewed publications, two patents, and one book chapter.
Prior to joining TDK Ventures, she was a battery researcher and engineer with eight years of experience developing high-energy density lithium-ion batteries and energy-storage technologies. With a Ph.D. in materials science and a deep understanding of technology, she was also trained by government and national lab programs in commercializing lab innovations. Additionally, she had leadership roles in deep tech and entrepreneur communities. She is a founding member of the largest global battery community, “Volta Foundation,” which includes more than 20,000 battery professionals. She also co-founded BatteryBits and BatteryStreet, and serves as an executive member of MIT CEO, actively bridging the academia, industry, and venture worlds to accelerate the cleantech revolution.
Katherine enjoys reading, hiking, working out, and having hot pot together with family and friends. She also practices Chinese traditional dancing, and spends time serving battery communities.
Company Profile
TDK Ventures Inc. invests in startups to bolster innovation in materials science, energy/power and related areas typically underrepresented in venture capital portfolios. Established in 2019 as a wholly owned subsidiary of TDK
Corporation, the corporate venture company’s vision is to propel the digital and energy transformations of segments such as robotics and industrial, next-generation transportation, mixed reality and the wider IoT/IIoT markets. TDK Ventures will co-invest and support promising portfolio companies by providing technical expertise and access to global markets where TDK operates. For more information, please visit www.tdk-ventures.com.
Shiori Idaka, Ph.D.
Head of European Research Co-operation Center (ERC) Semiconductor – European Business Group
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Shiori Idaka joined Mitsubishi Electric’s Advanced Technology R&D Centre in 2002. There, she was involved in the development of various semiconductor packages, including LSIs, MEMS sensors, high-frequency and optical devices, power devices. In December 2016, she moved to the German branch of Mitsubishi Electric Europe B.V. and launched the European Research Cooperation Centre in 2017, where she is responsible for the coordinating of research and development projects on power electronics. So far, she has managed over 80 projects.
Company Profile
Mitsubishi Electric is one of the world’s leading names in the manufacture and sales of electrical and electronic products and systems used in a broad range of fields and applications.
We are contributing to the realization of “Green Transformation” (GX) and “Digital Transformation” (DX)with innovative and ever-evolving semiconductors & devices.These include power devices that achieve energy-saving, miniaturization,and high-reliability for power electronic equipment, optical devices and high-frequency devices realizing seamless communication at high speed and high capacity, and infrared sensors capable of advanced temperature detection enabling identification of people and objects as well as discernment of people’s movements.
Primit Parikh, Ph.D.
VP & GM, GAN Business Division
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Primit leads GaN business at Renesas, following its recent acquisition of Transphorm Inc., where he was the Co-founder, President and CEO. Prior to this, he led Transphorm, a pioneer and leader in GaN Power Semiconductors, having grown it from inception to leading its public company listing (Nasdaq/TGAN) and transformation partnering with it’s phenomenal team. He is passionate about creating value from the intersection of business and technology. With over 25 years of semiconductor & entrepreneurial experience, his background includes capital raises, international markets & strategic partnerships, key customer relationships, products & manufacturing, IP, GaN/Semi technology and Government contracting. Prior to Transphorm, Primit led GaN electronics at Nitres Inc. through its acquisition by Cree, where he led GaN development and government business P&L. Primit received his B.Tech. in EE from IIT, Mumbai and his MS & Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from UCSB. He has more than 40 patents awarded and co-authored more than 75 publications and presentations. He is blessed to reside in the amazing Santa Barbara area with his wonderful family.
Company Profile
Renesas Electronics empowers a safer, smarter and more sustainable future where technology helps make our lives easier.
A leading global provider of microcontrollers, Renesas combines our expertise in embedded processing, analog, power and connectivity to deliver complete semiconductor solutions. These Winning Combinations accelerate time to market for automotive, industrial, infrastructure and IoT applications, enabling billions of connected, intelligent devices that enhance the way people work and live.
Rainer Kaesmaier, Ph.D.
Managing Director Semiconductors
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Dr. Rainer Kaesmaier is leading the semiconductor business of Hitachi Energy with its global manufacturing and R&D footprint for the power semiconductor product portfolio which compromises GTOs, IGBTs, IGCTs, Thyristors, Diodes and SiC for market segments such as energy transmission & distribution, transportation & rail, renewables, industry and eMobility. Rainer is a semiconductor industry veteran having held various management and executive positions in the sector for close to 30 years, covering areas of global responsibility in business strategy and development, business transformation, technology and engineering, operations and production, R&D, as well as sales and marketing. After stations at Siemens, Infineon, Qimonda, and the European semiconductor manufacturer LFoundry, he assumed 2018 the responsibility for the global semiconductor business of Hitachi Energy. In addition to that, Rainer is since 2019 also member of the management board for Hitachi Energy Switzerland. He was a member in various industries strategy committees in Europe and the US, and currently in the advisory board for International Semiconductor Industry Group (I.S.I.G.). Rainer holds a Master’s degree in Physics from the Technical University Munich and a PhD in Physics from the University Kassel in Germany. He is based in Lenzburg near Zurich, Switzerland.
Company Profile
We have one of the most diverse semiconductor portfolios that includes thyristors, diodes, GTOs, IGCTs, IGBTs and RoadPakTM modules, which are manufactured at our facilities in Lenzburg, Switzerland and Prague, Czech Republic. We have one of the most diverse semiconductor portfolios that includes thyristors, diodes, GTOs, IGCTs, MOSFETs and IGBTs, which are manufactured at our facilities in Lenzburg, Switzerland and Prague, Czech Republic. Our research team continues pushing the boundaries of what is possible, using silicon and silicon carbide (SiC) technology to innovate the next generation of power electronics devices. Our advanced semiconductor technology brings unprecedented control to HVDC transmission systems. We are the heart of traction converters for high speed trains, metros and diesel-electric locomotives. Pumps, fans, roller tables, hoist and winches found throughout industry rely on us, and the world is able to enjoy greener mobility because we power the next generation of e-vehicles.
Victor Veliadis, Ph.D.
Executive Director & CTO
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Victor Veliadis is Executive Director & CTO of PowerAmerica, a member-driven Manufacturing USA Institute of industry, universities, and national labs accelerating the commercialization of energy efficient silicon carbide and gallium nitride power semiconductor chips and electronics. At PowerAmerica he has managed a budget of US$156 million, and is now managing a US$64M renewal. Victor is also an ECE Professor at NC State University, an IEEE Fellow, a National Academy of Inventors Fellow, and an IEEE EDS Distinguished Lecturer. He has 27 issued U.S. patents, 12 book chapters, and 165 peer-reviewed publications to his credit.
Company Profile
PowerAmerica is a consortium of industry, universities, and national labs accelerating the commercialization of energy efficient silicon carbide and gallium nitride power semiconductor technologies. Our membership network spans the wide-bandgap technology ecosystem, from materials to device developers and fabs to module manufacturers to end users, as well as universities that educate and supply the future workforce. As we continue to grow, so does the diversity of our membership.
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