Microelectronics US 2026 Opens Its Doors in One Week, Bringing Engineering Leaders to Austin to Tackle the Challenges Defining Next-Generation Systems

The free-to-attend conference unites the semiconductor, photonics and embedded systems communities across three dedicated stages at the Palmer Events Center, April 22–23.

AUSTIN, Texas, April 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- With just over a week to go, Microelectronics US 2026 is set to open on April 22 at the Palmer Events Center in Austin, Texas. Featuring more than 100 speakers from across the microelectronics supply chain, the event brings together engineers, system architects and technology leaders for two days of technical sessions and panel discussions, alongside direct access to solution providers on the show floor — all free to attend for professionals and students alike.

Spanning three co-located stages — Semiconductors US, Embedded Systems US and Photonics US — the programme is structured around the real engineering constraints shaping how next-generation products are designed, built and deployed: performance, power and thermal limits; safety certification; security; manufacturability; and long-term reliability.

End-User Voices from Industry's Biggest Names

The speaker and advisory board draw end-user engineers and technical leaders from organisations including Ford, General Motors, Stellantis, Honeywell, Cummins, Arm, Sandia National Labs, Applied Materials, AMD, General Graphene Corporation and Amazon Web Services, among many others. Sessions are designed to reflect real deployment environments and give attending engineers insight they can apply directly within their own programmes.

Session Highlights Across Three Stages

Semiconductors US Stage

Day one of the Semiconductors US stage opens with "From Policy to Practice: The CHIPS Act and U.S. Innovation Partnerships," before moving into sessions on catalysing AI innovation, cross-industry perspectives on the evolving microelectronics landscape, and building resilient supply chains. The afternoon turns to the long-term economic roadmap for the semiconductor industry, practical applications of IEEE debug standards for faster root-cause analysis, and scalable integrated semiconductors spanning materials, devices and emerging system architectures. A hands-on workshop — Getting Started on Your Edge AI Journey, the Easy Way — closes the day.

Day two broadens the lens, with sessions on securing the future microelectronics workforce, sparking interest in semiconductor careers before graduation, a Semicon Startup Showcase, unlocking the potential of chiplets for semiconductor design, and AI-accelerated design enablement and collaboration. The afternoon covers edge AI on devices for frontline workers, advanced SoC verification methods, harsh environment electronics, and semiconductors for ADAS and autonomous vehicles.

Embedded Systems US Stage

The Embedded Systems US stage opens with a session on the expanding role of embedded systems in growing markets, followed by a fireside chat on the future of truly autonomous edge AI, a session on evolving digital twins from simulation to autonomous action, and dedicated content on designing intuitive HMIs for safety-critical environments and certifying embedded software and hardware for functional safety.

Day two moves into AI-driven quality control across software, models and hardware, efficiency and reliability in embedded testing and debugging, fitting large models into embedded silicon for edge deployments, and smart factories and embedded tech for autonomous manufacturing. Sessions on industrial IoT, real-time production sustainability, private 5G networks with IoT sensors and drone tech for first responders, and the future of RISC-V and open architectures round out the programme.

Photonics US Stage

The Photonics US stage opens with a deep dive into scalable silicon photonic quantum computing, followed by sessions on enabling quantum through semiconductor process and materials innovation, photonic crystal surface emitting lasers, and the macrotrend landscape shaping photonics investment. The afternoon covers the real-world testing challenges that distinguish silicon photonics from conventional electronics, picoscale metasurface architectures for quantum photonics, a Photonics Startup Showcase, and a panel discussion on building industry resilience for the next era of technologies.

Day two features a panel on scaling and miniaturising photonic integration, a session on photonics research from a non-profit government perspective, and content on transforming modern data centres with photonic technologies and signal and power integrity challenges in high-speed photonic interconnects. The Microelectronics US Impact Lab Award Ceremony also takes place on day two of the Photonics stage.

Impact List Awards: Final Call for Nominations

The Microelectronics US Impact List Award Ceremony takes place on day two of the conference, recognising the individuals, teams and organisations driving meaningful progress across the industry. With the event just days away, this is the last chance to submit a nomination. Engineers, innovators and organisations making a measurable difference in semiconductors, photonics or embedded systems are encouraged to put themselves or their peers forward before the window closes.

Sponsors Supporting the Event

Microelectronics US 2026 has drawn support from across the industry, with Edge Impulse — a Qualcomm company — backing the event as Headline Sponsor, reflecting the central role edge AI now plays in microelectronics engineering.

Silicon Catalyst joins as Exclusive Strategic Partner — a significant alignment given its position as the world's only accelerator dedicated exclusively to semiconductors, with a portfolio spanning AI-driven chip design, photonics innovation, embedded systems and next-generation silicon technologies. The partnership reinforces Microelectronics US as a key commercial and technical platform for the US semiconductor industry.

MIPS, a GlobalFoundries company, joins as Gold Sponsor, while IAR, Innofocus Photonics Technology and Partstat round out the Silver tier, together spanning embedded development tooling, photonics and component sourcing.

At the Bronze level, Axiomise, BIMOS ESD Seating, Carbice Corporation, Nanoscribe, Pickering Interfaces and SambaNova bring expertise ranging from formal verification and advanced materials to AI inference silicon and precision switching — a cross-section that mirrors the breadth of engineering challenges on the agenda.

The networking programme is backed by ipXchange.tech and OEM Secrets as Networking Area Sponsors and the Edge AI Foundation as Networking Drinks Sponsor. Silicon Catalyst, the world's only semiconductor-focused incubator, joins as a Strategic Partner, and Amazon Web Services serves as the Executive Dinner Sponsor.

The Talent Foundry: Connecting Emerging Engineers with Industry

On the afternoon of April 23, the Photonics Theater will host the Talent Foundry — a dedicated programme tackling one of the industry's most pressing challenges: access to skilled, job-ready engineering talent. Students and early-career engineers will join industry experts in small roundtable discussions focused on career pathways, skills development and real-world engineering insight, creating direct connections between emerging talent and the companies building next-generation microelectronics technologies.

Register Now — Free to Attend

Microelectronics US 2026 is free to attend for engineers, technologists, system leaders, students and professionals across semiconductors, photonics and embedded systems. Places are available at microelectronicsus.com.

About Microelectronics US

Microelectronics US is part of the Microelectronics Global Event Series produced by IQPC Exhibitions, bringing together the full design, manufacturing and systems engineering community across semiconductors, photonics and embedded technologies.

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