Paul D. Smith, Ph.D.
Entrepreneur, Director, and Small Business Owner in San Francisco, California, United States
š§ From Systems to Strategy
Work smart, challenge yourself and most of all, try to enjoy the Process!
With over 20 years of experience at the intersection of semiconductor design, system engineering, and business strategy, I currently lead AI compute systems core technology development at Applied Materials. My work focuses on chiplet-based heterogeneous integration, HBM scaling, optical interfaces, and STCO (System-Technology Co-Optimization). I bring deep technical fluency, startup experience, and strategic vision to every problem I tackle.
Previously at Apple, I helped launch flagship hardware products. Earlier, I co-founded and exited a venture-backed semiconductor startup. My academic path includes a Ph.D. in EE from Georgia Tech and an MBA from Wharton.
What Iām Currently Working On -
ā¢ HBM-Rich AI Compute Platforms ā enabling faster bandwidth across chiplet interconnects
ā¢ Heterogeneous Integration ā unlocking power, density, and latency optimization
ā¢ System/Technology Co-optimizatiom at Scale ā connecting fab, packaging, and AI system goals
ā¢ Photonic Interfaces ā designing next-gen interconnects for multi-node GPU clusters