National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
09/26/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/25/2024 23:33
Choose the Path That Brings Change: AI as the Only Way Forward for Enterprises – Insights from Robert Li, Synopsys Global Vice President and Chairman of Taiwan
By NYCU Alumni Voice
Translated by Chance Lai
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Translated by Chance Lai
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The semiconductor industry's guiding principle, "Moore's Law," is being redefined by AI. In the future, technological advancements will progress exponentially, with generative AI expected to accelerate chip design processes, potentially enhancing computational capabilities by over 1,024 times.
Robert Li, Global Vice President and Chairman of Synopsys Taiwan, emphasizes that leaders must not only do what needs to be done but must do it correctly, identifying the most critical and right actions. AI is the only path for him to drive a company forward.
"I'm your good friend, Robert, and I hope to play a part in your success," is how Robert Li begins his speeches. With over two decades of experience in the semiconductor design software industry, he frequently speaks at leading universities, sharing his insights on industry trends and career development. He firmly believes that his success stems from the support of others, inspiring him to share his experiences to help more people.
While many business leaders compare their career journeys to mountain climbing, Robert Li prefers likening it to a cross-country marathon. Unlike a traditional marathon, a cross-country marathon is full of challenges and adventures, demanding participants to have superior physical strength, endurance, and skills. From being an engineer and entrepreneur to a professional manager, Li has faced over 20 significant choices and challenges in his career journey.
Consecutive Entrepreneurial Failures Became a Pivotal Turning Point in Life
"Entrepreneurship was the first turning point in my career," Robert Li remarked. After graduating from the Department of Communications Engineering at National Chiao Tung University (now National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, NYCU), he pursued further studies at the University of Southern California, earning his master's and Ph.D. in Electronic Engineering. Upon returning to Taiwan, he joined the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) as a wireless systems engineer. The work pace there was slower than in the industry, and the salary was naturally lower. To supplement his income, he wrote articles in his spare time and taught part-time in the communications program at National Chiao Tung University.
In 1995, amidst the liberalization of the telecommunications sector, Robert Li founded Tatung Wireless Corporation and took on the role of Chief Operating Officer (COO). Coming from a technical background, he quickly realized that, as COO, he had to manage everything himself, from leading the team to acquiring clients and securing funding. To save costs, he was always the last to leave the office, ensuring the lights were turned off and reviewing phone bills to track the number of sales calls and revenue generated. Unfortunately, not long after the company's establishment, the Asian financial crisis struck, and the major shareholders were unwilling to invest further. At that time, Synopsys happened to be recruiting, so he decided to end his brief entrepreneurial journey.
However, the entrepreneurial spark within him remained alive. When he saw the potential of WAP mobile commerce and found investors willing to support his vision, Robert Li decided to take another chance and founded Fuyi Information.
To shorten the learning curve, he pursued an EMBA at the National Taiwan University Graduate Institute of Business while running his startup, hoping that systematic learning and guidance from professors would enhance his entrepreneurial journey. He admits that Fuyi Information was ahead of its time, offering services similar to China's Tencent, integrating WeChat with an Alipay-like platform as early as 2000. Unfortunately, being a "pioneer" often means becoming a "martyr," without continued support from the board, he had to end his venture again.
Robert Li, Global Vice President and Chairman of Synopsys Taiwan, emphasizes that leaders must not only do what needs to be done but must do it correctly, identifying the most critical and right actions. AI is the only path for him to drive a company forward.
"I'm your good friend, Robert, and I hope to play a part in your success," is how Robert Li begins his speeches. With over two decades of experience in the semiconductor design software industry, he frequently speaks at leading universities, sharing his insights on industry trends and career development. He firmly believes that his success stems from the support of others, inspiring him to share his experiences to help more people.
While many business leaders compare their career journeys to mountain climbing, Robert Li prefers likening it to a cross-country marathon. Unlike a traditional marathon, a cross-country marathon is full of challenges and adventures, demanding participants to have superior physical strength, endurance, and skills. From being an engineer and entrepreneur to a professional manager, Li has faced over 20 significant choices and challenges in his career journey.
