About

Overview of Convex IC Inc.

I am Kostas Pagiamtzis and via Convex IC Inc. I provide strategic and technical advisory services in the domain of analog integrated circuit design, with an emphasis on high-speed advanced-node design. I have experience in large, medium and startup environments delivering tapeouts for full-chip products and external IP. I was the first engineer/employee at Alphawave IP (now Alphawave Semi) and therefore have an excellent example to use as inspiration for creating a highly effective and efficient design team and design infrastructure.

I provide strategic advise, architecture and design services in the area of semiconductor analog integrated circuit design (analog IC design), specifically in as strategic and technical advisor. I have in experience in analog design in BiCMOS processes and CMOS processes up to and including modern/FinFET nodes. My particular interest is in helping startups in any way I can to achieve escape velocity.

My Experience

Since receiving my Ph.D. in electronics, I have delivered a range of custom IC design implementations spanning SRAM to custom digital to analog, from designing architecture and topology selection to detailed layout and simulation.

My analog design experience is in BiCMOS and CMOS processes up to and including modern/FinFET nodes. In 2017 I was the first employee/engineering of Alphawave, seeding the team that went on to create THE industry leading 112G SerDes IP. When I started at Alphawave, we had not yet installed any CAD software or the PDK so I experience started a design team and infrastructure from scratch, a painful but fruitful experience. Within a year, we taped out our first testchip, delivered our first complete IP within two years, and after explosive growth and had an IPO on the London Stock Exchange in 2021, less than four years after the company’s founding.

Most recently, in 2021, after leaving Alphawave, I started consulting to companies in the analog design space. Convex IC Inc. is an evolution in that vein to help analog IC design company’s benefit from my experience to help build or adjust design teams and infrastructure to be capable of delivering industry-leading performance, area, cost, and time to market (PPACt).