Manjunath Chandrashekaraiah

“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goal.”

Manjunath Chandrashekaraiah is a seasoned thought leader, recognized authority and an expert in the semiconductor industry based out of  USA- primarily in areas focusing on semiconductor-based connectivity product development based on PCIe NVMe, CXL, Ethernet, and AI-ML infrastructure, advanced NAND flash memory technology, DRAM and HBM solutions. Some of the key product innovation and exceptional contributions includes novel product design, architecture and firmware development for SSDs, SD-micro-SD, UFS storage, reetimers, switches, Semiconductor IoT enablement in edge intelligence products and solutions which are deployed and adapted across many global customers and partners. He has more than 20 years of experience with companies like Micron, SanDisk, and Astera Labs. He is a senior principal firmware engineer at Astera Labs currently and was an engineer who designed high-performance products that delivered great business growth and contributed to acquiring patents in many numbers during his tenure with Micron Technologies, being one the pioneers in NAND flash memory and DRAM technology. He continues to stay ahead in designing future technologies related to Semiconductor, AI-ML, cloud, functional safety chip design for automotive systems, Cybersecurity chip architecture and IoT edge intelligence.  In the high-varying world of semiconductor technology, few have made as deep an impact as that of Manjunath Chandrashekaraiah. From small-town roots, he was able to emerge as one of the leaders in the field through a ceaseless pursuit of knowledge and adaptation to new challenges and an unyielding pursuit of innovation. His career is characterized by brilliance in technical expertise and passion for developing solutions that transform industries and improve lives worldwide. His contributions have been vital to the U.S. economy, security, technological leadership and for the global community. His contributions to the advancement of technology in the semiconductor, AI, high performance computing and connectivity are exceptional which has led to impactful innovation and creation of new business opportunities with hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue and profit to the organization. His remarkable innovation and leadership has advanced the semiconductor/connectivity, AI-ML technology for the industry by putting the nation in the leading position globally.

 

A Passion for Electronics from an Early Age

Manjunath’s interest in electronics started quite young, as a result of a natural curiosity in how things were constructed and worked. As he lived in a town that wasn’t well-equipped with the latest technology, he often dismantled gadgets and electronics to later reassemble them or sometimes even better than their original state. This hands-on approach to learning sparked an interest in the world of electronics and paved the way for his future. Heeding this innate curiosity, he pursued a formal education in electronics and communication engineering at the prestigious Siddaganga Institute of Technology in India. The turning point in Manjunath’s career came when he went to Semiconductor giants – SanDisk, Micron Technology, being the leading manufacturers of memory and storage solutions. Here, as a senior member and outstanding engineer he primarily focused on developing high-performance memory solutions for emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. His contributions in this area were pathbreaking and exceptional because he was creating memory systems able to handle the huge data throughputs required by AI algorithms and neural networks. His contributions and skills are remarkable to the industry and for the future innovation and research. He’s been honored and invited as a Judge and reviewer across global technology conferences and peer review of technology publications

Although his time at Micron was very fulfilling, it was the transition to Astera Labs that marked a new chapter in his life. Currently working as a Senior Principal Firmware Engineer at Astera Labs, Manjunath has been right at the front of semiconductor innovation, leading on leading-edge connectivity solutions for hyperscale data centers thus making a strong impact to the global customer community and enabled new business opportunities. As someone whose areas of research interest include high-performance computing, data centers, and artificial intelligence infrastructure, Astera Labs offered him the perfect opportunity to see through the vision of the future he holds for semiconductors.

 

A leader at the Core of innovation

Manjunath has been the leader through his exceptional contributions to the semiconductor industry through world class products delivered at SanDisk, Western Digital, Micron, Aptiv and at  Astera Labs, which has ensured the company’s success. He guided the company as a trusted advisor to deliver 16 high-impact products, resulting in more than $230 million in revenue. They’ve motivated numerous advancements in various related industries, things like cloud computing, software defined vehicle architecture for automotive-related technologies, and IoT edge intelligence. With PCIe NVMe SSD and his related work on memory solutions, it enables faster storage and retrieval of data throughout both consumer devices and enterprise data centers. Through his progressive innovation in the semiconductor domain has enabled next-generation connectivity solutions including enablement of software defined architecture in high performance AI-ML based central computing automotive systems.

