New CEO Sandeep Vij Forms 'Team MIPS'

NEW YORK — Signing Sandeep Vij as its new CEO may turn out to be just what MIPS Technologies needed, as the world's number two processor IP company struggles to steal the spotlight back from ARM -- both in media attention and the industry's mindshare. When EE Times recently caught up with him on his ninth day at MIPS, Vij was already as natural and enthusiastic a spokesman for MIPS as any experienced CEO could be. Vij acknowledged that when he was approached to take the helm at MIPS, he was already "quite familiar with MIPS," as its customer and as a student of MIPS architecture. Prior to joining MIPS, Vij was vice president and general manager of the broadband and consumer division of Cavium Networks, a MIPS architecture licensee. Vij -- now 44 years old -- studied at Stanford University as a grad student under John Hennessy. Hennessy, now president of Stanford University, co-founded in 1984 MIPS Computer Systems, now MIPS Technologies, when he was director of the university's Computer Systems Laboratory. Vij remembers the days when "Prof. Hennessy handed out to the class every chapter of his upcoming MIPS book, because the book wasn't finished yet." Today, Vij speaks of his affinity for MIPS, humbly citing the company's "incredible heritage." He is also fluent in explaining "the elegance, efficiency and simplicity" of MIPS' architecture. For Vij, life has truly come in full circle. Do all these connections with MIPS make Vij feel as though he deserves this job? "No," said Vij sternly. "Not until I can make an impact" on the company and on the MIPS community, he said. Team MIPS Despite the MIPS knowledge he has accumulated over time, there was one thing the new CEO wasn't prepared for: an incredible number of well wishers in the industry pulling for MIPS. Vij said he was "flabbergasted" with so many e-mail, texting and voice messages he received from MIPS customers, since he took the job. "Team MIPS," said Vij, "is much more than just one company or one building surrounded by four walls, I've found out." By "Team MIPS," Vij means all the companies that use MIPS cores in chips, MIPS architecture licensees, and those who develop tools, platforms and software that run on MIPS. "They all have tremendous loyalty for MIPS. They all want us to succeed," Vij explained. "When you have that many well wishers, you know you can lean on them." There is no doubt that his first-hand experience with those on Team MIPS will form the basis for a stronger MIPS "eco-system" -- which many industry and financial analysts for years have been saying that MIPS sorely needs to nurture. But, then, what exactly is MIPS doing for Team MIPS? Vij said MIPS is spending more on its eco-system, with $2 million set aside for the coming quarter. "We are making a critical shift in our mindset. We have a clear understanding that it's not just chips or cores that are important to MIPS, but it's platforms, tools, partners and eco-system" that matter to the future of MIPS. In the quarter ending Sept. 2009 alone, 126 million chips " based on MIPS " shipped to the market, said Vij. "That speaks volume and momentum behind MIPS." Naturally, the strong unit volume potential is critical for building strong Team MIPS, he added. MIPS will also make sure that all the major operating systems, middleware and application stacks are supported on MIPS, said Vij. "We also make sure that we have reference designs, and verification tools" that can be shared by Team MIPS. The key here is "rather than having an individual MIPS licensee go out and do things for itself," he said, MIPS needs to figure out "the Team MIPS approach" that can be effectively shared and implemented among its partners. Vij explained, "I want true collaborations to happen, and a number of leading companies that use MIPS cores to think that it was good to be part of Team MIPS." Vij believes MIPS was well on its way to pull that off even before his arrival. "Many elements to improve the ecosystem are in place. The company is already committed to good, aggressive roadmaps," said Vij. "The company may have made less effort in sharing them with its customers, but I know the customers will be happy, once they see them." Taking pages off the playbook at Xilinx Before Cavium Networks, Vij was on the executive staff of Xilinx Inc. During his 12-year tenure at Xilinx, he is said to have been instrumental in tripling the company's business to over $1.8 billion per year. At MIPS, Vij won't be shy in taking pages off the playbook he used at Xilinx and Cavium -- namely, bringing products with a high-end market presence down to a higher volume area, making a clear shift in the corporate strategy from a product to "solutions," with an almost fanatical emphasis on software, IP cores and ecosystems necessary in vertical applications. That's exactly what Vij did in the mid 90's when Xilinx, focused on individual FPGA products, was losing market share. "Those were the days when a lot of people did not believe in low-cost FPGA efforts," recalled Vij. But with the introduction of the Spartan family, Xilinx shifted its effort to a solution-based approach, targeting applications with a low-power footprint, extremely low cost and high volume. As vice president and general manager of Xilinx' general products divisions, Vij managed all aspects of product planning, IC design, product engineering, technology implementation, manufacturing strategy and marketing. Vij believes that such a performance-oriented culture "re-ignited" Xilinx. "I've seen it work," he said. While shrugging off his impressive resume, Vij talks -- with a touch of humility and even a sense of awe -- about the many technologists, founders and CEOs in the Valley who have preceded him. Growing up in the Valley Vij arrived in California from India at the age of one, when his father came to study at Berkeley. Vij literally grew up in the Bay Area, still remembering when a majority of the Valley was covered by orchards. Encouraged by his father (who worked at GE's nuclear energy division) and uncles who worked in the Valley, young Sandeep's heros weren't professional athletes, but "tech gurus like Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Andy Grove and Scott McNealy," said Vij. Asked about the deciding moment that turned him into an engineer, Vij said, without hesitation, "Apple II Plus" (introduced in 1979). Vij said, "I was already hooked with the machine at my friend's house, playing 'Castle Wolfenstein.' But I pushed my parents to buy it for spreadsheets and word processing." Vij soon went beyond 'Castle Wolfenstein.' Unable to contain his curiosity, he opened up an Apple II Plus, and took it apart, studying every component under the hood. He didn't know it then, but he had just laid out before himself the pieces of his future. For the time being, the new CEO isn't saying much, though, as far as the company's strategy is concerned. Financial analyst Gary Mobley in the past described MIPS' relationships with Microchip (microcontrollers) and Altera (FPGAs) as something that could "generate significant royalties for MIPS of the next 10-plus years." When asked about what specific market segments MIPS hopes to penetrate through such MIPS-based microcontrollers and FPGAs, Vij said, "I am reserving the right to outline our future strategy." He noted: "First, we want to listen to our customers. This is a tremendous opportunity afforded to us."