Suriya Iyer

Surya Iyer is President & COO at Polar Semiconductor and previously held senior management and engineering positions at Cypress Semiconductor Corp. and Applied Materials, Inc. Surya is a recipient of the Twin Cities Business TCB100 award in 2025 and was recognized by the India Association of Minnesota with an Honorary Award for Science and Technology in 2025. Surya serves as the Chair of the Minnesota Governor’s Workforce Development Board, a member of the Governing Council for SEMI/FOA (a semiconductor industry association), a member of U.S. Department of Commerce’s NSTC Workforce Advisory Board (WFAB), a member of the Smart Manufacturing group at SEMI Americas and is an adjunct Professor of Engineering at the University of St. Thomas. Surya attended Wharton, was a fellow at Stanford University, received his post-graduate degrees from Washington University in St. Louis, and an undergraduate engineering degree from IIT-Kanpur. He has 20 patents related to semiconductor processing and equipment design and over 25 peer-reviewed publications.

 Company Profile: (feel free to edit if it needs to be shortened)

 Located in Minnesota, Polar Semiconductor is a U.S.-owned 200mm Merchant Foundry, with an established track record in high-volume manufacturing of Silicon Integrated Circuit and Discrete devices. Polar specializes in Sensor and Power Semiconductors tailored for Automotive, Industrial, and Aerospace & Defense applications. With a recent investment of $525 million, Polar is expanding its manufacturing footprint, doubling its capacity to competitive scale (40,000 wafers per month), and investing in Automation (Autonomous Robots and Automated Material Transport Systems) and Intelligent Manufacturing (AI/ML). The 150,000 sq. ft. Class 1 cleanroom facility is home to state-of-the-art manufacturing and measurement Equipment, and produces advanced BCD, BiCMOS, MOSFET, IGBT, Optical MEMS, Wide-Bandgap (GaN), and Magnetoresistance sensor technologies. Polar provides a suite of foundry Design Enablement, Transfer, and Characterization services. Fully certified to run Automotive products, Polar meets stringent Quality and Environment Certification requirements, and is now working towards obtaining ITAR and Trusted (Defence) Certifications. Polar supports the National Security infrastructure through RD&E collaboration with DoD Microelectronics Commons and the National Semiconductor Technology Centre, supports Economic Security through serving various Industries with critical advanced technologies, ensuring IP Protection and Secure Data, providing Pilot to High Volume Cost-Competitive manufacturing, and ensures Supply Chain Resilience as a foundry located in the U.S. Upper Midwest with Stable and Secure Water and Electricity and a low risk for catastrophic natural events. Polar serves customer needs through tailored Partnership Models, from traditional Pure Play to “Captive Capacity,” and seeks to create a technology advantage through joint RD&E or licensing. Polar’s backbone is its stable, long-tenured workforce, comprising of highly skilled and experienced customer enablement, technology, and operations teams.  

More information at: polarsemi.com