One of Manjunath’s significant contributions at these semiconductor giants has been his role in developing purpose-built connectivity, storage solutions for AI-ML infrastructure. It’s enabling such systems to scale much more efficiently while serving increasingly bigger, more complex workloads because of data centers evolving into these larger capacities to satisfy AI and machine learning application demands. Manjunath has designed special purpose-built connectivity solutions with a novel high performance computing system architecture built on multi-core processors, such that AI models may be trained faster, using much more data, with increased accuracy, a critical need in semiconductor product development, manufacturing, autonomous driving, and other future industries. In addition to technical leadership, Manjunath has played a major role in the Technology and business development of many companies that he has worked for. His unique ability to balance technical excellence with strategic business goals has driven the expansion of these companies and he has grown at each organization with his exceptional abilities and contribution to the innovation. Manjunath has established long-term partnerships with some of the biggest players in the tech industry, securing top ranking for the companies has worked for thus putting the innovation at the forefront of the companies’ technology revolution thus securing a top spot for the semiconductor companies. He’s been conferred as a Fellow IETE – India, Fellow-IICSPA, Senior Member-IEEE and has been a global leader and a mentor. His remarkable abilities and contributions have helped in significantly improving the global competitiveness in semiconductor, AI, and datacenter technologies. He’s been invited as a technology expert, Judge/reviewer of several IEEE International conferences and served as a Technical Program Committee overseeing the peer review of International Journals. He has been granted with several patents from USPTO and continue to deliver innovation through advancing the semiconductor/connectivity technology.

 

The Mantra Behind his Success

Manjunath has achieved success through a number of guiding principles he has followed throughout his career. Among the most important ones, at the top is his insatiable curiosity and passion for learning. Groundbreaking innovation and research. Even after decades in the industry, Manjunath is still intensely interested in semiconductor technology developments and innovation. He mastered the art of enhancing the scalability, throughput, performance and energy efficiency in computing systems for AI-ML hyperscale applications. He attends global conferences, works with industry experts, and explores new research constantly to stay at the forefront of the knowledge curve.

His main source of strength comes in terms of promoting cooperation and team culture. The most innovative solutions arise when complex minds work together on the challenging task. Manjunath encourages an open, communication-rich environment in which the engineer from any background can voice an idea to innovate with other engineers from all walks of life. These collaborations have played a strong role in producing the kind of innovative products Astera Labs is recognized for today. Manjunath’s resilience and adaptability also stand as the key to success for him. The industry of semiconductors is always in change, with new technology and challenges arising almost every day. Rather than being terrified by this change, Manjunath embraces it. His motto: act fast, fail fast, and learn from failure probs his pragmatic approach towards innovations. He feels that the journey to innovation demands failure. It is due to this reason he also views failure as an opportunity that enables solutions to get sharpened and brings in better designs. He’s a proud winner of International Outstanding Digital Innovation award for Semiconductor AI/ML Infrastructure.

 

Key Offerings and Industry Contributions

Manjunath’s exemplary contributions  have led to transformative impact and created disruptive innovation leading to reshaping the industries and national infrastructures. His contributions extend far beyond the patents and products he has developed, leaving a profound impact across multiple domains in the world of semiconductors. His significant work has shaped technological advancements that are paving the way for our future, with key contributions in several critical areas. One of his most notable achievements lies in the development of AI-ML infrastructure solutions. These solutions offer customized connectivity within hyperscale data centers, boosting transfer speeds, enhancing computational capabilities, and improving scalability to effectively support AI workloads. This innovation has been pivotal in enabling the seamless operation of complex AI systems.

In the domain of NAND flash memory and PCIe NVMe SSDs, Manjunath’s work has revolutionized data storage solutions. By enhancing speed, reliability, and cost-effectiveness, his advancements have become indispensable for industries that rely on big data analytics and cloud computing. These solutions continue to address the growing demand for efficient and scalable data storage infrastructure. Manjunath has also been a frontrunner in developing semiconductor solutions for automotive ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) and functional safety. Under his leadership, cutting-edge technologies have emerged that ensure safer and more dependable autonomous vehicle systems, laying the foundation for the future of transportation. His contributions to IoT edge intelligence have focused on enabling real-time decision-making and data processing at the edge of the network. This innovation is particularly crucial for applications in smart cities, industrial automation, and remote monitoring systems, where quick and accurate data analysis is essential.

Another critical area where Manjunath has made significant strides is CXL (Compute Express Link) solutions. His work has enhanced memory sharing among devices, improving performance and scalability in AI and high-performance computing systems. This technology has become a cornerstone for enabling next-generation computing architectures. Through these advancements, Manjunath has made transformative contributions to the semiconductor industry, driving innovations that are shaping the technological landscape across AI, data storage, automotive safety, IoT, and high-performance computing.

 

Words of Wisdom: Manjunath Chandrashekaraiah’s Advice for Aspiring Engineers

Manjunath’s career path has not only molded him into an exceptional career but also provided several learning experiences for aspiring engineers. He goes first by continuous learning. According to him, “Technology changes very fast; the landscape keeps shifting, and the only way to stay ahead in this field is by continuing to learn.”.

One important takeaway from Manjunath is about tenacity. Reviewing his work experience, he emphasizes perseverance even when there are negative aspects. Manjunath makes it known that everyone has to face failure at a certain stage; it will then lead the way for change. “Act fast, fail fast, and learn from it. The quicker you learn from your mistakes, the faster you’ll find solutions.” Such thinking towards failure makes it easy for Manjunath to innovate with little fear of blunder.