SUNNYVALE, Calif., August 13, 2025 — Natcast, the purpose-built, non-profit entity designated by the Department of Commerce to operate the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC), today announced Dr. Bill Dally, Chief Scientist and Senior Vice President of Research at NVIDIA, and Dr. Richard Ho, Head of Hardware at OpenAI, as keynote speakers for the 2025 NSTC Symposium (Symposium) taking place on Sept. 15-16, 2025, in Austin, Texas.
“We are honored to welcome Dr. Dally and Dr. Ho as our keynote speakers at this year’s NSTC Symposium, both bringing a wealth of insight, leadership, and technical expertise to the main stage,” said Deirdre Hanford, Natcast CEO. “The intersection of advanced computing and AI innovation — which their respective work focuses on — continues to shape the future of our industry and reflects the critical role semiconductors play in enabling next-generation technologies. Through their insightful keynotes, Dr. Dally and Dr. Ho will undoubtedly inspire meaningful dialogue on the importance of U.S.-led semiconductor innovation and public-private collaboration to accelerate technology transition and ensure America’s long-term global technology competitiveness.”
Dally will open Day 1 of the Symposium with a keynote presentation titled, “The Engine Behind Generative AI: A Decade of GPU Innovation,” during which he will discuss the role that advancements in computing hardware performance and efficiency have played in fueling the AI boom.
At NVIDIA, Dally is currently working on developing hardware and software to accelerate demanding applications, including machine learning, bioinformatics, and logical inference. Prior to joining NVIDIA, Dally built a proven track record of designing innovative and efficient experimental computing systems through his work at Bell Labs, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Stanford University (Stanford). Dally has published over 250 papers in the areas of computer architecture, network architecture, circuit design, and programming systems, holds over 160 issued patents, and is an author of four textbooks. Dally holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Caltech and degrees in Electrical Engineering from Stanford and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Ho will kick off Day 2 of the Symposium, offering his perspective on the next set of challenges and opportunities we face as the world scales from cutting-edge silicon to architectures capable of supporting superintelligent systems in a keynote presentation titled, “From Silicon to Superintelligence: Building AI Infrastructure for the AGI Era.”
Ho leads the Hardware team at OpenAI, where he focuses on co-optimizing large-scale compute systems with the machine learning models that power modern AI. Earlier in his career, Ho helped build Google’s Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) program across multiple generations and was part of the D. E. Shaw Research team that developed the Anton supercomputers for molecular dynamics simulation. He also co-founded 0-In Design Automation, a pioneer in chip verification tools later acquired by Mentor Graphics/Siemens. Ho holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Stanford and degrees in Microelectronic Systems Engineering from the University of Manchester.
In addition to these visionary keynotes, the Symposium will showcase the mission and impact of the NSTC and its nearly 200 Members through more than 30 dynamic panels, presentations, and hands-on workshops led by over 75 industry experts. Attendees will gain insight into the NSTC’s strategic priorities, discover new investment and funding opportunities, and explore opportunities to engage with leaders from across the U.S. semiconductor ecosystem with more than 200 organizations represented. Learn more and register to attend here. Registration closes Sept. 5, 2025, at 5 p.m. CST.