Consecutive Entrepreneurial Failures Became a Pivotal Turning Point in Life
"Entrepreneurship was the first turning point in my career," Robert Li remarked. After graduating from the Department of Communications Engineering at National Chiao Tung University (now National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, NYCU), he pursued further studies at the University of Southern California, earning his master's and Ph.D. in Electronic Engineering. Upon returning to Taiwan, he joined the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) as a wireless systems engineer. The work pace there was slower than in the industry, and the salary was naturally lower. To supplement his income, he wrote articles in his spare time and taught part-time in the communications program at National Chiao Tung University.
In 1995, amidst the liberalization of the telecommunications sector, Robert Li founded Tatung Wireless Corporation and took on the role of Chief Operating Officer (COO). Coming from a technical background, he quickly realized that, as COO, he had to manage everything himself, from leading the team to acquiring clients and securing funding. To save costs, he was always the last to leave the office, ensuring the lights were turned off and reviewing phone bills to track the number of sales calls and revenue generated. Unfortunately, not long after the company's establishment, the Asian financial crisis struck, and the major shareholders were unwilling to invest further. At that time, Synopsys happened to be recruiting, so he decided to end his brief entrepreneurial journey.
However, the entrepreneurial spark within him remained alive. When he saw the potential of WAP mobile commerce and found investors willing to support his vision, Robert Li decided to take another chance and founded Fuyi Information.
To shorten the learning curve, he pursued an EMBA at the National Taiwan University Graduate Institute of Business while running his startup, hoping that systematic learning and guidance from professors would enhance his entrepreneurial journey. He admits that Fuyi Information was ahead of its time, offering services similar to China's Tencent, integrating WeChat with an Alipay-like platform as early as 2000. Unfortunately, being a "pioneer" often means becoming a "martyr," without continued support from the board, he had to end his venture again.
From Wireless Communication to Semiconductors-Leading Teams and Making Decisions
After his second entrepreneurial failure, Robert Li was already 40 years old. He admits that he felt lost and even considered returning to the ITRI or becoming a university lecturer. However, the salary gap between academia and the industry was significant. At that moment, Synopsys extended another offer to him. Believing that it's never too late to start the second half of one's life, he decisively joined Synopsys in 2003, starting in a sales role. He steadily advanced to become General Manager for the China region, then General Manager of the Wafer Solutions Group at Synopsys Taiwan, and now serves as the company's Global Vice President and Chairman of Synopsys Taiwan, as well as the President of Synopsys' South Asia Sales.
"There's no wasted effort in life," Robert Li stated. He likens his journey to a cross-country marathon: though rugged, you will excel if you are passionate about your work. Transitioning from an engineer to a professional manager, his core expertise expanded from wireless communication systems to marketing, strategic planning, and project management. His industry experience also broadened to cover mobile commerce applications and IC design-related sectors. As an engineer, he only needed to focus on his tasks. However, as a leader, he must guide teams, make decisions, and not only do the right things but also do them correctly while always seeking out the most important and right tasks.
In April 2024, Synopsys collaborated with NYCU to establish the EDA/AI Research Center, a project that Robert Li describes as important and correct. Synopsys is the world's leading EDA company, and EDA itself can be considered one of the earliest forms of AI. Meanwhile, NYCU is a semiconductor and AI research pioneer within Taiwan's academia. The establishment of this research center is expected to effectively integrate theoretical knowledge with practical applications, thereby advancing the development of next-generation design technologies in the semiconductor industry.
EDA (Electronic Design Automation) involves design, modularization, analysis, verification, and subsequent redesign. This approach is similar to how AI operates-analyzing big data, building models, undergoing extensive training to generate inference results, and performing large-scale computations. Robert Li uses the artwork "Drawing Hands" by Dutch artist Maurits Cornelis Escher to illustrate this concept. He explains that generative AI rapidly advances, enabling EDA to design more powerful SoCs (Systems on Chips), which can support EDA in performing more complex AI computations. The two processes complement each other, much like how one hand in the artwork draws the other, with both hands moving in a continuous, harmonious cycle.
Robert Li believes that the widely recognized "Moore's Law," which predicted that semiconductor performance would double every 18 months, is being redefined by AI. With the advent of AI, performance is expected to double every year, leading to exponential growth in the future. In ten years, efficiency is anticipated to be 1,024 times what it is today. AI is poised to change human life significantly in the next five years. As global technology trend expert Kevin Kelly once said, "When you can't decide which path to take, choose the one that brings change." And today, AI is the only path forward.