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General Assembly
Keynote Speakers

09:00 - 09:20

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Shuka Zernovizky
Founder & CEO
SemIsrael
Welcome & Opening Remarks

Opening remarks and a warm welcome to SemIsrael Expo 2026, bringing together Israel's semiconductor community for a day of innovation, collaboration, and industry insights.

Bio
Shuka Zernovizky is the Founder and CEO of SemIsrael, the Israeli semiconductor industry community and organizer of the annual SemIsrael Expo. With over 25 years of experience in the technology industry, he previously held senior business development and technical positions at M-Systems/SanDisk and other technology companies.

Shuka is also the founder of Medical Devices Israel (MDI), TechPartner, and SemInsight, initiatives focused on connecting technology companies, industry professionals, and business opportunities. He holds a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the Technion and an MBA from the University of Haifa.

09:20-09:40

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Itamar Tsachi
European Manager, DFT
Siemens EDA Europe
From Custom ​Silicon to ​AI Systems
Designing the Compute Foundations ​for Scalable, Efficient AI Infrastructure

Scaling AI infrastructure demands tighter integration across chip design, systems engineering, and data center operations. This presentation shows how optimizing these connections can reduce hidden costs and overcome performance constraints throughout the infrastructure lifecycle. It highlights how AI-native electronic design automation (EDA) improves silicon design, while comprehensive digital twins help engineers identify thermal, electrical, and mechanical challenges before manufacturing and deployment.

Bio
Bio will be soon published

09:40 - 10:00

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Dr. Ziyad Hanna
Corporate VP, System Design Verification and AI Technologies
Cadence Design Systems
Design for AI and AI for Design

Abstract will be soon published

Bio
Dr. Ziyad Hanna is Corporate Vice President at Cadence Design Systems, leading the company’s global AI strategy and driving innovation in AI-powered chip design and verification. With over 35 years of experience in electronic design automation (EDA) and artificial intelligence, he previously served as Chief Scientist and General Manager at Jasper Design Automation, acquired by Cadence in 2014, and held senior engineering roles at Intel.

Dr. Hanna holds a PhD in Computer Science from Oxford University, where he serves as a Visiting Professor. He is a Senior IEEE Member, holds 25 patents, and has published over 30 technical papers. Recognized as one of Israel’s most influential technology leaders, he is also actively involved in advancing high-tech opportunities within the Arab community.

10:00 - 10:20

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Asi Sapir
Applications Engineering, Sr Architect
Synopsys
The Path to Autonomous Chip Design

Abstract will be soon published

Bio
Asi Sapir is a hardware engineer and AI specialist at Synopsys, where he serves as a Power End-to-End and AI Specialist driving the adoption of AI-powered EDA solutions. With 25 years of experience at Intel and 4 years at Synopsys, he brings deep expertise in logic design, RTL methodology, architecture, physical design, and design automation. Asi works at the intersection of chip design methodology and artificial intelligence, helping engineering teams integrate reinforcement learning, generative AI, and agentic workflows into production environments. He holds a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the Technion -- Israel Institute of Technology.
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