On this special episode of The Six Five - Insiders Edition, hosts Patrick Moorhead and Daniel Newman are joined by Lattice CEO Jim Anderson to discuss Lattice the impactful changes that have been made at the company in the last few years and how they are leading to a smarter future. Lattice Semiconductor is a world’s leading supplier by volume of low power, programmable FPGAs. These devices target edge applications where keeping size down and power consumption low is critical. Lattice also develops solutions stacks, comprehensive bundles of development boards, software, and complete reference designs that make it easy for customers to build popular edge applications. They are truly leaders in this space.

 

In our conversation, Jim, Patrick and I explored the industry trends Lattice is taking advantage of to serve the needs of its customers. Recently, this has included adding AI algorithms to the FPGAs to help customers use more intelligence to make decisions. Jim also shared about Lattice’s development of hardware security solutions that protect the device from development all the way through the life of the system — a critical need for customers everywhere.

 

Impactful changes for the long haul. Jim shared a little about the changes he’s made in the company since becoming CEO two years ago. The first major change was bringing in a new leadership team. Jim brought in new department heads for every department from development to marketing who were all industry veterans with decades of experience. This drove a culture change in the company — Lattice moves faster, innovates fasters, and executes better now which helps the bottom line. The second change refocused the company on its core expertise increasing the investment in hardware and developing applications-specific software.

 

Changing customer perceptions. Jim explained how Lattice has worked in the last few years to change customer perceptions from just a component supplier to a partner who can help with innovations for years to come. This started with developing a comprehensive product roadmap for the next five to seven years and sharing it with top, strategic customers. This roadmap expands the product portfolio, and while it’s not shared publicly, the customers who have seen it are excited for what’s to come.

 

How Lattice weathered the storm of 2020. Several of these changes have happened during the pandemic and while it was a bit uncertain at the beginning, Jim shared that the company has done an excellent job staying on target with the product roadmap. He also shared that the sales team has been able to keep a high level of customer engagement in the last few months even without travelling — which can be tough to do when you’re only relying on video conferencing and emails.

 

What the future holds for Lattice.  Lasty, we explored where Lattice is positioned in the market and what we can expect to see in the next few years. Jim shared that the company is driving a whole new level of innovation, not just at the hardware level, but software level as well. Lattice is addressing AI, automation, cloud computing, and automotive electronics among other things that will fundamentally change the way we live and work moving forward.

 

The future looks bright for Lattice. If you’re interested in learning more about the company and its products and services, be sure to check out their website.

 

Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show. The contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.