EcoChip 2009: Semi CEOs East, Rodgers and Halla Take a Stand on Energy and the Economy

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Mountain View, CA — At a media roundtable held at Actel Corporation , Silicon Valley CEOs John East of Actel Corporation (NASDAQ: ACTL), T.J. Rodgers of Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (NYSE: CY) and Brian Halla of National Semiconductor (NYSE: NSM) shared their provocative thoughts and insights on the environmental and economic challenges facing the world. All three CEOs, who have focused their companies on power-saving technologies, were in agreement that the innovation inherent to Silicon Valley was key to solving the energy crisis and building the foundation for a sustainable future. The trio called on other high-tech CEOs and entrepreneurs to focus their R&D and investments on solving the crisis, which would eventually fix our ailing economy. The CEO remarks are available now for viewing on YouTube:

Introduction and John East remarks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXGpjqAEtsw
T.J. Rodgers remarks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ix_N4KJVPw
Brian Halla remarks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHa7KuJ9uXg

“We should invest in new innovation, not old innovation,” Halla said. He went on to list new energy ’megatrends’, adding that semiconductor technologies are now, more than ever, enabling new power-wise products. These include portable medical devices, battery management devices for electric cars and solar panels, among others.

Rodgers unveiled a new smart thermostat application created by Cypress’ new Envirosystems division and called the valley to action saying, “We need 10,000 other ideas like this to solve the energy crisis.”

Meanwhile, East said, “We can solve a lot of these problems because the technology is here.” He expressed, however, some frustration over the slow adoption of alternative energy and redefined a new spending metric. He said, “The U.S. spends one bailout annually ($750 billion) to import oil and the Iraq war has so far cost the equivalent of a trillion dollars, or roughly four bailouts. Add all that up and we could end the recession.”