A Different Kind of Education — Adventures with Startups

John Sanguinetti will talk about his experiences starting three companies, two in EDA (electronic design automation) and one in MCAD. Topics will include both the technology that was the basis of the enterprises and the business issues which led to their successes and failures. This will be an informal talk.
John Sanguinetti has been active in computer architecture, performance analysis, and design verification for 28 years. He received a BS in Applied Math (Engineering 1970) and a PhD in Computer and Communication Sciences (1977) from the University of Michigan. He then began working for a succession of computer manufacturers as a performance analyst, computer architect, and design verification engineer. After working for DEC, Amdahl, ELXSI, Ardent, and NeXT, he founded Chronologic Simulation in 1991 and was President until 1995. He was the principal architect of VCS, the Veri log Compiled Simulator, and was a major contributor to the resurgence in the use of Verilog in the design community. VCS is still the leading simulator for electronic design. Dr. Sanguinetti served on the Open Verilog International Board of Directors from 1992 to 1995 and was a major contributor to the working group which drafted the specification for the IEEE 1364 Verilog standard.

In 1998 he co-founded CynApps to produce high-level synthesis technology for electronic design. He is currently the Chief Technology Officer of the company, now Forte Design Systems. Forte is now the leading high-level synthesis company in Electronic Design Automation. Dr. Sanguinetti has been active as an angel investor in the Electronic Design Automation community, and serves on the Board of Directors of several Electronic Design Automation companies. He is on the Board of Directors of the Myeloma Research Fund as well as the Peninsula Symphony, where he has also served as principal trombone for 20 years. He has 15 publications and one patent.