SEMICONDUCTOR TOUR 2026 – Semicon West session

Mike Young-Han Kim is CEO of Gauss Labs, a Silicon Valley startup he founded in 2020 to transform manufacturing. His work focuses on bringing AI to the heart of semiconductor fabs, turning the vast data they generate into insight that engineers act on. A leading authority on information theory and data science, he was a professor at the University of California, San Diego, where he is now Emeritus Professor. He is the author of two books and numerous papers and patents spanning machine learning, signal and image processing, data compression, wireless communications, networking, computational biology, information security, and circuit design. He received his MS and PhD from Stanford University and is an eleventh-generation academic descendant of Carl Friedrich Gauss.

He joined Lam Research in 2017 as a part of Lam’s acquisition of Coventor, where he served as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for five years. At Coventor, he also led the execution of technology strategy for technology platforms, partnerships, and external relationships.

Fried is a well-respected technologist in the semiconductor industry. He has over 60 patents and 50 publications to his credit and a notable 14-year career with IBM, where he held leadership positions in successive process generations from 65-nanometer through 22-nanometer for IBM’s Systems and Technology Group.

His expertise touches upon areas such as Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI), FinFETs, memory scaling, strained silicon, and process variability.

At Yole Group, Clara analyzes semiconductor manufacturing equipment and related market trends, combining her technical expertise with strategic insights. Her work helps industry players better understand technology transitions, equipment innovation, and emerging opportunities within the global semiconductor ecosystem.

Before joining Yole Group, Clara gained experience in semiconductor process development and equipment engineering, with a strong focus on photolithography process optimization and integration. She began her career in photolithography Process engineering at ASML (NL), TNO (NL) and STMicroelectronics (FR), successively.

Clara Grcevic holds a Master of Science in Applied Physics from Delft University of Technology (NL)  as well as an Engineering Degree from Institut d’Optique (FR).

Paule contributes to the analysis of semiconductor manufacturing equipment and process innovations, at the subsystem level. She combines deep technical expertise with market intelligence to deliver comprehensive insights into technology transitions and supply-chain dynamics.

Before joining Yole Group, Paule gained hands-on experience at STMicroelectronics (FR), where she worked as a process engineer in the dry etching manufacturing stage and at the Institut des Nanotechnologies de Lyon (INL - FR), focusing on plasma-etch interactions.

She holds a PhD in Micro/Nano-Electronics and Optics from Ecole Centrale de Lyon (FR) and an Engineering Degree in materials science, strengthening her strong technical foundation in the semiconductor field.

Created in 1998, the market research & strategy consulting company has grown to become a group of companies providing marketing, technology and strategy consulting, media in addition to corporate finance services. His mission is to oversee the strategic direction of Yole Group.

All year long, Jean-Christophe builds deep relationships with leading semiconductor companies, discussing and sharing information across his global network. His aim is to get a comprehensive understanding of their strengths and guide their success.

Jean-Christophe is a graduate from EMLyon Business School (Lyon, France) and has a Ph.D. in Semiconductor Engineering from the National Polytechnic Institute of Grenoble (France).

As Services Director, Jérôme drives Yole Group’s services activities within the semiconductor industry, overseeing business development, shaping service offerings, and leading project teams to deliver high-value solutions that meet customers’ strategic and operational needs.
As Principal Analyst within the Global Semiconductors team, and with in-depth market and technology expertise, Jérôme leads the development of major analyses and reports covering the global semiconductor industry while contributing to Yole Group’s research strategy. Through these complementary roles, he helps strengthen Yole Group’s position as a leading source of market intelligence and strategic insight across the semiconductor value chain.
Jérôme is the author of numerous analyses and international publications covering advanced packaging, power electronics, and semiconductor manufacturing. He is also regularly involved in international conferences, giving presentations and delivering keynotes, as well as serving on organizing committees.
Prior to this, Jérôme spent three years at ASML in Veldhoven (The Netherlands) as an Application Support Engineer specializing in immersion scanners. During this time, he acquired photolithographic skills which he then honed during a two-year stint as a process engineer at STMicroelectronics (France).
Jérôme Azémar graduated from INSA Toulouse (France) with an additional Master’s in Microelectronics and Applied Physics (France).