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.