For more than 30 years, Soitec has been developing advanced semiconductor materials powering key technologies across smartphones, automotive electronics, and AI data centers. Headquartered in France, the company generates nearly €0.9 billion in revenue, employs over 2,200 people worldwide, and holds more than 4,200 patents, positioning itself at the core of global semiconductor value chains.

As the United States accelerates its semiconductor ambitions, Texas, particularly Austin’s “Silicon Hills”, is emerging as a major hub. In this context, Soitec has strengthened its presence locally. Based in Austin, Ionut Radu, Head of Soitec U.S. Innovation, shares his perspective on the company’s positioning in the U.S. and the broader dynamics shaping the industry.

Q. Soitec’s engineered substrates are present in smartphones, AI data centers, connected vehicles, industrial systems, and beyond. Can you walk us through the breadth of sectors your technologies actually touch and what that reach says about the role semiconductors play in the global economy today?

A. Semiconductor industry is at a critical cross-road with high stakes expected in the following years. Driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI), the global market is expected to reach more than US$1 trillion, a historic value supported by multiple sectors. Soitec’s products and technologies are enabling energy efficient devices that are increasingly present in mobile (smartphones, tablets) applications, data centers, automotive and industrial applications, and many more.

The rapid adoption of AI opens a broad range of use cases, some of them untouched until recently. The innovation of advanced substrates reflects today’s new paradigm for semiconductor technologies. 5G/6G communications, Electric Vehicles and Artificial Intelligence are demanding for new device architectures providing more computing capability with drastically reduced power consumption.

Q. Austin’s “Silicon Hills” is becoming a key hub in the global semiconductor ecosystem. Why did Soitec choose to establish a presence there, and what does the U.S. market represent for the company today?

A. The US market is a strategic play for Soitec, not only for the direct sales to our semiconductor manufacturing customers and but more generally on the overall semiconductor ecosystem (OEM, fabless, equipment and material suppliers, innovation centers, etc). Soitec’s presence in USA started more than 30 years ago and within the recent years we have increased our activity primarily through establishing strategic partnerships with industry and academia.

Although Soitec team in US is spread across the country, I’ve personally chosen Austin as my home in the last 3 years because of its dynamic ecosystem, very rich semiconductor heritage and its central location allowing global reach within the USA.

Q. AI already represents unprecedented growth for semiconductor industry. What does that acceleration change concretely in the way you prioritize your materials roadmap, and which technologies are you developing specifically to meet the demands of AI infrastructure?

A. AI has generated explosive growth in the industry but we are still at the very early stage of adoption. More AI applications and use cases are expected in the coming years supported by innovative hardware.

Soitec provides innovative solutions for high speed and robust connectivity in data center interconnects and network infrastructure connectivity. Soitec’s engineered substrates help optimize the operation of networking devices, enabling faster data processing and lower energy usage. For example, Soitec develops Photonics-SOI (Silicon-on-Insulator) and Photonics-LNOI (Lithium Niobate on Insulator) enabling high-bandwidth optical interconnects, crucial for accelerating data transfer in AI data centers, reducing energy consumption, and improving 800 Gbps+ communication speeds. Other on-going developments include Wide Band Gap (WBG) materials for low energy power conversion.

Q. The semiconductor industry runs on cycles, expansion, correction, recovery. In that context, how critical is it to anticipate the next phase rather than react to it, and how does your R&D investment strategy reflect that need to always be one cycle ahead?

A. It is true that the semiconductor industry is cyclical and also impacted by geo-politics. As a wafer manufacturer, diversification of Soitec’s portfolio has been at the core of the innovation and Go-to-Market strategies in the last 5-10 years. Soitec’s growth relies on execution of short and long term innovation, centered on market needs, speed of execution and intellectual property differentiators. This requires very good understanding of technology inflections in the industry roadmaps and balanced budgets to maintain research of long term technologies for emerging markets (i.e. >5 years ahead of commercialization).

Q. The United States is investing massively through the CHIPS and Science Act, attracting large-scale semiconductor projects. How does this new industrial policy influence the way European companies position themselves globally?

A. The semiconductor investment trend is global, all regions are following the same motivation of in-shoring semiconductor manufacturing. US has been at the forefront with federal and local state policies that encourage semiconductor companies to increase their footprint in the USA. For European companies it is an opportunity to either accelerate or initiate their partnerships within such large scale semiconductor projects. We could expect in the future that differentiation will not only be considered from technology and product stand point but also scalability across specific regions. This creates opportunities for accelerated growth of the European players as part of expanded US ecosystem.