In a global quest for “More-than-Moore” innovations, the Shanghai Industrial Technology Research Institute (SITRI) has come to Silicon Valley to open a hardware accelerator in Belmont, Calif.

The Chinese research institute designed, built and recently opened an incubator, called SITRI Innovations, to support hardware entrepreneurs who are developing and commercializing “More-than-Moore” devices.

This SITRI initiative isn’t just about China wanting to pick Silicon Valley’s brains. Among the promoters of SITRI Innovations is Kurt Petersen, largely known to the industry as the father of MEMS and now on the SITRI advisory board. His big idea is to leverage SITRI to re-ignite VCs’ investment in hardware.

SITRI’s goal is to go beyond the process-node driven CMOS technologies that have defined the IC industry for decades and helped propel PC and smartphone market growth.

SITRI is specifically looking for fresh ideas in “the next wave of semiconductor innovations” including “MEMS, sensors, optoelectronics, RF, bio, and micro-Energy that do not depend on feature-size driven CMOS technology,” according to the firm.

Peter Himes, general manager of SITRI Innovations and SITRI Ventures, believes that SITRI, backed by the Shanghai government, can help build an ecosystem and infrastructure for More-than-Moore technologies, by connecting Silicon Valley startups with the supply chain and markets in China.

“Types of innovations the [More than Moore] market needs are still coming out of the Valley,” said Himes. “We want to help those startups get off the ground.”

By: DocMemory
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