SemiAdvisors brings four decades of full-stack technology experience from software development, EDA and chip design through front and back-end manufacturing, to clients navigating the intersection of technology, investment, and government policy.

Principal Mike O'Brien and his network offer a rare combination: deep industry experience across the semiconductor ecosystem, proven success building businesses and partnerships from the ground up, and firsthand service at the U.S. Department of Commerce CHIPS Program Office, helping to catalyze $200B+ in domestic semiconductor investment across two administrations.

SemiAdvisors works with semiconductor manufacturers large and small, technology companies, investors, and government-linked organizations to build the strategies, relationships, and ecosystems that drive long-term competitive advantage.

Our Services

  • Semiconductor Strategy and Advisory Services

    SemiAdvisors provides senior advisory services to semiconductor manufacturers, technology companies, investors, and government-linked organizations navigating the intersection of industry, policy, and capital. Principal Mike O'Brien brings four decades of experience across the full semiconductor ecosystem, from EDA and chip design through front and back-end manufacturing, combined with three years of direct service at the CHIPS Program Office, U.S. Department of Commerce.

    Every engagement draws on a deep, active network spanning semiconductor companies, government agencies, national labs, academic institutions, and industry associations built over a career that has included multiple startup and vertical-building roles across industry and government.

    Government Funding and CHIPS Act Strategy

    Mike served as Senior Director at the CHIPS Program Office, under both the Biden and Trump administrations where he helped shape funding opportunity structures, review criteria, and awards across the full range of semiconductor investment categories. That firsthand experience with how the program was designed and how it operates informs practical, grounded advice on how companies can align their technology, investment, and regulatory strategies with U.S. industrial policy objectives and available funding pathways. That experience includes both manufacturing and research incentive programs.

    Ecosystem Alignment: Industry, Government, and Academia

    The most durable competitive advantages in semiconductors are built through ecosystems, not individual transactions. Mike has spent his career architecting and scaling those relationships, from joint development programs with IBM and Arm at Synopsys to public-private partnerships with DARPA, IARPA, NSTXL, and ME Commons Hubs. He brings a proven approach to identifying where a client's strategic interests intersect with government priorities, academic research agendas, and industry partner incentives, and structuring the collaborations that create lasting value.

    Business Development and Go-to-Market in Government and Defense

    Mike founded and led the Aerospace and Government vertical at Synopsys, building it from the ground up into a practice that closed more than $200M in OTA contracts with DARPA, IARPA, Northrop Grumman, BAE, and others. That experience, combined with deep familiarity with government contracting vehicles, procurement dynamics, and agency relationship development, gives clients a meaningful advantage when entering or expanding in the government and defense markets.

    EDA, IP, and Design Ecosystem Advisory

    Thirty years at Synopsys and Cadence, including global account leadership for IBM and Arm, provides a distinctive vantage point on EDA strategy, IP licensing, and the design ecosystem. The company advises semiconductor companies, EDA vendors, and investors on competitive positioning, partnership development, and go-to-market strategy in these markets.

About the company

Mike O'Brien, Principal, SemiAdvisors

Mike O'Brien is a senior semiconductor and technology advisor with four decades of experience spanning semiconductor R&D, design and EDA, manufacturing, and the intersection of artificial intelligence and government policy. He brings a full-stack understanding of the semiconductor ecosystem and a career defined by building things from the ground up: new business verticals, public-private partnerships, government programs, and industry relationships that generate sustained value over time.

Mike founded SemiAdvisors (SEMIADVISORS LLC) following nearly three years as Senior Director at the U.S. Department of Commerce CHIPS Program Office, where he helped establish the CPO in a startup operating model and shaped portfolio priorities, operational processes, funding opportunity development, and application review criteria. He led cross-functional teams and negotiations for $7.5B in manufacturing and R&D awards across leading-edge memory, logic, advanced packaging, compound semiconductors, equipment, materials, and next-generation R&D programs, catalyzing more than $200B in private domestic investment. He represented CHIPS at SemiCon, SIA, GOMAC, NDIA, and the Potomac Institute, and served through December 2025 to maintain continuity and support the program's transition to new leadership.

Prior to Commerce, Mike spent nearly two decades at Synopsys, where he served as Vice President, Senior Director, and Global Account Director. He founded the Aerospace and Government vertical from scratch, recruited the team, and led it to close more than $200M in OTA contracts with DARPA, IARPA, Northrop Grumman, BAE, and others across programs in superconducting computing, digital twins, and hardware security. He also helped establish Synopsys's initial government affairs capability supporting passage of the CHIPS and Science Act, and built sustained ecosystem partnerships with IBM and Arm Holdings that delivered double-digit annual growth over a decade with each partner.

Earlier, at Cadence Design Systems, Mike was a senior leader of Tality, the outsourced design services subsidiary, where he built a consulting practice and closed major outsourcing agreements with Bell Labs Design Automation, IBM, and Ingersoll Rand. His career also includes startup and vertical-creation roles at Pure Software, a pre-IPO software development tools company later acquired by IBM, and Wang Laboratories.

Beyond his own experience, Mike brings clients access to a curated network of consulting, advisory, and legal professionals with complementary expertise across semiconductor technology, government affairs, investment, and transactions. SemiAdvisors regularly coordinates with these affiliated firms on behalf of clients when engagements benefit from integrated, multi-disciplinary support.

Mike holds a B.A. in Economics from Harvard College and completed executive programs at the Harvard Kennedy School. He has a TS/SCI security clearance eligible for reinstatement and is an IEEE member. SemiAdvisors is based in New Jersey.