Imec’s Patrick Vandenameele: Full-stack Innovation Is the Name of the Game

At imec’s ITF World 2026 conference in Antwerp, CEO Patrick Vandenameele outlined five major technology shifts reshaping the semiconductor landscape over the next decade: system-wide co-optimization i... Read original →

Imec’s XTCO paradigm marks a systemic countermove against post-Moore fragmentation. Technically, integrating silicon photonics into the die—not just the package—will force TSMC and Intel to accelerate optical-electrical co-design in CoWoS and Foveros, while redefining memory hierarchies via HBM4 and near-memory computing. On compliance, using High-NA EUV for qubit fabrication extends export controls into quantum hardware, further politicizing non-U.S. foundries’ access to advanced lithography. Strategically, NVIDIA may leverage chiplets plus photonics to bypass electrical I/O bottlenecks, while ASML cements its indispensability by anchoring quantum-classical hybrid manufacturing through imec. Within 18 months, R&D will invert: architectures will drive process choices, not vice versa. Companies fixated solely on transistor scaling will rapidly lose relevance in AI chips.